Category Archives: Habit Building

Food Talk 4 You!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Scan Me, Dah-ling!

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Let’s do a body scan …

No, not the kind the TSA folks do. This is the hands-free kind we can do for ourselves – fully clothed before and after yoga, exercise, or a morning stretch routine.

We often assume the time spent in movement is working for us because … well … we did it. Maybe there are feelings of relaxation or invigoration, but who knows if your efforts were a benefit or not? There is a way to do a self-assessment that is easy to perform and will reveal just how your body is responding.

It’s called a body check, body survey, or body scan and involves a mindful, relaxed, and non-judgmental overview of how things are feeling to you.

You can google body scan meditation to find a variety of approaches that will take 15-25 minutes. These scans/surveys/checks can be useful to decrease anxiety, explore pain response, or enter a deeper meditative state.

What I have done recently is bracket a 20-minute movement routine, with a brief two-minute scan, designed to que me into my balance, posture, general positioning, and set me up for a mindful practice and a thoughtful release from the session.

Try this simple body scan before your next time of movement.

BODY SCAN 101

Move to a standing position. Place your feet a shoulder width apart; hands hanging freely at your side.

Just relax and stand comfortably with your eyes closed. There is no right or wrong way to do this.

Notice your feet. Do you have more pressure on one foot than the other? Are you feeling more pressure on the front part of your feet, or are you noticing more weight on the heels? Is there increased pressure on the outside or inside of your feet?

Notice your lower legs. Are the muscles relaxed or do they feel more tense?

Move your awareness to your knees. Are your knees slightly bent? Maybe they are pushed back? As you stand, is your weight evenly distributed on both knees?

Notice your hips and pelvis. Is your pelvis tilted forward creating a forward bow to your lower back? Maybe your pelvis is tucked toward your back, causing your tail bone to lower?

Notice your belly. Is it more toward your spine, or is it relaxed in a neutral position, or is it pushed out?

Consider your arms and shoulders. Are your shoulders more back and in alignment with your ears? Or perhaps your shoulders are more forward, and your upper back is more rounded? Are your shoulders at the same height, or maybe one is higher than the other? Are your arms hanging at your sides the same way, or is one different?

Notice your neck and head. Is your head centered and balanced, or is it tilted forward, back, or to the side? Are your head and neck in alignment with your shoulders or are they leaning more forward?

This constitutes a pre-check. Open your eyes and move into your yoga, Pilates, aerobics, nature walk, or other exercise.

Conclude your movement routine with another body scan. It may surprise you how differently your body is oriented and balanced.

This time, when you open your eyes, gently and naturally walk around your immediate area. How does it feel to move through the space? Is it different from prior to exercise?

I have found this simple practice to be so centering. A mindful bracketing of movements using this body scan will set you up for a more balanced approach to the rest of your day and will clue you into to how your body is responding to movement.

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In health-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Breathing … To ….. Sleep *Yawn*

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Can’t get enough ZZZ’s?

Is counting sheep not effective?

Millions of people – somewhere in the 50 – 70 million range in America alone – have sleep problems. Geez. That’s a lot of tossing and turning. A billion-dollar industry if pillow, mattress, medications, lotions and potions, and doctor visits are added up.

Aside from those of us who can’t turn off late night TV, Netflix, or those who choose to lean over their cell phones all night, there are those who just can’t get to sleep.

Body in bed.

Eyes closed.

Brain spinning, or brain worried about not going to sleep.

Now that’s really going to help.

Not.

The book, Breath – The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor, continues to amaze me. After writing about it recently, I continued to peel back the layers of Nestor’s discoveries and personal experiences.

My copy is the most highlighted, underlined, dogeared book I’ve ever read. Even the appendix is riveting. Every breathing human should have a copy – just saying.

Today, I want to revisit the box breathing technique I shared with you HERE and the 4-7-8 Breathing technique. Both breathing patterns can relax you to sleep.

BOX BREATHING

Decathletes and Navy SEALs use breathing techniques such as this to calm down, slow pulses, and increase focus. You can do it in any situation, and it’s easy:

  • Inhale to a count of 4; hold 4; exhale 4; hold 4. Repeat.

To increase the body’s relaxation response, lengthen the exhalation to this pattern:

  • Inhale to a count of 4; hold 4; exhale 6; hold 2. Repeat.

The longer exhalation assists the body to relax deeply enough for sleep.

4-7-8 BREATHING

Dr. Andrew Weil, one of my favorite wellness gurus, made this technique famous as it encourages the body into a state of deep relaxation, allowing for sleep.

