Category: Health & Wellness

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Staying Hydrated – 7 Ways to Drink More Water

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WaterDrinking enough water is always important for our health and well-being. It’s especially critical in summer heat or when working outdoors. The standard recommendation is 8-10 (or more) 8 ounce glasses per day. Here are 3 reasons to drink enough water every day.

  • In general, our bodies need water to function and drinking more helps your body operate more effectively – including your immune system.
  • Drinking water improves cognitive function which means we are more aware of our actions and their impact. That helps us make healthy and safe decisions.
  • Adequate hydration can relieve headaches, improve weight maintenance and weight loss, and give us more energy.

The Warning Signs of Dehydration

We hear frequently that we need to avoid dehydration; do you know what to watch for that indicates you may be dehydrated? Be aware of these symptoms:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Headaches
• Elevated body temperature
• Dry/chapped lips and tongue
• Dry skin
• Water retention problems
• Muscle or joint soreness
• Hoarse voice
• Constipation
• Restlessness
• Muscle cramps
• Low-volume and/or dark-colored urine
• Light-headedness and loss of energy

Seven Ways to Drink More Water

Here are some great ideas to help you increase your water intake every day.

  1. Drink Water Before Every Meal, Snack and Cup of Coffee or Other Beverage
  2. Make Infused Water – It adds flavor and may make drinking more appealing. The simplest way is to add wedges of lemon or lime to your water after squeezing some of the juice into your glass. You can also experiment with fruits, vegetables and herbs to find flavors that you especially enjoy.  Read more about doing this here: https://carolbrusegar.com/infused-water-for-health/
  3. Choose a Cup or Bottle You Love to Use – It’s not just appearance, but functionality. You want it to be easy to hold onto while walking. If you drive a lot, you want it to fit perfectly in your cup holder. Depending on your activities, you may want other features. For example, if you bike, you may want a tight lid, but one that is easy to pop off when drinking while riding. You also want the size that contains the amount of water that you need.
  4. Limit Other Drinks You Consume – You can still consume juice or soda occasionally but get in the habit of going first for water when thirsty.
  5. Dilute Juice When You Have It – If you add 4 ounces of water to 8 ounces of juice, you are adding to your day’s water intake as well as reducing your calories, carbs and sugar for that drink.
  6. Enjoy Fruits and Veggies With High Water Content – this can augment your consumption on days when you have not had as much water.  Those with high water content include cucumbers, grapefruit, apples, pineapple, lettuce, celery, radishes and watermelon.
  7. Try Some Water Drinking Reminders Throughout Your Day – If you get into the habit of drinking a glass of water in connection with things you regularly do, you won’t forget to drink enough water. For example, drink a glass of water:
  • Before every meal, snack and other beverage as mentioned earlier
  • When you wake up
  • Before or after walking or workouts
  • After every trip to the bathroom
  • Every time you enter your office or home

Track Your Intake

As you are trying to increase your water intake, it can be very helpful to track it on a daily basis until it is so much a routine that you no longer need to it. It can help to track for a couple of days before you begin to increase intake so that you have an idea what you ordinarily consume. Choose an easy way to track it for you – a notepad or planner, an app on your phone, a program on your computer.

Remember your goal is 8-10 glasses (8 ounces each) per day. Staying hydrated is important to our health all the time, and even more during the heat of summer. It’s a simple way to increase our general health.

Have a pitcher of infused water in your fridge at all times. Check out these Infused Water Pitchers

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be.           

Follow me on Twitter!     Follow me on Instagram!   Follow me on Pinterest!

                                    Follow me on Facebook!         Visit my Etsy Shop!

 

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Who Else Feels Life is Getting More and More Surreal?

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Who Else Feels Life is Getting More and More Surreal?
surrealSurreal: “resembling a dream; fantastic and incongruous”

Yes, that’s how I feel these days. Somehow just about everything is different. Is it real?? An 88 year-old friend says she’s never experienced anything like this. And that says a lot.

