New Year Resolutions the Herbal Way

Once again it is time to reflect on the past year and determine what should be part of the new year and what should be left behind.

After 60 years of resolving to lose weight I don't even bother with that one.
I look back at old pictures and realize that I was not fat --- just not in style but I kept the thought that I was fat and lo and behold here it is.

So my resolution this year is to walk around the block a few more times than last year.

My overall health is good and I attribute that to diet and supplements. More days than I care to admit the supplements do more than the diet.

The medical world is finally coming around to admitting that chronic untreated inflammation is the ultimate cause of most disease. Now determining what is causing the inflammation is another thing altogether.

Some things are very straight forward. If you cut your thumb (as I did about 2 weeks ago) you can look at the wound and see if there is infection during the natural healing process.

The cut on my thumb was large and deep, the top of the knuckle. I wore a thumb brace for a week to stop my thumb from bending and opening the cut. It made using the computer almost impossible. I will have a rather large scar but no loss of mobility in the thumb. There is still some tenderness right in the middle where it is not totally healed.

Now for the first few days the thumb was quite swollen - that is inflammation. It is the natural defense of the body to protect the damaged site and allow for healing.

I don't intend to cut my thumb again so I should not have chronic inflammation there. (That is not to say I intended to cut my thumb the first time - like all accidents I was in a hurry and not paying enough attention to the can in my hand.) However I suppose it is a true fact that once damaged never as strong again.

My back for example is a chronic problem that my mind refuses to remember is a weak area. While getting the house decorated for Christmas, I moved a piece of furniture. Not a bad thing, except I was at an odd angle and the strain on my lower back was not a good thing. The resulting inflammation around the pulled muscle and the damaged muscle itself caused great discomfort. There was no position that was good. I could not sit for more than a few minutes and standing was no better. This also kept me away from the computer.

It seems to take longer for my back to heal after each episode of damage. Of course after 40 years of straining my back the major damage has been done and I will probably never have a strong back again. But I can keep the inflammation at bay.

I am a strong believer in Turmeric and it's ability to reduce inflammation. I use it daily as directed and can go up and down stairs without pain. For those of you who do steps one at a time you understand.

Most likely you will damage your body in the coming year. I don't know that the Turmeric will speed healing but it will reduce inflammation and pain. Like most herbs it is best used on a regular basis to build up to an effective point.

My other recommendations on supplements are vitamin D for your immune system, Milk Thistle for liver and Lecithin for the nervous system. There are many other herbs that support the body but those four top the list in my book.

The high note of today was from the Wii fit. We got the upgrade for Christmas. I have not been on the Wii for a couple of months so was dreading what it would have to say. Guess what - my Wii age is 42 in spite of being over weight.

My wish for your new year --- Love every day as if it were your last day and Live everyday as if you had many thousands of tomorrows to pay the consequences of your actions.

until next year - smile

Vacation and Supplements

September is here and that brings up vacation time for my husband and I. We purchased a condo week in Ruidoso, NM 20 years ago. I look forward to that week so much. I miss the mountains and the smell of pine.

The week following the condo we will do our trip to Hobbs, NM to see my husband's family. That is not a restful week. We split our time between his father's house, his mother's house and his sister's house. You just keep your suitcase packed.

As usual my husband refuses to allow a computer on the trip. Normally I would not object because everyone needs time away from the everyday activities. However, since I have not been on line this entire summer......

Oh well, keep peace in the family.

Over the next two weeks in preparation I will be making up little plastic bags of supplements. I know myself and the distractions so there will not be any 3 times a day. I will take my supplements when I take my thyroid pill in the morning. A two week trip fits nicely in a plastic shoe box size box with room for the bottles that are shared or that must be refrigerated.

It is a good exercise. It forces you to look at those bottles and refresh your memory as to why you take that pill. If you have not already sorted your supplements by with food or without food, now is the perfect time. Usually you will only have a few that should be taken without food, so those can be left in the bottles.

If you can find the snack size zip lock bags --- perfect. That size takes up less room. Of course if you roll the air out of the bags it helps.

I use zip lock bags to take just a few bags of tea rather than the boxes. I don't care for the mix of flavors you get when you mix the bags together so I put a few in a snack bag and mark the bag with the type of tea.

Plastic bags also work very well for holding toothbrushes, razors and bar soap. The little snack bags hold a good supply of q-tips.

If you have supplements that require refrigeration such as probiotics, you can put just what you will need in a snack size bag and they it will fit nicely into the space available at your family's home. If you only have what you need, then you don't have to remember to grab the bottle when you leave.

Vacations and long weekend trips don't have to mean giving up your supplements or having to take an extra bag just to hold all the bottles. You can even drop your prescriptions in the same daily bags ---- if they fit the same food no food criteria.

Another advantage to adding your prescription to the daily supplement bags is you will make sure you have enough of your prescription. If you are going to run out, get the refill now.