Here’s how:

While box breathing and its variant are easy to master, you may want to breathe along with Dr. Andrew Weil for the 4-7-8 breathing. You can go to Asleep in 60 seconds: 4-7-8 breathing technique claims to help you nod off in just a minute – YouTube to get Dr. Weil’s full explanation on how to use this technique effectively-  not only for sleep, but for anxiety and to lower pulse and blood pressure.

There will be more posts on breathing as I introduce to you the perfect breath and much more.

Get some ZZZs tonight.

In health-

Deidre

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Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Habit Building

One Delicious Imposter

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Have you ever eaten a slice of Mock Apple Pie? I had only heard of it, and I vaguely remembered the pseudo-fruit pie used Ritz Crackers with their all their “buttery goodness.”

A quick jump into the internet HERE revealed some interesting facts:

The mock apple pie, made from crackers, was probably invented for use aboard ships, as it was known to the British Royal Navy as early as 1812.[24] The earliest known published recipes for mock apple pie date from the antebellum period of the 1850s.[25][26] In the 1930s, and for many years afterwards, Ritz Crackers promoted a recipe for mock apple pie using its product, along with sugar and various spices.[27]

Apparently, the Limeys lacked all forms of fresh or dried fruit, not just citrus. Bravo to their creative cooks who cobbled together a pie crust filled with saltines and flavored with sugar and spices.

With fresh fruit at my fingertips, no desire to add sugar, saturated fats or white flour, and a desire for a bit of “healthy dessert” – I set out on my quest.

But first, the back story …

As much as I adore my Grits ‘n Eggs ‘n Okra breakfasts, it’s nice to vary the diet, so I occasionally stir up some oatmeal combo to which I add what I call “sweet spices.”

Check out page 161 of Toolkit for Wellness  to see how using cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and other spices/flavorings can decrease or eliminate the need for sugar.

One day, I got the idea to stir a half can of pumpkin puree into my cooking cereal. After adding vanilla and a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, I was enjoying all the pie satisfaction without tons of sugar or milk – or fattening crust.

I will fess up that my oatmeal is cooked with just a bit of brown sugar – recipe to follow – but the need for more is simply not there. Since there are always leftovers, I soon discovered that a small serving of my Mock Pumpkin Pie was a satisfying, HEALTHY dessert, filled with an orange veggie and fiber.

After putting a small shot of whipped cream on top, I was feeling quite special.

A Mock Apple Pie was soon to follow. Check out these satisfying ingredients and the recipe.

NOTE: Photoshoot day featured fresh apples and strawberries. In hindsight, I’d save the strawberries for the garnish alone – unless you were not planning on having leftovers. Strawberries lose their intense color after cooking. If using immediately, you could stir in the diced strawberries last minute, just prior to serving.

MOCK APPLE PIE a la FOODTALK4YOU

Ingredients

1 cup/250 ml old fashioned rolled oats – I use gluten-free

½ cup/250 ml steel cut oats – I use gluten-free

3 cups/750 ml water

2 tablespoons/30 ml brown sugar

1 cup/250 ml unsweetened applesauce

½ fresh apple, diced – I use Ambrosia apples

1 tsp/5 ml apple pie spice

Splash of vanilla extract – optional

Dash of salt – optional

Method

Add all oats, brown sugar, salt, and water into a saucepan on medium heat, stirring to combine.

Continue stirring occasionally to prevent sticking to the pan. When the spoon begins to leave a “track” at the bottom of the pan, add the applesauce and diced apples. Continue to cook, stirring every so often.

When apples are heated and cooked to your desired doneness, remove from heat, add vanilla – if using – and serve. I prefer to leave some fibrous crunch to my apples to preserve their fresh fruit quality.

A cup and a half/375 ml serving makes a hearty breakfast.

A ¾ cup/187 ml serving is exactly right for dessert or an evening snack.

Certainly, this recipe easily adapts to canned pumpkin, or an array of fresh fruit. I hope you enjoy this hybrid Mock Apple Pie.

In health – even at dessert

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Well, Shut My Mouth!

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Meh. Air in. Air out. What’s the big deal?

Any path in or out doesn’t matter. My nose is congested most of the time anyway, so mouth breathing will do the job, right?

Wrong.

My mind is being blown away by ANCIENT information containing the sure knowledge that breathing exclusively through the nose leads to a long healthy life; and mouth breathing leads to disease, facial deformity, and premature death.

As promised, after sharing some breathing pattern exercises that assist in de-stressing our inner selves, HERE, I am now sharing a little of what I am learning about how to breathe.

