Tumeric! It Works!

I have always heard that food is medicine but I have not really paid that any attention until now.  Recently I have been having joint pain, maybe even a little gout as I have not been the healthiest in the past year.  I read quite a few articles on turmeric and found that it may reduce pain.  So I thought I would try.  As you may know from an earlier post I am into oil pulling.  That works.

So this past Saturday I went to my local Earth Fare and bought some turmeric supplements.  This is day 2 and I swear the relief has been almost magical!  I will be taking this for a while.  The achy pain I was feeling is just about gone!  I can hardly believe it worked so fast but it has! 

Here is a little research about the benefits.

What the Doctor Says:

This orange and yellow spice, famous for its extensive use in South Asian cuisine, also has anti-inflammatory properties. Dr. Santos recommends it frequently to patients complaining of sore and achy joints, and uses it herself to relieve pain in her joints from sports and exercise.

“I use a lot of turmeric in my practice,” she said. “It’s an amazing spice. Usually what I do is I make sure nothing else is going on, that it’s just plain old inflammation from wear and tear.”

While many people may encounter turmeric only in curry dishes and South Asian restaurants, Dr. Santos advises her patients to find it in health food stores in pill or capsule form. She recommends a dose of 1,000 milligrams a day. The benefit of buying it in a bottle, she said, is that it’s usually combined with a compound called piperine, which aids absorption.

“In India, whenever they use turmeric they usually have pepper in the meal,” said Dr. Santos. “Piperine is a pepper. It helps the turmeric get absorbed so that it goes into your bloodstream versus staying in your gut.”

Dr. Santos said she recently suggested to her father that he try turmeric after an operation on his hip. He was undergoing rehab and was experiencing pain and stomach issues, another area in which the use of turmeric has been studied.

“He was skeptical,” she said. “But he called me up a few days later and said he was pain-free.” 

 


You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder. ~~Unknown~~

Headaches Today

Today I had a headache just about all day. I woke up with it and I do not know why. I was also very tired. Maybe it was a very long and busy week that finally caught up with me. I napped on and off all day and that headache stayed with me. It would not go away. I did not have any Aleve with me, so I tried the pressure point thing to no avail. Normally it works but not today. Finally I could suffer no more, I broke down and got some Aleve. I took 2 about 4 and felt better about 5pm. A headache can wear you out!

I have always been in favor of using pressure points to relieve a headache. Here are the tips on finding them. They work and practice finding the points will improve the rate at which your headache goes away.

1. Draw an imaginary line between the middle of both ears to the top of your head using your finger. This is a pressure point that commonly relieves headaches, as well as dizziness and low energy.
2. Move your finger from your shoulder to your neck until you feel a depression. Apply pressure as needed in the area that is the most tender. This pressure point relieves migraine headaches as well as neck pain, shoulder tension, dizziness and stress.
3. Slide your finger to the place where your thumb and index finger meet. You should be able to feel a depression in this pressure point. Pressure applied to this point treats headaches that are in the front of your head.
4. Locate the next point by placing your finger in the depression between your big toe and your second toe. Feel where the tendons meet, then press where it is most sore. This will not only relieve migraine pain, but also anger, irritability, stress, menstrual pain and anxiety.
5. Massage one or more of these points for three to five minutes, or until you feel relief. Acupressure can be repeated if necessary. For best results, apply pressure with the tip of your finger, your knuckle or the eraser end of a pencil.

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder.
~~Unknown~~

Just Freeze It!

You know I have the bum knee. I hurt it in college and had to have knee surgery. Exploding knee caps, no arthroscopic surgery as the pieces were too big, scarring. Therapy that was a year of going to a medieval torture chamber to break up the scar tissue. Well, since then, the knee has been okay. Sometimes it is achy when it rains or if I walk alot, then it gets achy. See? It's the offending knee!

At various times throughtout the years I have had to have physical therapy. It gets a little swollen and tends to click. Feels like things rubbing together in there. Yuk! Very uncomfortable. I have tried various things throughout the years to try on it. Now I have been sent some wonderful samples of Freeze It. I tried it. I liked it. It was cool and soothing. The texture was smooth and greaseless without staining.

Freeze It can be used for any sort of joint pain or muscular ache. I rubbed it in and waited. Soon I began to feel a warm sensation as it went to work. If you are about to workout, use it before you begin to reduce soreness. It you are already sore, rub it in and you can even use a little ice to reduce soreness as well. I fear that I may get arthritis in this knee in the future as that is what my doctor told me was a very real possibility many years ago. Freeze It will help with that as well. I can be applied up to four times a day.

I like the fact that it comes in the gel as well as a roll on. The roll on is nice when you do not want to get it all over your hands. (Tip one...don't forget you rubbed it in and then rub your eyes. Not a good combination) What is in it that does the trick? Well, camphor and menthol for one. In addition it contains a special ingredient called ILEX. That is a herbal extract from a South American holly shrub. It helps to enhance the effects of the pain relief ingredients. There is also soothing aloe and vitamin E.

Me and My badly scarred knee? Well, we are paired for life. The good thing is there are wonderful products like Freeze It that can make our life together more compatable. Knee problems like mine? I recommend Freeze It. It can really make a difference in just basic quality of life if you are suffering with life long knee problems. How did it all happen? High impact aerobics back in 1980. High impact aerobics and knee caps don't mix. But I can freeze discomfort with Freeze It! Cost: Competitve at $9.99.

Disclosure
You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder.
~~Unknown~~

BioFreeze

Well, as you know I recently hurt my right knee while landscaping. After the first week, a friend of mine took pity on me and gave me three samples of Biofreeze. It is the best ever! It works. I am out of those three packets now so I will have to go to the store and get some just for me. Today. I used the last of it this morning.

I wondered what was in it as it feels kind of cool and hot all at the same time. I guess it does not matter just so long as it works.

I hope that in about another week the hobbling will be over and I can walk normally. I am still wrapping it at night because by the end of the day it still is swollen inside the joint and I cannot bend the knee joint. I think that I really should have gone to the doctor but I was trying to avoid that. If you have an ache or pain, try Biofreeze. It really works. I swear by it. My doctor says that 40-itis is upon me. I feel like 20 but things are beginning to fall apart. 40-itis!!! What does he know?!?!

BIOFREEZE products contain ILEX, an herbal extract from a South American holly shrub. ILEX is used around the world in various health & wellness formulations. BIOFREEZE topical analgesic does not use waxes, oils, aloe or petroleum. The result is a fast-acting, penetrating, long lasting pain reliever.

You can chase a butterfly all over the field and never catch it. But if you sit quietly in the grass it will come and sit on your shoulder.
~~Unknown~~