Tag Archive for: Health

Anti-Anxiety: What’s In and What’s Out

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My friend N smokes, but she is not a smoker.

After dinner, she quietly goes to her purse, disappears, and finds a private place to smoke one cigarette.

She relishes the relaxing effect the nicotine has on her. She totally enjoys every drag. Smoking puts her in a peaceful mood. During a few short minutes, N’s cigarette gives her a calming respite to a stressful day.

But she doesn’t want anyone to know.

Smoking is so yesterday.

Back when smoking was allowed on television and in the movies, it was used to show a level of “coolness” and sophistication. Think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Did anyone mention to Holly Golightly that she smelled bad, or that her hacker’s cough was unappealing? Was she concerned about lung cancer?

Smoking is now considered so bad, it has been banned from television.

And yet, over the past month, I have witnessed on TV and in the movies a total acceptance and embracing of masturbation!

Masturbation is the new smoking. Talking about it, being cavalier about it, is now cool.

Recently, a good friend pointed out a shop called Love Boutique and told me that is where she buys all of her sex toys. She might as well have been telling me where she gets her tomatoes. I was shocked. She’s much cooler than I am.

Remember when people said that masturbation caused blindness? Now it’s smoking that causes dreadful diseases. Remember when masturbation was something people did shamefully in private? Now people are openly discussing it like it’s brushing their teeth, while others (like N) embarrassingly slink off to smoke.

Remember when people smoked when they were nervous or anxious? Nicotine is an incredible sedative. The difference between smoking then and masturbation now is that back then you could smoke at your desk, or around the children, or with your mother-in-law. So if you needed to alleviate your anxiety, you could just light a cigarette.

We have not yet reached a level of acceptance that has allowed us to whip out the old vibrator in front of the family. At least, not in front of my family.

I have discovered a wonderful way to help calm you, help you sleep better, and give you a nice feeling of peace without making you go blind or give you lung cancer. And you can use it in front of your mother-in-law. (In fact, you should tell your mother-in-law about it!).

You don’t need a prescription and it is not addictive.

It is called L-Theanine.

I was first introduced to L-Theanine by my doctor. I was complaining about feeling anxious and, well, “bitchy,” due to hormone imbalance. She recommended that I take 100mgs of L-Theanine two times a day, at 10:00am and around 2:00pm. She said if that isn’t effective, I can raise the dosage to 200mgs twice a day.

She advised me to buy a good brand, and look for a company that uses the Suntheanine brand.

I don’t like taking drugs and I sure didn’t want anything that was going to make me loopy. She assured me that L-Theanine is made of the main ingredient in green tea, only much more concentrated.

At first I didn’t really notice anything, but I took it for about a week. Then I went off of it. I started feeling anxious. I saw the difference between taking the L-Theanine, and not taking it. Believe me, it works.

I now take it as needed. I took it just before I gave a talk in front of a huge audience, and I was as calm as if I were talking to a good friend.

I take it in the middle of the night when my mind just won’t shut off.

I take it before any potentially stressful situation.  I often take it before bed to help me sleep.

I have recommended L-Theanine to many people. They always thank me for turning them on to this amazing product.

At first I bought L-Theanine in 100mg capsules. Now I buy the 200mg capsules because I know that dose is effective for me. I buy the Source Naturals brand from Amazon for about $20.00 for 30 capsules. I also like the Enzymatic Therapy brand.

I have to admit, I used to smoke. I used to LOVE to smoke. Nicotine was definitely my drug of choice. It had an amazing calming effect on me.

But that was so yesterday. Today I have L-Theanine. And whatever I can find at the Love Boutique.

Don’t Sweat It

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“Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

This is one of my favorite quotes. I picture the Statue of Liberty, in all of her glory, greeting millions of immigrants as they approach the United States, full of hope for a new and better life.

It is also what was running through my mind during the last painful fifteen minutes of my first cycling class.