Supplements make your life and your health better. Don't let them put a damper on your vacation. Remember Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. Packets of pills just make the whole thing easier.

until next time - smile
Sharon
Answers For Your Health

Turmeric to the Rescue

I really did not plan on taking the entire summer off. But, a combination of surgery for the youngest daughter, wedding for the eldest, taking out the back yard swimming pool, youngest daughter's trip to South Korea, drought and extreme heat - well I guess I have to admit I am not as young as I once was.

Still I managed to help move over 40 yards of dirt from the driveway to the back yard to fill in the hole that was all that was left of the pool.

My Turmeric was truly a blessing. Since it reduces inflammation, joints that had to deal with wheelbarrows and their contents managed to continue day after day.

All in all, I think the biggest problem we had, other than running out of money, was the heat. Afternoons were always over 100 degrees and we went thru cases of water and Gatorade. I will have some pictures of the pool destruction posted one of these days.

One problem I had with the Turmeric was when I ran out and purchased a cheap brand at the grocery store. Just did not do the same relief. After a trip to the health food store and a better (and more expensive) brand of Turmeric I am running up and down stairs and opening jars with ease.

I even got my husband to start taking the Turmeric for his elbow. He had been going to the doctor and getting shots. He says his elbow does not hurt except when he tries to lift something heavy. He has only been taking this supplement for 3 weeks. Good stuff.

I will do my best to get back in the habit of posting. There is still so much going on around here and I admit to going for days without turning on the computer.

until next time -- smile
Sharon
Answers For Your Health

Why take that supplement?

Do you know why you take that supplement? Yes, the one in your hand right now. Or is it just that you have taken it for so long that it is just part of your routine?

Do you take a Lecithin supplement? You can take it in capsule form or sprinkle granules on cereals or soups. You get some naturally as part of your brewer's yeast, whole grains, legumes, fish and wheat germ.

Can you take too much? I doubt it. Lecithin is a lipid that is needed by every living cell in your body. Cell membranes are mostly composed of lecithin. The protective sheath around your brain is composed of lecithin.

Lecithin contains B vitamin choline, linoleic acid and inositol. It is a lipid but is partly soluble in water and acts as an emulsifying agent.

What parts of the body does it help? Easier to say what it does not help.

Let's see, helps to prevent arteriosclerosis, improves brain function, guards against heart disease, improves energy, helps repair the liver.

Lecithin enables fats (bad cholesterol) to be mixed in the water in your body and thereby removed from the body preventing that dreaded fatty buildup in the arteries.

I remember years ago when I was in my very early 20's. My grandmother told me to take a Lecithin supplement. She said it was the most important pill I could take. She lived into her late 80's and was still driving herself around and working on the family genealogy until the end - and still taking her lecithin everyday.

If you don't take Lecithin, start. It becomes even more important as we age. If you are like my mother-in-law and can't swallow pills, just get the granules and sprinkle away.

until next time - smile
Sharon
Answers For Your Health

Placebo Effect

It is big news in the medical world - doctors admit to prescribing placebos for some patients and those patients are not happy.

That seems to me that those people were unhappy because they were not sick in body. For whatever reason they felt the need to be sick.

On the other hand, what if they really were sick. Some doctors still scorn fibromyalgia in favor of hypochondria.

In this world of too many drugs with too many side effects, maybe a placebo is the best medicine. At least it can do no harm.

Years ago, my doctor at the time, scorned my use of supplements. He wanted me to stop taking them and instead go on prescriptions. I argued that those supplements worked and he angrily proclaimed that anything will work if you believe in it. Exactly. Most supplements are strong medicine. They make a difference and are well worth the effort.

Perhaps the most important thing for all of us to remember is to believe in health. Stop worrying about getting sick or old. Live today just as healthy as you can.

I ran across an old article I published a few years ago. It is worth reading again.

Thanks

In every day there is time to say thanks and there is a real need to remember all our blessings - all the good things that help to offset all the not so good things that we must deal with everyday.

Oh yes - go take your supplements.

until next time - laugh out loud
Sharon
Answersforyourhealth.com

Managing Your Health Supplements

We have talked about sorting your supplements and prescriptions into groups with and without food, once a day and multiple times a day. You now have all those bottles sitting in their own little box marked with or without food. Or maybe you have several boxes - with or without food, morning or multiple times a day.

May I suggest a simple system to easily identify what is which. It is a color system. You can buy the colored dots - often used in yard sales or fingernail polish or even paint. I personally like the colored dots. You can easily stick a dot on the lid or label of the bottle.

This is an especially effective method for older people who have memory lapses or are just too busy to keep track of what and when. A piece of paper with the colored dots and the description of each color can be posted on the inside of a cupboard door or a medicine cabinet door in the bathroom. The time to take the pill can also be added to the description.

It is a good idea to set a specific time to take your pills. In a busy constantly interrupted life it is easy to question if you took your pill or not. This is especially deadly with prescriptions. Something as simple as blood pressure pills can produce very bad results if not taken properly. Skipping days or worst taking more than desired can place great hardship on your body.

Other than with or without food, most supplements can be taken anytime of the day. The exception of course would be anything that increases energy -- you would not want to take this at night before bed.