Whether it’s increased isolation of seniors living alone or in assisted living facilities or nursing homes, or students whose sports and musical competitions are being cancelled, or parents struggling to make arrangements for their children when schools close for periods of time, it hardly seems real.

As with so many things in life, balance is important. Neither listening constantly to media about the outbreak nor ignoring it entirely are advisable. Find and use a trusted source for information and advice. Many advise that our bottom line sources should be the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html) or your state health department. If the media sources you are using don’t refer to those sources, check elsewhere.

Beyond the precautions being recommended, I suggest considering these additional things:

  • Establish some personal and/or household intentions about how you will come through this challenge. They may have to do with accomplishments, relationships among you and with others, future plans or other areas you may
  • Look at ways to make positive use of the restrictions. It is all too easy to slip into fear, anxiety, depression, or a combination of them all because of the changes. How can we use the additional time at home in ways that lift our spirits and other people’s spirits? This includes staying in contact and increasing contact through phone calls, cards, letters, online contact (Face Time, Skype, Facebook, etc.) with others who are feeling isolated and depressed. I think particularly of those older people at home alone or in nursing homes or care facilities.
  • Think of things you and others in your household enjoy doing or want to do at home but never seem to have time for. Reading, watching movies, listening to each others’ favorite music, playing board games and art/crafts are always good. How about setting up some challenges around these or other activities to provide something to work toward? This is a more positive way to think about this rather than just “filling time.”
  • Take on tasks and projects that have been put off over and over. These can become challenges to complete and see as accomplishments during this time. The obvious ones are cleaning out and arranging closets and garages. You may gather things to be given away to others or contributed to organizations helping those in need. It may be rearranging rooms or special cleaning projects. Writing and posting a list of the things you will do from the above suggestions where you can see it and check off accomplishments as well as add new ideas is useful.
  • Journaling during this time can be very helpful. Reflecting on our situation and how we handle it will both record these times for the future and help each of us work through our feelings, challenges and frustrations. Writing is so powerful; take time to do it yourself and encourage others to do the same.
  • Practice Hygge principles. Although Hygge is often connected with surviving winter in cold climates, the principles have to do with creating “a quality of coziness (= feeling warm, comfortable, and safe) that comes from doing simple things such as lighting candles, baking, or spending time at home with your family.” You can read more here: https://carolbrusegar.com/hygge-art-of-coziness/

By focusing on balance, positive use of time at home and reflecting on our experiences, all of us can make the best of a challenging situation. Everything we do to keep ourselves and others positive, hopeful and forward-looking will pay large dividends.

 

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Black Pepper During Flu Season

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PepperI previously talked of some natural approaches to prevention and treatment of cold and flu: https://carolbrusegar.com/using-natural-preventatives-and-treatments/

Another preventative and treatment that is right in your cupboard is black pepper!  We think of it as a basic seasoning and perhaps little more, but it is known to have powerful cold-fighting properties. Not only is it great for the immune system, but it’s also known to help with a wide range of other ailments too.

How can black pepper help during flu season?

Regular consumption of black pepper can help to fight off infections and boost the immune system. It contains an especially high amount of Vitamin C – a crucial vitamin in the treatment of colds. Black pepper contains a high level of anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It is these which prove useful in the prevention and treatment of colds and the flu.

Another great benefit of black pepper is that it can help to alleviate congestion. A common symptom of colds and the flu is chest congestion. So, even if it’s too late to use black pepper to prevent a cold, you can still use it to help alleviate the symptoms.

How can you use it?

There are numerous ways you can use this spice to prevent and help to treat a cold. Of course, add more to various foods on an ongoing basis – soups, stews, egg dishes, salads, in rubs on meats, etc.  If you’re already fighting a cold, you could try mixing black pepper with honey. This is especially great for suppressing a cough and it’s been used in Indian medicine for centuries. You’ll need to crush up the peppercorns and mix it with a little honey for maximum benefits.

Another way of using black pepper to combat colds is to add half a teaspoon to a cupful of water. Add in some ground tulsi leaves* and half a teaspoon of chopped ginger. You should aim to drink it at lukewarm temperature. If you’re not keen on the taste, you can add a spoonful of honey.

*Tulsi, also called Holy Basil, is a close relative of culinary basil for cooking. The three varieties of Tulsi do, however, have additional medicinal benefits. These include being anti-inflammatory, high in antioxidants, and ability to stimulate the immune system’s activity. It comes in a variety of forms – leaves, tea, capsules and more. To explore the options, go here: Tulsi Options

Are there any side effects?

In terms of using black pepper in cooking, there aren’t any side effects to be aware of. However, if you’ll be taking black pepper supplements, you’ll want to stick to ones with a strength of 5mg to 20mg. Higher strengths could produce burning sensation in the throat or high absorption of medication. These are the only two potential side effects identified.

What other ailments does black pepper help with?

As well as helping to fight off colds and flu, black pepper can also potentially help with other ailments such as:

  • Arthritis inflammation
  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • High blood sugar
  • Poor gut health

The health benefits of black pepper are extensive – and it is one of the cheapest and easiest spices to use!  So in general, to boost your immune system, be generous in your use of pepper in your food and explore additional uses. If you do develop a cold or flu, you can use supplements or more potent black pepper remedies to eliminate the symptoms.

Here’s a selection of pepper, peppercorns and more: Black Pepper

And a Black Pepper Supplement

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USING NATURAL PREVENTATIVES AND TREATMENTS DURING FLU AND COLD SEASON

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Cold-Flu 2

Be proactive to avoid and cut short colds and flus! Flu and cold season – which seems to get longer and longer – is a challenge to navigate. Even the flu vaccines are not totally effective because of the various strains of flu in a given year. There are additional over the counter medications and prescription drugs available as well. We are encouraged to avoid getting or spreading these conditions by washing our hands a lot, not touching our face, staying home if we are sick, etc.

In addition to all of this, I personally favor natural preventatives and treatments as much as possible. I found an article from a couple of years ago that offers 10 natural cold and flu remedies that work that you may want to consider. A couple of them were new to me and perhaps you also will find a natural preventative or remedy to try.

Here are some of the suggestions provided by the author on The Healthy Maven blog:

  • Gargle with salt water – do this at the first sign you may be getting sick. I have personally done this just recently and it was effective.
  • Honey – this can be as is, or in over the counter cough syrups (all-natural varieties). Raw honeys are the best if possible.
  • Ginger which comes in a variety of forms – root, powder, capsules, even candies.
  • Elderberry Syrup which both is a great preventative and treatment. There are a variety of other elderberry options. I have used and found elderberry to be very effective. Here’s more information in an earlier post: https://carolbrusegar.com/what-are-elderberries-health/
  • Propolis – produced by bees to seal their hives and very anti-viral and anti-bacterial. It’s available as a throat spray. Reviews indicate that this throat spray is a good preventative when used daily, as well as to nip a scratchy throat or other symptoms quickly. Propolis Throat Spray
  • Essential Oils – Eucalyptus and peppermint as well as combinations of various oils can be used effectively. These can be infused and benefit everyone in the household as well as being applied topically or ingested. It’s important to know exactly how to do this.

There are a couple of additional natural approaches that are widely recommended: hot green tea and turmeric.

Hot green tea is high in antioxidants and stimulates organ function; add honey for a double benefit.  Turmeric reduces inflammation in our bodies, and we hear more and more that inflammation is related to many conditions. It can make us feel achy and sometimes lead to illness. Make a paste from powdered turmeric (from the spice shelf) with water and mix into warm milk or tea.

Let’s do everything we can to avoid colds and flus and to get rid of them if we happen to get them, using natural substances as much as possible!