Tired, yearning to breathe. The huddled mass of sweaty cycling students, trying to mimic Mindy, the Taylor Swift/Beyonce-rolled-into-one instructor. Tell me again, why I am doing this at 6am??

There are some people who enjoy getting out there and sweating. I don’t happen to be one of them.  Any kind of prolonged exercise where my heart rate stays at an aerobically efficient level is pure torture for me.

Forget water-boarding.  If you want me to talk, make me sweat for over 45 minutes.

My idea of exercise is a long walk around the Seventh Arrondissement of Paris, with a few espresso breaks.

I must admit, however, that after cycling, I was secretly proud to be one of the cool, sweaty, spandex crowd.

There is good sweat, and there is bad sweat.  Bad sweat happens when you are all dressed up in your little black dress and you catch a whiff of yourself. Let’s just say you don’t smell like Chanel #5.

I found a nugget that will eliminate bad sweat, and the odor that goes with it.

Certain Dri Regular Roll-On Antiperspirant isn’t like other antiperspirants.  It is a mega-antiperspirant.  The directions say to put it on at night and it lasts 72 hours.  I put it on when I think about it, every few days or so, and it truly WORKS.

I did my research on this. I am a good gold digger, and I can tell you that I read many reviews, and personally tried the top rated antiperspirants. Certain Dri, hands down, was the most effective product to eliminate underarm sweating and odor.

It’s not exactly a problem one likes to discuss publicly, but we all have times when we need a little help in this area. Hormonal fluctuations, medications, skin allergies, even a change in soap can all cause our systems to suddenly behave differently.

I recommend the Certain Dri Regular Roll On Antiperspirant. Certain Dri does come in a new solid application, but the roll on works for me.  It has the old fashioned ball applicator that goes on wet. I give it a few minutes to dry before putting on clothes. Cost is about $6.00.

Click here for more information about Certain Dri products.

For a list of retailers, click here.

Annie’s Number One Beauty Nugget

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Here’s a riddle for you:

Kate, my daughter in law, has a big, gorgeous smile. Kate is 24.

Christy Brinkley also has a big, gorgeous smile. She is over 60.

What do these two beautiful women have in common?

(Please don’t say they are both blonde.)

We women (and some men) spend a fortune on creams, make up, Botox, fillers, and heaven knows what else. We endure Spanx and high, tight shoes. Some of us remember the days of sleeping on rollers. (I’ll bet Christy Brinkley remembers sleeping on rollers!) But we tend to ignore the one beauty secret that will universally make us look youthful, healthy, and much more attractive……a big, gorgeous smile.

I think the best beauty secret EVER is teeth whitening. So, I did some “mining” (reading hundreds of reviews and articles on line) about all the different ways to whiten teeth. I discovered a product that works great at home, is inexpensive and effective, and only takes a few minutes. It’s a nugget!

My favorite orthodontist has gleaming white teeth. I asked him what to use and he recommended the Opalescence Teeth Whitening Kit.

You can find it and other similar kits at Amazon.com for about $20. That’s much cheaper than the dentist charges for basically the same thing.

The Opalescence Whitening Kit includes syringes of Carbamide Peroxide, and plastic trays.

WARNING! This stuff is SUPER strong. The first time I used it I followed the directions and it stung like crazy from the beginning. I burned my gums. Not pretty.

So I read more reviews and found a different and simpler way of doing it:

Take a small paintbrush and “paint” a small amount of the gel (like the size of a pin head) on each tooth. Be careful not to get close to your gums. Then put a piece of plastic wrap over your teeth. Keep it there for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, gently brush the gel off of your teeth and rinse well with water. Do this every day for the first week, then once or twice a week to maintain your white teeth. (Don’t do it more than that or you will end up with fake looking teeth, and that’s almost as bad as yellow!)

It doesn’t matter if you are a 24 year old bride, or a sixty year old model, EVERYONE looks better with sparkling white teeth!

