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Do You Have a Healthy Approach to Being Healthy?

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Big Mac Salad

Big Mac Salad

Have you noticed how we humans tend to complicate even the simplest things?  You can’t really accuse dogs, horses, or even cats of this kind of behavior – it’s purely a human thing.

Think about it:

  • When a cat is sleepy, what does she do? She lies down and goes to sleep – wherever she happens to be. She doesn’t stick a paw out to “gauge” the room’s temperature, light a lavender scented candle, or grab a notebook so she can log the number of hours she slept once she awakens.  She’s sleepy – she sleeps.
  • When a dog is hungry, he eats. He doesn’t worry about the number of calories he’ll be consuming, doesn’t turn to Google to see if so and so or such and such approve of his lunch choice, and he doesn’t take that final bite while telling everyone within ear-shot, “I’ll have to chase the cat for 20 minutes to burn this off later!” He’s hungry – he eats.
  • Animals instinctively know they need to get activity each day. They don’t do it to burn off the tuna fish, chicken, or stolen cookie – they do it because it’s fun and it makes them feel good.

Then here come the humans. We arrive on the scene with fit bits, pedometers, activity apps, and a couple of backpacks filled with books telling us what to eat and what (Heaven forbid!) not to eat.

I apologize if I’m oversimplifying – actually, I’m very aware that I am, but let’s face it, I oversimplify beautifully and… well…  I like to flaunt my assets.

When it comes to health, it’s simply not as complicated as we try to make it.

  • Eat Healthy.
  • Get Some Activity on Most Days of the Week.
  • Cut Out Stress.
  • Get Plenty of Rest.

EATING HEALTHY. We could debate for 6 months straight about what makes a healthy diet. Personally, I subscribe more to the Mediterranean Diet philosophy than any other.  I believe a good diet is more about balance than anything else. I’m also a firm believer in drastically limiting sweets and fried food. They do far more harm than good and can easily be replaced with a ripe juicy peach or big red apple.

My personal tip: Smoothies, Salads, and “Bowls”. Combining delicious food that’s good for you – such as fruit, leafy greens, vegetables, chia seeds, coconut milk or almond milk, EVOO,  flaxseed, and collagen – and enjoying them in one place is both clever and tasty. Smoothies, salads, and “Bowls” allow you to “up” your daily requirements quickly and painlessly. But there’s even more to it than that when it comes to salads and bowls.

I first fell in love with salads and bowls when I had to (health reasons) stop eating wheat and gluten. I quickly found that I could put what I once put into a sandwich into a bowl or salad.  When it came to things like my beloved Big Mac Salad (pictured above), I ended up gaining more nutrients while cutting out unnecessary calories.

“Bowls” also allow you to pile in as many vegetables as you’d like while enjoying your favorite meat in the process. You don’t miss the bread or tortillas at all.

Just keep in mind that your goal should be adding extra vegetables and extra nutrition – not more empty calories.

All of that extra sugar puts stress on your metabolism, which is vital for life functions. This blog post from Elysium Health does a great job of explaining the science behind it.

ACTIVITY. In addition to good old-fashioned housework and gardening, I also walk for 30-45 minutes five days a week. I can literally feel the fresh air and activity doing my body, mind, and soul a world of good. It clears the mind and even gives you a healthy natural glow. The girly girl in me loves that.

My personal tip: Find ways to move more! One of my guilty pleasures is old movies (the Golden Age of Hollywood is an obsession with me), so when I’m watching one, I make a point of actually doing something during the majority of the movie. Whether it’s yoga, calisthenics, laundry, or simply walking in place – moving is healthier than not moving. Period.

ADIOS, STRESS. In my family, the joke is that I don’t suffer from stress… that I’m more of a carrier. Guess it must be my lack of budgeting skills. Or my driving.  Or the fact that I’m kind of accident prone. Or all three. Probably all three. Stress is horrific for your mental and physical health – to say nothing of your emotional health. What so many people fail to realize is that when yo get all worked up over small things, your central nervous system and your circulatory system have no idea that what has happened to you is small. For all they know, you’ve been in a colossal wreck, totaled your car, and lost your job and best friend all within 20 minutes – when, in reality, you’re simply having an adult temper tantrum because the server forgot you wanted A1 instead of Heinz 57.

