Health Topic - Staying Cool in the Heat

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I’ve been working long hours at work and picking up some overtime shifts.  I haven’t had a chance to work on some of my topics such as Alaska and self publishing, but I hope to work on them soon.  With the weather getting hot, I’d thought I’d tackle a health topic today – Keeping cool.

I personally stay cool by using my AC. Mind you, my electric bill is no joke so hench, I must work overtime to help pay for that bill. {e:smile} Sigh…. We all have our techniques – swamp coolers, fans, spending the day at the beach or the lake. Ah, but what are the benefits? Why stay cool? 

Wearing a hat to stay cool. 

 

I think when we get too hot, the heat illnesses are prone to occur. They range from heat cramps to heat exhaustion. Heat cramps occur when your muscles spasms after working out in the heat.  Some say it is caused by an electrolyte imbalance caused by the heat, others say the heat causes the muscles to lose their ability to contract.  Heat exhaustion’s symptoms include exhaustion, excessive sweating, cramps, headaches and nausea.

 

One of the big things you can do to help avoid heat cramps and exhaustion – drink water. You don’t want to get dehydrated. When you get dehydrated, you feel lighthearted, may faint, your urine turns bright yellow and get headaches.   I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s not fun. 

 

Ways to keep cool in the heat? 

 

#1 Drink water. Help your body out – you can spray yourself with water using a mist bottle or what I would do when hiking, I would get out a bandana, get it wet, and keep it wrapped around my neck. 

 

Drinking water is one of the biggest things you can do to help maintain your body temperature. 

 

#2 Wear cooler clothing like cottons and light colors.  

 

#3 take cooler showers with lukewarm water. 

 

#4 eat snacks instead of meals – salads, watermelons, and fruits. 

 

#5 stay in the shade as much as you can. 

#6 - wear a hat 

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"The story is short enough to be enjoyed in one sitting whether you are at the beach or on your easy chair enjoying a glass of wine, making believe it is the Santori Chardonnay. In short, this is another happy, heart-warming tale of love from the experienced pen of Stephanie Burkhart." - 5 Stars, Joy Cagil, Goodread Review.

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Health Topic: Drink your Greens

I’ve always heard the ads on radio – “drink your greens”  - it really helps.  At first I "pish- pished" it but as I’ve gotten older and the body has gotten “achier” I’ve been willing to try different, homeopathicish kinda’ stuff.  I used bromelain which I love but that another post. I also take the stuff for the joints whichI  get from Costco. Back to greens.

 

Honestly, I don’t get enough greens so I thought I’d try a “Drink your greens” product. There’s a TON out there.  Which one to get?  Now, I get some items from ROOT Brands, Clean Slate, Sculpt, Restore, so I thought I’d try them. Their greens are “ReLive Greens.”  OMG it tasted awful. I tried to take them – I gave it 2 days. I couldn’t get past the taste. 

 

Then I heard an ad for Brickhouse Nutrition and the “Wildberry” flavor.  Okay – flavored greens. I think I can do that. I ordered it. I think it was $65.00 after a discount. And this time I bought Propel water – the berry one. I mixed up 8 oz of Propel and a scoop of Wildberry and went for it.  The taste was definitely better.  It’s still kinda’ ick but not so much.  I can drink it. 

 

And since my body has extra aches and aging pains (56 is no joke) I thought I’d drink one 8 oz in the morning and one 8 oz at night. Let me tell you.  I can definitely feel a difference. There’s a lot less aches and pains and I feel like I have more mobility in the joints. 

 

Now Brickhouse claims that greens boost the immune system, aid with detoxing (and after my massage that I got on the cruise, I was told I need all the detoxing I can get) increase energy level, and support a healthy metabolism. It’s vegan and organic. The only down side is I think it’s a tad pricy but since I feel overall better, I’m not complaining. I’ll take it. 

 

I’d say the claims are spot on. I do feel an increased energy level. I’m going to keep drinking my greens.  Let’s see where it goes. I started in April. I stopped on the cruise, but I’m back now.  I’ll give you guys an update in a few.  

Anyone else drink their greens? 

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Blurb: It's 1865 and Lady Theresa travels from Austria to Moldavia, a country haunted by tales of vampires and werewolves. She's going to marry the Crown Prince, but she harbors her own unspoken secrets.

Prince Mihai has just returned to Moldavia to embrace his witching heritage. He's intent on being a good husband and modernizing his country, but he must find a balance with his supernatural lineage. His best friend, Viktor, accompanies Mihai and marries Mihai's sister. In an unfortunate twist of fate, a werewolf bites Viktor.

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Heath Topic: Finding Progesterone and Estrogen after Menopause

Now this topic isn't for everyone. I thought I'd tackle a health topic today:  taking progesterone and estrogen after you've gone through menopause. 

 

Mind you, my journey through menopause was pretty easy. I stayed on the pill until I was 52. I didn’t really notice any of your typical menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings or night sweats. My OB/GYM took me off the pill at 52. My last period ever was 3 months later in April that year.  It’s really nice not having a period anymore. That said…

 

Things I’ve been struggling with: minor aches and pains, inflammation, and weight gain. Which I understand is fairly typical after you’ve gone through menopause.  The biology of it: my hormones are low.  

 

In my research so far, exercise is important. Even the little stuff. A walk helps your cardio vascular system.  Doing light weights will help your muscles keep tone and keep your blood moving.   

 

One struggle is with weight and inflammation.  For inflammation, I use bromelain and quercetin, organic, natural based anti-inflammatories. Bromelain is usually found in pineapples and quercetin in plants like onions, green tea, apples, and berries.  I do think they help. I can get pretty stiff if I’m inflamed and I can feel pretty bloated as well. 

 

What I’ve found that works really well is natural based progesterone and estrogen.  If you haven’t heard about it, it’s out there and it’s working wonders for me. 

 

Progesterone plays a vital role in regulating female hormones. Its main job is to regulate a woman’s menstruation and prepare the uterus for pregnancy. It’s produced by the corpus luteum (which is formed when an egg starts to ovulate)  It can help elevate post menopausal symptoms from aches and pains, to hot flashes.  When you’re post menopausal, you don’t produce a corpus luteum and so the hormone level becomes low. 

 

Here's a little more about progesterone: 

 

Estrogen’s main function is the support of the female reproductive system, but it has other functions such as keeping cardiovascular tissue healthy, fights inflammation, prevents brain fog, boosts your mood, protects muscle mass and brain density.  Estrogen is great. 

 

To help keep the body less achy and inflamed, I started taking natural occurring progesterone and estrogen and it’s made a big difference. You can buy these over the counter and you don’t need a prescription. 

 

Here’s my go-to progesterone:

NOW Progesterone 

and here’s my go-to estrogen:

JNS Estrogen

Mind you, I’m just sharing what works for me. I’m not a doctor. Do your own research and if you think these might work for you, give them a try. 

 

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Check out my 99 historical sweet summer romance story: Journey of the Heart. Can James help Rachel save her winery? 

Amazon Kindle; Journey of the Heart

5 Stars, Amazon Review, Joy Cagil:

The story is short enough to be enjoyed in one sitting whether you are at the beach or on your easy chair enjoying a glass of wine, making believe it is the Santori Chardonnay. In short, this is another happy, heart-warming tale of love from the experienced pen of Stephanie Burkhart.