Archive for the 'Health' Category

First, I’ll just admit to being a fool for marketing. I love all of it, from the mechanics to the mass psychosis a successful campaign can achieve. But, perhaps humorously so, I like to think of myself as cynical regarding sales. For instance, I can usually tell when someone’s trying to sell me something… and it doesn’t have to be a product or service.

But sometimes, without looking, I tumble into the deep end of the pool. That’s the way it happened with Activia. I love the way they targeted IBS sufferers. And Jamie Lee Curtis; how I fell for that commercial. Oh, the product contains probiotics and it works. But so do a lot of other, healthier yogurts. Organic yogurts without a ton of sugar.

I had already made up my mind to switch brands when I happened to read the word ‘carmine’ on the label. And when I did an internet search… well, to put it simply, carmine is bug juice.

Carmine is a colored pigment extracted from the female insect Coccus cacti or Dactylopius coccus, or their eggs. The insects live on prickly pear cactus in Mexico. The Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés brought the dye to Europe after seeing the Aztecs use it.

Because carmine comes from insects, some other color must be used if a product is to be labeled kosher.

It takes over a million of the insects to make a pound of dye. The insects are harvested when the females are about to lay eggs, at which time they turn a bright red color. The shells of the female insects are dried, then the color is dissolved in a solvent, and all of the insect parts are filtered out.

Carmine (or cochineal) is used as a food coloring, in cosmetics, and in paints.

I’ll be happy to paint with it, but as for eating it? I don’t think so…

A new study shows that there are many benefits of eating a diet rich in omega 3.

“As we age, hormone secretion and cell responsiveness decrease, possibly due to loss of cell membrane fluidity or alteration of the membrane,” said Dr. S. Mitchell Harman, MD, PhD, Director and President of Kronos Longevity Research Institute. “Animal studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids may help hormone signals get into cells whose cell membrane has been stiffened by age.”

We already knew that foods rich in omega 3 and 6 are good for us. But now we learn that omega 3 intake as we age is vital.

But what about mercury levels? I’ve heard horror stories of mercury poisoning by people who thought they were doing the right thing by eating fish 3 or more times a week. Well, the American Heart Association, the body that advocates eating fish at least twice a week… thinks the risk of mercury poisoning is outstripped by the benefits for older people.

For middle-aged and older men and postmenopausal women, the benefits of fish consumption far outweigh the potential risks when the amount of fish are eaten is within the recommendations established by the FDA and Environmental Protection Agency.

So, the AHA believes we older peeps can successfully take in more omega 3… and if we happen to get mercury poisoning… well, we are old, right? We’re going to go anyway…
Yeah. Good thing I don’t have a cam, because I’m giving the AHA a salute right now….

Fish with the highest levels of mercury are Shark, Swordfish, Tilefish (golden bass or golden snapper) and King mackerel. Salmon have the lowest levels.

A believer in both natural and pharmaceutical tools for healing, I nevertheless completely disregarded all holistic methods for gaining any sort of relief from the poison ivy on my right arm.

My only defense is how utterly miserable it made me; as if the swelling, pain and itching weren’t enough, those big bubbles started popping and yellow liquid [my fat, thanks very much] ran down my arm in rivulets night and day. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t even put a bra on; how could I think, for Dog’s sake?

So this afternoon I did the classic ‘I coulda had a V-8′ head tap: OATMEAL. I hadn’t turned to Mother Nature in my pain; after all, didn’t God give us everything we would need here on terra firma?

I used McCann’s Irish steel cut oats, though any would do, I’m sure. First reducing them to an even finer grade in the coffee grinder, they were cooked according to the directions and when cooled just enough, I made a poultice out of the paste on the effected areas, draped a wet towel over the mess and left it on for 30 minutes.

After I removed the oat paste, the first thing I realized was that the pain was gone! That was hours ago, and I’ve very little pain and oozing, and no itching! I’ve got another batch cooling right now, because if one treatment created that much of a miracle, then I should be turning handsprings come morning.
Or at least be able to put my bra on.

I don’t feel so good.

There are many poison ivy treatments; steroids, creams, antihistamines. But even with the marvels of modern medicne I wound up in the ER a few years ago because I scratched my arm so much it became infected.

Of course, I already blogged about Tecnu Extreme, and it really does work. But what if it’s too late? What if you wake one morning to find your arm swollen and red, little bubbles of fluid already formed, like I did yesterday morning?

Heat is a treatment that you won’t find many places. I’d heard years ago that extreme cold or heat could chase the histamines back from the skin, thus easing the pain and itching. Cold, even ice cube cold, doesn’t do it for me; I need heat. So I stick the offending appendage under the hottest running water I can stand for a minute, and there is no itching for up to 8 hours.

This particular treatment has worked the last few times the ivy’s jumped on me, and saved my sanity.

Disclaimer: If you try it, I am not responsible for the temperature of your water. You are the best judge of how much heat your skin can take before burning occurs.

I’m not this far along yet, but a couple of years ago: