Clutter In Our Life, Part 7

Clutter #7 - Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 7 of 10

So many people turn to soft drinks, tea, lemonade, alcohol, coffee to hydrate the body. However, very few us drink the amount of water in a day that we need. According to the mayo clinic website, we should at least drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day.

Keep in mind that this is "pure" unadulterated water, not water in tea, coffee, etc. When you mix in other substances into the water like sugar, caffeine, tea, etc., you body has to work harder to discard those substances and utilize the water.

In many cases, the other substances alter the pH of your blood which then requires your body to work overtime to bring the pH back into balance.

Our bodies are made up of more than 60% water and in order for our body and our brain to function properly, they need to be fully hydrated.

Yes, I know that sugar flavored drinks taste much better to water but if you set a goal to start drinking more water, you will find that in time, water is perfectly fine and tastes as good. It may take a little time if you are not used to drinking this much water but if you can stay with it, in time you will be much more healthier as a result.

Water is so important to the body of a living organism and without adequate water, we are really stressing and pushing our bodies towards disastrous results.

Come back tomorrow for part 8 of this series, Clutter In Our Life. Below are the various parts to this series that you can read as well.

Clutter In Our Life Series
- Introduction
Part 1: Spending our hours watching TV news
Part 2: Keeping Ourselves Constantly Busy
Part 3: Numbing Ourselves
Part 4: Following Blindly
Part 5: Food Choices
Part 6: Health care, Doctors, and Medicine
Part 7: Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 8: Thinking We Have The Answers
Part 9: Exercise Is For Another Day
Part 10: We Fail To Evolve
- The 30 Day Challenge


Blog Post & Images (c) 3/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Clutter In Our Life, Part 3

Clutter #3 - Numbing Ourselves
Part 3 of 10

Whether it is through food, coffee, energy drinks, sugar, junk food or many other things, we numb ourselves. We look for substances to give us that high in our day and soothe us from the rigors that we force our self into each day. We feel low and down so we reach for the sugar or caffeine to pump us back up.

If it isn't food substances that numb us, we park ourselves in front of the TV or video games or the latest electronic fad on the market and obliterate every hope of actually experiencing all that life has to offer.

There are moments that we need to just chill out but in our day and age, it is an epidemic where we spend more time numbing out than we do feeling and experiencing life. When we do this, we bring on all kinds of health and body conditions as the years progress.

Come back tomorrow for part 4 of this series, Clutter In Our Life. Below are the various parts to this series that you can read as well.

Clutter In Our Life Series
- Introduction
Part 1: Spending our hours watching TV news
Part 2: Keeping Ourselves Constantly Busy
Part 3: Numbing Ourselves
Part 4: Following Blindly
Part 5: Food Choices
Part 6: Health care, Doctors, and Medicine
Part 7: Hydrating Our Bodies
Part 8: Thinking We Have The Answers
Part 9: Exercise Is For Another Day
Part 10: We Fail To Evolve
- The 30 Day Challenge


Blog Post & Images (c) 3/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Parents Warned of Energy Drinks

When I saw this CNN Health Article, Pediatricians, Parents Warned On Energy Drink Dangers, I thought it was a good one to post on the blog. So much of our country does not fully understand what is good for us to consume and in what quantities. We constantly indulge in things that are not necessarily the best for us. Energy drinks are one such example.

Recent studies have shown that energy drinks can cause major health problems in children and young adults. Many of the energy drinks contain high amounts of caffeine and other stimulants. According to the Poison Control Center, there were 5448 caffeine overdoses reported in 2007. It has been reported in the Journal of Pediatrics that energy drinks could be especially dangerous to children with ADHD, diabetes, sleep disturbances and eating disorders.

There is much more in this article that you can read and hopefully many people will at least wake up a little. If we stress our bodies and our minds with substances that are not meant to consume in these quantities, it will have an effect on our lives at some point. Even if it is not immediate, the body can only take so much before the breakers are tripped. We as a country have a long way to go to really understanding what good health and good nutrition is all about.

For Further Reading:
1) CNN Health, Peatricians, Parents Warned On Energy Drink Dangers
2) Confusion - Symptoms Of Stress, Part 9



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/19/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Carob

Many religious scholars believe that John The Baptist in the Bible lived on carob pods which were called locust beans in his day. In addition, the story of the prodigal son references eating the pods the swine were fed and it is believed to be the pods of carob trees.

Even the Greek Theophratus recorded in 4 B.C. that carob was the Egyptian fig. The Romans are thought to have eaten the carob pods as well.

The carob tree is a legume that grows in arid conditions in places like the Mediterranean areas. Because of the areas it grows in, they are naturally alien to fungus and pests so little or no chemical sprays are needed. It is a large tree and grows up to 50 feet. It flowers in September and October. The tree produces no fruit for the first 15 years of its life. A large tree can produce up to one ton of beans in one harvest and can often produce fruit well into its old age.

