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How much do you know about your Liver?
I believe that our liver is a very important organ, and plays a big part in our daily lives. How we help take care of our liver should matter to all of us. The liver is the largest organ in our body, and responsible for numerous processes that keep us alive and healthy. It has an immense capacity to heal and regenerate, but that capacity is not infinite. Unfortunately, signs of liver damage usually do not show until the liver has been significantly harmed, and treatment at that point is extremely difficult, or even impossible in some cases. The best protection is prevention!The liver’s vital role in our good health
If you have tried many ways to improve your health and energy level and nothing has seemed to adequately help, it is very possible that an overworked liver underlies your difficulties. Restoring optimum liver function is one of the most important and vital actions you can take to improve your health.
The natural course of life can cause the liver to get stressed, overworked and exhausted. Toxic chemicals, preservatives, poor diet, cigarettes, alcohol and prescription drugs all cause the liver to deteriorate, drain its energy and make it hard or even impossible for it to perform its functions. This can create a “state of emergency” within the body and could damage other organs, leading to numerous chronic conditions. DETOXIFICATION As the detoxifying center of the body, the liver has a daily workload of neutralizing toxic substances such as pesticides, caffeine, medications, alcohol, chemicals, food preservatives, auto exhaust and cigarettes. The liver helps remove these substances by breaking them down, enabling us to survive the enormous toxic challenges in our environment. SYMPTOMS OF A CONGESTED LIVER Ultimately, our health can only be as good as the health of our liver. A poorly functioning liver will affect all other organs. Weight gain and depression are two manifestations of a congested, overworked liver. Other common symptoms and conditions include being on edge (easily stressed), emotional roller coaster, elevated cholesterol, skin conditions, skin irritation, sleep difficulties, fat indigestion, kidney damage, heart damage, brain damage, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue, poor memory, PMS, mental fog, blood sugar disorders, allergies and obesity.
When the liver gets congested and toxic, it will remain that way and can get worse until it is detoxified and rejuvenated. The liver has everything to do with your energy level. If you want high energy, great stamina and overall good health, be sure to keep your liver in excellent shape. Not detoxifying your liver is like never changing the oil filter in your car! A healthy liver can mean much more energy, greater mental clarity, better mood, improved health, protection against countless ailments, and finding relief for conditions that may have been plaguing you for years. Here are a few tips on how we can keep our liver healthy
1. Avoid excessive alcohol. Alcohol causes liver damage. If you drink to excess, your liver won’t get a chance to repair the damage before the next binge.
2. Avoid unnecessary medication. Your liver detoxifies your body, and that includes the chemicals that make up the medications you take, including over-the-counter medicine. If you do not absolutely have to take medicine, save your liver the stress – don’t take it!
3. NEVER mix different medicines without consulting a pharmacist or physician. The chemicals you mix can form a toxic compound that will damage your liver, or make it worse.
4. Do not mix medicine and alcohol. This is especially true for acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol and other over-the-counter pain relievers
5. Practice safer sex – don’t risk hepatitis B (and, to lesser extent, hepatitis C)
6. Don’t use illegal drugs. If you do –get help and stop.
7. Don’t share items that may have bodily fluids on them – needles, razors, toothbrushes, etc.
8. Wear a mask and protective clothing when spraying chemicals at home or in your yard. Your liver can be damaged by what you breathe or absorb through your skin.
Life after Cancer
Hello, family, friends and long time acquaintances. Yesterday, today and tomorrow I will have to face decisions about my life’s cancer crisis. Please, no pity party for me that is not my style. I want to change me, better myself, help others, and enjoy the moments so precious today in my life and walk that extra mile.
Been through all the stages of this illness now at hand, as for the final steps I will walk taller, be happier, and help others while I can. My faith has been truly tested, daily experiences with this cancer has been many, but I continue to thank the Lord, for I’m still here and alive and want to keep on helping others and giving. Life is what we make it, how you choose to live life after cancer is entirely up to you. I try to, Make Today Count.
Written By: Mary D. Johnson
The Flaxseed story
(How one small change in your diet can make a big difference to your health?)
The flax plant thrives on the long days and cool nights of North Dakota and western Canada. In July, the plant blooms. Vivid blue blossoms unfold each morning, only to drop from the plant by midday. In contrast to the beauty and elegance of the flowers, the seeds of the flax plant are tiny, brown, and plain. Without question, though, these seeds are the flax plant's real health treasure.
There are many delicious ways to use the flaxseed in your diet. Several interesting facts about the flaxseed are;
1. Flax is great for your digestion. The flax seed has a large amount of both insoluble and soluble fiber. One tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains roughly 2.3 grams of total fiber. Insoluble fiber eases the digestive process and may help prevent colon cancer, while sticky soluble fiber can lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar.
