Day 23 and Day 24: Closed until Monday

I went back to my doctor and I am on antibiotics now. I will not post anything over the weekend so I can concentrate on getting well soon.

Write to you on Monday, Maija

Day 21/22: An Apple A Day.....

Hello Dear Readers:  I have been eating an apple a day......but,

I still can't seem to shake off this chest cough.   I admit I haven't used the puffer after the first two days (from a week ago) because it was steroid based and I ended up with most of the side effects e.g., headaches, hoarseness and ironically coughing. Apparently there is a bad virus going around. My husband has colleagues who have come down with something similiar. Double click the image below to see what I am talking about.

 I will return to the doctor at the end of the work day. I will post a new entry this evening.  In the meantime, look after yourself!

Day Twenty-One: I Do......Tips For the " Marrieds"

What do hormones have to do with getting along with your spouse in marriage?  I will check in later tonight with details from today's Dr. Oz show. 

I have been rushing around all day and all evening so I am going to take the time to eat mindfully and return shortly to share what research Dr. Oz has dug up along with his panel of experts. 

Did you know that 63% of women will gain weight after getting married? My husband joked, "..maybe women are better off single".

Will Kate lose her svelte body a year from now?

Today on Dr. Oz, a leader from Weight Watchers, along with Dr. Oz shared tips to help couples keep weight off by eating healthy, working out together and supporting each other's weight loss goals together.

Once a single person becomes married, he or she is no longer preening and on the prowl.  You get off the market and overeat at the market!  It is easy to get so comfortable with one another and slip into unhealthy habits and a sedentary lifestyle.

To avoid falling in that trap, couples need to encourage one another to look after themselves by making healthy food choices, making exercise part of their together time and cheering each other towards better living.

Here is the deal on hormones and marriage c/o Dr. John Gray.  Dr. Gray was a guest on Dr. Oz today.  He is a long-time marriage counsellor and author of many best selling self-help books e.g., Venus and Mars series about relationships.  His latest book looks at the ways in which hormones shape the relationships between men and women.

For example, women operate on a 28 day or monthly hormonal cycle.  Women crave oxytocin  (e.g., nurturing gestures, cuddling, affection)  to help keep their stress hormones at bay, keep calm and to stay balanced. Oxtoycin does the opposite in men. It puts them to sleep.

Men have a seven day hormonal cycle where their testosterone builds up, peaks, is hopefully released (you know what I mean) and then the weekly cycle re-starts. Men who "get it" 2-3 times a week live twice as long as their male counterparts who are not as active). 

 (No wonder the modern day woman is tired. Not only do we bring home and cook the bacon, scrape and scrub the pan after everyone has consumed the bacon,   we have to keep everybody's fires lit for the sake of  male health).

Why do men crash at the end of the day and lounge around on the couch, too tired to pitch in or carry a conversation? Their testosterone is down and they need thirty to sixty minutes to rebuild their bodily levels. Women come home after a long day and want the feel good hormone, oxytocin to come to the rescue. They want to talk about their day, connect and soak up mutual caring.

What should Kate do after she has had long day and comes home to William vegging out on the couch?  Meanwhile, the house is a disaster, the sink is full of dirty dishes and there is a long to do list before bed-time.

 Dr. Gray said this dilemma is very common.  Kate needs to directly state to Will what she wants, "Will, would you take out the trash?" rather than asking, "Could you empty the dishwasher?"

What if Kate comes home and is super edgy?

What should Will do?

 Dr. Gray mentioned women are prone to mood swings when they skip meals and become hungry.  Blood sugar lows and highs create irritability in women.  Dr. Gray shared a recipe filled with a variety of protein nutrients to keep blood sugar balanced for women throughout the day.

Of course, Kate and Will are not the greatest examples of your everyday couple. If they need a helping hand, they can call one of their many personal assistants. 

However, Dr. Gray makes a concrete point. 

 Male and female biology influence behaviour but this doesn't excuse  behaviour.  Why not, work with these hormonal differences to find a middle ground where a couple can relate to one another regardless of "the his or her" hormones raging in the body.

