Tag Archives: osteoarthritis

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Grandmas on the move

January 16, 2014 betsyjbell 1 Comment

Gentle Reader,

The first few moments of a hike and I confess, I do not feel like one of those Grandmas on the move. I feel every twinge in my ankles as they wake up; in my knees as the right one clicks ominously; in my left foot where the old neuropathy pain can flair up. After about 20 minutes and everything works like a well oiled machine, a steady climb or descent. There is no snow to speak of in our Snoqualmie Pass, so the ski bus was called off for the second week. Three of us went hiking on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. It was a beautiful day for us Grandmas on the move and we loved it.

Down in LA, the Trust for Public Land installed a fitness zone in a neighborhood park. Here is what they found when they went back to check two years later: Grandmas on the move.

Get your self out there and keep moving. It makes a difference. I have the choice of not moving when these twinges tell me my legs, joints and muscles are not working they way they did 50 years ago. Sure, I have severe osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis. These diagnosed conditions might give someone license to sit down. Years ago, my neurologist told me I should be in a wheel chair, if my x-ray images were to be believed. He said my bones were not good enough to operate. “Get strong, Betsy. Let your muscles carry you.”

These grandmas on the move have figured that out. I hope you can find a way to do what they are doing.

Be well, Do well and Keep Moving,

Betsy

206 933 1889

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

4 ways to get a sore back fuctional

October 3, 2013 betsyjbell

Gentle Reader,

Sore back? Been traveling, sitting in an airplane for hours? Did you enjoy a vigorous hiking holiday slogging miles over boulders, roots and bogs for days in a row? Maybe you had back surgery, successful but still stiff and cranky. Or perhaps, you joined a new salsa dance class (that would be my recent experience) for the first time and the instructor had you swinging your hips in directions they hadn’t gone in 50 years.

There’s nothing that slows you down more than a sore back, whether it is caused by over-exersion, chronic arthritis, or a sudden move that sets everything zinging. Here are four tips to get you moving comfortably again.

1. A muscle relaxant for a few days won’t kill you and will give those spasms a chance to quiet down. There are a lot of over the counter medications to chose from. My personal favorite is Aleve. I can usually manage flare ups with frequent doses of Shaklee’s Pain Relief Complex, a herbal COX 2, 5 LOX inhibitor that will not damage your stomach. 99% of the time I can manage a sore back with Pain Relief Complex. It gives me peace of mind to know I am not hurting my stomach or creating any bad side effects.

2. To relieve a sore back my friend alternated between hot compresses and ice, getting the blood to move through the low back. The joints are not easy to flush with blood flow so this is an excellent therapy, especially if you have the leisure to work on the problem. The hottub is excellent for the heat. I use mine every night sending the jets on any sore muscles. In the case of acute sore back, more frequent cold/hot changes will speed the healing along.

3. For immediate relief for a sore back, rub Joint and Muscle Pain Cream or other menthol analgesic into the area. For years I relied on Arnica Montana or Icy Hot cream, but I have found that the pain-relieving effect seems to penetrate more deeply and last longer.

4. I use the Back2Life machine daily and when my back is more sore than normal, I will relief the sore back by getting on the floor with my knees over the top of this contraption several times a day. It’s gentle motion is like a Feldenkrais manipulation. The small, steady lifting and lowering motion of the Back2Life machine, relaxes and opens up the sacrum, allowing blood to flow into the irritated and inflammed area. The machine is set to do its work for about 13 minutes which is just about as long as a busy person can stand to be still, lying on the floor. Past posts about the Back2Life Machine.

In addition to these excellent sore back relieveing strategies, I like to put Peggy Cappy‘s soothing voice on before I go to sleep every night. In fact, her voice usually puts me to sleep. She takes you through a muscle relaxing meditation for about 20 minutes beginning with the eyes and facial muscles. By the time she has progressed through the entire body, you are so still and relaxed, you couldn’t move an arm or a leg. The last part of the CD takes you even deeper and she talks to your “inner mind” about the way sore and damaged joints restore through rebuilding healthy new cells using the nutrients offered by the blood stream. I am convinced that if I were to get an MRI of my lower back and spine today, the deforming and pain-causing spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis would be less evident, just because of her CD. Sound to woo-woo for you? Never mind. Listen to her relaxing CD anyway for relief from the SORE BACK that has you moaning. To read a past post about Peggy Cappy, click here.

Probably the most effective strategy of all is moving. As soon as you can tolerate even a little movement, get up and walk. It is only by getting blood flow back into the disturbed joint that healing can be accelerated.

I wish you well in your journey to a healthy back, and the end of the sore back experience.