Got that??

Yes. James Nestor’s book, Breath – The New Science of a Lost Art, is changing my perspective – not only about how to breathe – but altering my thinking about health, itself, and where it comes from.

And, I am only halfway into chapter 4.

  • Snoring?
  • Sleep apnea?
  • High blood pressure?
  • ADHD?
  • Bedwetting?
  • Erectile Dysfunction?
  • Psoriasis?
  • Depression?
  • Headaches?
  • Crooked teeth?

Oh, the list just goes on and on. Chances are excellent that sufferers of the conditions on the list above are … wait for it … mouth breathers.

You’ve never heard of such? I hadn’t either. I was vaguely aware that mouth breathing lead to an enlarged heart, but all the rest was news to me.

Yet, this is not new information. There is a vast, tough currently not widely shared, body of knowledge on this topic. So far, I have learned about:

  • Texts as old as 1500 BC explaining that the nose is designed to bring air into the body, not the mouth
  • 8th Century Chinese texts citing that breathing is meant to happen through the nose; otherwise, mouth breathing would bring disease.
  • George Catlin, in 1830, who trekked through North America visiting 50 Native American tribes, where he found people to be quite tall – often up to 7 feet – were robust in health, had perfect teeth, and showed no deformities or diseases. Throughout his travels, he discovered a common denominator.
George Catlin

Each tribe embraced what they viewed as an ancient truth regarding health: Breathe exclusively through the nose. Breathing through the mouth brought stress and disease. This single idea was initiated in practice from birth. Mothers would watch over their babies, closing their mouths should they fall open. Even the way babies were carried made mouth opening difficult. So committed to this principle, Native Americans would even smile with closed lips.

  • Catlin continued his exploration of Native Peoples in the Andes, Argentina, and Brazil to see if this technique was universally held. It was.

In 1862, Catlin published his findings, Breath of Life. My copy arrives next week, but James Nestor quotes his last paragraph saying:

“And if I were to endeavor to bequeath to posterity the most important Motto which human language can convey, it should be in three words – SHUT YOUR MOUTH. Where I would paint and engrave it, in every Nursery, and on every Bed-post in the Universe, its meaning could not be mistaken. And if obeyed, its importance would soon be realized.”

See, Catlin became a true believer after closing the chapter of decades-long respiratory disease to opening four decades of robust health, living to about double the life expectancy of that time – all through the diligent practice of breathing exclusively through his nose.

One point of physiology that Nestor is teaching in these early chapters is that mouth breathing begets the need to mouth breathe, while nose breathing increases the ability to nose breathe.

Mouth breathing leads very quickly to snoring. Snoring leads to sleep apnea, whereby the ever-softening tissues at the back of the throat sag down and block the airway, eventually waking the snorer with a snort, which is an intentional gasp to reboot breathing – but just briefly.

So, do you breathe through your nose at night, or through your mouth?

I wasn’t sure. Seemed there was a lot of thick phlegm at the back of my throat that needed to be hacked out every morning. I went to bed with my mouth shut. I woke up with my mouth shut. But I was never ready to get up and out of bed come morning. Hmmm.

Following Nestor’s advice, I purchased some 3M Nexcare Durapore Durable Cloth tape, which in the medical realm is silk tape that is used for bandages.

A one-inch piece of this odorless tape will do. Gently placed over the center of my lips, I am guaranteed to not mouth breathe. Tape removal the next morning is easy, painless, and with no tape residue.

Results? Magically, there is no phlegm to hack out. Also, was that really me – ready to get out of bed? Maybe I wasn’t a lazy person.

Okay, once could have been a fluke. So, I’m continuing my quest to be the best nose breather ever, and the results are the same every day. I feel rested and ready to start each new day.

Who knows what wonders of robust health await? How about you? Ready to SHUT YOUR MOUTH?

Breathing through my nose-

Deidre

ADDENDUM:

Let’s breathe – not gag or suffocate – please! As a reminder to all foodtalk4you readers, I want to remind you not to go to extremes if you want to try your own little tape-over-the-lips experiment.

Clearly, a generous use of Duct Tape, masking tape, painter’s tape, or Gorilla glue should be avoided AT ALL COSTS.

The one-inch portion of silk tape you see me using has now been pared down to one-half inch. You want to be able to cough, sneeze, or even throw up without blocking a natural exit.

This has been safe for me and others while employing common sense.

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Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, This -n- That

Snack Attack Hack!

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Is it too early to start eating the next meal? But you’re feeling a little hungry, and a bite of something would, “keep the big ones from eating the little ones,” as my mom used to say.

