Ease Arthritis Pain by Changing Your Diet

Did you know that certain foods are actually inflammatory? That means they contribute to Arthritis pain. Simply avoiding those foods can greatly improve motion and comfort.

Best choice of anti-inflammatory foods are cherries and berries. Expensive in the winter months but that is also the time when the cold seems to make all the joints hurt just a little more. If you don't eat very much fish (omega-3s) which is also anti-inflammatory then add some fish oil or flaxseed oil or krill oil to get the needed relief.

I was reading the other day and found some data on nightshade produce. These would include white potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant. If you include these in your diet, you might try eliminating them for a month or more to see if you see some relief. For some unknown reason the nightshade family can increase arthritis discomfort. For a complete list of nightshade foods, you can check out www.arthritis.org and enter nightshade in the search box.

I was talking with a lady the other night who complained about her thumb having arthritis. She said she could no longer use it. I suggested she try adding Tumeric to her supplements and she said she didn't believe in that stuff. Her doctor had told her to just accept she had arthritis.

Her groceries included a bag of white potatoes, TV dinners, soda and cake. No fruits or raw vegetables.

I also want to point out that using that aching joint is helpful. I know it is tempting to just not move, but that is not an option. Be gentle but firm with your body. You must move.

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Came across this interesting tidbit about setting off alarms at airports and other security sites. Seems that if you are receiving any radioactive treatments, you look like a bomb.

MIAMI: When 75,000 football fans pack into Dolphin Stadium in Miami for the Super Bowl on February 4, at least a few may want to carry notes from their doctors explaining why they're radioactive enough to set off "dirty bomb" alarms.

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At my house, everyone has a cold or is suffering from Cedar Fever. In San Antonio cedar fever season affects about half the population. Fever, chills, sneezing, congestion, aches and grumpiness. Same symptoms as a cold or flu.

Most people just continue about their business so you don't know if they are coughing and sneezing allergy or cold germs at you. I had hoped that all the cold and freezing weather we have had would help the cedar fever but not so. And on top of that, just a little way away from us we have a huge compost heap burning. It has been burning for over a month and they just don't seem to be able to find a way to put it out. They had been putting water on it, but that turned out to be contaminating the ground water source. I love the term compost heap, -- it is a garbage dump.

Well, I am off to make me another cup of green tea with Echinacea. For more information on Arthritis see Answers For Your Health.com/Arthritis Help

until next time smile
Sharon
(c) Answers For Your Health

Hypochondriac?

Ran across this great book. I look at it as very funny reading. The full title is
The Hypochondriac's Pocket Guide to Horrible Diseases You Probably Already Have



Sadly there are really people who think they have every disease they read about. In movies and TV they are always given the comedy part and we laugh.

My self appointed job is to do research on health problems. I am looking for ways to get and stay healthy. So I read a lot of sad stories and a lot of hype. I see the miracle pill will cure anything sites and the doctor written nothing can cure you sites.

I must always spend some time each day re-affirming my own health. I could easily get sucked into one or another disease. Symptoms are so similar in so many diseases that you can imagine yourself having just about anything.

My oldest daughter for years wondered if she had a brain tumor every time she got a headache. Thank God, she has stopped that. According to the Law of Attraction, she was only bringing doom to herself.

I think a big part of being healthy is wanting to be healthy and talking as though you are healthy. It can be tempting to share your own aches and pains with the people you are talking with when they come out with their list of awful trials. Resist that temptation as you resist the excess sugar. Confirm your good health as you move your body in any form of exercise.

Take your supplement not to avoid a condition but rather to ensure your own good health. Say it out loud. I am taking this vitamin and mineral supplement to give my body what it needs to function at a peak level.

There are some who would say you should not read a book like this as your brain will accept it as a truth (the brain does not know the difference). I say read it and laugh. You can challenge anything you read or see. If everyone around you has a cold and you feel fine then just re-affirm that you feel fine and are very thankful for your own good health.

Just a side note -- if you put off buying those hand weights to restore your arms to their youthful appearance, not a problem. Just head for the cupboard and pick up two cans of vegetables of the same size and weight. That is one inexpensive way to see if you will do a routine on a regular basis. Remember, in your weight training, don't stress the same muscles every day, give them a chance to recover and burn away fat as fuel for that recovery.

until next time smile
Sharon
(c) Answers For Your Health.com

Ice Storm San Antonio Style

We have recovered from the ice and the roads are open. Wanted to send this picture of a rose in my yard.

The pot was under a drip off the roof. Would you believe the rose is still hanging on now that the ice has melted.

My Christmas cactus is gone and most of the ivy is black. My neighbor lost about half of his bushes - they were so heavy with ice that the branches broke.

We were without power only for very short times. The kids were happy as we had all the schools closed for 2 days.

I did little work on the computer because a house full of bored people can present many interruptions and the off again on again power was frustrating.