Be well, Do well and Keep Moving,

Betsy

206 933 1889

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Vitamin D may prevent Diabetes II

September 19, 2013 betsyjbell

Gentle Reader,

Vitamin D, seems to be the miracle supplement as research turns up more benefits. In my recent travels, along the Inside Passage in Alaska, I worried about the many “round” people from the cruise ships. They may not have gotten a diagnosis of diabetes from their doctor. But they may, like many of us, walk around leading what seems like normal lives with pre-diabetes.

Dr. Steve Chaney describes the condition in his recent newsletter. [To read the whole letter, go to Resources: Diabetes is a deadly scourge.] He says that when we become overweight our tissues become insulin resistant. Initially our pancreas responds by pumping out more insulin to keep our blood sugar levels near normal. It also starts releasing fatty acids into the bloodstream.

At this stage our blood sugar levels are pretty well under control, but our blood levels of insulin and fatty acids are higher than normal. We are asymptomatic for the most part, so many of us never realize that we have a problem.

And lots of us are pre-diabetic!

normal blood sugar to pre-diabetic to diabetic — When the normal range goes to pre-diabetic and beyond.

My grandfather on my mother’s side was diabetic. He was a Swede-Finn, emigrating to New York City in around 1900 and joining the dock builders union. He worked hard, driving piles, helping construct the Brooklyn Bridge and the piers along New York’s maritime harbor. Then he sat down. His knees hurt. His hands hurt. His back hurt. He had arthritis and moving his body hurt. Then he developed diabetes.

My mother was never diagnosed with diabetes. I suspected her of being very close to slipping from pre-diabetic to diabetes in the last 10 years of her life. Her shoulders hurt. Her hands hurt. She had old age arthritis at 55 and began taking Motrin. I remember her and my father both taking drugs for their aches and pains when I was in high school. They both slowed down, walking less and less. She was never diagnosed with diabetes. She died of pancreatic cancer.

This family history is a major driver for me to stay slim and active in spite of major arthritis.

Dr. Chaney points out that there are several published clinical studies showing that lifestyle changes (weight loss, exercise and a healthy diet supplying all of the essential nutrients) can significantly reduce the progression of
pre-diabetes to type 2 diabetes.

Excercise

Vitamin D3, not a magic bullet — Supplement with Vitamin D3 by Shaklee

This is a blog about managing arthritis. See how stiff joints, slowing down, mild and more severe osteo-arthritis, the kind that comes with aging, can be part of the pre-diabetic cluster of conditions? The primary focus of Dr. Chaney’s article is the research about the benefit of Vitamin D on keeping the pancreas healthy. Make no mistake, however, Vitamin D by itself will not prevent diabetes.

Do not let your aches and pains keep you from moving. Keep those joints active to the maximum extent of their flexibility.

Take Vitamin D if you are over weight and suspect you are pre-diabetic. But there is no magic bullet.

I was talking with a young woman today who says she doesn’t want to take pills. I’m all for avoiding medicines if possible. It was a major challenge for me to understand vitamins are food supplements, foodlets, if you will. Yes, they are in pill form. I seldom refer to my vitamins as pills. They are my supplements. I take them to fill in the gaps and to compensate for the sluggish utilization of nutrients that comes with age. We do not make Vitamin D from the sun the way we did when we were 10.

We are going into the winter months when those of us in the north will get less and less sun exposure. Why not supplement with Vitamin D3? Especially if you are little round in the middle. Then, by all means, consider the 180 Turnaround program for losing those extra pounds. You’ll be thrilled with how much easier it is to move with even 10 pounds less to carry around.

To your good health,

Be well, Do well and Keep moving,

Betsy

206 933 1889

PS If you would like to comment or ask a question, please email me at betsy@hihohealth.com. I’ve had too many spammy comments and have limited access to the comment section, but I would still love to hear from you.

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Can an ADD/ADHD study help us?

May 23, 2013 betsyjbell

Gentle Reader,

I just read Dr. Steve Chaney’s most recent post which concerns food sensitivities and ADD/ADHA. The study is carefully done with cross checks for biases and the resultant information is extremely helpful for the parents of children who once might have been identified as “figgitty” and now are sent home for a prescription.

For years I have been writing about diet to alleviate the aches and pains that come with osteo-arthritis, as well as other forms of arthritis. We sufferers are at the other end of the age spectrum so this comparison may seem like a stretch. The reason I share Dr. Chaney’s post with you is because of the methodology used in the study of 4 – 8 year olds. The children were given food sensitivity tests, but Dr. Chaney states that is not necessary if you follow the protocal. You can read his entire post here. Before going on medications that have serious side effects (that includes aspirin which causes stomach bleeding), perhaps you would like to try the same elimination diet these children secumbed to. Perhaps foods exacerbate your pain and you could reduce your dependence on drugs by this simple, inexpensive and side-effect free process. Keep a food and pain diary. After five weeks of nothing but rice, meats, vegetables, pears and water (An elimination diet is the “gold standard” for evaluating food sensitivities because it eliminates almost every food known to cause sensitivity from the diet). Add foods in slowly and make careful note of your pain level as you add them.

