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Are you taking care of your parents in their 70s? What are your challenges?

My mom cannot drive and has arthritis. I know many bay area residents, baby boomers, who are taking of their ailing parents.

Coordinating caregivers, driving them to doctors, caring for them at home during the night and just about anything.

I salute you for caring for your aging parents.

You are the first line of support aside from their caregivers.

You know them and know what is best for them.

So, communicate their needs well to the health care professionals and their caregivers.

I have been running a caregiving agency during the past 10years and I have seen the challenges of children caring for their parents.

Especially those who live outside of the bay area.

Estate planning, care giving scheduling, financial plans, medical plans and many more considerations.

I have some resources that might help you to help coordinate their needs.

I am available for one on one sessions for your self when you age or before you get sick and for your current situation with your ailing parents.

———

Connie Dello Buono

Founder of Motherhealth Inc, affordable caregiving at home

408-854-1883

Retirement planner and health coach in the bay area

1708 Hallmark Lane San Jose CA 95124

motherhealth@gmail.com

clubalthea.com

Working parents with young children, how did you do it?

Sacrifices,tears,time management,letting go of your career growth

As I listen to mothers and fathers today with children, I can see their sleepy eyes and tired bodies.

They asked me how I managed it during those times that my children were young.

I said it was financially difficult to stay home. I tag team with my partner then to babysit and not hire a babysitter for quality of care and costs reasons.

Many working parents in the bay area have no choice because of the cost of housing.

Both must work even when the children were sick, they have to give the meds and drop them off to day care or babysitter.

My salute to all parents with young children in the bay area.

For the hard work, sleepless nights and going through all the sacrifices to work and care for their young ones.

Only your hands and care can mean so much to the children.

Their young bodies and brains will thank you for a lifetime.

Happy Father’s day this Sunday.

Women brains, bodies, pains and genes

If you believe what you see on TV, women are inscrutable, conniving, hysterical and apt to change their minds without reason or warning. Some women’s magazines perpetuate these stereotypes by offering advice on how to entrapmen or keep them guessing. And some of the basic differences between men and women can seem a little confusing, depending on your point of view. So it’s not surprising that one of the most requested articles in the history of HowStuffWorks is “How Women Work.”

The irony is that from conception until the eighth week of gestation, male and female bodies are almost exactly the same. The only difference is at the chromosomal level, deep inside the embryos’ cells. Inside every cell of a person’s body, DNA is tightly wound into pairs of structures called chromosomes. One pair of chromosomes determines whether the person is male or female. Except in the case of extremely rare abnormalities, a person with two X chromosomes is female, and a person with one X chromosome and one Y chromosome is male. For a few weeks, these chromosomes are all that differentiates male embryos from female embryos.

Of course, by the time embryos grow into adults, there are big differences between male and female bodies. On average, females are shorter and smaller than males are, although females have a higher percentage of body fat. Typically, female bodies have reproductive organs that can support a developing baby and nourish it after its birth. Their blood pressure is lower, and their heart beats faster, even when they’re asleep [Source: FDA]. Female bodies also have faster blood flow to their brains and lose less brain tissue as they age than male bodies do [Source: Psychology Today].

And then, of course, there are hormones, which a lot of people view as a huge difference between men and women. But every person’s body, whether it’s male or female, uses hormones to regulate and control a wide range of processes. Hormones are the products of the endocrine system, which includes numerous glands located in various parts of the body. For example, two well-known hormones are adrenaline, which comes from the adrenal gland, and insulin, which comes from the pancreas. These and other hormones are vital to the lives and health of all people.

Sex hormones, on the other hand, work a little differently in male and female bodies. In male bodies, thetestes produce the hormone testosterone, which regulates sperm production and causes masculine secondary sex characteristics. In female, the ovaries produce hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which regulate reproductive processes. Male bodies convert a little testosterone into estrogen, and females’ bodies make small amounts of testosterone, so neither hormone is exclusive to one sex or the other.

A man’s testosterone levels can fluctuate throughout the day as his body regulates its production of sperm. But a woman’s sex hormone levels fluctuate as part of her reproductive cycle, which takes about a month to complete. During a woman’s childbearing years, the recurring changes in her hormone levels can cause symptoms like irritability and moodiness, known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS). When a woman reaches perimenopause, her body slows down its production of sex hormones. During the process, her levels of estrogen and progesterone can vary significantly, causing symptoms like hot flashes and trouble sleeping.

