It’s cold and flu season and there are so many things you can do to strengthen your immune system.
I haven’t had a major cold or flu in years. I attribute that to my move out of a mold infested house, a healthy lifestyle and my Peak Performance multi-vitamins. Lifestyle and taking care of yourself does make a difference.
Here is a simple guide to maintaining health throughout the cold and flu season.
Happy Wellness Wednesday!
#wellnesswednesday #keephealthy
We just read about a study that confirms Gin & Tonic can prevent wintertime colds. We know the Brits used Gin & Tonic to help prevent malaria in the tropics, this may be the next logical step for Gin & Tonic.
This awful winter rainy cold weather brings with it all of the symptoms of the common cold, including a runny nose, coughing, sore throat, and drowsiness. It is not something that we want, but it is something we have to endure during winter months.
If you enjoy feeling healthy and avoiding colds, there may be a solution hiding in plain sight. Many tend to reach for an antioxidant or superfood to cure a cold because of the high levels of vitamin C. It certainly can help to keep the cold away, but there may be something else you can do and it is a lot more fun! Have you ever thought about drinking a gin & tonic to help with your cold?
Some people may do it to help themselves sleep when they are sick but gin may actually be the alcoholic beverage of choice for those who are suffering. When you compare it with red wine, whiskey, and other alcoholic beverages, it has lower levels of histamine and that means fewer allergy triggers. If you plan on having a drink this winter, then the British Asthma Association recommends trying gin.
The low level of histamine is all due to the distillation process. When gin is distilled, it results in a lower histamine level but it also provides other benefits. One of those benefits is low levels of sulfites, which is also something that can help to keep your cold in check. It is also something that asthmatics would appreciate.
In our house we love shortbread, it’s a family favorite and perfect with a cup of tea. Maybe because it hearkens back to our Scottish ancestors, or just because it’s super buttery, Shortbread is a classic Scottish dessert traditionally was made with: 1 part white sugar 2 parts butter 3 parts flour.
Modern recipes deviate from the three ingredient rule by splitting the sugar portion into equal parts of granulated sugar and powdered sugar and add salt. Plain white (wheat) flour is commonly used. However, ground rice or cornflour are also sometimes added to alter the texture.
Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture which is caused by its high-fat content, provided by the butter. “Shortening” is its related word that refers to any fat that may be added to produce a “short” (crumbly) texture.
Sometimes, with all that we do, you just need a boost. Something to make you feel more energetic to keep up with your busy day. But with already two cups of coffee under your belt, you want extra energy without the caffeine.
Energy drinks — sugary, caffeinated beverages that are supposed to provide a quick pick-me-up — have been taking some hits lately. What do you do if you want to cut down the sugar and the caffeine?
Well, my favorite, Vitality Elevate
B-Fuel delivers the energy I need!
Vitality Elevate™ B-FUEL contains five proven B vitamins, including 1,000% of your daily value of B6 and B12, combined with a natural antioxidant blend to give you the boost you need in a caffeine-free energy shot.
I like to keep it around for when I need a boost.
Did you know…
NO SUGAR • NO CALORIES • NO SUGAR CRASH • NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS OR FLAVORS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to alert you about a respiratory infection that can affect your children and in some cases, adults. As it gets colder, parents make sure family members add layers and bundle up so they don’t become ill, but the CDC is warning parents to watch out for Respiratory Syncytial Virus or ‘RSV.’
RSV can start out as looking like a common cold. It is a respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms and most people recover in a week or two. But RSV can also be serious, especially for infants and older adults.
In fact, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than one year of age in the United States. It is also a significant cause of respiratory illness in older adults. Right now, the CDC says there is not a vaccine available to treat RSV. There is a medicine that can help protect some babies. This medicine (called palivizumab) is a series of monthly shots.
Know the Symptoms: Fever; Reduced appetite; Runny nose; Cough; Wheezing
Help Prevent the Spread of RSV:
Wash your hands often.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds, and help young children do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Washing your hands will help protect you from germs. Keep your hands off your face. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Germs spread this way. I always keep my favorite hand sanitizer, Clear Sanitizer, with me because you never know when you will need protection from germs.
Avoid close contact with sick people. Avoid close contact, such as kissing, and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who have cold-like symptoms. Cover your coughs and sneezes. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or upper shirt sleeve when coughing or sneezing. Throw the tissue in the trash afterward and wash your hands.
Clean and disinfect surfaces. Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that people frequently touch, such as toys and doorknobs. When people infected with RSV touch surfaces and objects, they can leave behind germs. Also, when they cough or sneeze, droplets containing germs can land on surfaces and objects. An everyday cleaner doesn’t kill bacteria and viruses. That’s why my final step in any cleanup—and in between cleanups—is my favorite Sol-U-Guard Botanical disinfectant. It is all natural and no chemicals and it works on 99% of germs!
Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work, school, and public areas when you are sick. This will help protect others from catching your illness.
For more information on RSV, please click here.
Do you know where your milk comes from? Whether you’re trying to eat local or just curious about the origin of your milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese, the site Where Is My Milk From? will help you identify the city, state, and dairy where it was processed.
Most bottles and cartons of milk, as well as many containers of other dairy products like yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, ice cream, and even soy milk, are printed with a code. This corresponds to the state and plant where it was processed – information that is made public in the FDA’s Interstate Milk Shippers List but not very user-friendly.
Where Is My Milk From? makes it easy to plug in the code and get the name and location of the dairy. It doesn’t necessarily give you the whole picture, as the processing dairy might bottle milk from multiple dairies, but it can still be enlightening. The site also reveals the interesting fact that “different brands of milk often come from the same dairy – and the same cows.”
Locate the code on your carton or container, enter it above and click Find It. You’ll instantly know which dairy your milk came from! The same goes for your yogurt, chocolate milk, soy or organic milk, coffee creamer, cottage cheese, ice cream, and more!
Click here to check your code.
Even Weight Watchers has accepted wellness is key.
We just read that Weight Watchers renamed itself to ‘WW’ as consumers want to be well, not to diet .
Weight Watchers rebranded as “WW” to broaden its focus to health. The company, which has helped people watch their weight through assigning points to food and organizing meetings, is renaming itself “WW” to reflect to overall health.
WW’s new tagline is “Wellness that Works.” WW plans to launch a new app and a partnership with Headspace, a company that teaches meditation through an app.
I always believed that lifestyle, not diet, is the way to manage health and weight—after all, when you think about it, the first three letters of DIET are DIE and that’s what if feels like you’re going to do when you are starving yourself on a diet.
Over the past year, I’ve been using the R3 Plan and I’ve seen remarkable results losing a total of 25 inches in the past six months. I’ll share more about that in coming weeks!
Welcome to the wellness plan WW!
This is something I have discovered over the years and have come to believe this is true more than ever.
Do you agree?
Here it is January 2 and one of the most common New Years resolutions is to “get into shape,” “eat better and work out more,” “to get fit and get healthy.”
These intentions make it one of the busiest times for personal trainers across the country. Because of this, January 2 is celebrated as National Personal Trainer Awareness Day.
National Personal Trainer professionals help make our promises from our resolutions, a reality. My personal trainer has played a major role in helping me achieve my health and fitness goals. I’m not done yet and still have a ways to go, but my trainer keeps me accountable and on track. I’m not someone who really enjoys working out, but I do love feeling fit. so I walk, swim and row almost daily and add in the obligatory weight time two or three times each week with my trainer coaching me to do more weight and reps.
With my trainer, 2019 will be the year my health and fitness goals are reached and exceeded!
Do you have a personal trainer or do you work out on your own?
Hayseeds Creative 