If you decided to try this, let us know your results. This could be a break through process for many arthritis sufferers. Please take time to leave a comment.

Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Food Cures. Is there such a thing?

April 25, 2013 betsyjbell

Gentle Reader,

I’ve joined an on line face book arthritis support group to learn from others how they suffer and what they are doing about it. Following the rabbit trails I came to this web site maintained by a Joy Bauer. She has a slide show showing foods that are helpful for sufferers of arthritis. You can also take a survey here that will give you a food suggestion list based on your answers to several life style questions.

Here are the suggestions that resulted from my survery:

Step 1

Understanding Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is due to a combination of factors, including genetics, past injury, joint use and overuse, and the aging process in general. The word “overuse” implies that it’s a concern for serious athletes, as well as those who have stress on the joints caused by excess body weight. Losing just a little weight can have a huge positive impact on OA. Because arthritis is a disease of inflammation, the most effective — and logical — treatment is anything that fights inflammation. Management of arthritis usually starts with ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory medications, eating anti-inflammatory foods, and improving weight and lifestyle. I will go into more detail on how to manage OA in the following steps and on the Food Cures Web site.

Step 2

Foods to Avoid

In order to reduce inflammation in your body, you should dramatically limit your intake of pro-inflammatory foods. It sounds like you’re already avoiding foods high in saturated fats — such as fatty meats, butter, whole and 2 percent milk, full-fat cheese, and rich desserts. However, there are a few other foods you should add to your “foods to avoid” list. Trans fats, which are man-made fats added to baked goods to give them a longer shelf life, are very dangerous and even worse than saturated fats for your health. The good news is that laws now require food manufacturers to list trans fats on nutrition labels — so they’re easy to spot. Choose packaged foods that list 0 grams trans fat on the Nutrition Facts panel and don’t list any “hydrogenated oils” — codeword for trans fats — in the ingredients panel. The other food group to avoid is simple and refined carbs — which set up a state of inflammation in the body. These foods include soda and other sweetened beverages, candy, sugary refined cereals, white-flour baked goods, and white rice, bread, and crackers.

Step 3

Keep Drinking Your Water

Cartilage is 65 to 80 percent water, so staying hydrated is important for the health and lubrication of your joints. Maintaining proper hydration is even more important for individuals who suffer from gout. Water helps flush uric acid out of the body, and studies suggest staying hydrated may help prevent flare-ups. It isn’t necessary to count the number of glasses of water you drink in a day — the latest research suggests that if you take time to drink a glass whenever you feel thirsty, you’ll probably do fine. You are already drinking enough water, which is important for managing your arthritis. To spice things up, you might want to try flavoring your water with fresh fruit slices or drinking unsweetened green tea or herbal tea — there are so many delicious and fun varieties. And be sure to avoid sugary drinks like soda, sweetened water, fruit drinks, sweet tea, and froufrou coffee concoctions.

Step 4

Smoking and Arthritis

I know you don’t smoke, but I just wanted to share with you a few good reasons to stay smoke-free: Smoking delivers toxins throughout the body, causing inflammation and increasing the risk of arthritis. In one study, smokers were more than twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than people who didn’t smoke. In addition, researchers from a multicenter study reported in 2005 that smokers had a greater risk of osteoarthritis of the knee, possibly because smoking interferes with the body’s ability to repair its own cartilage. The bottom line is that staying smoke-free is a wise choice!

Step 5

Maintain Your Healthy Weight
One of the best things you can do for your arthritis is maintain a healthy lifestyle and weight — and

you’re already there! Being overweight can put added physical stress on your joints, which can aggravate arthritis (particularly osteoarthritis) and increase your levels of pain. An unhealthy weight can also promote inflammation, which as I’ve mentioned is the root of arthritis. Another reason to keep eating right and exercising!

Step 6

Exercise and Managing Arthritis
You’re already exercising daily — good for you! Many people stop exercising at the first twinge of pain in a joint, but this can be a big mistake. Exercise can actually be a great tool for fighting

arthritis. It can help you lose or maintain weight, which reduces the overall stress impact on joints. Strong muscles can absorb shock from daily movements, keep joints stable, and protect against additional joint injury. Stretching and yoga can improve flexibility and range of motion and reduce joint stiffness. Swimming and water aerobics allow free movement without added stress on the joints. Walking is another manageable, low-impact form of aerobic exercise appropriate for most individuals with arthritis. All good reasons to maintain your active lifestyle!