Speaking of hormones, my female body is telling me she is tired. As it is nine p.m., I am calling it an early night and wishing you all a good night!

Bon nuit!

Day Twenty: U Turns, Detours, Short-Cuts...Map Your Way to Health

After heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death in North America.  Time to put on the brakes of some things many of us do every day that may be slowly contributing to the demise of our health. 

Dr. Oz revealed five habits that could lead to cancer and gave suggestions on what you can do to stay on the right track to good health.

The first wrong turn is overdosing on Vitamin E supplements.  Vitamin E is an antioxidant that is correlated to prevent lung cancer.  Too much Vitamin E in the body can damage DNA, become an anti-anit-oxidant and increase your risk of cancer.

 Instead, try to get your daily recommended intake of vitamin E in your diet. Dr. Oz suggested pistachios as an excellent source of vitamin E.

Wrong turn number two is not eating at the same time every day.  Our body goes into stress mode if we eat erratically by increasing our stress hormone, cortisol.  This leads to spikes in insulin, which causes inflammation and can up our risk of many cancers. 

Following a regular meal schedule helps ward off insulin highs and keeping a healthy snack with you in case your meal-time gets delayed such as an apple, keeps hunger away.

Number three wrong turn is not brushing and flossing our teeth regularly.  Once bacteria collects in our mouth, plaque forms leading to inflammation of the gums which increases the chance of cancer anywhere in the body. 

 Brush for a few minutes and floss every day.  In the past, my kids have used an egg timer, flipping it over so that they know when their three minutes of brushing is done. 

Not getting an adequate amount of sleep is the number four wrong turn which can lead to cancer.  This was studied recently and I have heard this statistic cited in a few sources that people who get less than six hours of sleep a night have a 50% higher chance of developing polyps in the colon that can become cancerous. Without enough sleep, our body does not produce enough melatonin which acts as an anti-oxidant and keeps cancer away. 

Dr. Oz came up with a great idea: set an alarm clock that goes off when it is time to go to bed. Get into a regular bedtime routine.

Last but not least, number five has to do with eating too many low-fat foods.  Those packaged diet fat free foods are usually overpacked with simple sugars and refined carbs (fillers) in order to replace the flavour from fat.  These fillers wind up spiking insulin levels in the body and can lead to weight gain and the insulin increases can bring on cancer-causing inflammation. 

 Indulge in healthy fats in moderation since these products contain Omega-3s which have been connected to protecting your body against cancer.  Better to eat a full-fat portion of a cookie or other product as a treat once in a while.  You know how much fat a regular cookie contains and you will not get hood-winked thinking that the low-fact snack product is better for you.

After watching this segment, my belief is that a holistic approach to good health is the way to go.

Encompassing healthy food choices, eating in moderation, not having too much or too little of a good thing, dental hygiene, counting the hours of sleep we get, avoiding diet foods that appear good for us but have poor ingredient substitutes and having a meal routine that our body can count on.

Health is about making a full circle from our individual starting points to where we want to end up.

 Hoping for many look-out vistas and rest-stops along the way.  We can get where we want to go by making better choices rather than winding up at a dead end.

Even when we make a wrong turn, the beauty about the human condition is that we can reverse, head out in a new direction and discover unventured trails.

Day Nineteen: I Love Me....I Love Me Not

 Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen reported in their "Real Age" e-mail newsletter, that a recent study revealed that high self-esteem may help lower the body's stress response. 

Is this why some people never seem to get sick?

What is self-esteem?  How do you know if you need to build "feel good about yourself" equity?   Would that dream job, perfect body or have to own it car be what you need to boost your self-love quota? "If only I lose x amount of pounds, I will be happy". "If I only land that promotion, I will be content".

Time to dig a little deeper into the roots of what real self-esteem is all about.

Can you boost your immunity and feel better physically if you feel good about yourself?

If you are kind to yourself then your body can handle stress better.  People who rated themselves as having high self-esteem had lower heart rates.  How can you improve your self-esteem?