My personal tip: Live in the moment. I have, like, a gazillion and three not-so-spectacular things about me. We’ve already touched on my spending habits and driving. I won’t depress you with my hatred of cleaning closets, phobia of snakes, inability to tell jokes without laughing before the punchline, belief in Bigfoot (I’m serious here, guys), or any of the other oddities that I’ve come to expect from myself. However, if there’s one thing this gal is good at, it’s living in the moment. I may visit it, but I most certainly do not live in the past – even if the past was 10 minutes ago. By the same token, I may consider it, but I most certainly do not get ahead of myself by living in the future. I live in the moment. I reside in the breath.  Doing so allows me a more peaceful life than some allow themselves. I travel lightly… no baggage.

REST! We’ve talked before about the importance of a great night’s sleep. Make no mistake about it, getting quality sleep each night is healing and healthy. It allows you to handle life’s little ups and downs better. But it’s more than just sleep that we’re talking about here. If you don’t allow you mind to “rest” periodically during the day, you’re inviting trouble. Each evening, try to “shut off” the thought factory for a while. Put down the iPhone, shut off Twitter and/or Facebook, and just relax. Breathe in. Breathe out. Just BE. You don’t always have to be checking on something, seeing what someone said, or responding to people online or off.

My personal tip:  Schedule a little down time each night (or in the afternoon, if you’d prefer). In the warmer months, I love to sit in the yard, admiring my zinnias and the butterflies they attract. It’s a relaxing, delicious, and beautiful little period of time that carries vibes of happiness and peacefulness throughout the rest of the day. In the winter, I unwind by drinking hot chocolate and looking out the winter at birds and squirrels at my feeders.

Yes, while watching for Bigfoot.

Try to always have a healthy attitude about health. Don’t complicate things – it’s really not that difficult. You know the healthy things to eat. Eat them. You know you need to stop stressing about things. So chill out. You know you need to get more activity. Move that body!

Speaking of which, I think this one needs to move a little. I might even clean a closet.*

~ Joi (“Joy”)

* That is so not going to happen.


How Much Do You Know About Diseases?!

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This fun and informative quiz is from Gap Medics. Since it was created by our creative friends in the UK, you’ll notice a few wordings that’ll be deliciously British!

It’s a really enjoyable quiz and I’m sure you’ll learn a few things along the way – just as I did. I have to admit, I woefully “misdiagnosed” a couple of “patients.”

Enjoy!


Common Drugs (for Allergies, Sleep, and Depression) That Can Shrink Your Brain

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I might just be the queen of e-mail newsletters. Someone recently said that e-mail newsletters are “dead.” I said, “Not in my inbox.. they’re very much alive and well.”  One of my favorite health-related newsletters is called Doctor’s House Call. It’s from Dr. Al Sears, MD and I highly recommend it.

I was anxious to share a recent edition with you. How anxious? Well, it just landed in my inbox and hour ago.

THAT anxious.

Many drugs that we buy and use regularly are actually doing our brains harm. Benadryl and Dimetapp (allergies), Unisom (sleep aid), Paxil (depression). Dramamine (motion sickness), and Demerol (pain killer).

I have used Benadryl, personally, for allergies as long as I can remember. As for the others, I’m only familiar with Dramamine – I’ve used it for motion sickness a few times over the years.  The problem with these drugs is this: They all belong to a class of drugs called anticholinergics (AC).  These medicines are effective because they block the action of acetylcholine in the brain.

As Dr. Sears points out, “.. it’s always a bad idea to wage war on a part of your body.”

I’ll simply let you read the rest of the newsletter by posting it below. I’ll chime in at the bottom with more information about where you can find the natural remedies he lists.

