If you're like me, you had a mom who knew everything about everything, what to do when you were sick, how to take the sting out of bee stings, how to get rid of hiccups, and so much more.
Oh sure, I rolled my eyes as often as you did, but she had an answer for every ailment, and usually she was right.
I compiled everything I could remember (and everything she still tells me) about how to stay healthy, disease-free, safe, not poor, etc.
I've also thrown in some neat tips from the folks at Bottom Line. Their monthly newsletters always had great advice from scientists with degrees and everything (I suspect they had good moms too).
As always, take these tips with a grain of salt (not literally!) and if you have any medical condition you should consult a physician first.
Contents at a Glance
Table of Contents
Cancer Combat
- Eating fresh fruit by itself when your hungry helps distribute chemicals that prevent cancer, and when eaten with other foods, speeds digestion through fermentation. An apple a day, and all that.
- Don't drink cold liquids with or immediately after meals. It contributes to cancer in some way by shocking the system and interrupting certain body processes. Europeans tend to drink room temperature liquids with everything so they may be onto something.
Heart Health
- Nitric Oxide improves heart health. Nitric Oxide is a gas, so how do you take it? By taking the vitamins mom already wants you to take, namely Vitamin E and Vitamin C. These vitamins improve the body's ability to create nitric oxide.
- Eat Kiwis (the fruit, not the people). Besides having Vitamins C and E (see above) they prevent clots from forming which can help avoid heart attacks and strokes.
- Booze is good for your heart. 1-2 glasses of beer (mmm, beer), wine or mixed drinks a day helps lower the chance for heart attacks.
- Not into booze? Good old water also reduces the chance for heart attacks. Its healthy to drink water anyway, but now you can do it for your heart, whether you knew it or not.
- Niacin is a good supplement for your diet to help control cholesterol and reduce clots. Read the labels on products (just like mom would) and don't exceed recommended dosages. Products with too much niacin can cause liver and kidney damage.
- Control high blood pressure by eating more cold water fish for the Vitamin E.
- Consume more magnesium and potassium. This can be done through supplements as well as bananas and spinach.
- Fiber and antioxidants in fruits and vegetables (10 or more servings a day) go a long way to reduce your chances of a heart attack.
Cholesterol Control
- Doctors call it by the fancy name of policosanol, but your mom would call it a cholesterol buster. You can buy it in stores, but its best recognized as the bright, waxy coating on citrus. A zester is sufficient to give you all the policosanol you need for recipes and dishes.
- If you have to cook in oil, choose Canola Oil. Canola Oil is high in omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and help to improve cholesterol scores.
- Eat more soy. Much like cranberries, soy has flavonoids which reduces LDL cholesterol and reduce the chances for cancer.
- What to drink with your soy products (besides soy milk)? Jasmine Tea. Jasmine Tea also contains flavonoids which studies show reduce the chances for a variety of cancers as well as keeping cholesterol in check.
Skin Sense
- Apply sunscreen whenever you are outdoors. Even when you are in the shade, under cover or it is overcast, ultraviolet light can still rebound off of reflective surfaces including but not limited to water, sand, snow, glass and buildings
- To check to see if an article of clothing is sufficient to provide good sun protection, hold it up to a light bulb. If you can see the shape of the bulb, it won't cut it.
- Use duct tape to remove warts. Place a fresh piece of tape on as needed, soak when in the shower or bath, sand the wart, and reapply tape when dry. Repeat as necessary.
Watch out for hairy regions as duct tape is very sticky!
Pain Killers
- Fish oil helps relieve neck and back pain by reducing inflammation in between disks and in connective tissue. Don't take if you are taking blood thinners, but you can benefit from vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids by eating more white fish.
- Here's a new one. Tooth pain. Bite down on a teabag. The oils and tea are supposed to soothe temporary aches. Always see a dentist if your teeth hurt for more than a day.
Lovely Lungs
- Oxygen is one of the most important elements we use, so its important to maximize it and protect it. Ginseng improves our ability to synthesize oxygen. Ginseng also helps fight off fatigue.
- Aerobic exercise doesn't just keep your body in shape, but also increases and improves blood flow, carrying oxygen to all parts of the body. Your mom wants you to go outside and get more exercise - as little as 20-30 minutes a day.
- Eat high carbohydrates instead of high fat to improve blood flow. Think fruits, veggies and whole grains (duh).
Beautiful Bones
- Vitamin C improves connectivity between connective tissue and bones - eat more citrus.
- Glucosamine improves cartilage thickness and connectivity to bone. Usually packaged with Chondroitin Sulfate to work for better calcification and to prevent osteoarthritis/ostoporosis.
- Calcium builds better bones as you grow and keeps bones strong as you age when bones deteriorate faster. Calcium replenishment is more important in women, particularly when giving birth.
Two Cents on Senses
- Natural Aphrodisiacs - The smell of licorice is considered attractive both to men and women.
- Some scents can inhibit the desire to eat. Ironically, these are all food odors. These include but are not limited to Banana, Tart Apples and Chocolate.
- Increase energy with the smell of strawberries or fresh coffee.