Sex hormones can affect a woman’s emotions and physiology throughout most of her life. But contrary to some people’s perceptions, they’re not responsible for every facet of her behavior. In this article, we’ll look at some other common perceptions and stereotypes about women as we examine how they work.

 

Women and Emotions

A 2001 Gallup poll asked American adults whether a series of qualities applied more to men or to women. Ninety percent of those surveyed said that the characteristic “emotional” applied more to women. The survey didn’t ask about particular emotions or specify positive or negative connotations for the word “emotion.” But it seems likely from the results that most Americans view women as either able to experience or prone to experiencing a wider, more intense range of emotions than men do.

Are women more emotional than men are? Do they cry more?

The perception that women cry more than men is pretty widespread. But as babies and children, boys and girls cry about the same amount on average. Only during puberty do girls begin to cry more than boys do. According to a 2005 New York Times article, by age 18, women cry four times as much as men.

A possible explanation for this is the hormone prolactin, which contributes to how much people cry. Prolactin is present in blood and tears, and it’s more prevalent in women than in men. Women’s tear ducts are also shaped a little differently from men’s, which could be either a cause or an effect of increased crying [Source: New York Times]. In addition, people who are depressed may cry four times as much as people who are not, and two-thirds of people diagnosed with depression are women [Psychology Today].

Of course, another common explanation is that some societies encourage women to cry while discouraging men from crying. In the United States, an exception to this standard seems to be the business world. In some businesses, crying is discouraged — a woman who cries in the office may be viewed as weak or ineffectual [Source: New York Times].

In the next section we’ll look at how women handle stress.

 

Women and Stress

Are women more stressed out than men are?

Women sometimes have a reputation for being worriers. According to a 2005 Gallup poll, women are more worried about a range of social issues than menare. Significantly more women than men answered that they worried “a great deal” about seven of the 12 issues in the survey.

Stud­ies show that, in addition to worrying more often, women may be physiologically prone to experiencing more stress. For example, theamygdala of the brain processes emotions like fear and anxiety. In men, the amygdala communicates with organs that take in and process visual information, like the visual cortex. In women, though, it communicates with parts of the brain that regulate hormones and digestion. This may mean that stress responses are more likely to cause physical symptoms in women than in men [Source: Live Science].

In addition, women’s bodies produce more stress hormones than men’s bodies do. Once a stressful event is over, women’s bodies also take longer to stop producing the hormones. This may be a cause or an effect of women’s tendency to replay stressful events in their minds and think about upsetting situations [Source:Psychology Today].

Are women more jealous than men are?

In some people’s minds, women are more jealous and possessive than men are, especially in the context of romantic relationships. But research suggests that women aren’t more jealous than men — they’re just jealous about different situations.

In one German study, researchers showed participants images of several scenarios. The participants used a computer to describe which of the scenarios would be more upsetting. The results suggest that, across cultures, women find emotional infidelity more upsetting than sexual infidelity. Men’s responses varied across cultures, but in general they were jealous of sexual infidelity [Source: Human Nature].

On the other hand, a study at the University of California at San Diego measured participants’ blood pressure and heart rate rather than asking them to describe their responses. Men had greater physical reactions to physical infidelity, while woman reacted with about the same intensity to both scenarios. Women who were in committed relationships were more upset by physical infidelity than those who were not. However, 80 percent of the women in the study thought emotional infidelity would be more upsetting to them than physical infidelity [Source: Psychology Today].

Next, we’ll look at some common perceptions of how women learn and communicate.

 

Women: Brains, Bodies and Barbies

In 1992, Mattel Toys released a talking Barbie doll that said the phrase, “Math class is tough!” The doll caused controversy, especially among parents and teachers who thought that it reinforced the stereotype that girls are not good at math. Standardized test scores seemed to support the stereotype — in general, boys’ scores in math were higher than girls’ [Source:Psychology Today].

Research into the differences in men’s and women’s brains also seemed to support the idea that men should be better at math. Men have 6.5 times more gray matter in their brains than women do. Women have 10 times more white matter. Gray matter creates processing centers in the brain, and white matter creates the connections between them. In other words, men have lots of areas for processing concrete data — like mathematical equations — and women have lots of connections that allow them to see and process patterns [Source: Live Science]. Some researchers believe that this difference in brain structure supports the idea that men are better at math while women are better at language. ­

H­owever, other researchers argue that men aren’t really better at math. Girls often make better grades in math than boys do. Researchers theorize that the stereotype that women are not good at math may be partly to blame for this discrepancy. According to Dr. Robert Josephs of the University of Texas-Austin, women fear that their performance on standardized tests will prove that they’re bad at math. For this reason, they don’t do as well on tests, regardless of whether they’ve made good grades in math classes. Men, on the other hand, see such tests as an opportunity to prove that they are good at math, so they perform better [Source: Psychology Today].