2. Flax is great for your heart. With omega-3 levels higher than canola or soybean oil, flax is an excellent vegetable source of omega-3, the polyunsaturated fatty acids that make fish so healthy to eat.
3. Flax may help prevent cancer. Flaxseed is rich in lignins, which are powerful phytoestrogens (naturally occurring hormones from plants.) In fact, flaxseed's concentration of lignins is higher than of any other food source.
4. Flaxseeds have a light nutty flavor. Here are some examples of how I use flaxseed. I mix several teaspoons of the flaxseed into a pan of chili, blend it with the crunchy topping on apple crisp, put it into our sweet and sour meatballs, mix it into our yogurt, add it to our favorite pasta dish, or muffin recipe. Sometimes, I sprinkle a little on our salads. When making homemade bread in the winter, I always use flaxseed in the mixture, the bread rises quicker and everyone loves the taste. There are lots of wonderful recipes using flaxseed. Flaxseed is just one of those great common sense plant foods that have been on the plant for thousands of years and is really powerful. There are many benefits in this tiny seed. Flaxseed is very reasonable, and adding it to my family's diet years ago has been a real plus, for all of us.
Interesting Facts about Papaya
The papaya is known as the Superman of fruits. Look, up in the sky! Growing on trees that typically reach 30 feet in height, papayas have been rated the number one fruit in overall healthfulness by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington based consumer group that studies nutrition. Papayas contain more vitamin C than oranges, more vitamin A than carrots, a third more potassium than bananas, and three times the dietary fiber of apples. Besides being rich in folic acid, magnesium, and calcium, papayas contain papain, an enzyme that aids digestion and makes papaya useful as a meat tenderizer and is also a wonderful beauty aid. You might also like to know there is only 55 calories in one cup of diced papaya.
Papayas are grown in the tropics, from Brazil to Jamaica to Thailand , they are generally divided into two categories: The Hawaiian Kapohos, which are the pear-shaped, sweet ones that most Americans see, and the Mexican varieties, which are more savory in taste and can weigh up to 10 pounds each. Both are equally nutritious. The papaya has a gold-to-rose colored flesh; it tastes like a hint of banana, peach, and mango all in one. You can tell when the fruit is ripe their mostly green-to-yellow skin turns mostly yellow-to-green. As for the texture, choose papayas that give slightly to palm pressure. The flesh of a papaya is white before maturity, turning to a rich orange-yellow then a deep rose when fully ripe. Unless you're using the grayish black seeds to make a salad dressing or a garnish, you will probably want to discard them. If you purchase unripe papayas, they will ripen at room temperature. If you buy too many papayas, put them in the refrigerator to halt the ripening process, but be sure to serve them at room temperature Interesting papaya particulars.
1. Most Hawaiian papayas are called solos. That's because they serve one person.
2. In Australia and South Africa , papayas are called Papaws.
3. The Japanese like to serve papaya with ham as a first course.
4. Papaya trees have a short life span about three years.
5. Papayas are still hand picked. Pickers use poles with rubber cups on the ends Fruits are taken off the trees one by one with a twist of the pole.
6. Slightly under ripe papaya, which is not so sweet, can be cooked and served as a side dish like a vegetable.
7. Papain, a milky latex collected from unripe papayas, is dried and sold as a disinfectant, digestive aid, beer clarifier, and a meat tenderizer.
Things you might like to know.
The best way to remove a splinter: Use an onion! Put away that sewing needle. Next time you get a stubborn splinter, you can pull it out easily by doing the following. Cut a small, postage - stamp - size piece of fresh onion and place it on an adhesive bandage. Then wrap it around the splintered skin. By morning, the onion will have drawn the splinter to the surface, making it easy to remove with a pair of tweezers. It works.
Instant Relief from Bee Stings: If you, or someone you know get stung by a bee, do this. First, remove the stinger by gently scraping it away with a credit card or dull knife. Next, grab a tablet of Alka Seltzer and moisten it slightly so that it starts fizzing when you apply it to the sting. Alka Seltzer contains baking soda, which reduces inflammation and aspirin, which relieves pain. And the fizzing allows both substances to travel beneath your skin, providing immediate relief!
How to get all the Fiber you need without eating stuff that tastes like saw dust: We all know fiber is good for us. We know it keeps us regular, lowers cholesterol, prevents colon cancer and helps us stay trim. Yet most of us don't get anywhere near the 20 grams of fiber per day that doctors recommend. One reason is that many high fiber foods just don't taste very good. But here is some good news. You can get all the fiber you need without eating any of that dry, tasteless stuff. How? By eating avocados. One serving of avocado contains (9 grams) of fiber that is 33% more than a cup of shredded wheat cereal! Some other delicious foods are raspberries (8 grams) blackberries (7 grams) apples (6 grams) and mangoes (4 grams). As for vegetables the best choices are acorn squash (9 grams) black beans (8 grams) artichokes (6 grams) and sweet potatoes (5 grams). Remember high - fiber foods can taste good, while being good for you.