 

 

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Are Seasonal Allergies Plaguing You?

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sneezingSpring brings a lot of beauty into your life – you are able to enjoy the outdoors thanks to the warmer weather and get to enjoy all the new fresh flowers and produce. Unfortunately, with more time outdoors and new flower growth comes the unfortunate seasonal allergies for many people. If you suffer from spring allergies, you may have tried many over-the-counter products, even getting prescriptions from your doctor. There are also natural remedies that can help. Of course, we are all different and what works for one person doesn’t work for another. You may find something that works for you!

Use Raw Honey
Among the different natural remedies for seasonal allergies, using honey is one of the best options. The trick here is to go for raw honey, preferably local honey instead of what you find in the supermarket or health food store. If you have a farmer’s market near you, that is probably the best place to find local, raw honey. Honey can not only help you relieve your current allergy symptoms, but using it on a regular basis year-round can actually help you build up a tolerance to those pesky spring allergies.

Eat Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Your diet may also need to change when you start experiencing allergy symptoms. Follow an anti-inflammatory diet that consists of foods like broccoli, ginger, avocado, chia seeds, beetroot, pineapples, and nuts. You want to avoid foods that tend to cause extra inflammation and might worsen seasonal allergy symptoms, including dairy, fried foods, corn oil, and processed foods. Sticking to a diet mostly of clean and fresh ingredients will make a big difference in how you feel.

Try Essential Oils
Essential oils can be very healing for you, with many of them being great for allergy symptoms. With the right oils, you can reduce your allergy symptoms, getting a break from the headaches, coughing, sneezing, and breathing issues. The best oils for springtime allergies are basil, peppermint, and eucalyptus. These have a fresh scent that is perfect for spring, just make sure you get the pure essential oils and not fragrance oils. You can use a diffuser when you are at home. There are so many varieties to fit into your space and decor! Check out some of them here: Essential Oil Diffusers

And if you want some other options for when you are not at home, or just to expand your usage, here’s a list of possibilities: https://oneessentialcommunity.com/25-ways-to-diffuse-essential-oils-without-a-diffuser/

Apple Cider Vinegar
If you have been reading about natural remedies, you have probably run across apple cider vinegar more than once. This seems to be a cure-all for everything from digestive issues to helping with heartburn. It also happens to be excellent when you have seasonal allergies. It is going to detox your lymphatic system and reduce mucus production, which helps with the coughing and sneezing from your spring allergies. It can be as simple as putting 2-3 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar into a glass of filtered water, adding local honey to taste, or your favorite juice. Drink this before each meal.

May you find a way to alleviate your spring allergies!!

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be. Visit my Amazon Author Page to find my published books: https://amazon.com/author/carolbrusegar

Follow me on Twitter!     Follow me on Instagram!   Follow me on Pinterest!

Follow me on Facebook!         Visit my Etsy Shop!

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What are Elderberries and What Can They do for Me?

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Elderberries for HealthElderberries are one of the “hot” nutritional items these days. Perhaps you haven’t even heard of this plant until recently. I have great childhood memories of picking elderberries off roadside bushes in rural southern Wisconsin. The berries, after being painstakingly stripped off the stems were made into wonderful pies and jelly by my grandmother and mother. The bushes slowly disappeared as roads were widened and other factors affected them. I always loved the flavor and was thrilled to find the jelly at farmers’ markets in more recent years. I had no idea of the health benefits as I spread the delicacy on toast and biscuits!

Elderberries are seen as beneficial to health in many ways and are now cultivated widely. The focus of this article is on how elderberries boost immunity and can alleviate cold and flu symptoms.

Everyone wants more antioxidants in their body, and during flu and cold system this is especially important. Elderberry, like many other fruits and herbs, provides an exceptional amount of antioxidants. Antioxidants work to keep you from getting illnesses and fight off infections since they protect your cells from free radicals. These free radicals can do a lot of damage to your body, lowering your immune system, and making you susceptible to illness.