In addition, women tend to receive higher scores on math tests when they take them without men in the room. According to one study that evaluated men and women who had made similar SAT scores, women’s scores increase by up to 12 percent when taking tests without men in the room. Researchers say this is due to a stereotype threat, or a fear that a person will conform to a common stereotype [Source: Cook].

Regardless of how well they score on standardized tests, women seem to be able to develop math skills that are equal to men’s. A large-scale analysis of data also suggests that there’s very little difference between men and women’s abilities in math [Source: Economist].

 

Women and Pain

Do women have a higher pain tolerance than men?

Some people suppose that, because they are able to bear children, women have a higher pain tolerance than men do. However, several studies do not support this theory. A study at the Pain Management Unit of the University of Bath reported that women feel more pain in their lifetimes and that they feel pain for longer durations than men do. One experiment involved men and women submerging their arms in ice water. In that experiment, women had a lower pain threshold and lower tolerance for pain than men did [Source: Live Science].

Women’s brains also respond a little differently to pain than men’sbrains do. There is considerable overlap in the areas of the brain that respond to pain and stress, but women’s limbic centers become active in addition to these areas. The limbic center is responsible for a person’s emotions, so this suggests that women are likely to have emotional responses to pain and stress. Researchers theorize that this is because of the traditional gender role of women as caregivers [Source: Science Daily].

Does Barbie really make women hate their bodies?

In 1995, researchers at the University of Arizona studied how African-American and Caucasian girls viewed their bodies [Source: University of Arizona]. They asked teenaged girls to describe their own bodies as well as what a perfect girl would look like. African-American girls were reluctant to assign physical traits to an ideal girl, but Caucasian girls gave roughly the same description. Their idea of an ideal girl was 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighed about 100 pounds and had long hair. Researchers called this description “a living manifestation of a Barbie doll” [Source: Quindlen].

Some researchers have used this as evidence that Barbie dolls encourage women to strive to have bodies that are unattainable. Some say Barbie is responsible for breast implants and eating disorders. However, there hasn’t been a large-scale study directly linking playing with Barbie dolls to low self-esteem or increased eating disorders. There haven’t been any studies proving that girls want to look like Barbie dolls, either. In fact, a 2005 British study revealed that girls often deface or mutilate their Barbie dolls while leaving their other toys unharmed [Source: Live Science].

However, one study has suggested that toys with unattainable proportions might affect a person’s self-image. But the study didn’t involve Barbie — it involved male subjects and Ken dolls as well as action figures like the Hulk and G.I. Joe. The men in the study reported a more negative self image after playing with hyper-muscular action figures than after playing with Ken [Source: Sex Roles: A Journal of Research]. If playing with a toy can affect men in this way, it may affect women similarly.

Doctors and scientists are still discovering other similarities and differences in men and women, and they’ve made some surprising discoveries. For example, after World War II, pharmaceutical companies feared that drug tests could harm pregnant women and that women’s hormones could affect test results. So, they tested drugs primarily on men. But in the last several years, the medical community has discovered that women and men often have different responses to drugs. For this reason, human trials of new drugs include both men and women [Source: The Science of Sex and Gender in Human Health]. You can learn more about how gender affects physiology, psychology and other human traits by following the links on the next page.

Sources

 

Tips for families with Alzheimer’s Disease

No one should face Alzheimer’s or dementia alone. And if you’re caring for a loved one with the disease, you don’t have to. There is a portable support group within the 101 stories of “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer’s & Other Dementias.” This collection— a collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association®— offers helpful advice, expert tips, and emotional support for families and caregivers of those living with Alzheimer’s. Here are five tips from other caregivers who have been there, done that.

1. Join them in their world.
When Doris Leddy’s mother said she was an Air Force fighter pilot and was going to receive the Medal of Honor, Doris went along with it. Doris had learned from a few Alzheimer’s caregiver seminars not to question her mother’s imagination, which made it easier for her “to just listen and accept it,” she said. Instead of arguing, Doris and her family took her mom out for a special dinner and presented her with a Medal of Honor and certificate.

“Mom was so surprised and so happy that she got up and kissed every single person in that restaurant,” Doris wrote. Now that her mom’s Alzheimer’s has progressed, Doris is grateful for that happy memory.

