Natural Antibiotics

My mom doesn't help me fill out forms. Any forms, applications or paperwork at all was picked up, filled out and turned in by me... nobody else... Part of that whole "growing up" thing. Well, senior year in high school, when I was filling my application for college housing, I was sneezing, using tissue after tissue after tissue, my eyes were stinging and watering. I can't remember if it was a cold or allergies but I ended up having to take a Sudafed.

Well, wasn't that an experience! I got so loopy and could not concentrate. I kept asking my mom this one question but couldn't concentrate long enough to write it down... Yes, I was too loopy. She had me hand over the computer and she filled out my form!

Back to the present: The colds have passed, except for C's random Kleenex's found in certain areas of the house. I thought, however, that I would follow up last week's health post with what herbs I took in place of drugs this past cold. Obviously, I haven't been friendly with Sudafed and look for other options.

Here are two reasons I turn to herbs:

Reason #1:
An herb is found to help cure an ailment. To make this available to the public via a drug, the specific compound in the herb, which plays the main part in curing the ailment, is isolated. The compound is then chemically derived and a drug is made.

An herb is put together in a way that all the ingredients work together to have their effect, in this case curing a cold. When one ingredient is separated from the rest of the compounds, it does not have the assistance of the others. Not only that, but it is also not the real compound. To make the drugs, the needed compound is chemically created.

Reason #2:
A drug is used with the main purpose of hiding symptoms, for example, of a cold. Clear the sinuses, stop the runny nose and relieve stinging eyes. A drug hides these symptoms well, however, doesn't always assist in curing the actual problem.

An herb is different. An herb is used with the ultimate purpose of helping the body fight the cold. A side effect might be clearing the sinuses and relieving the other symptoms. They aren't always immediate but it doesn't matter since the main goal is to strengthen the body's immune system and get rid of the sickness.

That being said...
Here are the two herbs that I used rather than Sudafed:

Give me the real thing and all the healthy ingredients to go with it!

1. D-Hist
Don't mask allergies or colds! This product helps support the sinuses and nasal passageway tissue.

2. Sinupret
This is another herbal medication commonly prescribed in Europe, that supports the upper respiratory system and healthy nasal passages. But it also helps strengthen the immune system.

When you get sick, take all your vitamins, take extra vitamin C, and look into what kind of herbs can help your strengthen your immune system, which will in turn clear your sinuses and nasal passages.

To read more about either of the above herbs, D-Hist or Sinupret, visit the following links: http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/328, http://www.bionoricausa.com/2010/11/sinupret-adult-strength/

Sick with a Cold=Jack and H2O2

The colds are back and little rougher than the first round this winter season. I was the first to catch it and now it is making its round throughout the family. The Jack Daniels can be found on the kitchen counter next to the tea and honey. And the vitamin cupboard is probably opened about 50 percent of the day.

Obviously from my post during the last cold season, we don't pick the typical methods to fight the bug. No cough syrup and hopefully no Sudafed or Dayquil. Nope. Instead its a spoonful of whiskey, some vitamins, a couple herbs and hydrogen peroxide.

When we take things for a cold, we aren't just trying to make ourselves feel better and hide the symptoms, we try to give our body what it needs to kill the bug and detox. Tea with honey and less than a shot of Jack are to help with throat pain, but when it comes down to actually trying to fight the cold, hydrogen peroxide is one of the places we turn.

First, a bit of history... In 1928, Richard Simmons, M.D., hypothesized that the cold and flu virus come into the body through the ear canal. That's right, not the mouth, nose or eyes, but the ears. His theory was dismissed by the medical community. I, however, think he had a point. When colds are going around, I try to avoid touching my face. I don't touch my eyes, nose or mouth. But I fix my earrings, put my hair behind my ear and I rest my head in my hand... the side of my head and thus next to my ears... I do all of this with the intention of not touching my face. And how many people put a pencil or pen behind their ears?

I think Dr. Simmons had a point. In 1938, German researchers experimented with using hydrogen peroxide the ears in order to fight the common cold. It worked, but their research was and, for the most part, still is ignored.

