Controlling pet allergens in your home

Many of us face a dilemma every day. We may be a dog or cat lover, but also have allergies. This can make people miserable.

Pet dander is a combination of dead skin cells and hair that can trigger allergic reaction and even asthma attacks in people sensitive to the allergens. The highest sensitivity is to cats, but dogs, rodents and even birds can trigger sensitivities in pet owners that may necessitate them finding a new home for their pets.

If you are facing that situation, there are some things you can do to minimize pet allergens in your home.

Keep pets out of the bedroom

If you or your children are allergic to dander, it is important to keep the pet out of the bedroom. Adults spend nearly 1/3 of their day in the bedroom; children spend almost half. It is essential to keep allergens out of the bedroom. Using allergen-resistant bedding will help minimize contact to any dander that makes its way into the bedroom.

Keep pets off the upholstery

This includes carpets, furniture and even your vehicles. Anything they do come in contact with should be vacuumed or washed frequently, including throw rugs, blankets, cushions, pillows and pet beds.

Clean often

Replacing wall-to-wall carpets with wood floors makes it easier to remove pet dander. If that’s not possible, vacuuming and dusting as often as possible will keep dander to a minimum. Vacuuming may not get all the allergens from the lower levels of a rug and may actually stir up dander as you clean. Use a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. It’s also a good idea to dust or vacuum when the person with allergies or asthma is not at home.

Close registers

Try replacing the filter in your furnace or air conditioner with a HEPA filter. You may also want to close the register, at least in the rooms where the person with allergies spends the most time, especially the bedroom.

Give your pet frequent baths

After a five-minute bath, dogs’ allergen levels were reduced by 85%. However, levels return to normal after three days, which suggests that dogs need to be washed at least twice a week.

Clean cages once a week

Because pets such as hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits and birds are usually confined to cages, they tend to be less problematic. However, dander and urine can still provoke allergic reactions and asthma attacks. Bird and rodent cages should be cleaned at least once a week and, if possible, the cages should be moved outside to a garage or shed.

Minimize contact

You can reduce dander in your home by keeping pets outside as much as possible. Children with allergies, in particular, should also avoid petting or touching them.

Finally, you have to weigh the pros and cons of having pets if you or a family member have allergic reactions to dander produced by the pet. If the problem persists or becomes too severe, it may be necessary to find the pet a new home.

Finding consensus among diet experts

If you read anything about diet and nutrition, or see anything on TV about it, you'll know one thing for certain: Experts cannot agree on anything when it comes to diet and nutrition. Some will tell you not to eat carbs; others tell you they're a necessity. Some say to eat like a caveman. Still others say not to eat fruits because they're high in sugar while others say to eat a lot of fruit.

The problem seems to be that research comes out supporting one theory or another, then some people jump on the bandwagon while others take the opposite approach and refute the findings.

There are some things that nutritionists can agree on.

1.    You should eat more often. Have a meal or small snack every three to four hours. This keeps your metabolism going and gives you energy throughout the day. It also helps you prevent the need to overeat and blood sugar crashes.

2.    You should include protein at every meal. Consumed at the same time, these foods take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates. You'll stay fuller longer, and avoid the urge to snack.

3.    Get moving! Everyone knows that exercise burns calories. It helps your metabolism and your mental awareness.

4.    Drink more water. As a rule, most Americans subsist in a state of low-level dehydration.

5.    There are some foods that most nutritionists eat, according to a recent Redbook article.

·         Avocados – A great source of healthy fats

·         Almond milk – Consistency of cow’s milk, with half the calories

·         Cinnamon – Can help regulate blood sugar

·         Dark berries – Can help curb the craving for something sweet, contain fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants

·         Greek yogurt – Two times the protein and less sugar than regular yogurt

·         Eggs – High in protein, vitamins and minerals, and only 70 calories

·         Extra-virgin olive oil – Great for sautéing vegetables, with antioxidants and mono unsaturated fats

·         Hummus – Snack filled with fiber, protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fat from the olive oil

·         Nuts – Full of fiber, protein, antioxidants and healthy fat, taken in moderation are a great snack

·         Kale – Versatile, nutrient-dense leafy green, fiber-rich, antioxidants, calcium, vitamins… truly a superfood

·         Quinoa – High in fiber, protein and omega-3 fatty acids, making it more complete than brown rice or whole-grain pasta

While we may be no closer to a consensus among nutrition experts, maybe it’s a place to start.

What the dates on food packaging mean

Take a look at practically any food item in your refrigerator or pantry and you’re likely to see a date on the package. There are a number of dates that are voluntarily placed on packaging. That’s right. The dates are voluntary. The FDA mandates dating only on baby formula and baby foods.

The dates you see mean different things. Some refer to safety and some refer to quality. Here are the dates you’ll see and what they mean.

The expiration date refers to the last date a food should be eaten or used. It’s a safety issue. Don’t consume after the expiration date.