2. Join a support group.
Without the friends Samantha Ducloux Waltz made through support groups, she’s sure her journey with her husband and his Alzheimer’s would be much more difficult.

“As my husband Ray’s confusion and anxiety increased, the road sometimes got so bumpy I felt I couldn’t navigate it without these people,” she wrote.

Each of her fellow caregiving friends inspired her through their insightful questions, patience and kindness. Samantha got an intellectual boost because of Erika, started meditating because of Marilyn, practiced gratitude more because of Milt.

“I could make this Alzheimer’s journey,” Samantha wrote, “because I had the example and support of these wonderful friends.”

3. Be creative (with your coping strategies).
As his wife’s dementia worsened, Fred Kinsinger created workarounds. When she lost the ability to read, he’d read the menu to her and show her the pictures that he carried with him of some food items. When numbers lost their meaning and clocks became confusing, Fred created a special clock—he removed the second and minute hands from a battery-operated wall clock, leaving just the hour hand. “Now I can put a piece of tape at the location the hand will be when it is dinnertime or bedtime, and she can check it occasionally to see that the hour hand is approaching the designated time,” he writes. “Who would have thought that building a one-handed clock could be yet another way to tell my wife ‘I love you.’”

4. Don’t be afraid to take the next step.
When Linda O’Connell had to repeatedly explain her mother’s recent death to her stepfather, she knew his dementia was worsening. And when she saw his dinner of peanut butter on crackers and a handful of M&Ms, she knew Pops could no longer take care of himself. Linda and her stepbrother agreed Pops needed more attention and care than they could provide. So they made the difficult decision to move Pops into a nearby care facility, knowing it was in his best interest. Once there, he flourished!

“With better nutrition, hydration, and mental stimulation Pops stays awake longer. He becomes more sociable,” Linda wrote. “The best any of us can do with loved ones who have dementia is to comfort and nurture them through all the stages… And we must take each day one moment at a time.”

5. Use humor.
Linda Rose Etter’s mother was suffering from dementia and wasting away, but she refused to eat. Even when Linda prepared the one food her mom still wanted—a baked potato with butter and cheese—she refused it. So Linda took a different route: humor. She made the potato “talk,” and used a different voice for Mr. Potato, who encouraged her mom to eat him. That got her mom’s attention. But she still refused until the potato “said” it would cry if Linda’s mom didn’t eat it. At this, her mom cracked a smile, looked at her daughter and said, ‘“Tell him I’ll eat him!’ And she did!” Linda writes. “Even with dementia she knew there was something funny about a talking potato.”

Based on “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer’s & Other Dementias” by Amy Newmark and Angela Timashenka Geiger.

Stepping out of time, healing prayers by Ellis Nelson

STEPPING OUT OF TIME

clock

We’re taught to think in terms of linear time. Our whole lives are guided by the concept that one event precedes another and that consequences come from causes. We tell our life stories from the beginning and only in middle age do we look back connecting events in new ways to retell our story. Even this perspective, binds us to linear time. And yet, we all have experienced time’s peculiarities which open us to wonder. Why is it I can lose time in a favorite activity and that last hour at work seems like a month?    Dispenza

Einstein said, “…the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one.” Here we see Einstein speaking like a mystic and why should that surprise us? I’m reading Dr. Joe Dispenza’s book, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself (How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One). Dispenza takes on the notion of linear time by examining an experiment done in 2000 by an Israeli doctor. Watch for the zinger!

praying

Leonard Leibovici, MD conducted a double-blind, randomized trial of 3393 hospitalized patients all suffering with a sepsis infection. Leibovici was interested in whether prayer could affect patient outcome. The patients were divided with half being prayed for and half not being prayed for. Dr. Leibovici collected data on the length of fever, length of stay in the hospital, and death as a result of infection. Turns out the prayed for patients had an earlier reduction in fever and shorter hospital stays. The death rates for both groups were not statistically different. The results may shock some, but science has been doing prayer studies for quite a while ( Healing Words-The Power of Prayer & The Practice of Medicine by Larry Dossey, MD). The truly mind- numbing thing about the study is that those praying in 2000 were praying for patients who were hospitalized in the period 1990 to 1996. The conclusion drawn here was that patients who were prayed for in 2000, actually got better in the 1990s.

So what is going on and how should it change our ideas about time? What if Einstein is right and time is just a persistent illusion, an artifice created by the brain? We’re used to thinking that prayer or focused attention might be able to affect our future. But what if I can do something today to affect my past? Can I pray for a better childhood? Can I heal a fractured relationship from decades ago? Can I send myself strength to get through a rough career change I’m making now? Can I? Can you?