Just who the big and little ones were, I never figured out – but they were starting to wage a small battle in my tummy for sure.

How about a baby Snickers? Or just a bite of one? Ha! Bet you can’t do that!

Used to drive my students nuts taking one bite of Snickers a day until it was gone by Friday! LOL! That was back in the day when I ate Snickers.

I digress.

Point being: Wouldn’t an equal number of calories of any number of things, be equal to the body? Bite of Snickers vs. 15 red seedless grapes vs. 8 baby carrots?

If you are a long-time loyal reader of foodtalk4you, I’ve touched on this before. A calorie-for-calorie approach is not going to bring balanced health. Here’s why:

Just look at the labels. Snickers ingredients and nutrition:

Now look at the ingredient and nutrition labels on the grapes and carrots:

Oops! That’s right. There are no ingredient labels! If the snack choice isn’t obvious yet, let’s look at the nutritional breakdown of first grapes and then baby carrots:

With our COVID isolation hopefully winding down soon – I get vaccine #2 on March 10th! – I don’t want to literally roll out my front door carrying the weight of pandemic stress-eating around my waist.

Remember, any extra tonnage we might be lugging along with us was not put there overnight, and it won’t come off overnight either. Let’s do this one baby carrot, or grape, step at a time.

These two snack hacks will start your journey – and will tide you over between meals.

I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now, and can attest that I am feeling great, weigh less, and feel so much better about my food choices.

While that single bite of Snickers is gone in a flash and we are left wanting more, a snack of 10-15 grapes or 8 baby carrots takes much longer to eat, fills up that tummy, adds to our hydration, and provides positive nutrition.

Normally, a bowl of 10 grapes is all I care to eat at a time — they really are filling when nibbled on one at a time. Ten grapes have about 20 calories. There’s plenty of sugar to power up your activity, lots of water, and vital nutrients. These are great as an evening snack to munch on during a movie.

Carrots? Wow! My little bowl of 8 carrots can carry me a long time, and take a while to eat, as well. That’s the keen thing about these two choices, they are not going to be gone in a flash. Did you see the quantity of Vitamin A in 8 baby carrots? Good for the eyes!

Did you get your steps in today? While talking to two friends on my cell phone, I walked my yard like a Rumba! Got my step goal done and a little extra. Can’t beat being in the sunshine, while spreading friendship the only way we can right now!

Join me in using these snack hacks; what is learned while snacking can be applied to meals as well, but that’s another post.

In health-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Habit Building

Just Breathe …

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One meal… One breath… One movement at a time…

Does that sound familiar? Yes! Good job! It’s the focus of foodtalk4you!

Today, I am going to share some breathing techniques that can instantly become a part of your toolkit for stress reduction. Hmmm. Sounds like another book title. More on new books later.

Right now, we’re going to focus on three specific techniques I shared this past weekend during a Zoom meeting. Listeners seemed to be taking notes, and one participant emailed me that the techniques had helped her through a stressful situation later that day.

But first … a short intro. We are born breathing using our diaphragm, and somewhere along the way, often become chest breathers. The difference being. we switched from using the large, strong diaphragm muscle to move the air in and out of our lungs, to using the smaller, secondary muscles of the upper chest.

As a test, notice if your shoulders are rising significantly as you take a nice big breath. Yes? You’re a chest breather. No? Is your belly moving out more than your shoulders move up? Well, you’re a belly breather – and probably a singer with some training on how to breathe.

Chest breathing is associated with our response to stressful situations – a part of that fight-or-flight response. Chronic chest breathing can increase tension in the head, neck, and shoulders. Belly, abdominal, or diaphragmatic breathing is more effective in moving air and leads to calming effects and responses.

When someone tries to help you calm down by saying, “breathe,” your best response is to mindfully take some slower breaths that allow your belly to move out with each new breath.

You can practice this technique by placing one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly. As you slowly breathe in and out through your nose, concentrate on shifting your breath to make your belly move more than your chest. The calming effect is almost immediate.

Armed with knowing how to breathe from your belly, let’s look at three easy techniques that can help you calm down in a jiff.

