The cold is finally here... and along with this kind of weather comes a stuffy, runny, and sometimes irritated nose. Many people immediately reach for their cold and sinus medications kept in the closet from the year before, but before you do that, I recommend trying out this simple and cheap method.
The Neti Pot has been around for a number of years. It began as an Ayurvedic medicine technique in ancient India, and was referred to as Jala-Neti, which translates to "to cleanse the nose with water". It has since been adopted into other cultures as an 'at-home' remedy to prevent and relieve conditions such as allergies, colds, and mild sinus infections. I have been using mine for the past few years to alleviate the stuffy nose that I get this time of year, and it has made a world of a difference.
This process may freak some people out at first (because it does require flushing the sinuses with water), but I assure you that once you experience the benefits, the results are much worth the process.
Check out this video for a visual explanation on the procedure...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsZeILCedRw
You can pick up a Neti Pot along with the proper salt as your local health food store.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Ahhhh... A simple pyramid to follow
Flashback to 9th grade health class...
I remember receiving the USDA Food Pyramid as a tool to determine how to create a healthy, balanced diet. Simple. Eat mostly carbs, little to no fats and sweets, and mix in some fruits, veggies and meat. Nothing that was too difficult to understand.
As I have gotten older, these guidelines have gotten a little more confusing, and a lot more controversial. Since then, the USDA released a new pyramid, firstly to not show favoritism to any particular food industry (thanks for fighting that one meat and dairy), and secondly to include the importance of exercise. Hmmm... now I don't have any understanding of what I am supposed to eat, but at least I do know that I should be climbing stairs??
Everyone has their own opinions on the matter (personal and political), but discussion of such is not my intentions here. These food pyramids are consistently referenced by many speakers in my studies, so I was obviously led to poking around about the topic.
I found a few renditions, some personally constructed and some poking fun at the USDA, but I did find one in particular that I thought was fantastic;
I remember receiving the USDA Food Pyramid as a tool to determine how to create a healthy, balanced diet. Simple. Eat mostly carbs, little to no fats and sweets, and mix in some fruits, veggies and meat. Nothing that was too difficult to understand.
As I have gotten older, these guidelines have gotten a little more confusing, and a lot more controversial. Since then, the USDA released a new pyramid, firstly to not show favoritism to any particular food industry (thanks for fighting that one meat and dairy), and secondly to include the importance of exercise. Hmmm... now I don't have any understanding of what I am supposed to eat, but at least I do know that I should be climbing stairs??
Everyone has their own opinions on the matter (personal and political), but discussion of such is not my intentions here. These food pyramids are consistently referenced by many speakers in my studies, so I was obviously led to poking around about the topic.
I found a few renditions, some personally constructed and some poking fun at the USDA, but I did find one in particular that I thought was fantastic;
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