From my family to yours. Have a safe and fun Independence Day!
#4thofJuly
Author Archives: Monica
Trying to Conceive?
•Stop any contraceptive: The chances of conception starts right after stopping might take some time for the hormonal levels to come to normal.
•Managing your Weight: Keeping not only your weight, but also your partner’s weight under control is one of the ways to boost your chances for conception. It is found that being overweight or underweight can alter the chance of getting pregnant.
•Boosting the Male Fertility: Researches point out that prolonged exposure of genital to extreme hot temperatures could affect the sperm health. Prolonged exposure of testicles to heat like sitting in hot tubs or working while keeping the laptop on the lap can pose a risk.
•Smoking: Smoking affects your fertility. It affects how the uterus would receive the egg and it also affects the sperm production, its quality and quantity and also the DNA structure. Risks of miscarriages have also been associated with smoking.
•The Fertile Period: Having intercourse at any time of the month would not help you get pregnant. When you are trying to be pregnant, find out the ovulation time in the menstrual cycle as that is the most fertile period of the month and frequent intercourse during that time might help you achieve the goal. Ovulation kits are available these days to help you find out the fertile period.
•Frequency of Intercourse: For some couples, having intercourse every alternate day might be stressful, but ideally it is recommended by all physicians. Having frequent coitus on every alternate day, especially during the fertile period can boost the chances of conception. However, “saving up” the act of intimacy only for the fertile period will not increase your chance.
•Reaching Orgasm: It is thought that the rhythmic contractions in the vagina and the uterus when a woman reaches orgasm help the sperms to travel up faster and better.
•Lying down after intercourse: Getting out of bed immediately after coitus could prevent the sperms from going up. Thus, it is advised to lie down on bed till half-an-hour after intercourse to allow the sperms to travel up to the fallopian tubes and fertilize the egg.
•Changes in Lifestyle Can Improve Your Chances of Conception: Lifestyle changes are very important when you are trying to conceive. Thus try to get enough sleep, 7-8 hours of sound sleep, follow a healthy diet and also incorporate an exercise regimen to boost your fertility. Although do not exert too much as it could lead to miscarriage if you have already conceived. Try simple yoga without putting pressure on your abdomen, breathing exercises and walking.
•Stress: Although the duration when you are trying to conceive is stressful, but try to keep yourself as calm as possible. Stress has been found to drastically affect the changes of getting pregnant. So if you feel the stress, try out some relaxation techniques and don’t always keep your mind clogged to the pregnancy issue. Try to deviate your mind to other things, or give time to your hobby and stay relaxed.
A number of different factors contribute to pregnancy and even a slight deviation can increase or decrease your chance. Thus keep yourself calm and get a check-up done from your physician to find out if there is any underlying medical cause that is posing a blockage to your conception.
#baby
Ouch!
Bee Stings!
Call 911 if the person has:
•Trouble breathing
•Feelings of faintness or dizziness
•Hives
•A swollen tongue
•A history of severe allergy reaction to insect stings
•Inject epinephrine if the person is unable to.
•If the person has a history of anaphylaxis, don’t wait for signs of a severe reaction to inject epinephrine.
•Read and follow patient instructions carefully.
•Inject epinephrine into outer muscle of the thigh. Avoid injecting into a vein or buttock muscles.
•Do not inject medicine into hands or feet, which can cause tissue damage. If this happens, notify emergency room staff.
•The person may need more than one injection if there’s no improvement after the first. For an adult, inject again after 10 to 20 minutes. For a child, inject again after 5 to 30 minutes.
•A person should always go to the ER after an epinephrine injection, even if the symptoms subside.
Step 1
Remove the stinger as soon as possible. Do NOT pull it out with your fingers or tweezers. Doing so will squeeze more poison into the wound, making it hurt worse afterwards. Instead, scrape firmly against it with a finger nail or credit card.
Step 2
Apply ice wrapped in fabric to the bee sting for 20 minutes.
Step 3
Mix vinegar, baking soda, and meat tenderizer into a paste. •Meat tenderizer contains an enzyme called papain that can break down toxins in bee venom.