Here is what they did:

1. Tilt your head to the side and pour some hydrogen peroxide in your ear. 
2. Let the peroxide sit. It will find and begin to start killing bacteria and you will feel it bubbling. It may tickle or sting, but it won't hurt.
3. After a few minutes, it will stop and then you can drain your ear. If it doesn't stop after five minutes, then drain your ear and repeat with fresh hydrogen peroxide until the bubbling stops.
4. Repeat in your second ear. 

Begin this process within the first 10 to 12 hours of the first symptoms. Evidently, if done within this time period, you might be able to fight a cold off before completely catching it.

Maybe if I grabbed the hydrogen peroxide the morning of the day I pulled out the Jack Daniels for my tea, I wouldn't have gotten the full blown cold and could have fought it off faster! I usually wait till day 2 or 3 when I really start feeling bad to start this. I didn't know to start this process so quickly until I did a little more research for this post. Next year, I am definitely going to have to do this immediately within the first signs of the cold.

Happy cold season...

To read more about hydrogen peroxide treatment in the ears, visit the following link: http://www.purestcolloids.com/no-cold.php

Slipping on Ice

Who was affected by the ice storm, blizzard or thundersnow this week? Well, here we definitely got the ice part! Woke up yesterday morning and had to wait 20 minutes for my car to heat up enough to start melting the ice, just so that I could begin to scrape it all off! And our driveway... ice skates might have been nice!

Topics of the day:

• Your wipe out
• How big of a bruise is on your butt?

So the recognition of everybody's fall (whether they will share it or not...) here is one of my favorite wipe out scenes from the movie "While You Were Sleeping." I laugh every time...

Kombucha

The Kombucha is back! And it is a delicious batch :)

Have you ever heard of a SCOBY? Do you hide anything in a cupboard to let it ferment? Do ever open a cupboard and get a whiff of vinegar stench?

Well, if you go into our kitchen and open the cupboard where we keep our large pots, our blender and the Cuisinart, then that is exactly what you will get.

Since we have so many people who like to drink the Kombucha, we make it in mass quantities. Not all of us drink it, but the half of us that do, love it and drink a lot... Well, we usually love it... Sometimes we have that bad batch that is so sour that we can't even drink it. Last time we made it, we let it ferment for way too long and couldn't drink it. So for me, it feels like forever since I had a glass.

I could go to the store and buy a bottle, but that would mean spending $3.49 for a couple minutes of delicious healthy drinking. Just about the same as if I bought a latte every morning from Starbucks. Thank goodness my parents have the resources for me to make my special drinks without spending money! (Benefits of still living at home!)

But still, even if I did this on my own, Kombucha is cheap and easy to make! It involves a SCOBY, green tea and lots of sugar.

The SCOBY is the interesting part. The SCOBY is a Symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Yes, the main ingredient for one of the healthiest drinks out there is bacteria! It floats on top of the two gallons of green tea and feeds off the sugar, and that is what ferments the tea. It is the cause of the transformation from sweet tea to Kombucha.

Why do we drink Kombucha?
First, if we make a good batch, it is absolutely delicious. (If we make a bad batch it tastes like vinegar. Not sure what we do to ruin it.)

But what really got us into it in the beginning, were the health benefits. I started drinking Kombucha when I moved back home after college.  If you drink it before a meal, it helps with digestion. This definitely assisted me in losing a few of those extra college pounds. Digestion, weight loss, immune support, detoxification and energy boosting are among the benefits.

According to the government, there is a negative. When Kombucha ferments, eventually traces of alcohol can be found. When the Kombucha is made and put in bottles, it still is fermenting. It ferments on the shelves slowly. Last summer Kombucha was temporarily taken off the shelves completely. Lindsay Lohan used it as an excuse for why she had alcohol in her system. Surprise, surprise.

To read more about Lohan and her Kombucha bust, visit the following link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/38126667/Kombucha_Debate_Free_Lindsay

To learn how to make your own scoby, visit the following link: http://www.foodrenegade.com/how-to-grow-a-kombucha-scoby/

¿Cómo?... What?

So I have this reoccurring dream... The location and situation changes all the time, but the concept is always the same.

The Dream:
I am talking to another person. I desperately need some important information, but when the person responds, they are speaking in Spanish. The problem is...... I don't understand a word they are saying!

Real Life:
I studied Spanish in college and even traveled to live abroad in Spain. I obviously know Spanish! When I dream, I am making up the conversation with my own knowledge.