Super Granny - Defender of Justice
(True story reported on the news in the USA Today)
An elderly Florida lady did her shopping, and upon returning to her car, she found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her voice "I have a gun, and I know how to use it! Get out of the car!"
The four men didn't wait for a second invitation. They got out and ran like mad. The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and get into the driver's seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition.
She tried and tried, and then it dawned on her why. A few minutes later she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and then drove to the police station.
The sergeant to whom she told the story doubled over on the floor with laughter. He pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale men were reporting a car jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair, and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed. ...ah, senior moments... "Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change, and when we are right, make us easy to live with.
DAD YOU ARE THE MAN
Dad it seems like only yesterday you held me in your arms and shared with me fairy tales and told me stories of the warmest and neatest kind.
Then I started pre-school a tear or two I saw in your eyes, but all you said was, “Son you must be good and you had better mind.”
Grade school came and went seems it took forever, although the message from you Dad was still the same, you had better study hard son and be on your best behavior.
High school finally came and the fun began; but I can still remember Dad how you found the time to keep up with me and tried to make me understand. Explaining to me over and over that it’s what I do with my life right now that can and will make me someday a very successful man.
Graduated yes, with honors of many, but I must not take all the credit Dad for the lessons you taught me were worth plenty.
Thanks for showing me your love, teaching me honor, and demanded my respect, because of those things I' am who I' am for I had it all; a Dad, a Pal, a Best Friend, and now a wonderful man for a Father.
Accomplishments, I had a few and so very proud to say, DAD YOU ARE THE MAN I learned them from, God Bless You, for I love you more each day.
Written by: Mary D. Johnson
FATHERS DAY SALUTE
Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there. A Father is a privilege. A good father is a reward in it's self to be admired and honored. Last month I did a survey on Mothers Day which proved to be very interesting this month the survey is for all you Father's. Sometimes being able to read what our children think and say about us is worth its weight in gold. The question is, How would you describe your Father and what have you learned from him.
1.) Dad is strong he can open up Mom's jar lids, he says don't say bad words on Sunday.
2.) Dad is big; he eats a lot to stay healthy and works hard so he can pay the bills for all of us.
3.) My Father is quite he doesn't talk much, but if he is mad his temper really comes out fast.
4.) Dad is my friend and best buddy; we go fishing, hunting and sometimes just take short walks to talk.
5.) My Father works all the time I really don't see him much, when I do he pats the top of my head and says hi.
6.) I don't know who my Father is Mom says I have one but I have never seen him. Maybe someday I will.
7.) Dad is special he takes time to listen to my thoughts and always has time for me, we are best friends.
8.) My Father works late all the time, us kids only see him for a few hours on Sunday if we are lucky.
9.) Dad and I love to work outside in the garden; he always has a story to tell me about his childhood.
10.) Dad and us kids always share stories and try to help mom around the house, he is crippled but works.
11.) My Father was killed in an auto accident, but in my mind I always hear him tell me my prayers at night.
12.) My Father is very strict sometimes too much, but I still love him. He teaches me to be good to others.
13.) My Dad teaches me to respect my Mother and older adults, says I will be a good man someday for that.
14.) My Dad was never there for me, he treated my Mother terrible, but she still loved him. I won't be like him.
15.) My Father is cruel, rude, and mean he doesn't like anybody. I pray for him, God has a lot of work to help him
16.) Dad taught me how to respect others and always be kind; I now am raising my children the same way.
17.) Dad was always helping others; he always made time for Mom and us kids. We miss him, but he is with God.
18.) Father taught me how to do for myself and save money. He was always good to us and listened to our thoughts
19.) Dad has been sick most of his life, but never pushed us away. His smile and hugs were worth a million bucks.
20.) Dad has always worked hard; he loves to build things and has taught us the values needed in life. We love him.
21.) I never spent any time with my dad; he never listened but hit on us all the time. He shouldn't have children.
22.) True love, admiration and a big salute to my Father a kind loving man with respect and a heart of gold. Thanks!
Here you have it, messages from the heart. How do we as adults correct the things that may not be right or fix the things that make us and our children who or what we are today? Was the yesterday's so bad we won't or can't help fix the tomorrow's I don't think so? Parenting is hard and life is so short. I believe that the things we teach early in life will later be what we will reap. Love and respect is not for just a few, it should be for everyone. See you next month with more. Moments with Mary.
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