———Now hiring financial consultants—————–

Retire yourself from corporate job, retire your wife or mom, retire yourself from your boss, make a change to change what you are not happy about today. Call connie 408-854-1883 in USA motherhealth@gmail.com

America’s Top Cities for Access to Health Care

To create the list of America’s Top Cities for Access to Health Care, Vitals analyzed the number of hospitals and primary care physicians available in each city on a per-capita basis. Patient-reported metrics such as doctor quality, ease of getting an appointment and wait times at appointments were also calculated into the final rankings.

The top ten cities in order:

1        Cleveland

2        Minneapolis

3        Milwaukee

4        Kansas City

5        Boston

6        Omaha

7        Denver

7        Miami (tie)

9        Atlanta

10      Nashville

11      Seattle,WA

12      Dallas,TX

13      Austin,TX

13      Baltimore,MD

15      Portland,OR

16      Charlotte,NC

16      (tie)Indianapolis,IN

16      (tie)Raleigh,NC

19      Sacramento,CA

20      Houston,TX

21      Columbus,OH

22      Jacksonville,FL

23      Philadelphia,PA

24      Long Beach,CA

25      San Diego,CA

26      Oakland,CA

27      Fort Worth,TX

28      Albuquerque,NM

29      Louisville,KY

29      Washington,DC

31      Detroit,MI

31      (tie)Tulsa,OK

33      Memphis,TN

34      San Francisco,CA

35      Wichita,KS

36      Chicago,IL

37      San Antonio,TX

38      New York,NY

38      (tie)Phoenix,AZ

40      Oklahoma City,OK

41      Tucson,AZ

42      Colorado Springs,CO

43      Mesa,AZ

44      Virginia Beach,VA

45      Las Vegas,NV

46      Los Angeles,CA

47      Arlington,TX

48      San Jose,CA

49      Fresno,CA

50      El Paso,TX

http://www.vitals.com/about/posts/press-center/press-releases/vitals-ranks-americas-top-cities-access-health-care#ixzz33mfjrArp

Comments:  How we help our communities thrive is very important. From housing, schools to jobs, all these factors affect health. I talked to a family of 5, with four working adults with minimum wage in San Jose who is renting a two-bedroom apartment for $1800 per month. Giving away half of their income to housing is very sad. The parents have high blood pressure and high stress level.  But they have to bear this housing crisis and expense in order to help support their children who are going to college as working students.

Sore muscles herbal remedy

Grandma Claudia would mix gas, ginger, salt, garlic and other herbs to massage her aching body. My mom would use apricot oil, coconut oil and add other herbs like ginger, mint to the mix.

Here is another way of preparing an herbal remedy for sore muscles.

When fighting against winter’s workload try these homemade herbal remedies for sore muscles.

There’s not much anyone can do to lessen the workload that comes with these busy, chilly months . . . but I can tell you about a few treatments that’ll help you relax your fatigued body and perhaps make tomorrow’s chores seem just a bit easier.

When muscles tighten (as they do when they’re overworked), they hamper the circulatory system, thereby preventing nutrients from reaching the muscle cells in adequate quantities. Moreover, lactic acid builds up in the stressed tissue, causing soreness. It makes sense, then, that the first step toward bringing some vitality back into your aching frame is to get the blood pumping to those undernourished cells again by using these homemade herbal remedies for sore muscles.

 

As most folks know, heat causes blood vessels to enlarge, thus encouraging circulation. However, as anyone who had, labored on a hot afternoon will likely attest, excessive heat can cause a feeling of sluggishness . . . so be careful not to overdo this type of “cure”. In coping with minor muscle pain, for example, two or three applications of heat a day should be more than adequate. (If swelling accompanies the soreness, though, your muscle may be torn or sprained . . . and in such a case the area should be elevated to encourage draining, and cold compresses should be used to reduce the inflammation. Keep in mind that the following remedies are for sore—not swollen—muscles.)

 

You’ll find that heating pads—the usual means of applying soothing warmth to aching limbs—come in various styles. I prefer strip (as opposed to the more traditional rectangular) warmers, because the scarf-like shape is ideal for wrapping around a sore area. Some brands even come equipped with an insert that can be moistened and safely attached to the heating unit, and this feature provides penetrating wet heat.

Balms and ointments are also popular means of applying heat to sore muscles. And, since the main ingredient in the various commercial products (Ben-Gay, Absorbine, Tiger Balm) is wintergreen oil, homemade balms are easy to prepare herbal remedies for sore muscles . . . and will save you a bit of money, too.