Why would I create a conversation with my own mind but also make it so that I don't understand a word that is being said?!?

Question:
Is this normal?

Sleep vs. Sleep Deprivation

Me at the Madrid train station

I'm laying here with a pillow and a blanket sooo tired. Last weekend I was in Chicago for my friend's birthday and therefore didn't post on here. Now today, I'm just exhausted from last night. (I went to the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture show with a whole bunch of crazies!)

While I have been laying here, wishing I was sleeping, I've researched several future posts, but nothing that I'm ready to complete or post today. What is written, I don't even like yet.

I  finally decided to pick a whole new topic all together! I typed into my google search, "sleep benefits."

Like brother, like sister... J can sleep anywhere!

Here is what I've found (This list is kind of boring and predictable... So if you want to get to the good stuff, skip to the second list!):

1.  Sleep helps reduce stress. (Duh! I get so high strung when I'm sleep deprived.)

2.  Sleep can help you lose weight. This is due to the fact that it helps control your hormones. (Wonder if the hormones have anything to due with my stress)

3.  Sleep decreases inflammation. Lack of sleep causes stress. Stress causes inflammation. Therefore, sleep eliminates inflammation.

4.  Sleep helps control a body's chemicals and thus also reduces the risk for depression.

5.  Sleep gives the body time to repair itself. 

6  Sleep improves your memory and can make you smarter.

7.  Sleep keeps your heart healthy. No heart attacks or strokes!

8.  Sleep may help prevent Cancer.

9.  Sleep makes you more alert. (Again, Duh! I'm no longer sleep walking!)

S can sleep anywhere too!

While looking through repetitive articles all listing the same health benefits from sleeping, I came by a hilarious and creative countdown of 10 benefits from sleep deprivation (Seriously, you should read the original article! I didn't write everything down here, since I didn't want to steal the whole thing.):

10.  Sleep deprivation allows you to speak your mind.

9.  Sleep deprivation provides more time for productivity.

8.  Sleep deprivation lets your family see your emotional side.

7.  Sleep deprivation can lead to lack of rationality, which can lead to creativity.

6.  Sleep deprivation gives you excuses to try gourmet coffee.

5.  Sleep deprivation provides you with an excuse to nap.

4.  Sleep deprivations gives you a free pass when you forget important information.

3.  Sleep deprivation allows you to fast forward through boring situations

2.  Sleep deprivation can give you a pretty good buzz by the end of the day.

1.  You can see the sunrise and the sunset in one day!

To read this hilarious blogpost, which, like I said, is 100x funnier than my summary, visit the following link: http://newauthors.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/10-benefits-of-sleep-deprivation/

To read more about the health benefits of sleeping, just google "health benefits."

But for now, Goodnight!

Ménage à Trois

Every once in a while, K and I crash Mom and Dad's Friday date night and go wine tasting with them at Whole Foods. It's great. For $4 we get five different wines with a different appetizer to go with each wine.
Not only is this a great little deal, but this simple event also gives me the chance to educate myself in the wine world! I can actually try many different wines, instead of picking out a bottle based on the fact that its cheap, it's red and the name is recognizable. And if the bottle has an animal on it, that's usually a bonus, too. What can I say?... I think the kangaroo is kind of cool.

No. At wine tasting, I discover that there are more than just Shiraz and Merlot. There were several wines that I really liked, even a white one. I don't usually like white wine. But, this isn't about that wine. This is about my favorite of the night, which was of course a red wine: Ménage à Trois.

A couple days afterward, I went grocery shopping with my mom. She and I decided to buy a bottle of that wine. We looked all over for it, but we couldn't find it. She mentioned that she didn't want to ask the guy restocking the shelves where it was... because of the name.

But I didn't hear that last part... the "because of the name" part... So naturally, when she asked me if I would ask, I jumped right to it!

"Why don't you ask him?"

"Ok," and I walked right over to the employee.

"I'm looking for Ménage à Trois," I said, "Do you know where I can find it?"

Yeah... As I was speaking I was realizing why Mom asked ME to go ask him about it. Could I have phrased the question in any better of a way? I've always thought direct was best... Maybe I should reconsider.

... By the way, don't type Ménage à Trois into google and expect only wine pictures to pop up...