And if you are thinking of straightening your teeth…

A few years ago, I decided to get serious about straightening my teeth, and I talked to my orthodontist about Invisalign. It was expensive and uncomfortable, but it was important to me. One year later my very crooked teeth were straight. One year. I was lucky, I could afford it. And I was motivated enough to put up with the inconvenience. It was the best decision I could have made for my looks and confidence, and I wish I had done it long ago.

I am not advocating that everyone run out and spend their savings on braces. But if you’ve been thinking about it, you might want to talk with your orthodontist.

A Decadent Treat for Cavemen

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My doctor put me on a diet.

I wasn’t overweight, but my cholesterol was sky high.  She suggested I try the Paleo Diet.

The Paleo diet is also called the Caveman Diet. Basically, you can only eat what was available to cavemen. It’s “low carb” only much worse. No wheat, oatmeal, rice, beans (!), starches, sugar or dairy. No peanut butter, no popcorn. What? What do you mean, no popcorn?

Some people thought I was crazy. My friend Patty dryly commented that cavemen had a life expectancy of about 25.

I decided I would try a very modified version for a few months to see what happened. I changed the wording from “no” to “try to avoid.” I stocked the fridge with things from the accepted Paleo list– fruit, veggies, hard boiled eggs, lean meats. I made a lot of protein shakes with almond milk. And I allowed myself to have a little popcorn.

After much research, I was delighted to read that a few of my guilty pleasures were allowed on the Paleo Diet. Almonds, I love almonds. And it seems the cavemen had dark chocolate! Who knew?

My biggest challenge was dessert. I am not one who considers fruit as dessert. I am the person who eats two pieces of cake at weddings. To me, cookies are a food group. My favorite Italian food is gelato.

But I satisfied my sweet tooth with a special treat that even a caveman would love…

Diana’s Bananas!

Diana’s Bananas are frozen bananas coated in either milk chocolate or dark chocolate (my favorite). They come on a wooden stick (like a popsicle) or individual pieces called “bites”. They are so yummy, luscious, decadent and healthy!

The milk chocolate come in the blue box, the dark chocolate in the green.

I think one of the reasons why Diana’s Bananas are so good is that they use high quality chocolate. I admit, I’m a bit of a chocolate snob. Diana’s Banana are coated with rich, European-like chocolate.

Each bite of a Diana’s Bananas tastes almost like frozen banana sorbet with chocolate topping.

Diana’s Bananas come with four half-banana treats in a box.  They are about $4-$5 per box. Each one has 140 calories and only 6 grams of fat (much less than cake!). Both flavors are gluten free, the dark chocolate are also dairy free.

To find a store near you, click here.

Annie’s Nuggets to Help You Sleep

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A wicked fairy disguised as a harmless old lady casts a spell on Sleeping Beauty, causing her to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall asleep for 100 years.

Snow White eats a poison apple given to her by the evil Queen disguised as a farmers wife, and falls into a deep sleep.  Her buddies, the dwarfs, think she is dead and put her in a coffin.

In real life, the fairy tales would go like this:

Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger on the poison spinning wheel after months of insomnia. She knows that spinning wheel poison is addictive, but she is frantic to get some zzzzzs. She overdoses and sleeps for 100 years.

Snow White meets a farmers wife at the farmers market who tells her that if she would eat more fruits (like apples) and veggies and less sugar she will sleep better.  Snow changes her diet, and finally is able to fall asleep. She wakes up after only 3 hours of restless sleep because she had a vivid nightmare about 7 small men putting her in a coffin.

A good night’s sleep is golden.

I can not understand why children protest when it is time to take a nap.

Think how incredible it would be if, every afternoon, you went to your dark, quiet room where you climbed into your comfy bed. A nice person read to you, turned on your fan, and backed out of the room, assuring absolutely no interruptions. You could get up to go to the bathroom and get a drink of water, but otherwise the only thing you had to do was sleep.

Can you even imagine how wonderful that would be?

It doesn’t matter how old you are, or what you do for a living, sleep deprivation is horrible. It is a HUGE problem among my readers, so I have spent many hours mining information to find “rest for the weary.”