Good luck changing whatever needs changing to find the pain free movement you long for.

Comments? Please leave your thoughts and comments. Pass this along on your facebook page.

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving,

Betsy

206 933 1889

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Watch out for the metal detectors!

March 7, 2013 betsyjbell 2 Comments

Gentle Reader,

His long legs and narrow hips will soon carry him back to the gym. He will be back on the machines and lose the ‘love handles’ that have crept on from lack of exercise. The long process of identifying what caused the sciatica, the sharp pinching pain radiating down the leg, making his once strong stride impossible is over. It took months to identify a worn out hip as the culprit. He has a new one now.

No more arthritis pain from that degenerated joint. His bones were healthy enough at 70+ to give the surgeon something to work with. Other joints–knee, shoulders, ankles–still hold. No advanced osteoarthritis everywhere.

Rehabilitation takes time. His spirit is good. He hates hurting or talking about hurting, so he will use the special chair lifters, the raised toilet seat, and take the procautions he must take to avoid damage to the new joint as the supportive muscles and tissue and tendons readjust to the trauma of surgery.

This world traveler will soon set off the alarms in the airport again. What joy. What thanksgiving.

Here are some tricks to rapid healing that his doctor may not tell him.

1. Lecithin is an oil that helps emulsify, make more liquid, substances that are sticky. After an incision or any wound to the body, our own mechanisms for repair rush to the task of healing. This healing process causes lots of swelling, too many repair cells for the space. To help bring this swelling down quickly, an emulsifier makes the spent repair cells easy to slough off through the normal waste stream. Several lecithin capsules a day, not just one or two.

Caution: not all lecithin is the same. Granuals or huge jars of capsules can go rancid quickly like any oil exposed to the air and light. I prefer a small jar with 180 capsules. There should be no smell of rancidity. A rancid fat causes more damage than you can imagine, so take care what you buy.

2. Alfalfa. This food for horses and cows is King of Vegetables and helps all systems in the body with its nutrients. In this case when the hip joint and surrounding tissue need held, it is there to do the job. Here are a few of Alfalfa’s contributions to our body:

a great aid in digestion, aids in peptic ulcers, great diuretic and bowel regulator,
effective barrier against bacterial invasion, anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine.
Natural body deodorizer, helps support the natural ph of the blood .
High in protein: 18.9% protein as compared to beef 16.5%; milk 3.3% and eggs 13.1%.
Remember, muscles are composed of protein and the lack of it causes them to break down resulting in fatigue and weakness.
After surgery, naturally replenishes joints and tissues with its healing properties.

How much Alfalfa? Lots and lots. It is like eating peas. Take a big spoonful and wash the tablets down with your favorite smoothie. Or make a hot tea. Or chew them up.

Caution: Not all Alfalfa is the same. Often genetically modified, the brand I use exclusively is grown by a very picky company’s organic farmers in Antalope Valley. The leaves are picked at sun-rise. No stems are included in the tablets. Open the bottle and take a whiff of the farm land where it grew.

If I had to pick only one supplement to take, it would be Alfalfa by Shaklee. Dr. Shaklee felt the same way.

Happy healing to my friend, the best travel leader I have ever known. And Happy Travels.

Fondly,

Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving,

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com 206-933-1889

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Oh, my aching hamstrings

February 21, 2013 betsyjbell

Gentle Reader,

What a ski season it is here in the Northwest. The snow conditions surprise us every Wednesday as my band of 16-24 friends head up to the pass on a big bus (potty included). It’s a good thing to use this bus company for January and February when the road conditions are dicey and icy. The bus drivers have gotten stuck twice! The ladies who ski are mostly over 65. Yesterday I learned that one companion, a tall, slim brunette with impeccable make up and style is 80. We are still climbing logging roads and snow plowing down, but we have become partial to the groomed Nordic tracks, of which there are a few. One of oldest members skis with the blind across the US and Canada. We do have a special club here with a pair of set tracks for the blind skier and her companion guide. We often see dog teams, although mid-week is a quiet time to ski. People-watching happens on Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday the only viable skiing was on the reclaimed rail road track which snakes its way up from Seattle, through the pass and on East. Long ago this track was pulled up and remaining bed has become a favorite mountain bike and Nordic ski trail.

Pushing and gliding for 3 hours and 8 miles along this relatively flat track awakened muscles I had not used so strenuously. This morning I have been on the floor getting the creaks and groans out of my joints-back and hip and knee pain are no fun, nor are arthritis flare-ups. Several techniques work well.

