Simple Cures, Simple Preventions Part I 2006

LEMONADE  VS.  ICED TEA

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HEALTH & LAB
TECHNOLOGY

Part I: Simple Cures, Simple
Preventions

Here are tidbits of information and potpourri of homemade cures and preventions for old and trendy
diseases.  However, talk to your doctor first before using
them.

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD)

Health experts believe the real cause of AD is brain
inflammation.  Toxins slowly accumulate in the brain over the years and the
buildup triggers inflammation that gradually damages brain cells and leads to
memory loss and AD. 

• Low-cost anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin,
  ibuprofen, and naproxen are used to reduce swelling of arthritis but they may
  ease brain inflammation as well.  According to New England Journal of
  Medicine (NEJM), taking any of these drugs regularly for 2 or more years could
  cut the risk of AD by up to 80% even to those that already have the
  disease.
  
• Have a balance intake of Vitamins B, C & E -
  Lean meats and low-fat dairy products for B12, bananas, potatoes, and green
  veggies for B6, orange juice, and fortified cereals with low-fat milk and
  grains for folate.
  
• Have a low-cal diet - Lab study on old mice who'd been
  fed with low cal diet showed fewer signs of aging in their brain cells than
  mice that had been fed with traditional diets.  Have a rainbow meal of
  colorful fruits and memory-boosting antioxidant veggies like carrots and
  mangoes for beta carotene.
  
• Skip a little bit on fat and keep fit - People
  who carry the Alzheimer gene Apo E4 are more likely to develop AD if they eat
  high-fat diet.  Take a walk and supply your brain with fresh supply of
  oxygen.
  
• Stop smoking - It doubles, even quadruples, the risk
  of dementia.
  
• Socialize and keep active.

BITES AND STINGS

Bees and yellow jackets like me.  They really,
really like me.  One time I was in the yard barbecuing and a honeybee left
a stinger in my thigh.   What I did do:

• Using a finger remove the transparent hook-like
  stinger before it pumps the venom.  Allergic reaction to bee sting can
  kill in less than an hour.  Bites by bees, wasps, and yellow jackets
  cause more deaths than all other venomous animals like dogs, spiders, and
  snakes.
  
• Wash the area with warm water to prevent
  infection.
  
• Mix unseasoned meat tenderizer with water and apply
  the paste to the bite.
  
• Hold an ice pack or ice cubes wrapped in paper towel
  on the red swelling for 20 minutes, and then leave it off for 10
  minutes.

BREAST CANCER (BC)

How to beat the odds:

• Enjoy a refreshing drink - Grape juice spritzer (a cup
  of grape juice, half a cup of club soda, a dash of lemon juice, pour over ice
  and bottoms up); banana-carrot or apple smoothie (toss a medium banana and
  half a cup of plain or vanilla yogurt into the blender.  Add 2 cups of
  fresh carrot juice or a cup of apple juice); apple iced tea (place few slices
  of apple in the teapot, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste and add two
  tea bags, pour in 2 cups of boiling water, and steep.); green tea.
  
• Soak up the sun - Spend at least 30 minutes a day and
  get a D, the sunshine vitamin.  According to a recent study, women who
  live in the northern part get BC more often than women in the tropics and
  sunny southern part of Europe.
  
• No alcohol allowed - According to USDA guidelines,
  even one drink a day can raise the risk of  BC.
  
• Control your fat - Obesity, especially abdominal fat,
  is a major risk factor for BC.
  
• Get physical after menopause - The risk is cut by 40 %
  by occupational and household activity (using the stairs, walking a block or
  two, loading your own groceries, gardening, sweeping and raking the leaves,
  walking with pets and other activities.

BURNS

Most burns occur at home. There's the first (top
skin layer), second (deeper), and third (deepest) degree burns.  For
instance, once in a while I get burn (ouch, ouch, ouch!) when I fry chicken and
other meat which I do a lot because it's easy.  What I did do:

SIMPLE PRECAUTIONS

• Lower the temperature setting located at the bottom
  part of the water heater.  Make sure the temperature does not go above
  120 degrees.
  