Dr. Oz suggests five simple steps to a happier you and a happier life.

One, make time for a favourite past-time of yours every day e.g., listen to music, sitting in silence.  Having something fun just for yourself to look forward to can help balance out satisfaction and stress.

Two, stick with your work-out plan even when you are feeling low. It will strengthen your immunity and produce mood-boosting hormones. 

Three, practice stress-reduction strategies.  Try deep-breathing, yoga or meditation.  A brisk ten minute walk in the fresh air is a better choice than junk food when you are feeling anxious.

Four, volunteer or reach out and help others with an act of kindness.  Generosity, offering up your time and spirit  improves your well-being.

Five, spend time with your family, colleagues or friends at least once or twice a month.  Sharing a laugh or two,  getting support with the ups and downs of life, helps give you a balanced perspective to cope when the going gets tough.

Speaking from example, when I look after my own needs without feeling guilty with the mom/wife/teacher/grown child hat I wear, I am less prone to sickness and I am happy and relaxed. 

If I am busy trying to please everyone else in my circle, from family to succumbing to work pressures and start neglecting my basic needs e.g, from having enough sleep, to giving myself an uninterrupted lunch to personal time, I wind up getting stressed (and often come down with something). 

Be it a day in, day out crisis, from not finding your car keys to a squabble with  a family member. Or a larger life drama, such as going through a divorce or sick family member, your self-esteem is put to the test.   How do you surface when you are caught up in a melee?

When you are on an airplane, the flight attendant always reminds passengers travelling with young children, to put on their oxygen mask before attaching their children's masks.  Rescue workers such as lifeguards make sure that they are secure in their positioning before they throw out their life buoys or perform daring acts.

I once went to a stress management conference for educators.  The guest speaker gave suggestions on how to manage one's workload and time when it came to over burdening oneself with more commitments than one could handle.  Women often find themselves being super agreeable, saying yes to another request to meet other peoples' needs while neglecting their own well-being. 

"I would rather turn you down than let you down". Great line to remember before you run yourself down.

Cashing in on inner peace requires one to make a conscious effort to make some changes in one's life,.  Identify your individual stresses and think about what action you can take next time you are tempted to react.  "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change".

   The biggest reward of having high self-esteem is inner peace. Peace begins with ourselves. 

My first marriage was a decade long and it ended in divorce, nine years ago. At the time, I purchased a fridge magnet with a quote on it which helped me through my years as a single parent. Although I am remarried, I often re-read this special quote which sums up what self-esteem and peace are about:

"Peace - it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart (Anon)".

 A calm heart is a healthy heart.

Spoken from the heart,

Maija

Day Eighteen: Part Two: Organic vs. Non-Organic

On the Dr. Oz website, you can go into his TV show archives and find tons of past programs.  On his Dec. 2nd/2010 show Dr. Oz asked the question: Organic Foods: Spend or Save?  He looked at packaged foods, their relative costs and did taste test comparisons with members of the audience while pointing out the benefits of when to buy packaged organic foods.

Four Items on Dr. Oz's Organic Shopping List

1. Peanut butter- organic peanut butter does not use pesticides in the cultivation of the peanuts

2.  Cereal- organic breakfast cereal does not use genetically modified soy or corn nor pesticides

3. Ketchup - organic ketchup has 2x the antioxidants as regular ketchup

4. Frozen Meals -more nutritional content.

On June 10/2010 Dr. Oz inquired, "What's In the Nation's Chicken?" In order to increase growth and limit parasite growth in the organs of chickens, anti-biotics and hormones are used to super-size the chickens and inorganic arsenic is used to prevent intestinal parasite growth in chickens.  The FDA in the States allows the use of both antibiotics and something called roxarsone to be injected in chickens.  It's a balancing act between benefits and risks to the consumer.

So when do you splurge and go organic?  Dr. Oz on his Oct. 27/2010 show created three simple rules for when you should spend your green to go green.