From Doctor’s House Call June 1, 2016:

——————–  NEWSLETTER  —————–

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter. It carries messages throughout your nervous system and stimulates muscle contractions throughout your body.

AC drugs stop that stimulation. They block acetylcholine from getting into nerve cells. That can shut down natural movement of muscles in the gut, lungs, heart, urinary tract, and other parts of the body.

Perhaps worst of all, it affects the parts of the brain involved in learning and memory. I’ve seen confusion, memory loss and declining mental skills in my patients who come to me on these drugs.

New research confirms what I’ve seen in my own practice. Studies now link AC drugs to cognitive impairment and dementia.

Researchers looked at patients’ brains using PET scans and MRIs. They found that people taking AC drugs had reduced brain sizes. They also had lower brain metabolism.

In other words, their brains weren’t as active. It was especially true in the hippocampus — the part of the brain associated with memory.

Another study in JAMA Internal Medicine found a link between long-term use of AC drugs and dementia. Pharmacists from the University of Washington tracked nearly 3,500 men and women aged 65 and older. They used pharmacy records to determine all the drugs each person took in the 10 years before starting the study. Then they tracked the people for seven years.

Results showed people who used AC drugs were more likely to develop dementia. And their dementia risk increased with the cumulative dose over the years. Taking an AC for more than three years meant a 54% higher dementia risk than taking the same dose for just a few months.

But even taking AC drugs for a few months can interfere with your ability to think. A study in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia found that AC drugs cause cognitive problems when taken continuously for as few as 60 days.

Here are some alternatives I suggest to my patients.

1. Natural Sleep Aids

Instead of Unisom or other dangerous sleeping pills, I recommend these 100% natural alternatives. You can get them at most health food stores.

  • Melatonin. This natural sleep hormone reverses insomnia by resetting your clock. But make sure you get the right kind. Pills get destroyed in your gut before you get the full effect. I recommend melatonin sprays. Take 500 micrograms to 1 mg about 30 minutes before you want to go to sleep.
  • Valerian Root. This herb has a calming effect on the nerves. It helps you fall asleep and get better quality sleep. Take 300 to 600 mg, 30 minutes to two hours before going to bed. It may take up to two weeks of daily usage to get the full benefits.
  • Tryptophan. This amino acid is found in sleep-inducing foods milk and turkey. I use a starting dose of 250 mg a half an hour before bedtime. If that doesn’t produce good quality sleep, increase the dose to 500 mg. You can enhance its effect by taking it with a glass of warm milk.

2. Natural Antihistamines

When your immune system spots an invader, your body releases defensive chemicals called histamines. Itching, sneezing and even hives are all signs that histamines are at work. Instead of reaching for AC drugs like Benadryl and Dimetapp, try these alternatives.

  • Marshmallow Root. Used in traditional European cough medicines, it’s known to relieve irritation of mucous membranes. And it helps the body expel excess mucus. Look for dried root, extracts, teas, tinctures or capsules in your health food store.
  • Burdock. Both the seeds and the root help soothe the mucous membranes. It’s also used to treat colds and sore throats.
  • Acerola Cherry. Considered a “superfruit,” this cherry has eight times more vitamin C than an orange and acts as a natural antihistamine.

3. Nature’s Antidepressant

Boosting vitamin D can help get you off dangerous AC antidepressants like Paxil. It helps the brain make serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood. In fact, vitamin D can boost serotonin by anywhere from double to 30 times. 4

I recommend a daily intake of 8,000 IUs of vitamin D. Here are the best ways to get it…

  • Sunshine. Getting some midday sun unprotected for about 10 to 15 minutes a day is good for you. It will give you between 3,000 and 5,000 IUs of vitamin D.
  • Vitamin D Foods. A serving of cooked wild salmon or mackerel provides roughly 350 IU vitamin D. Sardines or tuna in oil provide about 225 IUs of vitamin D. And one tablespoon of cod liver oil contains nearly 1,400 IUs.
  • Vitamin D3 Supplements. I recommend taking a supplement of vitamin D3 called cholecalciferol. It’s the same vitamin D3 that your body produces. Just be sure to avoid the synthetic D2 form found in most multivitamins. It’s less potent and less absorbable.