Most people take a handful of pills with breakfast. If your stomach rebels at the thought of breakfast or swallowing anything but coffee before 10 am, then adjust your supplements accordingly.

Just a side note here. Breakfast is truly the most important meal of the day. Breakfast does not have to be a cereal and milk. The incredible egg is a great choice. Studies show that protein in the morning increases weight loss when you are trying to slim down.

Oh yes, I did say something about traveling with multiple supplements. Simple, and a system some use everyday even at home. Sit down one evening or morning and sort all the pills into little zip lock snack bags. Make a morning and afternoon bag, food and no food - that is 4 bags a day unless you just have one pill that must be taken without food. Since most supplements are taken with food, most of you will only need 2 bags a day. You can store all your small bags in one large bag that takes up little room in a suitcase or cupboard.

You can toss that one bottle of without food pills in the larger bag. Again you can use the colored dots to identify the morning bag from the afternoon bag.

For my mother, we made up the bags twice a month and stored them in a shoe box. We included her prescriptions that were once or twice a day. Her morning bag had a pink dot and the afternoon had a blue dot. The time to take it was written on the dot. The dots were also numbered 1-15. I had her save all the bags and we reused them. That appealed to her frugal side and kept her in touch with the date. Once we went to this system there were no more problems with her taking her prescriptions too often. If you have a care giver coming in once or twice a week, this system can be helpful to them as well.

With more and more older people living alone, this method can be a life saver. Living alone can be very lonely and the desire for conversation can be an incentive to sit twice a month and make up the bags.

You can also buy plastic boxes with little divided sections. The lids of each section are numbered. I have seen them large enough to hold a weeks worth of prescriptions. However, they are not usually large enough to hold the capsules of herbal supplements as well.

At the end of the day,whatever method you use, as long as it works for you it is a good method.

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.
Lance Armstrong
Cancer Survivor and Athlete

until next time - smile
Sharon
AnswersforYourhealth.com

Women need more Choline

Another must have to reduce the effects of aging.

-- Women need more choline (a nutrient that is
needed for cell membrane formation and to make
the neurotransmitter acetylcholine necessary for
brain function) after menopause or are at risk
of liver and muscle damage.

from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition May 2007

Disturbing news on the cervical cancer front.

Pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix risk developing into tumours more than 25 years after treatment, according to a study published online Friday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The Swedish study followed women with severe dysplasia or CIS of the vagina and found they were nearly seven times as likely to have cancer as the general population, but this risk decreased to less than threefold, 25 years after treatment.

Women with cervical lesions were more than twice as likely to develop invasive cancer of the cervix as the general female population, and the risk rose with the age at diagnosis, especially among women aged more than 50, the paper says.

The good news in all of this----If you make it past the 25 year mark your odds for avoiding cancer go up. Lets look at this from another angle. We know that stress, life style, eating habits and exercise go hand in glove with cancer.

If you have experienced a CIS diagnosis then you need to revamp your life style to avoid a more sever diagnosis in the future.

Women spend their entire adult life cycle taking care of things; other people, multiple jobs, children, a home, the yard, pets in all shapes and sizes. The stress level can be killing level high.

Women teach other women to sacrifice their own health and well being for others. It doesn't have to be that way. Letting your children stand on their own feet is a good thing. Encouraging a mate to help with chores and responsibilities is a good thing.

Ladies -- if you have always taken care of everything to the detriment of your own health ---- what happens when you get really sick and can't take care of things. Who will have the knowledge to step into your shoes?

Lets end this on a lighter note, after all humor is the best medicine in your life.

LOVE IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL

Jim and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Jim suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there. Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out.

When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act, she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable. When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged; since you were able to rationally respond to a Crisis by jumping in and saving the life of another patient, I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness.

The bad news is, Jim, the patient you saved, hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead."

Edna replied, "He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?"

Got this joke from my favorite EFT site. If you are looking for a good place to start improving your life, please check out EFT.

until next time smile
Sharon

Fasting - The Secret to Brain Health

In the beginning people fasted because they couldn't find any food that day.

All of the world's religions have a tradition or commandment to fast one day a week.

Our enlightened society here in the US and in other more "advanced" cultures, we have given up this practice.

Perhaps we need to rethink this. In a report from Dr Blaylock one of the tips to remaining young was fasting.

12. Once a week, you should fast at least until dinner. Fasting once a week has been shown to dramatically slow brain aging and accelerate repair of this essential organ. Experiments have demonstrated that fasting causes the brain to generate growth-stimulating chemicals (brain growth factor and epithelial growth factor) that promote healing of damaged neurons.

Remember on the day that you fast - you must drink lots of water. You may have tea without sugar. You can also have a couple of cups of coffee but no creamer and no sugar.

Artificial creamer has some really bad stuff in it that promotes weight gain and inflammation. We all know that we consume too much sugar. And definitely stay away from that chemical sugar - that just kills your brain. Try experimenting with honey and stevia. The taste is different and takes some getting used to but once you become adjusted you are just adding to the ability of your body to remain healthy.

The entire list is posted at Tips to Stay Young

For a different list check out Fruits and Vegetables and What They Protect You From