It was funny watching all the customers at the store. They bought water and flashlights and batteries and munchies. They almost became violent over the small amount of fire wood that we had for sale. Most of them were friendly and up beat looking forward to a day off. A few were extremely nervous and therefore angry and rude. There were complaints as we began to run out of items. The delivery trucks could not get to us because the highways were closed.

We have rain again today but the temp is supposed to stay above freezing at least here in town. As the wise man said - This too will pass.

until next time smile
Sharon
(c)copyright Answers For Your Health

Stressed - Let Someone Else Do It

After an accident, a woman stepped forward and prepared to help
the victim. She was asked to step aside by a man who announced,
"Step back please! I've had a course in first aid and I'm
trained in CPR."

The woman watched his procedures for a few moments, then tapped
him on the shoulder.

"When you get to the part about calling a doctor," she said,
"I'm already here!"

*********
I love this joke on more than one level. Today that level is stress. Are you trying to do more than you need to do? Is there someone else more qualified or even just someone who has a little more time than you do?

Why are you trying to do it all? Ok there is a question of self - esteem. You want those around you to know that you are the best. There is a question of control. They won't do it your way or to your specifications.

If in the past you have done it all, then THEY already know how good you are. Now it is time to step aside and let them have a chance to become great. You can even explain to them if necessary that you are stepping aside on any given issue to allow them to develop their skills.

Accept that what you try to control is in reality controlling you.

Unless you have some compulsive obsessive issues, it really is not that hard to let go of your way and see how someone else's way can work. It does not mean that you are less, it means that you are opening the time to advance yourself. It means that you are fulfilling the ulitmate purpose we all have which is to be - a teacher.

If you know CPR -- great. Use it when there is no doctor, use it while waiting for the ambulance. But, don't assume that no one else knows CPR and don't assume that you are the only one who can save the situation.

Personal note about me - I have a certain way that I clean the kitchen after a meal. No one else in my family does it quite the same. I have tried to do it all the time to avoid getting angry because it was not done to my specs. I have let go.

I do not like that the stove top is not wiped, but I remind the person who cleaned that wiping the stove is necessary to avoid food poisoning. I do not like that the floor is not swept but I have been told that since I sweep in the morning, why do it at night.

Since I work nights, there is no choice. Others in my family must cook and clean. Because I do not step in when I get home and fix what was left undone, I believe they are getting better.

My daughters clean like my mother did. I guess it is natural for every generation to rebel against the previous and do things different.

Will the house fall down because it is not cleaned my way? No and I have learned to turn a blind eye and I am a much happier person. You ought to see how well a 4 year old can make a bed!

until next time - smile
Sharon
(c)copyright Answers For Your Health

UK Smokers Beware

I look at medical news from all over. Usually I am concerned that the FDA in the USA is leaving the path of do no harm in favor of money. so what else is new. This little tidbit in the news is from the UK which has a government funded medical program that provides medical care to everyone. Those who live there and can afford it, provide themselves with a private medical insurance policy to insure they get care when needed.

Should Smokers Be Refused Surgery? Science Daily
Last year a primary care trust announced it would take smokers off waiting lists for surgery in an attempt to contain costs. In this week's British Medical Journal, two experts go head to head over whether smokers should be refused surgery. Read the entire article at Science Daily.


What happens when the insurance companies in the USA decide that certain people are too costly to receive care? Currently, they just raise the rates for everyone and double the rates for the high risk groups. They decline to cover certain procedures and or days in the hospital.

I see the potential for socially acceptable diseases and smoking and obesity do not fall into that group. This is a very good time to take the responsibility for your own health back into your own hands.

I for one, will do all I can to provide you with information. I will be reactivating the Supplements part of my Answers For Your Health web site and I will be adding a new category - Stress. It is a chicken and egg question. Stress is the ultimate cause of dis-ease and a deficient immune system allows stress to thrive and destroy. Control stress and improve the immune system, easier said than done, but I hope to give you some easy to do answers.

I start back on my old night shift hours this week. I did cut back to 10 pm instead of midnight or 1 am. That should allow me to get my needed sleep. I will still be watching the grandchildren during the day but with the holidays over and everyone returning to normal routines, I will be able to return my attention to this blog and my website.

I want to share a compliment I received during Christmas. I was working at the store. I had finished ringing the order and was loading the groceries into the lady's cart. We never have enough baggers for every register. The older woman remarked to her daughter about me having to load the 40lb bag of dog food and the 4 cases of sodas and well as the other stuff. I laughed and said no problem. She turned to me and said:"When you get to be my age you will understand why you can't do that anymore. I can hardly walk and I can't lift anything. Just wait. I am 52 and when you get to be my age you won't be able to do anything either." I just smiled at her and said I hoped she got to feeling better. I did not tell her that I am 59. I did not thank her for her unintended compliment. I wanted to tell her that changing her attitude would make a world of difference, but that is not my job --- at least not at the store.

until next time - smile
Sharon
(c)copyright Answers For Your Health.com