The sell by date tells the store how long they should display the product for sale. Make sure that you purchase prior to the sell by date. This is an issue of quality - freshness, taste, and consistency - rather than whether it will spoil on that date.

The best if used by date refers only to quality, not safety. It is recommended for best flavor or quality. It is not a purchase or safety date.

The guaranteed fresh date usually refers to bakery items. They will still be edible beyond the date listed on the package, but they will not be at peak freshness.

Any use by date is determined by the manufacturer of the product and is not a safety concern, but the date recommended for use of the product while at peak quality.

For most packaged goods with a long shelf life, manufacturers will print a pack date on the label.

How long are foods OK to eat?

Memorize some ranges to make sure you’re keeping safe when it comes to the food you bring home.

·         Milk – It’s usually fine until a week after the sell by date.

·         Eggs - Assuming you bought them before the sell by date, eggs are usually OK for 3-5 weeks after you bring them home.

·         Poultry - Cook or freeze this within a day or two.

·         Seafood - Cook or freeze this within a day or two.

·         Pork - Cook or freeze within three to five days.

·         Beef - Cook or freeze within three to five days.

·         Canned goods – Foods that are acidic (think tomatoes) can keep 18 months or more. Veggies like green beans are probably good for up to five years.

How to trick your brain into doing what you need it to do

The power of the mind to convince your body that you can – or can’t – do something is absolutely real. Motivating yourself to focus, lose weight or just relax is sometimes a necessity when your brain isn’t really helping you do the things you need to do. You need some go-to tricks to get your brain on board.

Cut down on multitasking to stay more focused

Between the demands on our time and the gadgets at our fingertips, we are losing our ability to focus on a single task. Think of what your computer screen looks like. Chances are good that you have email, messenger, a browser with a couple of different tabs open, in addition to the projects you’re working on. Get in the habit of keeping only one window open at a time in order to focus on the task at hand.

Use aromatherapy to feel less hungry

One of the biggest challenges when trying to lose weight is hunger. For many people, when they exercise, it increases their appetite. Some research indicates that overloading your sense of smell may help decrease your appetite. Why does it work? There’s an area inside the hypothalamus called the satiety center that controls your feelings of hunger. Trigger it and it will tell you that you’re full. The key is to do it for more than five minutes, otherwise you might actually increase your feelings of hunger. Grapefruit oils, peppermint oils, and herbal oils have helped people curb their hunger.

Clear your mind with a breathing exercise

For many people, it’s nearly impossible to get the brain to shut down. How many times have you gone to bed only to have everything you’ve done during the day come back to haunt your thoughts. Short of full meditation, sometimes the act of breathing is enough to slow down our thoughts. The key is to focus on breathing. Think only of your diaphragm moving, your lungs inflating and deflating. If your brain throws some random thoughts at you, let them go and focus on the breathing.

How to deal with stress and decompress right now

Stress is everywhere, everyone experiences it and everyone deals with it differently. Last week, we talked about some common ways that people deal with stress that may not help alleviate the pressure of stress; in fact, these methods may actually help you hang on to it and may even affect your health. The negative ways to handle stress include:

·         Ignoring the problem

·         Obsessing

·         Blowing things out of proportion

·         Drinking

·         Smoking

·         Sleeping too much

·         Emotional eating

Learning how to cope with the stress in your life can help your overall health and your outlook on life. Here are some common ways that people deal with stress that help them to handle it and de-stress right now.

Get some fresh air

Research indicates that the vitamin D boost from sunlight may elevate your levels of feel-good serotonin. And, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells around you redirects your focus from your worries.

Stick to your routine

When stressful situations arise, it helps to stick to your daily routine. What that includes is up to you: taking your dog for a walk; listening to your favorite tunes on the commute home; taking a bath before bed. Following a routine gives you a sense of control over your day and can help alleviate some of the anxiety and tension.

Get out of your head

Thinking about your situation constantly is called “rumination,” and it is a negative way to handle stress. One of the best ways to cope is to do something that forces you to focus on your hands and body. Engaging in familiar, rhythmic activities gives you a sense of control that can help you relax.

Visualization

Whether you call it guided imagery, meditation or “going to your happy place,” it is a great way to help deal with any stress you may be feeling. It’s quite simple to do. Find a quiet space, close your eyes and regulate your breathing. Focus on the picture where you feel absolute calm – a beach, mountains, forest, or your grandparents’ living room – and just let yourself go there for a few minutes.

Take a bath

This can be part of your routine, but soaking in a nice, warm bath is soothing and comforting. Couple the bath with soothing music and aromatherapy. Jasmine and lavender are shown to have stress-reducing properties.

Express gratitude

Research has shown that people who exhibit gratefulness increase the activity in the hypothalamus, and had increased levels of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that makes you feel good. Writing in a journal, sending thank you notes, paying it forward by buying a stranger coffee, or tipping extra at dinner are ways to give yourself a little stress-relieving jolt of gratitude.