  1. Falling Out Breath – is excellent for physical tension, and we naturally do this when we groan. Try this: Inhale deeply into your belly, and at the top of the inhale, grab a bit more air. Then, exhale completely, making a sound. A sigh, groan – whatever. Do this a few times, and you’ll note a considerable sense of relaxation in your body.
  • Box Breath – is useful for clearing your mind. Not only will you be moving air more efficiently by breathing using your diaphragm, but your concentration on breathing will scatter whatever emotions or thoughts that are swirling in your head. Do this: Inhale to a count of 4. Hold for a count of 4. Exhale to a count of 4. Hold for a count of 4. Repeat several times. Magic, right? A minute or two of this each should help going to sleep.
  • Emptying breath – our last breath tool for today will deactivate that stress response and reactivate calming mechanisms. Try this for a minute or two: Inhale to a count of 3, and exhale to a count of 6, trying to get rid of as much air as possible.

Please don’t pass out from hyperventilation!

It may take some practice to do these techniques without getting woozy. Take things slow and easy, breathing using that diaphragm. Yes, your belly is going to need to move out – which may detract from your svelte profile – but you can suck it in after your nerves have calmed down.

To learn more about the benefits of deep breathing go here: Decrease stress by using your breath – Mayo Clinic

To learn more about the benefits of box breathing, check this out: Box Breathing: Techniques, Benefits, GIF, and More (healthline.com)

Many thanks to my daughter, Serena, who shared this book with me, Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor.

What I have read of it online has convinced me to get a hard copy to study. You can expect some more posts in the future about this most important subject!

Breathe, dear readers.

In health-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Habit Building, This -n- That

And I Repeat – Happy Groundhog Day!

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I feel a bit like Punxsutawney Phil today. He’s being hauled out of his snug spot to test the sunshine factor for prognostications about the duration of winter.

That’s me. Being drug out of my totally relaxed state of snugness to start the day. My gratitude each time for its opportunities, is invariably followed by the overwhelming urge to hit the snooze alarm.

I’ve told Alexa to nudge me awake with meditation music, which beats the effects of an alarm clock. Starting the day with a startle, a jolt, and an elevated heart rate seems counterproductive to greeting the day with a smile.

With nowhere to safely go, or any deadlines to meet, getting up can be problematic for me. There are still cool things to be accomplished at home, so I rely on my biggest motivator: Sunshine.

Sun streaming in my windows is my happy place. Curtains back, shades up – here comes the sun! If I dally in bed too long, the angle of the sun misses my home office, and inspiration is harder to find.

This is all said as a Segway to the fact – we need sunshine.

Remember learning about the “Sunshine Vitamin”? That vitamin we get through the sunshine that’s good for our bones? Well, it is vital for a lot more than that. Take a look:

As you can see from the chart above, this is an important part of staying healthy. Rays of sunlight trigger our skin and body to produce Vitamin D through a cascade of processes.

If strong bones and sound mind aren’t foremost on your mind, then something that is on everyone’s radar right now is the COVID-19 pandemic. I have read that 80% of those with COVID are/were deficient in Vitamin D.

Check it out HERE: New Study Found 80% of COVID-19 Patients Were Vitamin D Deficient (healthline.com) AND HERE: Low Vitamin D Levels Tied to Odds for Severe COVID (webmd.com).

The Mayo Clinic talks about this same correlation, but suggests the need for further testing –  Can vitamin D protect against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? – Mayo Clinic.

The more I read about Vitamin D, the more I think we need to know our blood levels of this vital nutrient better than our astrological sign. Request that Vitamin D levels be checked at your next doctor’s appointment. Normal values are 30-74 ng/ml. An increasing portion of the population is very deficient. Why?

We are creating the perfect storm to become deficient: Young and old, people are not getting outdoors enough. Much exercise, if done at all, is accomplished in an indoor gym. We need some skin exposure to effective sun to start the chemical processes that create this vitamin in our bodies.

But how much sun? This depends on your latitude, your skin color (darker skin needs MORE exposure), time of day, and season.

Check here for details: How Much Time in the Sun Do You Need for Vitamin D? | US News.

Overall, 5-20 minutes twice a week, when your shadow is no longer than you are tall (between 10:00 am -3:00 pm). The early morning jog does not count toward making Vitamin D. Sorry. Roll up your sleeves and take a noon-day stroll.

Of course, skin cancer is on our minds as well. Experts agree that relying on facial exposure to the sun’s beams should be avoided. Wear a hat and/or use sunscreen on your face and ears.

Use of sunscreen is another part of the perfect storm. Give your arms and legs a few minutes in the sun before slathering up.

Finally, the trifecta involving obesity, Type II Diabetes Mellites, and Vitamin D deficiency creates the capstone to this storm.

A summary of research HERE: Vitamin D Deficiency, Obesity and Diabetes – PubMed (nih.gov) says:

Vitamin D deficiency reduces insulin secretion capacity of the islet beta cells in pancreas. Moreover, epidemiological studies have demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is closely related to obesity and increased risk of T2DM. 