——————– END OF THE NEWSLETTER—————–

Where Can You Find these Supplements?

Sunshine and Vitamin D foods are easy enough, and the other natural alternatives take very little effort. You can check Dr. Sears’ Private Label Supplements at Primal Force Supplements.

Again, I wholeheartedly recommend the Dr. Al Sears, MD newsletter.   I’m going to try  the Acerola Cherry and Marshmallow Root (tea) and see if they can handle what my intense allergies throw at them. I’ll let you know how it goes! If you’re looking for a more natural alternative to what ails you, be sure to keep your usual medication on hand, just in case. I’m anxious to try allergy supplements, but I have zero intention of being caught without Benadryl on hand.

Also, if you could possibly be allergic to any supplement or ingredient in that supplement, don’t even think about it. Look for your next alternative.

~ Joi

Acerola Cherry

Acerola Chewable Cherry Wafers

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to The Acid Reflux Diet

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A few members of my family have had nightmarish experiences with acid reflux. After watching what they go through, I marked this condition as one I pray I never experience.

I do, however, have a great source of information, help, tips, and recipes for my loved ones as well as you. It’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet and it can help sufferers enjoy eating and life again!

This is another one of the excellent “The Complete Idiot’s Guides” that I was sent to review.  I love these books so much, I have an entire book shelf that’s orange. I pass them around for others to enjoy, then they come home to roost on the shelf. I pluck them off regularly to find information or recipes.

Seriously, you should begin your own collection of these outstanding books.

If you or someone you know has acid reflux, by all means you’ll want to start your collection with The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet!

From the Back Cover:

If you live with acid reflux, you know how painful it can be – the burning, nausea, bloating, and sleepless nights.  But there’s good news! You can reduce and even eliminate your symptoms with a few healthy diet and lifestyle changes and enjoy eating again!

Packed with tips for treating and relieving your acid reflux- plus over 140 delicious recipes that won’t aggravate your symptoms – this helpful guide gives you everything you need to know to be free of acid reflux for good.  In it, you get:

  • A look at how your digestive system works, what causes acid reflux, and common symptoms you might experience.
  • Advice on keeping a food journal to help identify and eliminate your “trigger” foods.
  • Nutritional notes on the proteins, carbohydrates, and fats you need and how they can help – or hurt – in your battle against acid reflux.
  • Tips for preparing digestion-friendly foods quickly and easily at home, plus suggestions for avoiding reflux when dining out.
  • Over 140 mouthwatering recipes for acid reflux-free living, from breakfast to dessert.

Some of the chapters include:

  • What Causes Acid Reflux (a great education on the workings of the digestive system, who’s at risk for acid reflux, diagnosing acid reflux, when to seek help…)
  • Treating and Relieving Acid Reflux (includes herbal and plant-derived remedies, tips for sleep and managing stress, medications that help and medications that hurt…)
  • Weight Management with Acid Reflux (watching calories, the connection between acid reflux and weight, creating balance, healthy eating on a budget…)
  • Ensuring Your Success on the Acid Reflux Diet (protein and the Acid Reflux Diet, How much fat do you need?, good fat vs bad fat, carbohydrates, menu planning, exercise…)
  • Cooking and Dining Out Strategies (tasty flavor combinations, smart substitutions, “at the restaurant,” different cuisines, fast food, special occasions…)
  • Recipes for Reflux-Free Living (Breakfasts, breads, snacks, appetizers, sandwiches, salads, entrees, poultry, vegetarian main courses, pastas, grains, vegetables, desserts…)

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Acid Reflux Diet will set you up for success because the book, itself is set up for success.  Everything is spelled out beautifully and simplistically. Each chapter sums up what the reader has learned with a recap the author calls “The Least You Need to Know.”