This mixture will make you smell like an antipasto sampler.
Step 4
Apply it to the bee sting. It will fizz.
Step 5
Wait 20 minutes for the symptoms to subside; they should disappear about an hour after application.
#beesting
Tame Salt Intake
Stick to a Daily Sodium Allowance
The recommended daily intake of sodium for healthy adults is 1500 mg. If you’re African American or older than 51, it’s only 1300 mg. It may sound like a lot but it’s surprising how quickly your meals can add up to your daily allowance. Statistics Canada reports that 85% of Canadian men and 60% of Canadian women aged 19-70 have sodium intakes exceeding the recommended upper limit beyond which health risks increase. “Treat sodium like it’s money and you’re on a budget,” says Marilyn Tanner-Blasiar, R.D., L.D., a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Let’s say 2300mg is the equivalent of 23 dollars. If you ‘spend’ 1000 mg, or 10 dollars, on chicken soup at lunch, your budget is over half gone.” Better to divvy it up more sensibly, trying not to exceed 600 mg of sodium per meal and snacks.
Cut Back on Everyday Culprits
More than 40 percent of our sodium intake comes from food most of us eat every day, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The biggest offenders: bread, lunch meat such as deli ham or turkey, pizza, chicken soup, cheeseburgers and other sandwiches, cheese, pasta dishes, meat dishes such as meat loaf, and snack foods such as potato chips (including canned tomato sauce), pretzels and popcorn. To sidestep these sodium traps, compare nutrition labels on your favorite foods because different brands vary in sodium content. You should also look for no- or low-sodium labels, says Christine Gerbstadt, M.D., R.D., spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Replace pre-packaged canned food wherever you can with lower-sodium alternatives like dried beans and frozen vegetables.
Learn to Find Hidden Salt Content on Food Labels
While there’s sodium in almost everything, the amount of sodium in things like condiments can be shocking. When you read a food’s ingredients, salt (sodium chloride) isn’t the only thing you should be looking for. There are other sodium-containing compounds such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium nitrate or nitrite and sodium alginate, which will up the total sodium count. One tablespoon of soy sauce has 920 mg of sodium; even labeled “low sodium” has 575 mg of sodium. Other big offenders include teriyaki sauce (690 mg per tablespoon), tomato sauce (640 mg per half cup) and barbecue sauce (420 mg per two tablespoons). “If you overdo it at one meal, make sure you make low-sodium choices the rest of the day,” says Tanner-Blasiar. Also, low-fat doesn’t mean low-sodium — when food companies take out fat, they often replace it with salt to boost flavor.
Learn to Love Other Spices
Instead of adding salt, and spices to kick up the flavor in your food, like garlic, basil, cumin, chili peppers, rosemary, ginger or cinnamon. You can also try flavored vinegars, such as fig, pear and cranberry. Because premixed blends of spices often contain salt, come up with your own favorite blends of dried spices and keep them in a shaker instead of putting the salt on the table, says Gerbstadt.
Know What to Order When Eating Out
Stick to restaurants where your food is cooked to order rather than chain-type eateries where food may be prepackaged (like soup, gravy or even crab cakes). Choose simple items without gravies or sauces and ask for them to be prepared without salt. Order the baked potato instead of the mashed potatoes, but don’t eat the skin, which has likely been oiled and salted before baking. Add a salad to fill up on greens, but keep dressings on the side since they’re often loaded with sodium. Request that grilled entrees, like fish and chicken, be cooked without salt.
Watch Portion Size
You may think you’re doing fine because you only had a few handfuls of salty snacks, like pretzels or chips. But check out the label for serving size. One ounce of potato chips is 170mg of sodium; but that’s just 15 chips. “If you are going to indulge, measure out your portion so you don’t overdo it,” says Tanner-Blasiar. “It’s very easy to eat mindlessly and go overboard on portions.” And you’ll be cutting down on fat and calories, too.