1. tie a strong flexible tubing around your thighs, squat and walk to the left 20 steps and then to the right. In the picture, the tubing is around the ankles. I find the tubing stays put better at the thigh.

2. Lying on your side with your knees pulls up part way, lift one knee up and then back down in a clam-shell move. Several reps on each side.

3. Put one end of the flexible tubing in the door jam and loop the other around your foot. Stand side ways to the door and take the outside foot, lifting straight legged 10 reps. Turn and draw the foot away from the door across the body. This is a classic standing Pilates move. Change legs and repeat. Years ago I bought a heavy steel foot stool off Ebay to use for this exercise as it works better if you are standing a few inches off the floor. Gyms have portable durable plastic steps that can be used. Personally, my little upholstered foot stool would never be taken for an exercise prop as it sits by the front door. This is the best picture I could find. Imagine the end of the theraband as a knotted tube in the door jab, the bottom around your shoe.

4. face the door and, with the foot in the loop of the tubing, push it away from the door while standing erect, in perfect posture, on the other foot. Several reps on both legs will help.

I am glad I climb stairs every week (200), going up and down sideways with the grape vine step. I found yesterday that straight way skiing tired the knees. Most women have slightly knock-knees and prolonged straight walking, hiking or skiing stressed them. Whenever you have the opportunity to go up or down stairs side-ways, one foot behind, then in front, do it. Your knees will not stress on the straight-away as much. I am going to get someone to film me doing this. There are no pictures on the web that I can find.

Avoiding arthritis pain in the knees, back and hips can be challenging, and fun. Get out there and enjoy the winter weather if you are lucky enough to have snow. Don’t let the diagnosis of osteoarthritis or spinal stenosis keep you from moving. Browse the techniques I have offered in my blog postings and try some of them. Better still, leave a comment about the techniques you have found work well.

Fondly,

Be Well, Do Well, Keep Moving

Betsy

Injured at 52. Diagnosed and sentenced to a wheelchair at 55. Hiking, skiing, dancing and walking at 75. Read my story.

206 933 1889 betsy@HiHoHealth.com www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Are you feeling less alert?

January 31, 2013 betsyjbell

Gentle Reader,

If you are suffering pain from arthritis, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, the regular wear and tear of life, you need good deep sleep to help you heal. I’ve written about Feldenkris, a therapy that helps with these painful conditions. I’ve mentioned Becci Parsons, who got me on the road to sitting/standing/walking after herniating a disc. Today I am posting her helpful solutions and suggestions for next steps for anyone who suffers from lack of sleep. Read on….

Change Your Sleep. Change Your Life.

Are you feeling less alert?

Are you unable to think clearly or sustain your focus?

Do you have difficulty falling asleep or problems with frequent awakening during the night?

If so, you may be suffering from insomnia.

We tend to think of insomnia as the constellation of symptoms that we experience just before sleep or during the night when we awaken with our mind racing and the bed sheets twisted. The process of insomnia actually begins much earlier in the day for most of us.

How?

Through the choices we make about how we spend our time.

The obvious culprits:

That afternoon pick-me-up latte or caffeinated green tea smoothie.

It could take between 9-14 hours to fully metabolize the caffeine. Even if you have no difficulty falling asleep, the caffeine could undermine the quality and duration of your sleep.

Evening computer use or cell phone email/texting, watching tv or reading using an e-reading device. Blue light from many of these devices is as bright as daylight and activates the nervous system sending the brain and body into “wake up mode”.

And what about the emotional responses that are triggered by these late night, last minute, urgent communications?

Life in the twenty first century is stressful and fast paced. A full, zoom-zoom workday of 8-12 hours is often followed by a long commute and sometimes a cocktail or a glass of wine to take the edge off. We eat late, do a few more email or text messages; watch a movie, read or log on to Facebook in an effort to wind down. Unfortunately very few of these activities actually promote relaxation and set the stage for a good night’s sleep. Most of them tip the nervous system far in the other direction to a state of hyper-arousal.

Hyper-arousal is a chronic over-activation of the body’s stress-response mechanism. There’s no instant ON/OFF switch. When these pathways are repeatedly excited, they become the default setting. We essentially travel a well-worn path leading us in the direction of elevated blood pressure, holding our breath, clinching our jaw and lifting our shoulders, without respite. Many of these sensations fly below the radar of our self-perception and become the background noise of our busy, over stimulated lives.

What to do?

