Healthy Living

Migraine Headache Tips

If you’re getting a migraine, here are 4 things you can do that may help . . .

Take a walk. It relieves stress and stress can contribute to a migraine.
Drink plenty of water.
Warm your hands in a bowl of warm water to increase the blood flow to your hands and away from dilated vessels in your head.
Put a cold cloth on the back of your neck to take excess blood away from your head.

Changing your diet may help to avoid a migraine in the future. Foods that may trigger a migraine include . . .

White sugar
Red meat
Nuts and seeds
Safflower and canola oils

It’s difficult to make big changes to your diet. If you find you can’t quit these foods immediately, try to keep cutting back until you rarely eat them.

In addition to taking daily vitamins, here’s a list of extra supplements that have helped others . . .

Marilyn Kvasnok

Lead in Vitamins

Oct 23rd, 2008

by Marilyn.

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I found charts on The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website that talk about a safe/tolerable exposure levels of lead for women an children. Could there really be a SAFE and TOLERABLE exposure level of lead? I thought lead accumulates in the body. ANY level of lead sounds bad to me.

One chart lists the provisional total tolerable intake levels (PTTI) for children and adult women. That sounds like the amount of lead that’s OK, according to the FDA, if children and women ingest it every day. Another chart lists vitamin brands and the amount of exposure in a daily dose.

I checked for my vitamins. They aren’t on the chart. I’m relieved. But, I saw many brands that I recognize: Centrum, Flintstones, One A Day, The Vitamin Shoppe, Solaray, Puritan’s Pride, Twinlab, GNC, Solgar, Sundown and Viactiv. These are just a few of the brands on the FDA’s chart.

Our health is in our hands. Choosing a good vitamin may take a little research, but it will be well worth it over time. Look for a company you can trust – One that does research on the ingredients it uses, quality control tests on the products and has a good reputation. I found one that works well for me.

Marilyn Kvasnok

It’s Time to Take Control

Oct 3rd, 2008

by Marilyn.

1 comment

To this day, I have trouble throwing things away. Maybe I’ll wear it again – just to work in the yard. Maybe it has just one more use before it falls apart. Maybe someone else can use it. What is it? It’s everything in my possession.

My parents were always conservative. They taught me well. I remember mom carefully washing aluminum foil, then gently folding it so she could use it again. Clothes were handed down. Paper written on one side was recycled as shopping lists and note paper. Dad saved scraps of wood and other construction material to use later. I remember him pounding old nails to straighten them so he could use them again. My family was green long before it was popular. We just didn’t know it.

So, here I am, after years of being very conservative. What do I have to show for it? Closets and drawers FULL of stuff. It’s time to change my relationship with my stuff. When a friend was moving out of state, she threw out tons of stuff and had garage sales to sell the better things. I asked how she could part with all of it. Her answer was so profound, her words still ring in my ears. “I can give away the things I like, because I’m keeping the things I love.”

So, now it’s my turn. I’m cleaning with a new attitude. I’m going to throw out everything that’s worn out and broken. I’ll donate to my favorite charity. I’ll sell and give away some things. And . . . I’ll keep the things I love.

I’ll be thinking about all the time I’ll have when I’m not in the middle of all the clutter and memories. And, in the end, it’s time that is our most precious resource. It can’t be saved. It must be spent wisely. I’m committed to making every day worth the time it’s costing me.

For a new view on time, check out the Life Expectancy Calculator by Peter Russell.

Marilyn Kvasnok

Butter vs Margarine

Sep 15th, 2008

by Marilyn.

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I remember when I was growing up, we used butter. I was too young to question it, but I’m sure we used it because it was the accepted spread for toast, frying and other cooking and baking needs.

At some point, we all switched from butter to margarine. It had no cholesterol, so it was supposed to be the healthy alternative. And now, lots of years later, I’m considering switching back to butter. Here’s why . . . Today, margarine has some saturated fat and trans fatty acids – Neither of which are good. Plus, I’m not thrilled with the way it tastes.

And I keep hearing that margarine is just one molecule away from being plastic. I always thought “close” only counts in horseshoes and grenades, so I did some research.

Snopes comment on margarine being one molecule away from plastic is . . .
“These types of statements (even if they were true) are essentially meaningless. Many disparate substances share similar chemical properties, but even the slightest variation in molecular structure can make a world of difference in the qualities of those substances.” The article goes on to say that the same statements about Velveeta Cheese and Pam are false, too. Also, Cool Whip is not close to styrofoam and Cheez Whiz is not 2 ingredients away from garbage bags.

But, I’m not convinced that butter is better because butter has saturated fat. It’s more of a natural food than margarine, but it has cholesterol.

I did a little comparison shopping . . .

Land O’Lakes butter was $3.89 a pound. The ingredients are sweet cream and salt. Then, why does it taste waxy?

The store brand was $3.39 a pound. The ingredients are cream and salt.

An interesting alternative was butter from a local farm. It was a 2 pound roll of butter for $8.49. The ingredients are sweet cream and salt. It came wrapped in waxed paper and could easily be opened in the store. That bothered me. One of the rolls looked like it had already been unwrapped. Was it sampled (yuck!) or dropped?

Even so, I’m stongly leaning toward butter. And I like the one that’s locally churned. If I can purchase one from the back of the shelf that looks untouched by human hands, I just may give it a try.

Marilyn Kvasnok

The Fountain of Youth

Aug 12th, 2008

by Marilyn.

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How would you like to feel 25 years younger and live 25 years longer?

Doesn’t everyone dream of feeling younger and living longer? Don’t we all just want to live healthy and happy? I do.

I’ve been a caregiver for about 40 years. My first challenge was caring for my mentally handicapped daughter. She was happy in her own very limited world. In some ways, she acted like a teenager. She wanted to drive a big, blue van. She wanted a boyfriend. And she wanted to get married. Today would have been her 39th birthday. She passed away 7 years ago from undetected cancer.

I’ve also taken care of my aunt for over 20 years. She had rheumetoid arthritis that affected her whole body. And COPD that made it difficult to breathe. She never complained, but as the years went on, she could do less and less. She passed away a year ago.

And now, I’ve taken care of my mother for the last 7 years. After a series of strokes, she had brain surgery to correct the problem. The surgery left her very much like a stroke surviver. She has a very positive attitude and exercises every day to keep the mobility she has – And continues to improve.

So after all this time, I’ve learned there may be some things beyond our control. On the other hand, we can take steps to help prevent or at least delay the onset of disease. I’ve made a personal decision to take my vitamins every day. I have a protein drink and take some extra supplements. I exercise and walk more, even with my arthritis.

I tried drinking a little red wine several times a week, for the resveratrol. But, I really don’t like wine. Now, I found an anti-aging tonic. One teaspoon has the resveratrol equivalent of 100 glasses of red wine. I’ll be adding this age defying tonic to my daily routine soon. It just may be the single most important thing I do for myself. It may not be the Fountain of Youth, but it’ll be close. I’ll report on my progress here.

Marilyn Kvasnok