One tablespoon of unsweetened carob powder has 25 calories, no fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol, and 6 grams carbohydrate. One tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder contains 12 calories, 1 gram of fat, no saturated fat, no cholesterol and 3 grams of carbohydrate.

Carob has been called the health substitute to chocolate. For people, who cannot eat chocolate, carob is a good alternative. Carob is free from caffeine and theobromine found in chocolate which are stimulants. It is also naturally sweet, so carob products will generally contain less sugar than chocolate.

For More Information:
1) http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/what-is-carob.htm

2) http://www.living-foods.com/articles/rawcarob.html

Carob can be purchased in your local health food store or in places like Whole Foods. It is available for purchase online at Amazon.com as well if you are not able to find it in your area.

Confusion - Symptoms Of Stress, Part 9

This is Part 9 of 9 Part Series - Confusion

In the health.yahoo.com article, 9 Surprising Symptoms Of Stress, confusion can be caused by stress. Stress causes distraction and lack of focus according to Debbie Mandel, MA, author of “Addicted To Stress”, “stress hormones lodge longest in the brain,” she says.

How many times do we see people or maybe it is ourselves, struggle with focus during our work day? Maybe we’re sitting in a meeting and just cannot seem to follow what is going on or maybe were a student in school and concentrating on our homework or listening to a teacher is difficult. Many people turn towards caffeine or energy drinks to help pump them up and make them more alert. In reality, these things only prolong the inevitable. Your body is stressed out and needs some down time. Taking stimulants may help for the moment but continuing to use these substances may be taking you down a path you don’t want to go.

What if you went outside during the day and took in the sunshine for a few minutes or just breathed some of the fresh air? What if you went out and listened to the birds, hearing their sounds or even listening to the wind blowing through the trees? You might even sit in your chair at your desk for 30 seconds and just focusing on feeling your breath in your body and just being there with yourself, pushing all other thoughts out of your mind. Even 30 seconds of doing one of these activities can help bring clarity to your mind in a day.

All too often, we push ourselves day in and day out but we stop to give ourselves the much needed time to rest and repair. While it may feel like we do not have the time to stop and rest, often we will find that if we do this, we will accomplish much more than if we just try to keep pushing onward.


Symptoms Of Stress: (9 Part Series)
Part 1. Tweaked and Tense Muscles
Part 2. Eye Twitching
Part 3. Ragged Cuticles
Part 4. Cavities
Part 5. Rashes & Itching
Part 6. Nausea
Part 7. Sleep
Part 8. Forgetfulness
Part 9. Confusion



*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Sleep - Symptoms Of Stress, Part 7

This is Part 7 of 9 Part Series - Sleep

According to the article on yahoo.healthy.com, 9 Surprising Symptoms Of Stress, "Stress will also ruin the quality of your sleep, so you wake up tired and irritable.", according to the author of “Addicted To Stress”, Debbie Mandel.

Sleep problems and disturbances affect so many people in our world. Many manage to make it through the days and nights but they often struggle silently. Many reach for coffee and caffeinated drinks to help them get through the day which in the end, only adds to the problem. Melatonin is needed to help regulate your sleep and your alertness during the day. Stress can impact your body so that the right amount of melatonin is not produced at the right time of the day and night.

Stress can affect the quality of your sleep so that even though you sleep many hours, you wake up and do not feel refreshed. Taking sleeping aids or caffeine may give you a short term boost or help in managing sleep and sluggishness but in the end, you’re only putting a Band-Aid on a gushing wound.

Working to get yourself to go to sleep and waking up on a regular schedule may help. Also trying to make sure that you get out in the sunshine during the day as much as you can, will help your body produce the melatonin it needs. You may also want to consider supplementing melatonin for yourself. I find that using music playing at night or a fan often helps me in sleeping. And I try to let my mind wind down at the end of the night before I go to bed so it isn’t racing with thoughts. If you have your mind solving your financial situation or trying to solve the problems in your life just before you go to bed, it will be hard for your brain to turn off and allow you to sleep.

For some people, sleep problems are much worse and some are affected for decades in their life. There is no easy solution for them as some people would suggest. However, I’ve seen where deep trauma release work and relaxation do begin having a major difference but it takes a lot of time and work for these people to get there. If we’re walking around carrying a lot of baggage in our live along with trauma and stress from our every day moments, the body says – I’m still running from the tiger chasing me. There’s no way I can stop. Until you learn to slay the tiger and not run from it anymore, you will experience difficulty in feeling sleepy and having sleep problems.

There is hope though and doing deep release body work over time will most likely help your situation. In the meantime though, look for ways that help you get through the night and be creative. What works for one doesn’t always work for everyone else.


Symptoms Of Stress: (9 Part Series)
Part 1. Tweaked and Tense Muscles
Part 2. Eye Twitching
Part 3. Ragged Cuticles
Part 4. Cavities
Part 5. Rashes & Itching
Part 6. Nausea
Part 7. Sleep
Part 8. Forgetfulness
Part 9. Confusion



*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog