I would bet that you have a makeup bag and that bag contains all kinds of makeup, many of which are years old or have never been opened.  But did you know that cosmetics may be detrimental to your health?  Some of those unexplained symptoms, such as running nose, puffy eyes, or rashes may be a result of the makeup.  We don’t often think about how important our skin is, but it is the largest organ!  And, it does absorb ingredients. 

So how long should you keep cosmetics?  The standard of the cosmetic industry is 3 years from the date of manufacture.

I don’t know about you, but a good night’s sleep has been harder to achieve as I’ve gotten older.  And, after menopause, geez!  I have found a few things that have helped me better a better night’s sleep and may just help you as well.

1.        Develop a pattern and stick with it.  It is better to have a consistent time to go to sleep and wake up than to be different every night.  Your body will become accustomed to the schedule and it will be easier to fall asleep.

Lately I have been irritable and angry at all of the negative and fake news.  Thus really isn't healthy.  The world continues to spin out of control ad the so-called leaders are out for themselves and not for the American people.  How can you turn around these feelings and feel positive toward life and the future.  Here are a few tips that seems to be working for me.

1. Limit news time.  A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, factual news was reported at 6 pm and 10 pm.

I have been struggling with weight control for the better part of my adult life.  I've tried all the diets and have found some to be successful and have used alternative approaches as well.  When someone suggested intermittent fasting, I just laughed.  I like to eat too much.  Visions of wasting away crept into my head.  I have always thought of fasting as not eating for days at a time.  It turns out there is another way of fasting that actually might turn out to be powerfully effective.

I was wondering around Costco the other day picking up several items and ran across something I have never seen before, manuka honey.  My last blog gave a run down of some of the great things honey can be used for, so this caught my attention.  The price was quite high, so what is so special about this honey?  This is what I learned.

Manuka honey is a very special honey, considered to be on of the most healing honeys in the world.  It is produced by New Zealand bees pollinating the Manuka bush.

Most people, unless they are allergic to bees or honey, enjoy honey in their tea or substitute the sweet taste in other foods.    But it is so much more than that.

Honey has been around since the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans, more than 8,000 years ago.  It was valued not only for the sweetness, but for its medicinal values.  It contains more than 200 compounds that are quite useful for the body.  Some of which include:

-Antibacterial and antifungal and antiviral properties- this is perhaps one of the most fascinating features.

 

It’s that time of year when we begin to think about the new year and starting anew.  Many people choose to set new year’s resolutions.  Are you one of them?  Are you also one of them who has set the same resolution each year with the same outcome…failure?  So, how can you really break that cycle and bring success upon yourself?  Let’s get started.

1.     Prioritize what it is that you want to change in the coming year.  List all the changes and prioritize them from most important to less importance (because they all are important, right?

 

What is journaling?  Journaling, according to Susan Borkin, author ofThe Healing Power of Writing: A Therapist’s Guide to Using Journaling with Clients, is any type of writing or related expressive process used for the purposes of psychological healing or growth.

Remember when you were a young girl, you may have had a diary.   Your “dear diary” captured events and emotions in your life.  Now, as an adult, things happen, circumstances change, and those things are either good, bad, or ugly.

October is Breast Cancer awareness month.  One in eight women will experience breast cancer in their lifetime.  We, as women, take much better care of our hair and face than we do our breasts.  And yet, this part of our anatomy is extremely vital to life, in nursing our children, as well as our self-image, as dictated by cultural mores.  So, what can you do to take care of your breasts?

1)       It is important to know your body.  What is normal and what is not normal?

I have tried many diets throughout my life, and all have ultimately failed.  Since my breast cancer diagnosis, I have been on the hunt for the best diet since this is definitely part of the equation to health and healing.  I have been frustrated to receive little to no answers from physicians.  They are uneducated about nutrition in general, and seem to have no interest in learning about it.  Unfortunately, their training is geared to treating symptoms and in prescribing medications.