“For fast acting relief, try slowing down”. –Lily Tomlin

On the one hand, we can increase the quality and duration of a good night’s sleep simply by making better choices. Following a good sleep hygiene program is an empowering start. For more detailed information about sleep hygiene refer to the following link:

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/ask-the-expert/sleep-hygiene

We also need to hit the pause, re-set button during the day to get off of the cortisol/ adrenaline high that many of us associate with feeling good and being productive. Functioning under the influence of stress hormones is not a sustainable practice. Biological systems thrive with ebb and flow. Metabolically speaking, we need to interrupt the cycle of prolonged excitation and dial things down to a more balanced, calm and functional neutral.

Learning to move more fluidly between states of stress and relaxation is key. It is positive motion in the direction of re-establishing the natural biological rhythms of exertion and recuperation. Think of it as self-regulation with applied intelligence. When we develop the capacity to meet the demands of a stressful moment and the flexibility to return to a state of equanimity in a relatively short amount of time, not only will we sleep better, but we’ll also be a kinder, gentler, version of ourselves.

Becci Parsons offers workshops and private coaching in the techniques of the Sounder Sleep System^® in the interest of helping to create a more sane and peaceful world. Restful sleep is necessary for the healthy function of every system in the body and helps to regulate mood, energy and emotional intelligence.

The Sounder Sleep System^® is comprised of a variety of calming and sleep inducing techniques to be used during the day and at bedtime, taught while sitting or lying down. The simple exercises are designed to restore our natural capacity to rest, recover and heal from the stress of daily life, one breath at a time. They are elegantly simple and simply profound.

For more information about private sleep coaching or to inquire about the introduction to the Sounder Sleep System^® Workshop in February 2013, contact me:

Becci Parsons, Authorized Teacher, Sounder Sleep System^®

Guild Certified Feldenkrais Teacher^®

MotionSense Movement Education

bparsons@seanet.com

206.545.7272

www.BecciParsons.com

206.545.7272

Thank you, Becci. Be sure to leave a comment or suggestion of your own.

Fondly, Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving

BetsyBell’s Health4u

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

206 933 1889 1 888 283 2077

betsy@hihohealth.com

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Where’s the Nyquil?

January 17, 2013 betsyjbell

Gentle Readers,

From the couch, handkerchiefs everywhere, head propped up I write to tell you the story of a person who used to get every cold bug that came along. In the old days, I grabbed the Coricidin and then the Nyquil P.M. and then went whimpering to my doctor. He gladly swabbed my throat and pronounced strep or bronchitis and prescribed an anti-biotic. It happened roughly three times every year. That’s a lot of antibiotics for a body to handle.

Down in Mexico where I spent New Year’s (came home on the 10^th of January), I felt a little sore throat coming on and that lethargy that seems to precede an illness. For the past twenty six years I haven’t used the standard over-the-counter meds to ward off or treat a cold. Starting on a food supplement program in 1985 moved me in a different direction. My friend suggested heaps of vitamin C frequently, and garlic and a supplement called lecithin (less-i-thin). They use it in salad dressings to keep the oil and water mixed together, emulsified. It works the same way in the body, keeping gunk liquefied so it can leave in the waste stream. Very helpful when you have buggers forming so fast you can’t cough them all up at once.

What I figured out was the cold medicines suppress everything, drive the battle between my immune system’s response fighters and the germs, down, down, down into my chest. The mass gets all sticky and gelatinous and won’t move. Nyquil suppresses coughing (which can keep you awake). The raging war between the good guys and the bad guys in your body gets all confined in a small space and the germs multiply and get all bacterial. Then you’ve got something the doctor knows how to treat, so he writes a prescription.

Is this familiar to anyone?

By the time I got home, I developed a full blown cold or maybe even the beginnings of the flu. I certainly had achy joints and swollen lymph glands. I got out the big guns. Please bear with me and try not to freak out at the quantity of supplements I take when this situation develops.

4 – 6 Sustained Release C

3 Lecithin

3—4 Garlic

1 Immunity Formula I (a supplement blend of C, A, E and 3 of the B vitamins, plus zinc, copper and selenium suspended in rosemary oil so the water soluble (C and B) and the fat soluble (A and E) vitamins don’t degrade each other)

I took this handful of supplements every 2 – 3 hours I was awake, swallowing them down with a little drink of protein smoothie so my stomach could handle them.

I also drank Traditional Medicinals herbal teas Throat Coat and Breath Easy, usually stirring in a throat lozenge made of Echinacea, zinc, larch tree extract, elderberry and stevia, 3 at once. Every time a coughing fit started, I popped a lozenge in my mouth. When I awoke in the night coughing or to pee, I went to the kitchen and took the whole Marianne all over again.