To make your own rub, simply put one tablespoon each of several herbs—lavender, rosemary, calendula, chamomile, camphor, ginger, eucalyptus, and wintergreen are all good choices—in the top of a nonmetal double boiler. (Note: Never use iron, brass, copper, zinc, or aluminum containers for preparing herbal remedies, as the plant ingredients may chemically react with the metal . . . corroding the vessel and contaminating the solution.)

Each of the herbs mentioned here falls into one of three medicinal categories: external tonics, anti-inflammatory agents, and counter-irritants. Lavender and rosemary, for example, which both have camphor in their leaves that helps draw blood to the skin surface (as does the oil of camphor available at drugstores), are considered external tonics . . . ginger, calendula, and chamomile are anti-inflammatory agents . . . and eucalyptus and wintergreen are penetrating oils, which irritate and stimulate the muscle, causing lactic acid to be flushed out. Therefore, to prepare an effective balm, herbs from all three categories should be included.

Once you’ve measured out the herbs you’ve chosen, cover the mixture with two to four cups of oil—corn, safflower, sesame, sunflower, peanut, olive, or almond oil will work—and gently simmer the concoction for about an hour. Then strain the blend through a fine-meshed cloth—pressing the herbs as you do so—and store the oil in a sterilized jar. (You can add two to three tablespoons of beeswax or paraffin if you’d prefer an ointment.)

Because rubs offer only surface relief, they’re unable to tackle deep muscular pain. You can, however, obtain greater heat penetration—with these same salves—using a homemade hot pack. To do so, put the oil or ointment on your tender spot and cover that area with gauze or a piece of lightweight cotton cloth. Next, cover the bandage with a sheet of plastic wrap, thereby creating a vapor trap, and secure the clear film with skin-sensitive tape (it’s available at most drugstores). Finally, enclose the whole shebang in an Ace bandage. (You’ll find this pack particularly useful when circumstances force you to go on working after doctoring your ills.)

The herbal bath is yet another common means of treating aches and pains. I’ve found that a mixed infusion of stinging nettle, yarrow ) is extremely effective for relaxing sore muscles. You’ll probably want to experiment with other herbal recipes, too. For example, try substituting mint, chamomile, calendula, comfrey, mullein or marigold flowers, hops, mugwort, or wild marjoram for the herbs listed above. Chamomile and mint are valuable for their antiseptic properties . . . mugwort, wild marjoram, mullein, hops, and chamomile are “nervines”, or substances that have a calming effect . . . and the remaining herbs mentioned here are known for their effectiveness as anti-inflammatory agents.

To brew up your herbal soak, fill an enamel, earthenware, or glass pot with two quarts of water and add a handful each of  yarrow and stinging nettle (if the latter is fresh, you’ll want to wear gloves when handling it). Use plants that are no more than a year old (if possible, harvest your own fresh herbs), as their potency does generally diminish with age. Bring the concoction to a boil and let it simmer for three minutes, then turn off the heat and allow the pot to sit—covered—for another 20 minutes. After it’s had time to steep, strain out the plants and add the infusion to your bath.

The temperature of the water in the tub should be comfortably warm, rather than piping hot, to prevent a shock to your system and to be sure you’re left feeling refreshed rather than fatigued. To obtain the best possible results, soak in the herbal brew for a good 20 minutes . . . and, while doing so, gently massage your body until you feel a comforting warm glow all over.

 

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/herbal-remedies-for-sore-muscles-zmaz82ndzgoe.aspx#ixzz33mHUCrmd

Graduates to follow their passion and make a difference in their lives and others

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Lincoln High School Graduates 2014 San Jose California

In many poor families in other parts of the world, you can see college diplomas of their children hanging on their walls. Parents labored and worked hard to send their children to college. Education indeed is a great equalizer.  And now  the poor can reach their dreams with education. It is not how much you have but how you have used education to find riches.

Happy Father’s day next Sunday. They worked hard to be breadwinners at home.

