Health Issue

A nice rainy day  My onion sets are crowding each other out and a strange pink flower is growing out of some left over mulch.  Oy! So much rain must be good for all kinds of plants, although the wetness coming into my slippers when I go for the mail and the paper... that can't be too good for me.

Health!

I kept out a copy of Bottom Line Health from March 2015 because I found some of its items interesting and a bit scary, as follows:

Stroke Risk

According to Yasuharu Tabara, PhD, you should check with your doctor if you cannot balance on one leg, unassisted, for 20 seconds.

Prepop sez:  Well, I guess I'd better see my doctor.  The best I could do was 7 or 8 seconds.  I think I will practice this for a while and see if I improve.  Maybe I can't ride a bicycle now because of balance problems.   ( I'm getting depressed.)

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Allergies.

Jack E. Fincham, PhD, RPh, says that one might be shocked to learn about side effects connected to everyday drugs:

Loratadine (Claritin) may trigger drowsiness and depression.

Prepop sez:  (I'm really not getting depressed.)  I take loratadine in the evening because I am afraid that I would have drowsiness during the day.  And, I hope that it will  help me sleep.

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Acid Reflux

Doctor Andrew Rubman, ND says that Tums will quickly neutralize the acid-in-the-throat sensation, but a more natural way to do that is to mix one-quarter teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of Epsom salts in four ounces of spring water.  When symptoms occur, he suggests sipping this mixture slowly and you should get relief soon.

Prepop sez:  For years I was troubled with acid reflux.  Every night I would chew 8 to 10 roll-aids and Tums.  I finally found out the cause of the acid reflex.  I ate too late at night.  I went to bed before my food had had a chance to digest. (And, of course, I ate and drank too much.)

Now, I try to eat at least 3 or 4 hours before bedtime.  If reflux occurs, I then take an Alka Seltzer, which I hate to say, I am almost addicted to.

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Sleeping.

Anne-Marie Chang, PhD  reports that using electronic devices before sleeping may result in less REM sleep, and therefore one may wake up tired the next morning.  However, reading a regular printed book does not result in the same effect.  Tablets and their like emit blue light directly into the reader's eyes.  This can suppress the sleep hormone melatonin and disrupt the cicadian clock.  In other words, the blue makes you think of the blue sky that you normally see when you are awake.

Prepop sez:  I confess that I am guilty of "blue lighting" before sleep.  I set my Kindle so I can watch Penn and Teller Fool US on YouTube.  I love magic and can watch the same act over and over.  And, of course, that means that I don't get enough REM sleep.  Sorry.

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Bad Mood

Pierce Howard, PhD, has some methods for changing a bad mood into a good mood in just a few minutes.  He tells us to turn on and listen to some minor-key tunes.  Examples:

"Hey Jude" by the Beatles
"Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga
Piano Concerto in A Minor by Edvard Grieg.

If that doesn't work, try some up-tempo music such as:

Aaron Copland
Big Band Music
"Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen.

Prepop sez:  I'm going to stick to Herr Mozart!

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Dieting.

The magazine staff asks the big question:  Where does fat go when one loses weight?

Well, the fat cells shrink and lay in wait for a new infusion of calories. Eventually though, most of fat burned during weight loss eventually becomes carbon dioxide and is exhaled.. the rest becomes water, which you excrete.

Prepop sez:  I've always wondered about that.  I shouldn't reveal this, but I am on a diet... again.  So here is my poem:

My soul is dark with suppressed riot
Directly attributed to diet!

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Bye!