Happily the carcass of the Thanksgiving turkey was languishing in the freezer and there were carrots and celery and onion still in the frig. The broth worked magic and I drank a couple quarts with a little cous cous boiled up in it.

Results: In one day the achy joints and lymph were normal. In two more days, I was not coughing in the night. By day four I was able to enjoy some regular food and was not needing the Bomb as we call it every 2 – 3 hours, just every 4 – 5 hours.

Today I am healthy though a little puny from lack of exercise.

No antibiotics. No OTC drugs.

This is the same philosophy and process I use for dealing with other physical challenges like joint pain and arthritis. Even though the x-ray shows severe osteoarthritis and spinal stenosis, gentle abs strengthening exercises, daily walking, eating lots of greens, and low sugar fruits and vegetables plus excellent protein, plus supplements keeps pain at bay.

Is it easier to take the medications advertized on TV and recommended at the pharmacy? Is it cheaper to take them? Is the relief immediate? YES to all these. But what of the long term effects of drugs vs. high quality pure supplements? Drugs have side effects. Supplements made with extreme care for additives, purity of ingredients, and tested to make sure they actually get into the blood stream have side-benefits, not side-effects.

Just a side note about Ester-C. Apparently this little package which you dissolve in water and swallow, will boost the white cell production thus helping the immune system. The study designed to verify this was done with 15 healthy men some of whom were smokers. Each took the Ester-C product for a week and had an increase in the white cell count. To read the study yourself, click here. I just had to look this up because what I know about vitamin C is that it is water soluble and degrades immediately when exposed to light and air and water. The tablets probably work better. I found an online source for 1000 mg. sustained release Ester-C for $21 plus tax and shipping. But I still have lots of questions. Is their C ascorbic acid only? What about the white stuff in the orange which turns out to be just as important? What is used to slow down the release of C into the blood stream? You want guar gum and nothing artificial separating the dosage delivery. And the Sustained Release Vitamin C I take is 180 tablets for $21.00. It’s made by Shaklee, a company I trust for its scientific research and the careful testing every step of the way from raw material, through processing to the finished product.

One more thought. Not every stomach can handle that amount of supplements. You noticed I do not take supplements on an empty stomach if I can help it. If you want to follow this regimen, I’d be glad to guide you along the way. By all means pay attention to your own body and pull back on the volume if you have a reaction to that much Vitamin C. I am just happy I have this resource to use to ease the discomfort of a bad cold and to get over it quickly with no medications at all and so no side effects with their residual problems.

I did not take a flu shot this season or any season. Am I recommending against flu shots? I’d be a fool to do that. Use your own judgment.

Before you go, leave a comment. If you liked what you read, pass it on.

Fondly, Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving

BetsyBell’s Health4u

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

206 933 1889 1 888 283 2077

betsy@hihohealth.com

Arthritis, Be Well health tips, Health and Fitness, Keep Moving: Managing Arthritis

Help! Gotta have chocolate now!

January 11, 2013 betsyjbell

Gentle reader,

How are you doing with those plans to take a few inches off? Are you starving yet? Are cravings getting the better of your will power? What’s this got to do with arthritis and joint pain, anyway?

The research has been done and is conclusive beyond a doubt that losing even 15 pounds (you may have 50 to 100 to lose) in any body will make a difference in the joints. Even people with severe osteoarthritis will experience relief from joint pain with the loss of 15 pounds. You may have lost that much and noticed. You may have put it back on again, and noticed an increase in arthritis pain.

A recent article in our Seattle based natural market, Puget Consumer Coop gives us a good understanding of cravings and why they are so difficult to eliminate. We are hard-wired as humans from the beginning of time to go for high-calorie food for our survival. When a bee hive was discovered in a high tree, no attempt was made to save it for tomorrow. The whole tribe ate all the honey they could harvest until it was gone. Just like that plate of cookies sitting on the counter. Or that pint of Ben and Jerry’s we were going to split into at least 5 servings spaced out over the next two and a half weeks. Gone in one sitting.

Then we beat ourselves up for lack of self control. Blame it on our chemistry. Salt, fat and sugar were scarce. We love eating them because they increase the feel good chemicals in our brain. For example, dopamine is neurotransmitter that high-fat foods increase regulating our reward and pleasure centers and making us happy. Who wouldn’t want that? Bring on the ice cream and the French fries.

Or maybe it’s the theobromine (found in chocolate) that gives us a pick me up when our brain and tail drag around 3 in the afternoon. That mocha latte is just the thing delivering caffeine, sugar and chocolate all in one gulp—feel good and get energized. I used to advise clients to eat a magnesium supplement to supply what chocolate cravings demand. The scientific thinking a few years ago was that cravings indicated a nutritional or emotional deficiency and something less unhealthy could be substituted for the same results.