 

Graduates to follow their passion and make a difference in their lives and others

Diet tips for adrenal functions and anti-stress hormonal balance

Adrenal Fatigue Diet Tips

  • Start the day with a lemon and apple cider alkalising, detoxifying drink –recipe over here. Add a little celtic salt to the recipe to help sooth the adrenals.
  • Eat breakfast within 1 hour of waking – don’t leave it too long to get your cortisol levels into gear.
  • Don’t skip meals especially breakfast – you need to get your blood sugars up at the beginning of the day so skipping a meal is not a good idea.
  • Don’t wait too long to eat meals so that you are really hungry – with adrenal fatigue, the body has a difficult time storing energy, so often it’s best to eat smaller meals at more regular intervals.
  • Have a carb, a protein and a fat at every meal – this is a good balanced approach and will give you more sustained energy. If you do eat wholegrains, beans and legumes, limit those to 1 cup per day and make sure you still include loads of vegetables in the carb mix.
  • Don’t overeat – this places additional load on every digestive process and your adrenals too.
  • Don’t get overly hungry – Eat an early lunch because the body utilises the morning energy quickly, or at least have a good mid morning snack that will get you through. It’s important not to let yourself get too hungry because the body starts freaking out and having those extra snacks or meals helps to level out cortisol levels. 
  • Use healthy fats on every meal – drizzle your veggies, salad or dish with olive oil, walnut oil, flax, butter or coconut oil.
  • Have a snack 1 hour before bed – snack on a piece of fruit and some nut butter or yoghurt, chicken strips with avocado dip, cheese or sweet potato, or anything of your choosing – as long as it’s healthy of course

Muscle pain, stiffness and then disease

My dad who died of lung cancer complained of back muscle pain for a long time. An MRI/CAT scan discovered his lung cancer in last stage by chance. Pain in our body is a sign that we have a growing disease. Numbness, aches and pain in our skin, muscles and ligaments are strong indications that our body is trying to tell us that it cannot get rid of the toxins any longer.

Muscle pain is most frequently related to tension, overuse, or muscle injury from exercise or physically-demanding work. In these situations, the pain tends to involve specific muscles and starts during or just after the activity. It is usually obvious which activity is causing the pain.

A teacher who disregard her skin aches and irritation died of breast cancer. And many more stories about how our body is telling us that unhealthy cells are growing causing pain. Inflammatory substances attacking our cells. And so many diseases started this way including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Muscle pain also can be a sign of conditions affecting your whole body, like some infections (including the flu) and disorders that affect connective tissues throughout the body (such as lupus).

One common cause of muscle aches and pain is fibromyalgia, a condition that includes tenderness in your muscles and surrounding soft tissue, sleep difficulties, fatigue, and headaches.

Causes

The most common causes are:

  • Injury or trauma including sprains and strains
  • Overuse: using a muscle too much, too soon, too often
  • Tension or stress

Muscle pain may also be due to:

Home Care

For muscle pain from overuse or injury, rest that body part and take acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Apply ice for the first 24 – 72 hours of an injury to reduce pain and inflammation. After that, heat often feels more soothing.

Muscle aches from overuse and fibromyalgia often respond well to massage. Gentle stretching exercises after a long rest period are also helpful.

Regular exercise can help restore proper muscle tone. Walking, cycling, and swimming are good aerobic activities to try. A physical therapist can teach you stretching, toning, and aerobic exercises to feel better and stay pain-free. Begin slowly and increase workouts gradually. Avoid high-impact aerobic activities and weight lifting when injured or while in pain.

Be sure to get plenty of sleep and try to reduce stress. Yoga and meditation are excellent ways to help you sleep and relax.

If home measures aren’t working, your health care provider may prescribe medication or physical therapy, or refer you to a specialized pain clinic.

If your muscle aches are due to a specific disease, follow the instructions of your health care provider to treat the primary illness.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Call your health care provider if:

  • Your muscle pain persists beyond 3 days
  • You have severe, unexplained pain
  • You have any sign of infection, like swelling or redness around the tender muscle
  • You have poor circulation in the area where you have muscles aches (for example, in your legs)
  • You have a tick bite or a rash
  • Your muscle pain has been associated with starting or changing doses of a medicine, such as a statin

Call 911 if:

  • You have sudden weight gain, water retention, or you are urinating less than usual
  • You are short of breath or have difficulty swallowing
  • You have muscle weakness or cannot move any part of your body
  • You have vomiting, a very stiff neck, or high fever

What to Expect at Your Office Visit

Your health care provider will perform a physical examination and ask questions about your muscle pain, such as:

  • When did it start? How long did it last?
  • Where is it exactly? Is it all over or only in a specific area?
  • Is it always in the same location?
  • What makes it better or worse?
  • Do other symptoms occur at the same time, like joint pain, fever, vomiting, weakness, malaise, or difficulty using the affected muscle?
  • Is there a pattern to the muscle aches?
  • Have you taken any new medications lately?