I know these nuggets will work to improve your sleep. But in order for them to work, you must be patient and do everything listed.  Even if you have used one or two of these nuggets in the past, try again, this time doing everything at the same time.

1. Eliminate any and all light.

Your bedroom should be absolutely, totally dark. Not even a sliver of light should be seen anywhere.

The clock radio with the glowing digital clock?  Get rid of it. Or put a towel over it, thick enough to totally shut out the glow.

The windows? Put up room darkening curtains behind your drapes.  I have blackout panels that connect to my draperies and have a Velcro closure. They are barely wide enough for my window, so be sure to buy enough panels to cover yours so that no light shows.  You can get them at Target, or order them on line from Amazon.

Any other light source? Do you have a TV in your bedroom with any lights?  Is there light coming from under your door? Night light in the bathroom? What about your smoke alarms?  I had to put several pieces of electrical tape over the smoke alarm light in order to keep it from glowing. Sounds excessive, but if you want it to work, you must be vigilant.

2. Turn down the temperature.

If you want to sleep, your bedroom needs to be cold at night. I have read countless articles about this, from the New York Times to the National Institute of Health.  They all say that the ideal sleeping temperature is between 60-68 degrees Fahrenheit. The broad range depends on your pajamas (or not), your linens, and if you are sleeping with someone else. A bed partner is going to give off heat. (Some more than others. Prince Charming is going to create more heat than say, Grumpy the Dwarf, if you get my drift. Sorry, I digress.)

The biological reason for this is simple. When you fall asleep, your body temperature falls sharply. When it is time to wake up, your body wakes you up by raising your temperature back to normal. If your body can’t get cool, it thinks you should be awake.

If your feet are cold, wear socks.  Cold feet will keep you from falling asleep.

If you have a foam pillow or pad on your bed, consider replacing them if you can’t get cool.  Foam is hot. Replace polyester with cotton.

3. Wear ear plugs to bed.

Some people have a problem with this one for some reason.  People complain that they can “hear themselves breathing,” or that they just don’t like the thought of something in their ears.

If you want to take yourself back to the comfort and serenity of the womb, you will force yourself to use ear plugs. The sound of youown breath will become very soothing to you.  You will psychologically prepare yourself for sleeping when sounds are muffled. You can still hear if a child cries, or if the phone rings, but you will not hear little house creaks, rain on the roof, or traffic.

My favorite ear plugs are foam that you squeeze and they open slowly in your ear. I like the kind that are shaped like a barrel rather than like a bullet. They are called Flents Quiet! Please ear plugs. You can get them here for about $10 for 50.

4. Take Melatonin.

It is amazing to me how many people will take a highly addictive prescription sleeping pill from their doctor, but are afraid to try melatonin. Wake up, people! (poor choice of words, but you know what I’m saying.) Melatonin is a hormone in your body that regulates your sleep. You make less of it as you age, thus the reason many old people have insomnia. Melatonin is also found in some foods. You can buy it at any drugstore or on Amazon.

It takes some patience to find the right dosage of melatonin to be effective for you.  But it is worth it. Start with 1mg. Take it for a few days, 1 hour-30 minutes before bed. If you don”t notice any difference, go up to 3mg. If you have restless sleep with vivid dreams, and/or wake up groggy, cut back until you find the right dosage for you.

If you fall asleep quickly with the melatonin, but you wake up wide awake in the middle of the night, try a time released melatonin.

I wish someone had told me all of this when I tried melatonin a few years ago. It gave me crazy dreams and made me feel awful in the morning, so I immediately quit using it. If someone had told me to be patient and work on getting the right dosage, it could have saved me many sleepless nights.

I take whatever brand I can find in the drugstore, but my preference is Natrol. Natrol makes melatonin in 1mg, 3mgs, and 5mgs and time-released in each. It’s really inexpensive, about $5 for 60.

To order Natrol melatonin on Amazon, click here.