You’re in luck, and so am I. Turns out it is wiser not to deprive yourself completely of these craved for foods. The more you deprive yourself, the more you crave. Once you give in to the craving, you can’t stop until the plate is empty. You may even head for the store to get a refill, more cookie dough that you might not even bother baking, or, let’s just pick up a gallon of that Rocky Road ice cream. I know a guy who holds back with great effort from eating peanut butter and then gives up with a great sign and is face down in the Adams jar with two cereal spoons. OMG I’ve been there and done that.

They even found that people who practice severe and rigid dietary restraint are more likely to be obese. That’s a yo-yo from deprivation to over-consumption.

<———————————–The Hunger Scale——————————->
0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Empty	Ravenous	Over hungry	Hunger pangs	Hunger Awakens	Neutral	Just Satisfied	Completely satisfied	Full	Stuffed	Sick

Thanks to Kelly Morrow, MS, RD, registered dietitian and Associate Professor in the School of Nutrition and Exercise Science at Bastyr University for much of this information and the Hunger Chart. 1 and 2 equate to excess hunger and 9 and 10 are excess fullness. Start eating around 3 or 4 and stop when at a 7-8.

Two strategies can make a big difference in how these cravings get handled.

1. Ease up. Have a taste. Savor it. Before the cravings are so great they can’t be handled without an all-out binge. Be gentle with yourself and eat small portions of your comfort food.

2. Keep a food diary so you can really understand how moods, physical location, memories influence the desperate need for comfort foods. Once you have a clearer understanding of your body’s response to certain trigger situations, you can plan ways to disarm your craving, like take a walk.

My sugar craving was severe and the results caused me so much misery. I could not stay awake in an important lecture or concert any time of the day or evening after eating sweet rolls, cookies, muffins, toast and jelly. I would get up during a talk and walk around the back of the room to stay alert after a couple Costco bran muffins put me sound asleep. To this day when I go to an all day meeting or conference and they serve sweet bread-y things with juice and coffee, I don’t touch any of it. Instead I mix a protein smoothie in my room and drink it before showing up for the pre-event sugary snacks. They still tempt me. They look so good. But I’m not hungry because I have taken in a high protein drink and it’s easier to resist what I know will keep me from being alert to the content I want so much to hear.

Getting to this place was an arduous process for me. I had to eliminate all sugars, even fruit, for a while. Grapes still set me off as though I were eating Sugar Pops or M & M’s. Once I thoroughly re-programmed my craving buttons, I just don’t think about those trigger foods. I was just in Mexico for a couple weeks. One of the great pleasures all those years visiting at my parents’ lovely beach house in Manzanillo was the morning “pan dulce” delivery. Mother would buy several little cakes for each person. They were heavy with lard, flour and sugar, almonds and icing. This Christmas holiday spent in Puerto Vallarta, someone in our party bought a half dozen for the group. I had one small mouthful and remembered the pleasure of the past family gatherings AND the sluggish, heavy feeling those cakes produce. One bite was enough.

Another strategy I try to follow is eat by the clock and not by my hunger. Eating with cravings as the signal for meals can be difficult for a person devoid of normal hunger pangs. I can go for hours after breakfast and suddenly realize my brain is not functioning. I’m getting crabby. I must have something to eat RIGHT NOW. Keeping a nutritional protein bar in my purse or planning lunch as I finish breakfast is the best way I know to stay comfortably on the path of good eating.

Was the chocolate cake and flan in the Botanical Garden restaurant ever good! Sharing one serving with my sister-in-law was all I wanted. We ate steak fajitas before the desert.

I know many of you readers will have your own stories about how you have managed a healthy balance of sugar, fatty, salty foods in your life without becoming fanatic or over powered. Tell us your strategies. I have shared mine. They are not universal. We’d like to hear yours. The comment place is just below.

If this has been useful, feel free to share.

BTW I am having a brunch at my house in West Seattle on Saturday, Jan. 19^th at 10:30-12n. and would be happy to have you join us. We’ll be presenting the 180 Turnaround weight management program. Better yet, we’ll be tasting the Smoothies, the bars, the tea and describing all the support material available to help you end the grip cravings have on your brain and consequently your health. A program that helps you feel satiety while your are changing your food habits can make a world of different in whether or not you are successful. I’d be glad to do the brunch vitually. Call me and we’ll set it up. Thanks in advance for your comments.

Fondly, Betsy

Be Well, Do Well and Keep Moving

BetsyBell’s Health4u

www.GrandmaBetsyBell.com

206 933 1889 1 888 283 2077

betsy@hihohealth.com