Give Your Taste Buds Time to Adapt
Your taste for salt is acquired, so it will take some to get used to a lower-sodium diet. “When you first cut back, food may taste a little bland,” says Gerbstadt. “It’s simply that you’ve lost sight of how food naturally tastes.” Decrease your salt intake gradually, and after a few weeks, you probably won’t even miss it.
#salt
Nutty Fruit Salad
- 2 Tablespoons pistachios
- 2 Tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 2 Tablespoons pecans
- 2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 1 plum, pitted and chopped
- 1 peach, pitted and chopped
- 1/4 cup pineapple, chopped
- 1/2 small papaya, seeded and chopped
- 2 fresh figs, cut into quarters
- juice of 1 lime
Directions
Roast the nuts before mixing with the fruit to enhance their flavor. Place nuts on a baking sheet in a 300 degree F oven for 3 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool. In a serving bowl, combine the nuts and chopped fruit. Stir in lime juice.
#summersalad
Why Do Therapists Say to Drink Lots of Water
The body benefits from proper hydration anyways, but after your massage it is very important to drink lots of water. Consuming water will help the kidneys and other organs process the various substances which move through our bodies on a regular basis. Drinking water before and after a massage is recommended, as it makes it easier for your Therapist to perform deep work, because the muscles are easier to manipulate.
#water
Bruises
This time of the year, many of us slip and fall causing bruises.
Here is a great way to increase the healing and help the bruises fade quickly. You will need:
Two bowls
Hot water
Cold Water
Lavender Essential Oil
Rosemary Essential Oil
Chamomile Essential Oil
Olive Oil
Two Washcloths
Add tap hot water (not boiling) to one bowl and cold water to the other. add the following to each bowl
2 drops Lavender oil
3 drops Rosemary oil
1 drop Chamomile oil
Soak a washcloth in each bowl and apply them alternately to the bruised and surrounding area every 3 minutes. Than apply a small amount of the following oil mixture directly to the bruise.
1 tps olive oil
2 drops Chamomile oil
2 drops Rosemary oil
1 drop Chamomile oil
#bruise
Sleep?
Did you know that a 60 minute massage is about the same as 7 to 8 hours of sleep to your body?
Morning Sickness
For many women, the toughest part of early pregnancy is morning sickness. If you are suffering from nausea, vomiting, or both, you need safe measures that will bring you some relief. The following are safe, proved treatments for morning sickness. Still, few women gain complete relief from morning sickness treatment.
Certain antihistamines like doxylamine or dimenhydrinate, taken as your doctor advises, may relieve morning sickness.
Ginger, taken regularly as your doctor advises, can reduce nausea and vomiting.
Acupressure, firmly placed on the P6 point (the inner side of your arm, in line with your middle finger and one-sixth of the way between your wrist and elbow), relieves nausea for some women.
Follow these guidelines for minimizing nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.
- Keep food in your stomach but not too much. An empty stomach can make nausea worse. Eat several small meals every day instead of three large meals.
- For morning nausea, eat a small snack (like crackers) before you get out of bed. Allow a few minutes for the snack to digest, then get out of bed slowly.
- Stay hydrated. Drink a lot of fluids. Try a sports hydration drink, as well as water, broth, or juice.
- Eat more protein, and cut your fatty food intake.
- Avoid smells and foods that make you feel nauseated. Citrus juice, milk, coffee, and caffeinated tea commonly make nausea worse.
- If you are taking iron supplements, ask your doctor if they are necessary. Iron can make nausea worse.
- Get lots of rest. Stress and fatigue can make morning sickness worse.
Contact your doctor immediately if you vomit more than 3 times a day or are unable to take fluids, especially if you also have pain, fever, or both.
Don’t Call it Pampering
While massage may have developed a reputation as a decadent treat for people who love pampering, new studies are showing it has a wide variety of tangible health benefits.
Research over the past couple of years has found that massage therapy boosts immune function in women with breast cancer, improves symptoms in children with asthma, and increases grip strength in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. Giving massages to the littlest patients, premature babies, helped in the crucial task of gaining weight
Check out the full article at: Wall Street Journal