Miscellaneous Mommeries
- Soda Drinkers: Cut out one less soda a day, and cut out soda and diet soda from your diet completely if possible. The weight loss and health benefits of at least one less soda a day are tremendous including lower risk of diabetes, 100-200 less calories a day, and less chemicals in your system.
- My mom loves Vinegar. Apparently, a cocktail of a small glass mixed with half water will help retain insulin in diabetics. Drink before eating a big meal.
If you have problems with insulin, see a doctor first. - Consume more cranberry products including sauce and juice. In addition to tannins and essential vitamins, cranberries are believed to put a hold on prostate cancer.
- Improve your posture. Not only does better posture make you look taller, impress the opposite sex and get that raise, but better posture can improve lung capacity.
- Enough with the anti-bacterial soap. Good old soap and warm water are enough to kill germs and clean hands. Wash like this when leaving the bathroom, when done with any dirty activity, and before and after preparing food.
Anti-bacterial soap kills germs, but also kills beneficial germs that we need. - Chocolate is good for you: Chocolates have gotten on the industry kick lately of listing their cacao content on the front in big letters. This is important. Consume more dark chocolate with cacao quantities of 80% or higher. Antioxidants and nutrients (yes nutrients!) will help with heart health among other things. And it tastes good too! A small square a day is sufficient.
Immaculate Immune System
- Bilberry, a type of blueberry, is full of antioxidants and helps protect eyes as they age. Right up there with carrots for easy eyesight.
- Celery Seed lowers uric acid, helps reduce blood pressure and improves overall blood flow. Also relieves gas.
- Cilantro fights food poisoning, food-bourne illnesses and helps counteract salmonella. This can help boost your immune system, and is not meant as an antidote for salmonella or food poisoning.
- Echinacea - the great standby to boost your immune system against all kinds of bugs, particularly the Flu.
- Garlic kills germs, controls blood pressure and LDL cholesterol.
- Milk Thistle protects the liver, detoxes the blood, and reduces pollutants from taking hold.
Eat Milk Thistle seeds before going out to party, along with a glass of milk. - Turmeric fights cholesterol, improves blood flow and staves off arthritis.
- Elderberry enhances white blood cell production and activity, used to fight off infection.
- Echinacea makes your immune system more effective.
- Good old Vitamin C. Take in capsule form for concentrated doses or better yet, eat plenty of citrus including oranges, lemons and limes.
Mental Mastery
- To improve memory, do puzzles, study languages, listen to classical music - do anything that challenges your brain. Try to get as much time in reading and working with numbers as you do watching television.
- Just like exercising your mind builds memory, exercising your body increases flow of blood to the brain. In fact, good exercise is one of mom's solutions to make you healthy all around, and get her out of your hair for a while.
- Consume more Vitamins C and E and omega-3 fatty acids. These are found in fruits, veggies and fish respectively, or in pill form if you're too busy, mister business person.
- Gingko Biloba appears to improve blood flow to the brain, increasing brain function. Don't take it with aspirin, and find a way to take it as part of your diet (talk to a dietician/herbalist, mom only knows so much)
- C and E vitamins are important and easily eaten, but you may want to supplement your diet with B vitamin supplements to boost memory, particularly as you age. B vitamins cause alcohol to be absorbed more readily so be careful with your drinking when taking B-vitamins.
- Take Ginkgo Biloba to improve blood flow to the brain. Don't take with aspirin and ibuprofen.
Weight Watch
- Go outside and play! An hour everyday of relatively strenuous activity, like housework, walking, yardwork, sports and the like, is enough to maintain good cardiovascular health and reduce weight.
- Add more calcium to your diet to reduce weight. Calcium not only strengthens bones, but also improves cardiovascular quality and helps your body process fat instead of storing it.
Consume 3 servings of dairy a day, either skim/no-fat milk, yogurt, or cheese. - In addition to the weight-losing benefits of yogurt, the active cultures will improve digestion and immune functions.
Cooking Chops
- Eat more foods that contain antioxidants, particularly vitamin E.
Some examples - avocados, blueberries, carrots, cranberries and green leafy veggies
Use Canola Oil whenever possible, but Olive Oil is a good substitute. - Eat more cold water fish for omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before and after handling foodstuffs, particularly fruits, vegetables and meats.
- Remove the outer leaves of leafy greens like lettuce before preparing. This is where most contaminants lie.
- Rinse all produce under a cool tap, and brush harder produce with a vegetable brush to help remove contaminants. Store-sold fruit and vegetable rinses aren't any better than mild soap or just a water rinse.
- Always clean all utensils cutting boards and counter tops with hot water and soap after each use.
Have any feedback or a tip to share?
If you have any stories about your moms or a rare recipe/treatment that worked wonders, let me know!
And, if you enjoyed this lens, be sure to rate it at the top - thanks!
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tdove
Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory! Posted August 27, 2008 |
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ElizabethJeanAllen
nice lens! Posted April 16, 2008 |
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mulberry
Sometimes, learning basics like this is what we really need..great lens. Posted April 15, 2008 |