Each time I read a Complete Idiot’s Guide, I think, “Why didn’t all those school books I read over the years use THESE authors and THIS approach?!”

If you or anyone you know experiences the evils of acid reflux, I strongly recommend this great book. I’ve used many of the recipes, myself, and I don’t even have acid reflux!  Click through one of the links for more information.

Check out the ridiculously impressive collection of The Complete Idiot’s Guides on Amazon. They cover just about everything you could possibly think of!

~ Joi

Listen to Your Body, It’s Trying to Tell You Something

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Plato Quote
Normally, I have a real fascination with irony.  Normally, there are few things that amuse me more than a deliciously ironic situation or occurrence.  I say normally because irony recently smacked me on the backside.

Without my consent.

As you may know, last month I decided to take part in a National Health Blogger’s Challenge.  Each day the blogger was to take the day’s “prompt” and write about something pertaining to health.  I was off to a smashing success and was having  a lot of fun with the process.  I was doing a lot of research about health-related topics, learning a lot of fascinating things, and generally having a great time with the entire process.

Then… what would irony dictate in such a situation? Exactly. I got sick.   Smack to the backside.

I won’t bore you with long details.  Long story, short – I had my thyroid removed in 1990 and, since that day, have had to take a daily supplement (a supplement to give my body what my non-existent thyroid cannot).  My daily medicine recently turned on me – giving me more than my body required.  This threw just about everything in my body off kilter and ultimately led to low iron and a host of other less-than-fun side effects.

For a few months, I haven’t felt totally like myself.  But you know how we wives and mothers are – the same things that would alarm us about our children and husbands.. we tend to overlook in ourselves.

  • Oh, I’m just tired…
  • I guess I haven’t been eating right…
  • Must be allergies…
  • I’ll give it another week…

When I realized that I had “enjoyed” recurring mouth ulcers for two months straight, I broke down and went to the doctor.  I would often have two HUGE mouth sores at once.  These weren’t your normal mouth ulcers, either.  I’ve had those before and, while they’re bad enough, these beasts were far worse. Once, I even got one on my tongue that looked like a small crater.  That dude hurt so bad, this non-drinker would have gotten snookered if it would have made me forget the pain for even 10 minutes.  Each time, in the middle of the night, as I sat on the bathroom counter putting Orajel on these sores, I’d think, “If I had access to hard liquor I’d drink until I thought I could fly.”

They were that bad.

Of course, since I have never drunk anything stronger than espresso, I’d probably think I could fly as soon as I opened the bottle.

Every meal hurt to eat, coffee hurt to drink, and life kind of sucked for a while.  I’d wake up in the middle of the night in hideous pain because my mouth would have dried out while sleeping and the sores would feel like salt had been poured into them.

Salt was actually one of the countless “home remedies” I tried – a particularly painful one.

In addition to the personal hell the mouth sores caused, I also had zero energy and – to use a highly technical phrase my daughters and I use when we don’t feel right –  simply felt “poopy” all day and all night.  I’d fall asleep at night right in the middle of favorite prime time television shows.  During the day, when I normally go back and forth between working in my home office and doing my regular housekeeping chores, I found myself not giving a dang about any of it. I normally go ALL OUT with Christmas decorations, but it was all I could do just to put the tree up this year.  And, believe me, that was a day long production.  Put a few limbs on… sit and play solitaire on my iPad… put a few decorations on…. lie down and recover.

I wasn’t ME and I wasn’t at all fond of the person impersonating me.  After all, I’m seldom ever still and this impostor seldom ever moved!

And all of this went down right in the middle of writing about health topics like how important it is to see a doctor regularly, how vital it is to take care of yourself, etc.

Smack. Right on the butt.

Ultimately, it was the mouth sores that led me and my hard head to the doctor.  Nothing like constant pain to break your will, is there?