Elderberry also has vitamin C, which is another great way to raise your immunity and keep you from getting illnesses and chronic diseases. Elderberry has about the same amount of antioxidants as other berries, including goji berries, blackberries, and blueberries, also with a high amount of flavonoids. Additional immune-strengthening compounds also exist in elderberry, another great bonus.

Taking a dosage daily of one of the elderberry syrups or juices on the market can be a preventative measure during flu and cold season. If you feel symptoms coming on, up your intake of the handy medicinal elderberry syrup.

Research has shown that elderberry syrup works wonders for various symptoms related to these illnesses, including congestion and headaches from both the cold and flu, inflammation, and digestive issues as the result of the influenza (flu). You can try a little elderberry syrup alternating with traditional cold medicine, or try just the elderberry with other natural remedies for a day or two to see if you notice any changes.

I have found elderberry syrup quite effective in fighting off the first symptoms and diminishing the time of a cold if I wait too long to start taking elderberry syrup.

As always, consult your doctor before trying any natural remedies. With a flu, if you have a high fever or dehydration, get medical attention right away.

There is an incredible amount of information available for your perusal. In the meantime, I suggest a couple of products that I have tried and which have been helpful. (These are my affiliate links; as always, you never pay more to use them.)

Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry Extract  –  Not as sweet as the syrup

Elderberry Lozenges

There are also dried elderberries available for you to use in teas and to make your own syrup, etc.

Dried Elderberries

 

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Hygge as Self Care in Tough Times

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HyggeWhether it is a time of stay-at-home during a pandemic, or just extreme weather conditions, Hygge attitudes and practices can help us get through all of it.  Stress, anxiety, personal or societal tensions and conflicts abound. There are things we can all do to regain and maintain our equilibrium and inner peace. 

I invite you to embrace the Hygge principles of self-care like togetherness, relaxation, indulgence, presence, and comfort. Small effort and not much money are required for this and the payoffs can be significant.

Anne Roderique-Jones provides a fun overview of Hygge and its benefits in this article  “I Practiced Hygge and It’s Kind of the Best Thing Ever” which appeared in the December 25, 2018 issue of Self Magazine. After reading The Little Book of Hygge and implementing its suggestions, her conclusion was:

While hygge is not just about making sure you have (certain) elements in your space—after all, the main component of hygge is that you’re feeling present and spending quality time with yourself or your loved ones—the book did offer up plenty of advice that helped me get to that feeling of coziness and contentment. All in all, I can say with certainty that hygge is my jam. … Right now, when our world feels a little bit uncertain, hygge is a way to practice self-care that feels sincere.

Self care isn’t an escape from reality. It is a way to refill yourself with the energy, focus, and peace that will enable you to do your best, whatever the situation.

The Little Book of Hygge will get you started.

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Hygge – the Art of Coziness in Winter and Beyond

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Time to Hygge

Baby, it’s COLD outside!  It’s time to hygge!

You have probably heard the word “hygge” or seen Pinterest photos related to it. The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as “a Danish word for a quality of coziness (= feeling warm, comfortable, and safe) that comes from doing simple things such as lighting candles, baking, or spending time at home with your family.” The practice originated and thrives in Denmark, and other Scandinavian countries as well. The Danes believe in simplifying your life in order to bring in more positivity, comfort and contentment – and it is effective. Denmark regularly comes out as #1 in the World Happiness Report.

Hygge is all about being cozy, warm, comfortable, positive, and happy. You spend more time with family and friends. You forget the notions of material possessions and simplify your life. You spend more time in front of the fire while snuggling under a warm blanket.