Just this one humble vitamin demonstrates the inner-connectedness of our wonderful bodies. Disrupting the delicate balance of proper body weight, alone, put so many other aspects dangerously out of kilter.

There are dietary risk factors I’ll touch on next week, along with where we can access Vitamin D through diet so, stay tuned.

Deidre Edwards

In the meantime, protecting face and ears, show a little skin to Mr. Sun for a few minutes each week as temperatures allow. My bundled up walk here in the Northern Hemisphere didn’t do much for my Vitamin D levels, but did wonders for my spirit and served as excellent exercise on a cold winter’s day.

In health,

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

The Eyes Have It!

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This is a Public Service Announcement for your eyes. Your peepers have been, undoubtedly, going through some extra stress and strain since March.

Why?

#1- Living with a truckload of extra stress,

#2- Staring at computer screens even more than ever, and

#3 – We’ve never been this old before.

I am still trying not to smack the people who precede their comments with, “Well, as you age, Mrs. Edwards …” to explain away every symptom I have. But, folks, it’s true.

Whether you are pushing 20 years of age, or 40, or 50, or beyond – if we are living, we are AGING.

Embrace it.

With aging comes the drying out that produces wrinkles, and decreases moisture in about everything, and the eyes are no exception. The oil and tear glands are still producing oil and tears but the viscosity – fluidness – is going down.

Think of free-flowing hot pancake syrup changing into cold molasses.

As a result, the slower moving oil glands can very easily get plugged up – especially if we are staring at a computer screen or even an innocent craft project (as in my case last week).

You may be experiencing a sty or a chalazion. The symptoms are described by the Mayo Clinic:

Signs and symptoms of a sty include:

  • A red lump on your eyelid that is similar to a boil or a pimple
  • Eyelid pain
  • Eyelid swelling
  • Tearing

Another condition that causes inflammation of the eyelid is a chalazion. A chalazion occurs when there’s a blockage in one of the small oil glands near the eyelashes. Unlike a sty, a chalazion usually isn’t painful and tends to be most prominent on the inner side of the eyelid. Treatment for both conditions is similar.

No eye inflammation? Great! But you may be experiencing dry eyes. Again, according to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms eye strain from those dried out eyes include:

  • A stinging, burning or scratchy sensation in your eyes
  • Stringy mucus in or around your eyes
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Eye redness
  • A sensation of having something in your eyes
  • Difficulty wearing contact lenses
  • Difficulty with nighttime driving
  • Watery eyes, which is the body’s response to the irritation of dry eyes
  • Blurred vision or eye fatigue

Even heightened stress can cause a degree of vision changes.

Geez. Sounds like the trifecta for eye woes – and it is.

But happily, there are things we can do to remedy the situation. A few of them include:

  • Make sure you are current with your yearly eye exam
  • Stay hydrated with water
  • Look up from the computer screen more often. Not a quick glance, but look at something far away; blink extra, and take several deep, slow cleansing breaths before looking at the computer again
  • Get up and away from the computer at least once an hour for a ten-minute walk-about
  • Make sure your hands are freshly washed before touching your eyes or caring for your contacts
  • Completely remove all eye make up each night before retiring
  • Do hot, moist compresses for each eye lasting ten minutes to “get the juices flowing” properly

These hot, moist compresses have been the eye-saver for me – except when working on iris paper folding projects too long at night. Every night for almost 3 years, I have been doing hot compresses to both eyes – it’s a doctor’s order.

Skip the compresses and a blocked up gland will result. Sty city.

Horrible hordeolum – that’s my medical slang for a sty. Except these stys do not always come to a head – they are sort of a hybrid of sty/ chalazion – and they are hurtful.

To do a hot compress for my eyes, I simply get an unused/clean wash cloth, fold it, dip the end/ends in very hot tap water, gently squeeze excess water out, and press to my eyelids. When the compress cools off, I re-dip, and re-apply as quickly as possible. Playing some relaxing meditation music while doing this makes for an enjoyable wind-down before bed.

Maybe if I had done these compresses twice a week many years ago, I wouldn’t have to do this every night now.

*Sigh* Oh, the rules apply to me?

Yes, grasshopper, to you as well.

In eye health-

Deidre

Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Recipes

Orange Obsessed OCTOBER!

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Taking a poll here. Do you eat orange-colored foods? As in pumpkin, winter squash, and sweet potatoes? Okay. Now, are you male or female? I could find no supporting studies to confirm my theory, but I know several men who prefer to never eat orange food at all.