Tests that may be done include:

  • Complete blood count (CBC)
  • Other blood tests to look at muscle enzymes (creatine kinase) and possibly a test for Lyme disease or a connective tissue disorder

Physical therapy may be helpful.

Prevention

  • Warm up before exercising and cool down afterward.
  • Stretch before and after exercising.
  • Drink lots of fluids before, during, and after exercise.
  • If you work in the same position most of the day (like sitting at a computer), stretch at least every hour.

Alternative Names

Muscle pain; Myalgia; Pain – muscles

References

Bennett RM. Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman’s Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 282.

Brinker MR, O’Connor DP, Almekinders LC, et al. Physiology of Injury to Musculoskeletal Structures: 1. Muscle and Tendon Injury. In: DeLee JC, Drez D Jr, Miller MD, eds. DeLee and Drez’s Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2009:chap 1, section A.

Update Date: 4/14/2013

Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director and Director of Didactic Curriculum, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington. Also reviewed by A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc., Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Bethanne Black, Stephanie Slon, and Nissi Wang..

 

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Roth IRA and Index Universal Life Policy, both tax free retirement plans

Roth IRA, municipal bonds and Index Universal Life Policies (IUL) are all tax free retirement plans. I choose  Index Universal Life Policy with living benefits because of the many limitations of Roth IRA. With my age and income fluctuations, I can save more in sickness or health, create a bigger estate when I die and not have many limitations. The only one limitation of an IUL is that you must be healthy or have a manageable health condition.

But it is good to diversify.

Here are the most common and sometimes costly mistakes you must avoid with your Roth IRA:

1) Not Being Eligible. You or your spouse must have earned income to contribute to a Roth IRA, but not everyone qualifies, specifically if you’re a higher income earner. The IRS adjusts income thresholds every year to determine if you qualify for a Roth contribution. It’s important to note that you file Married Filing Separate you generally lose the ability to contribute to a Roth IRA.

2) DIY Roth Conversion. While it’s technically possible to draw out your IRA funds (take possession) and then transfer to a Roth IRA it’s not worth the risk of missing the 60-day deadline which could cause you big taxes and the loss of the Roth. It’s easier and more preferred to convert an IRA/401(k) to a Roth via a custodian to custodian transfer.

3) Excess Contributions. It’s no secret that just contributing the max to your Roth won’t provide you enough money throughout your retirement, but be mindful of the annual contribution limits of $5,500 (ages under 50) and $6,500 (ages 50 & over). If you over contribute you may be assessed an IRS excise penalty.

4) Missing Out. One of the biggest mistakes is not having a Roth at all! Even if you contribute to your company 401(k) you still may qualify to contribute to your Roth IRA. Even if your spouse isn’t working you may be able to contribute to his/her Roth as well, in addition to yours, what’s called a “Spousal Roth IRA Contribution.”

5) Not Maximizing Your Tax Bracket. Are you in a low tax bracket? If so, have you maximized your bracket? Say you make $50,000…you’re in the 15% bracket, meaning that you make less than $73,000, why not convert $23,000 of your IRA/401(k) to a tax-free Roth…all at a 15% tax rate? The same logic may hold true for the 25% bracket, those making less than $148,000, married filing joint.

6) Beneficiary Boo Boo. One of the benefits of a Roth is that you are not required to take a yearly RMTD (Required Minimum Taxable Distribution) at age 70 1/2 and older. This is welcome news for Roth IRA owners and their spouses, but when the Roth is passed to non-spouse beneficiaries they are required to take yearly RMDs (of course tax-free), which is often missed and penalties ensue. I suppose this requirement is to limit the amount of wealth that can be passed for generations, but the Roth is still a good deal because, if structured and invested properly, it may pass through 3 generations…all tax-free!

7) Missed RMD Before Conversion. If you’re 70 1/2 or older and subject to the dreaded required taxable distribution from your Traditional IRA be careful when converting to a Roth IRA. Contrary to common sense, before a Roth conversion takes place you must first satisfy your yearly IRA required distribution, then you may convert the remaining balance in your IRA to Roth.

8) Missing Beneficiaries. I know it sounds elementary, but I estimate about 2 out of every 3 prospective clients I meet with have incomplete beneficiary designations. It’s typically due to one of two mistakes. First, there are no beneficiaries listed beyond the primary beneficiary…with everything in life you must have a contingency plan, so make certain you have a contingent beneficiary listed on your Roth. Second, if there are beneficiaries listed they are vague…there’s a big difference between “named beneficiaries” and “designated beneficiaries”, be specific. List their name, DOB, social security number, and address to avoid confusion and problems upon inheriting the Roth.

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