This and so much more is what hygge represents. This brief video from Denmark provides a window into what it means and how it is lived there:  Hygge

Some basic elements of Hygge include creating a relaxed atmosphere, encouraging more family time, and inviting friends over for non-electronic activities. This is easily done by having lots of blankets and pillows where you spend relaxing time, adding candles and essential oils for flickering light and pleasant aromas, having great books laying around, playing relaxing music, utilizing your fireplace if you have one, and indulging in treats – beverages and sweets in particular.

Some may see this as indulgent; the Danes and others recognize it as effective self-care. If you haven’t tried it in an intentional way, this winter is a great time to do so.

If you want to learn more about it from a Dane, here’s a link to the book mentioned in the video, written by a researcher at the Happiness Research Institute:        The Little Book of Hygge

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Multi-Tasking: Is It As Beneficial as We Imagine?

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multi-taskingMulti-tasking seems to be a fact of life for most of us these days. With all there is to do, learn, and manage, it seems necessary. But as with so many other things, there are plusses and minuses; and it benefits us to consider those factors and manage our use of multi-tasking accordingly.

Does multi-tasking affect your health? It may seem like it is increasing productivity and saving you time and energy, and many of us are proud of our multi-tasking abilities. However, ongoing research has confirmed that multi-tasking can have negative effects on levels of productivity and, in some cases, of our overall brain health.

Multi-tasking Is Safe Only If Different Stimuli Are Used

Experts agree that multi-tasking is safer if the tasks involved do not use the same stimuli, such as reading a message from the laptop while listening to music. Our brain is not designed to deal with the same stimulus challenge at the exact same time.

That is why driving a vehicle and texting on a phone at the same time is considered extremely dangerous. You are using the same visual stimulus. They are both competing for the same limited focus. Although it appears you are multi-tasking, you can only be actively engaged with one or the other.

So instead of doing two things at once, you are actually rapidly switching from one to the other, and back again. If your attention is attracted to the phone for a second too long, the job of consciously controlling the vehicle ceases, and catastrophe can follow.

Another example is when you are attempting to listen to multiple conversations around you. I know I have tried to do that. But it is impossible to really listen to two people who are talking to you simultaneously, because your auditory stimulus becomes overwhelmed.

Multi-tasking Can Harm Your Memory Ability

If you find yourself multi-tasking, each task in which your mind is engaged will drain a part of your mental energy. As your mental energy drains, you become more absent-minded. This is because your mind begins to drift.

Even if you could complete the two tasks successfully, you will quite probably not recall how you completed the tasks. This is because our brain does not have the ability to fully focus on two or several tasks at the same time.

Each time you multi-task, your mind becomes a juggling act. When you multitask, you are diluting your mind’s investment towards each task.

When Multi-taskers Think They Perform Better

A study headed by Zheng Wang of Ohio State University (Multi-Tasking Study, Ohio State University)showed that people who were text messaging while being asked to focus on the images displayed on a computer monitor had decreased levels of performance.

What makes this finding even more troubling is that those subjects who were asked to multi-task using the same visual stimulus, believed they performed better, although the results showed the opposite.

Their ability to focus on images displayed on their computer monitor plummeted up to 50% even though they thought they were performing perfectly. The same study participants were asked to multi-task using different stimuli, such as visual and auditory, and even then were found to have reduced levels of performance as much as 30%.

Professor Wang stated that performance level perception when multi-tasking is not the same, as the results proved. Researchers have also found that media multi-tasking increases your risks of developing impaired cognitive control.

The most current research is confirming that multi-tasking means “performing multiple tasks sub-optimally”. Unfortunately, in addition to productivity losses, there is a compounding, taxing burden placed on the mental and emotional faculties. This results in accumulated stress, which is already a very real problem for many, if not most, to some degree.

Although technology today makes it difficult for us to avoid multi-tasking, we can manage the effect on our performance of tasks and on our health. Awareness and trying to remove the overload on your mind as much as possible can be very helpful.

There many approaches to productivity; check out some of the books available about multitasking and productivity:

Multitasking and Productivity