Not. Ever. Again.

Carrots … but only if they’re raw.

Maybe they are afraid of what the fellow in this banner experienced. Alas, poor York, I knew him well.

I joined with the excitement sweeping across the country as temperatures began to drop and Dunkin’ Donuts brought back all things pumpkin.

A pumpkin latte is not a waist-slimming or healthy meal replacement beverage, but there have been two in my life since the start of September. I’m still waiting for that perfect day to eat my ONCE yearly glutenous, pumpkin donut. It will be a fine moment!

I do adore pumpkin treats. Rather than grabbing an expensive gluten-free crust for my pumpkin pie, I will often just omit the crust all together and bake my pumpkin filling in a greased baking dish.

Pumpkin pudding, anyone?

A recipe came to my inbox the other day from the blog paleomg.com for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Bars. She apologized for them not being paleo because of the oats, and she – like I have – returned to eating gluten-free oats with no ill effects.

But I just can’t leave a recipe alone. I’m always tweaking ingredients to make recipes more nutritious.

This recipe checks so many brain food boxes: all the benefits of colorful food, dark chocolate, whole grain, Omega3 fatty acids, fiber, more Omega3s, protein, eggs (remember last week’s Adam’s apple?), walnuts (did they pop out of my navel?), more protein – check, check, check.

So, here’s my first dive into pumpkin-inspired recipes, and I’m so pleased with the results. I hope you will try these.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Bars 2.0

Ingredients

3/4 cup/175 ml canned pumpkin puree (The original recipe uses ½ cup/125 ml, but I added dry ingredients that would need the added moisture)

1 cup/250 ml runny nut butter (almond or cashew)

Note: I made my own nut butter using a food processor and soaked, unroasted cashews. Make sure you soak the cashews for one hour. The goal is to not have a dry nut butter as the bars will be too dry and crumble. I added some avocado oil and a small spoonful of coconut oil until the consistency was to my liking.

2 extra-large eggs

¼ cup/50 ml maple syrup

¼ cup/50 ml brown sugar – or less

Note: This is me adding sugar to a recipe! I’m usually eliminating it, but when I tested the batter, it was just off, so I added just a small shake of brown sugar from the bag. It wasn’t much, but it did the job. These are not overly sweet tasting at all. As I have mentioned in the past – sugar makes you want more sugar – so I don’t use a lot of the stuff.

1 teaspoon/5 ml vanilla extract

1 ½ cups/375 ml gluten-free old-fashioned oats

2 teaspoons/10 ml pumpkin pie spice

½ teaspoon/2.5 ml baking soda

Pinch of salt – I used a little more because my nut butter lacked salt

½ cup/125 ml mini-dark chocolate chips. The original recipe calls for 1 cup/250 ml of regular-sized chips, but mini-chips seem to go further and I did not want the chocolate to overpower the pumpkin.

My additions that make this good for you:

¼ cup/50 ml collagen hydrolysate

2 tablespoons/ 30 ml of hemp seed hearts

Cute squirrel eating a walnut

2 tablespoons/30 ml ground flax seeds

¼ cup/60 ml chopped walnuts

You may need a few spoonfuls of coconut flour at the end if the batter seems too wet. Add a bit at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk/mix the wet ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, incorporating well. If the batter/mix seems too wet, add a bit of coconut flour, a spoonful at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Pour/spoon batter into prepared pan. I sprinkled about 1 tablespoonful of turbinado sugar(*) on top just to dress things up.

Bake 45-50 minutes. Start checking for doneness at 45 minutes – mine was starting to get a little too brown on top but the toothpick test revealed a still wet interior, so I put some foil over the top and continued to bake it until it was obviously done on the inside.

When fully baked, remove from oven to cool. After 5 minutes, slice using a serrated knife. I easily cut mine into sixteen squares. Just enough to go with a cup of coffee for special fall morning breakfast outdoors.

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In health – Deidre

(*) Turbinado Sugar is darker and less fine. It is also known as raw sugar.

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, This -n- That

Beating a Dead Horse?

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Giddy up! Come on Ol’ Paint! Let’s go! Giddy up! There’s a nice juicy carrot back at the barn …

Ol’ Paint does not seem to be moving.

Carrots aren’t effective motivators lately.

Even the sound of the whip snapping in the air does not keep Ol’ Paint motivated.

Can you relate? I can. I’m Ol’ Paint!

Early on during the stay-at-home orders, I was relishing digging into much over-looked projects. As a solo stay at homer, the honey-do list is written my me and handed to me.