1. When the skin is thin on fruits or vegetables then it is difficult to remove high levels of pesticides even after washing. Go organic examples: apples, strawberries, grapes, peppers, celery, pears, carrots and potatoes.

2. Go green with leafy greens. Examples: all lettuces and greens such as spinach and swiss chart.

3.  Milk. In regular milk, not all the hormones and antibiotics are washed out before we drink it.

Where do you find the cash to buy organic when the piggy bank is dry?

Best advice is to keep a spending habits diary over the course of two weeks. 

 If you are blowing cash on take-out designer coffees, take-out lunches, the latest gossip magazines, a new pair of shoes (even though you own thirty pairs of shoes that you only have worn on one or two occasions), the latest electronic gadget (even though the one you bought seven months ago still works perfectly fine and meets your needs), seventy dollar anti-wrinkling cream, a couple of drinks on the licensed patio (a block away from your own deck or balcony), if you have got to get that new paint job done even though your current bathroom wall colour is liveable, if you purchase designer kids' duds that your little one will grow out of before it wears out..... could easily free up sixty to hundred bucks a week to buy some things organic.

I used to highlight my hair blond at a discounted hair salon every six to eight weeks.  I went back to my natural colour and that is saving nearly one-hundred dollars every month and a half.

Take a closer look at your money in and your money out.  Including the discretionary expenses that we forget to add up because it cost us pennies.

Or as the author of this blog (who drives a five year old, barebones non-descript, automatic car with roll up windows and manual door locks and,proud owner of a nine-year old cell phone), it is a question of priority if you have a middle-class income. 

 That being said, if you work for minimum wage, live below poverty level or are experiencing financial hardship, then the affordability of organic food may be out of reach.  I have heard of investigative journalists who try to live off of food bank donations for a month and most of the food is canned or boxed, little is fresh and it is a challenge to make the food stretch for a week without going hungry.

My parents, former refugees from Latvia who have lived in Canada since the late 1950's pinch their pennies and grow their own organic produce every year in their garden.

One option is to grow your own organic fruit and vegetables by starting with a small garden plot in your own backyard. If you live in a high-rise, you can do container gardening on your balcony or windowsill. No green space near you? In the City of Toronto, you can rent out a city owned garden plot for a season.

Time to find our green thumb and find a way to make organic food possible and plausible in our lives!

To be or not to be organic?  Make sense out of your cents.  Take somethings that are "wants" out of your weekly purchases.  Exchange them for some needs: organic food items.

Day Eighteen: Part One : Can Only the Rich Afford Dr. Oz?

A legitimate, controversial question:  Getting healthy and maintaining one's health.....is this a luxury only the rich can afford??

Fresh food, buying organic, supplements........all of these things add up. 

I switched to buying primarily organic  fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy a year and a half ago after my Dad came down with cancer.

Compare prices and depending on the product, an item, be it a staple or perishable grocery product, is nearly double the cost when you buy organic.

Farmed salmon has been fed cornmeal as Dr. Oz pointed out on Friday, and as a result, is not a good source of Omega 3. Wild salmon is what he recommended since wild fish feed on algae and other sea vegetation, all of which adds up to a healthy diet with lots of Omega 3 fish flesh. 

Wild salmon is much more costlier than fresh. 

Supplements such as those time-release vitamins, that are naturally derived as opposed to synthetically derived cost more. 

 I bought a book called "The Anti-Cancer" book, spoke to cancer survivors who swore their oncologists told them to buy fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy organic and watched the documentary Food Inc.  After reading about growth hormones and synthetic chemicals that are injected or added to our food, I made the switch.

Later today, I will research what Dr. Oz thinks about organic food and the cost of good health.  In the meantime, I highly recommend that you rent the DVD Food Inc. 

It's a straight up film that goes behind the scenes of food production, looking at how chickens and cattle for example, are raised in America. It looks at grain farming and why it is more profitable for the American farmer not to be organic.  It also interviews a family in California who have most of their meals at fast-food take out joints because they are fed and kept full. Rather than buying expensive fresh food at the grocery store where they get very little for their buck.