Another sleep aid I like that has a small amount of melatonin is called MidNight. A doctor friend told me about it and it works. It also has some calming herbs. You can buy it here.

So, to recap: Every night take the correct dosage of melatonin. Make sure your bedroom is very cold and very dark. Put in your ear plugs, and see if you don’t start getting better sleep.

That is, unless your Handsome Prince keeps you awake…

Just Between Us…

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I am going to go out on a limb here.

Some things you just don’t discuss with anyone except a close friend, spouse, or doctor.  Some times you go for years without help for a simple problem, just because you don’t want to broach an uncomfortable subject.

Can we talk?

Everybody does it, and sometimes, doesn’t do it.

I am talking about going to the bathroom.

For many years I tried to find a solution to chronically not doing it.  There is nothing in the drugstore aisle that I haven’t tried.  I even tried some weird tea that my friends called “bulimia tea.” (I hope I don’t have to explain why.) I tried drinking more water, exercising, deep breathing, not eating before bed, eating before bed, no bananas, no dairy, more fruit, probiotics, prune juice (ugh), fiber bars, and icky granules you mix with liquid and drink.

Then, quite by accident, I noticed things were consistently coming along naturally.

Could I have grown out of the problem?  Or had I stumbled on an easy solution?  Through the process of elimination (oh, please, I couldn’t resist the pun!), I figured it out.

I had read that a small dose of magnesium helps with sleep because it calms the nerves. It also is good for the leg twitches that keep me awake. So I started popping about 250-500mgs of basic magnesium oxide before bed.  It didn’t help me sleep, but the really life changing effect happened after I woke up.

Let’s just say it’s been smooth sailing ever since.

After doing some research, I learned that all forms of magnesium are not the same. Magnesium oxide and magnesium citrate are the type that help with constipation. The other forms of magnesium are great for other reasons, but they don’t have the same effect on “going”.

Magnesium oxide works gradually, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t notice anything at first. This is a life long solution to a chronic problem, not a quick fix. Go slowly, adding a little more each night.

I get my magnesium oxide at the drugstore. I like the CVS brand but I am not picky. I pay about $8 for 100 capsules of 500mg. You can buy it here.

You don’t need to thank me for this nugget, I’ll know by the smile on your face and the pep in your step.

Annie’s Healthy Fall Breakfast

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I am not much of a breakfast eater.

I prefer to get my energy from really black coffee in a great big mug.

But, if I consistently eat something nutritious for breakfast, I don’t binge in the afternoon. I lose weight. Go figure.

I stumbled on a breakfast that is not only nutritious, but so yummy that it is now my favorite meal of the day.

We’re talking total comfort food.

Now, let me warn you that many of you are going turn up your noses at my breakfast. But if you are the least bit adventurous and want a new idea for a super nutritious, stick-to-your-ribs kind of breakfast, you’ll just try it.

Annie’s Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ingredients

  • Oatmeal
  • Canned pure pumpkin (not the pie filling, just pure pumpkin)

Instructions

  1. Make a bowl of oatmeal. I prefer Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal. It hasn’t been processed like instant oatmeal and you can make it in the microwave. I use 1/3 cup and 2/3 cup water, microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. (Here’s a tip: many of the brands that aren’t Quaker require 50% power for microwaving.  That’s way too much trouble for me.  Just get the Quaker and you don’t have to mess with that nonsense.)
  2. Put as much pumpkin as you like (I use about 1/2 cup) in a bowl, and add some cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spices with whatever sweetener you like.  I use stevia. It’s also good with honey or maple syrup (yum!). Mix it up.
  3. Put it on top of the oatmeal. Yes, that’s what I said.  Just try it.

For protein, I mix in a scoop of my favorite protein powder.

No, it doesn’t taste like pumpkin pie, but it is really yummy.  You can make it as sweet as you like, or not at all.  Experiment with the spices so that you get it just the way you like it. I like to think of it as baby food for grown ups. It will stick with you all day.

And if the pounds start rolling off, don’t say I didn’t warn you.