• Use mitten holders for hot pots and pans - They were
  not placed in the kitchen for decorations.
  
• Be extra careful with food cooked in a microwave -
  it's cool outside but may be hot inside.
  
• Wear rubber gloves and protective eye goggles when
  using household chemicals like oven cleaner.  If you can afford, buy a
  self-cleaning oven.
  
• Never use the stove or oven to heat your home.
  
• Keep hot cups and food dishes away from the edges of
  counters or table cloths.
  
• In fast food drive-in, don't drink hot coffee and
  drive on.  Stop and park.
  
• Don't smoke in bed. 
  
• Store household chemicals in a high place out of reach
  of children.  Pot handles and iron cords must be placed away from the
  edges of stove and ironing board where a child could reach or pull
  them.

SIMPLE TREATMENTS

• Run cold water over the burn for 10-15
  minutes.  You can also soak the burned area in cold water or
  cover with wet towels.  Do not use ice.
  
• Cover the burn with a gauze bandage.
  
• Don't apply butter, mayonnaise, or commercial
  burn ointments.  They slow healing and increase the risk of
  infection.
  
• Don't pop a blister.  It's the body's way
  of protecting the burned tissue.  If one breaks, apply a light layer of
  antibiotic cream.
  
• Use common sense.  If it's a bad burn,
  seek medical help.

COLD SORES (CS)

Everyone gets cold sores.  I've seen worse
case of CS in friends and co-workers.  The herpes simplex virus I (HSVI)
must have been activated and the immune system was under attacked.  There
are homemade remedies beside Abreva.  (Abreva is an
FDA-approved nonprescription medication for CS.  The active ingredient
docosanol does not work by destroying the virus but it changes the skin cells
creating a barrier against the virus.  A tube costs $15.

Here are simple household cures:

• Lemon balm - According to research, using a
  cream made from this minty herb 4 or 5 times a day cuts the healing time much
  shorter.
  
• Eat food rich in zinc such as meat, shellfish,
  beans and grains.  Place zinc lozenge directly on the sore and let it
  dissolve slowly.
  
• Break off a tip of a leaf of Aloe vera plant
  (if you got one) and squeeze the gel on the CS.  Apply 3 times a day
  until the sore dries up.  Aloe vera reduces inflammation and fortifies
  the skin with B vitamins, vitamin C, and amino acids.
  
• Ice, ice baby - As soon as a sore appears,
  apply ice for 15 minutes a day.  Drinking a cold liquid or sucking a
  frozen popsicle might also work.
  
• Got milk?  Dip a soft, clean cloth in milk
  and apply directly to CS.  Do the 5 & 5 - press for 5 seconds and
  remove for 5 seconds.  Continue this process for 5 minutes.  Repeat
  every few hours.  Some experts think the protein in the milk speeds
  healing.
  
• Anal to oral?  Pepto Bismol, the diarrhea
  medicine, might really work on CS.  Strange but one person reports
  getting relief from applying Pepto Bismol when a CS appears.
  
• Drink tea.  Additional studies might be
  needed according to Dr. Milton Schiffenbauer of Pace University in New York
  but drinking all kinds of tea, hot or cold, black or green, blended or
  unblended, filtered or unfiltered, and bottled tea drinks like Bigelow
  and Snapple may destroy the CS virus.
  
• Take Aspirin.  It's not called the wonder
  drug for nothing.  Take one every day until the symptom
  disappears.
  
• Eat yogurt.  Just be sure to buy yogurt
  with live culture of Lactobacillus
  acidophilus and must be refrigerated. Capsules
  are also available in health food store.
  
• Take lysine, an amino acid present in wheat
  germ, poultry, pork, cottage cheese, and ricotta cheese.  According
  to doctors at Indiana University Medical School, lysine can prevent CS from
  reappearing in chronic sufferers. Lysine is also available as a supplement at
  many health food stores.
  
• Have a well-balanced diet of vitamins - C,
  E, folic acid, and zinc. 

Published  5/24/06   ALT  MSN Group

Web Page:  Simple Cures, Simple Preventions  Part I