The doctor was SO impressed with the size of the mouth sore I had at that time. I told him I was kind of lucky at that moment because I only had one. While he was admiring the size, I told him that it was actually the second largest one I’d experienced – that I’d had another one the size of Danny DeVito. He laughed and said he wished he’d seen that one.

I thought, “Me too.”  Then I probably wouldn’t have had the 3 that followed.

As my body and health begin to get back to normal, I’m realizing how puny I actually felt. How could I not have seen that something was wrong?!

That’s a question most of us ask in these situations, isn’t it?  We swear up and down that things “crept up on us” when the truth is, we knew it all along.  We just looked the other way.

Ladies, I honestly believe we are the worst about this.  It occurred to me when I was sitting in the doctor’s office – if one of my daughters or my husband had been experiencing painful mouth sores like I had, I would have dragged them kicking and screaming to the nearest doctor.  I’d have thought, “Something is wrong, here. This isn’t remotely normal.”

Yet, here I was the one going through it and I had a million reasons why I didn’t need to see the doctor.  Duh.

This would be a good time, in all fairness to my family, to point out that they had no idea I was going through all of this. If they had, they would have become impossible nags!  All they really knew was I’d had a few mouth sores.  They never saw how big they were and I did a great job of hiding the fatigue and weakness from them. Everyone always has a lot going on in their lives and I didn’t want anyone worrying about me.  Besides, I fully expected to start feeling like my old self any time.  After all….

  • Oh, I’m just tired…
  • I guess I haven’t been eating right…
  • Must be allergies…
  • I’ll give it another week…

Listen to Your Body

The body never lies.
In addition to my Self Help Daily, a food blog, and a cat blog, I have 9 other websites/blogs which happen to include a a Dream Interpretation Website.   Your’s truly is a dreamologist. Nothing crazy  like “You had a dream about snakes.. so you will be visited by bad luck…”  That’s nonsense.  What I do is “read” dreams – by “listening” to the dream symbols, the dreamer’s emotions during the dream, and other seemingly hidden details.  I can tell what’s behind the dream, as in what’s hidden in the subconscious mind.

And yet I couldn’t read what my own body was trying to tell me!  Or maybe I simply wouldn’t.

Either way, my mistake could have led to real trouble.  That’s why I’m writing all of this for you – on the off-hand chance there are other hard heads out there besides me.

If you find yourself EVER thinking, “I’m just not myself lately..” realize there is a reason for it.  Never allow this situation to continue for any amount of time.  After all, there are a lot of conditions that if (caught and treated early) won’t amount to anything, but if you ignore them, they can lead to something downright hideous.

In fact, because I let myself get so run down, I became an open invitation to a nasty bug that was going around.  I never, never get sick, but here I was – mouth sores, runny nose, bad cough, and the worst sore throat I’ve ever had in my life. It felt like I’d been gargling glass.

If I had gone to the doctor as soon as I realized I wasn’t myself, I’d have spared myself a lot of grief and pain.  It’s my hope that you’ll learn from my mistake and will always go to the doctor at the first sign of trouble.

Even if you find yourself feeling more tired than normal, don’t keep writing it off as something else.  What’s the worst thing that can happen? The doctor’s going to tell you your healthy?! If that were to happen – and I hope you’d swing by Starbucks to celebrate your good health – you still got information you can use.  If you get a clean bill of health, then you know that your lifestyle has to be held accountable. You aren’t getting enough rest, you need more nutrients, protein, and vitamins from food, or you’re running yourself ragged.

The trip to the doctor would have pointed you in the right direction.

Unfortunately, most of us try to weed out all of the things in our lifestyle, THEN go to the doctor.  The problem is, by then, we’ll just be more run down and if there IS a medical problem, it will have only gotten worse during that time.

Never take your health for granted. When it has been compromised, even slightly, you realize what a blessing good health is. Life is too delicious to spend one minute of it feeling less than your best.

Listen to your body. If it begins behaving in a way that’s alien to you, don’t make excuses, make an appointment.

~ Joi