Getting some exercise

Exercise is the healthiest way to relieve stress. It increases your endorphins, helps regulate your sleep, alleviates mild depression, increases your energy, and helps you remain calm and more focused, all while helping your cardiovascular health.

The important thing is to address the issue, get help if you need it, and maintain balance. Dealing with stress is an absolute necessity. Learning to deal with it in a good way goes a long way to enhancing your overall health and wellbeing

How not to deal with stress

Everyone has stress in their lives, and stress can be both good and bad. On the one hand, good stress pushes us to excel. On the other hand, it can be debilitating.

And just as there are good and bad stress, there are good and bad ways to deal with stress. Learning how to cope with the stress in your life can help your overall health and your outlook on life.

Here are seven common ways that people deal with stress that don’t properly deal with the problem and can also exacerbate the issue.

Ignoring the problem

It’s fine to take a breather and step away from the problem, but avoiding the stress point is counter-productive.

Obsessing

Focusing all of your attention on something is not a healthy way to solve the issue. Make sure you’re keeping it in perspective.

Blowing things out of proportion

When something bad happens, it’s natural to think about the worst case scenario. One mistake doesn’t make you a horrible person. Dwelling on mistakes can cause you more undue pressure, which increases the chance that you could make another.

Drinking

Having a glass of wine after a stressful day is not necessarily a bad thing. Having a bottle of wine is. It can raise your blood pressure, prevent you from sleeping and can, in fact, cause you to ruminate.

Smoking

Aside from the adverse effects on your lungs and heart, smoking can also increase your heart rate, make you anxious and can actually increase the stress you’re feeling.

Sleeping too much

Normally, sleeping too little is associated with stress, but some people react by hibernating. The problem is that sleeping too much can actually make us more tired. And exhaustion makes it more difficult to focus.

Emotional eating

In times of stress, many people turn to comfort food, which generally means loading up on calories, fat and sugar. The longer your stress lasts, the more likely you are to reach for food to cope, which can cause weight gain and other health issues.

The important thing is to address the issue, get help if you need it, and maintain balance. Dealing with stress is an absolute necessity. Next week … better ways to deal with stress.

Bad habits that make you look and feel old

Aging is something that everyone faces, and looking and feeling younger is an industry that generates billions of dollars in the U.S. There are some habits that many people have acquired that can make them feel or look older than their years. By making some simple changes and losing these bad habits, you can look and feel younger.

Not getting enough sleep

If you’re a night owl, it can have long-term effects including bags under the eyes and droopy, tired eyelids. It can also contribute to mental fatigue and depression.

Eating processed foods

If you find that you’re eating on the run, or if most of the meals you prepare at home are from a box or can, you’re not doing your health or looks any good. The levels of sodium, fat and cholesterol are heavy, which accelerates the aging process and increases the likelihood of obesity. Avoid processed foods and eat more whole foods to reduce the amount of added sugar and fat in your diet in order to decrease these risks.

You don’t exercise regularly

If you exercise only when you want to lose weight, you may be cheating yourself out of longevity. Regular exercise also helps control high blood pressure, improve mood and keeps us strong and flexible as we age. A good goal is 30 minutes of aerobic activity every day.

Smoking

There is a clear link between smoking and longevity. The earlier you quit, the more years you add to your life. Smoking causes the release of free radicals and smokers have higher risks to develop almost any disease including cancer, heart disease and dementia, just to name a few.

Not drinking enough water

Drinking water is not only good for your metabolism, it could be a key to younger-looking skin. Water helps the skin to retain moisture and helps deliver essential nutrients to the skin. Loss of hydration can cause dryness, tightness, flakiness and wrinkling, which can make you look older.

Drinking to excess

Studies have shown that a moderate amount of alcohol can have heart-healthy benefits, but drinking in excess shortens your life. Excess alcohol has been shown to lead to heart failure and high blood pressure as well as cirrhosis of the liver and weight gain.

Eating sweets

Eating a diet high in sugar adds calories, which we all know adds weight, but it can even cause skin problems, especially acne and wrinkles. Yes, wrinkles. The sugar in your bloodstream attaches to proteins, which damage nearby protein fibers that keep skin elastic.

Rubbing your eyes

If you spend a lot of time looking at a computer, you can develop tired eyes. But know this: rubbing your eyes breaks down the collagen and elasticity around the area, which produces wrinkles and broken capillaries. For relief from tired or irritated eyes, try brewing two green tea bags and allow them to cool, then place them over your eyes for 10 minutes.

Sleeping with your face in the pillow

If you sleep face down, pressing your face into a pillow can cause trauma to the skin. Over time, this and the aggravation caused by the friction of a cotton pillowcase can create permanent creases in your skin as collagen breaks down. Replace the cotton pillowcases with satin and learn to sleep on your back.