Scrub this; organize that; sew masks; start “farming” – throw action-oriented posts up on Facebook.

Life’s a breeze filled with motivation and lots of carrots.

Now? Meh. Not so much.

I think I’m beating a dead horse.

Mind games of holding that first cup of coffee hostage until I did daily morning planks, used to be a thing that created success – especially when I texted the accomplishment to my plank buddy.

Now? I’ll do those planks when I am good and ready, thank you!

Rebellion! Total rebellion!

What’s going on in my mind – and possibly yours as well – is a deep-seated need to control; and with so much control having been taken away, there’s some rebellion going on trying to seize it back.

We see this publicly on the news each day. I will not open that can of worms by engaging in exhaustive social commentary. However, I gladly wear my mask and am only carefully tippy-toeing into Phase 1 – just sayin’.

But personally? The zest for accomplishments, productivity, and physical movement is difficult, if not impossible, to sustain.

While I’m not flat lining in life, the giddy up feelings are fleeting. I want to be more, do more, and self-start with more ease. What to do?

If Ol’ Paint doesn’t want to move down the same path and be rewarded in the same way, we need to find out why. What are other options? How can the reward change? Is a different schedule needed?

A good place to start might be getting the 80,000-foot view. Look at the bigger picture from way up high.

What do you see?

Loneliness?

Forced change of travel?

Boredom?

Fear?

Self-doubt?

Lack of motivation?

Lack of daily patterns?

Inability to see beauty?

You are probably thinking of twenty more to add to this list.

Clearly, for me at least, the old motivators are either not there or they look a lot different now. If you are not alone within your four walls, this could become a meaningful group/family activity. The 80,000-foot view could surprise.

So, if Ol’ Paint is having a hard time making it along the way, get off his/her back to lighten the load first. Then, reconsider how many hurdles your horse must jump each day to feel a sense of accomplishment.

We are all in uncharted territory. The stress still spins in the background whether we know it or not. Sleep habits are frequently thrown off – especially if we are not being expected to attend a Zoom meeting at 8:00-9:00-10:00 in the morning. Maybe even if we are obligated to be on screen. It’s a daily lesson in self-discovery with an over-arching message of needing to be easy on ourselves.

Take some weight off Ol’ Paint.

There is one universal truth that still applies during this trying time. To lessen our own angst, we can look away from our own needs to the needs of others. Shake that deer-in-the-headlight feeling that seems so prevalent and reach out to someone else each day. Something other than Facebook.

Preferably, call a friend or associate just to say hello and to check on them. Send a card in the mail. You remember the mail? It still comes and don’t we get excited when something other than a bill or an ad is in the box? Brighten someone’s day with a simple contact.

You’ll find that such caring for others will make you feel better as well.

Is a friend not able to go inside the doctor’s office or hospital while their loved one gets medical treatments? Offer to meet them in the parking lot while they wait! You can social distance 6 feet away through open car windows while wearing masks.

Spreading joy to others bounces right back to us!

Easy access to concentration skills had eluded me lately. Reading a fascinating, yet technical, article is somehow just not withing my grasp. But I have been given a different kind of concentration to do. A Mother’s Day gift of an exquisitely alluring two-sided picture of succulents has totally captured my imagination. I can’t help clapping in the air when I put pieces together and finish a section.

Part of my fear-like concerns during this time is how all this isolation will affect my mind. Being able to conquer this puzzle, figuring out how to use a new sewing machine to craft masks, and figuring out how to plant a garden have all given my brain a run for its money.

That’s another point. I am profoundly grateful to my children who are keeping close tabs on me. Calls, texts, Facetime, Marco Polo (a new one for me!), and gifts of cards, puzzle, and a sewing machine are not only keeping me thinking, functioning, and happy, but are helping to close the gap we all are feeling across the miles with no travel in sight.

Today’s food for thought is to:

  • Reflect on your situation from the 80,000-foot perspective
  • Shifting focus away from your concerns to become a bright light for someone else will ease everyone’s pain
  • Be easy on Ol’ Paint

’m wearing gym clothes this rainy day with the doable goal of exercising every time I move. High steps, squats, weights in hands to work arms and abs. The Beach Boys music really gets me stepping and moving in creative exercise ways! Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees is a favorite to power me through planks!

In health-

Deidre

Sharing these posts with friends is another way to reach out! Ol’ Paint is learning about Facebook Live, so stay tuned for regular short missives. Like Foodtalk4you on Facebook so you won’t miss out, AND like Toolkits for Health on Facebook where I’ll soon be doing short Live events to help Caregivers.

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