Stop Procrastinating

Ginger

Ginger, that wonderful spicy herb that packs a warming heat, brings to mind delicious gingerbread cakes and iced gingerbread men. Powdered ginger has been a staple in my cooking for years, but it is only recently that fresh ginger root has found its way into my family's kitchen.

Ginger is the rhizome of the Zingiber officinale, a member of a plant family shared by tumeric and  cardamom. Fresh ginger is wonderful for making medicinal tea. And I love candied ginger as a garnish on my gingerbread cakes. 

An anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, ginger helps improve the immune system, relieves nausea (including motion sickness), sore throats, joint and muscle pain, headaches and migraines, throat and nose congestion, soothes nerves and stress, helps digestion, improves food absorption and blood flow.

With winter looming, ginger (especially as ginger tea) in colds and coughs, prevents chills, fever and excessive sweating.

Strengthen Your Bones

Building and maintaining strong bones is essential for  happy and healthy golden years. And the good news is that is never too late. Here are some things you can do to strengthen and maintain your bone health:

1.  Increase your Calcium. Calcium is essential to building and maintaining strong bones.When you do not consume enough calcium, your body takes it from its stored supply, causing your bones to become porous and weak. Good food sources for calcium: milk, cheese, dark leafy greens, sardines, tofu, nuts, white beans, oats and blackstrap molasses. 

2. Increase your Vitamin D.  In order for the calcium in these foods to be absorbed, your body also needs lots of Vitamin D. Fortunately, one of the best ways to get Vitamin D is from the sunlight. Unfortunately, sunscreen and advanced age limit our ability to synthesize this vitamin from the sun. So, once again, food sources can be a good source: sardines, salmon, eggs, cheese, tuna to name a few.

3. Ensure you eat foods with Vitamin K. Vitamin K also seems to play a role in strengthening bones, and can be found in leafy greens, spinach, broccoli, bok choy and Chinese cabbage. 

4. Avoid caffeine. Four cups of coffee or more per day may increase risk of bone fractures.

5. Exercise. Especially weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises. Running, jumping rope, walking, hiking, climbing stairs, dance, pilates, yoga, weight training, resistance bands, cycling and swimming are some good exercises for strengthening your bones. 

The Mayo Clinic has a very useful article that spells out the daily vitamin and exercise requirements for maintaining good bone health. 

Stand on Your Head

How many years has it been since I last stood on my head? Probably too many to count.  Could I do it even if I wanted to? And was there any reason why I should?  Turns out the answer to both these questions is, yes.

If everything I've read on the subject is true, then there are a lot of benefits:

1.  Increases circulation and energy levels. With more blood flowing to the brain, carrying more oxygen and nutrients, improving its performance and your energy levels. Improves mental alertness and clarity of thoughts. May even encourage hair growth.
2. Improves internal health. Stimulates your endocrine system, including your pituitary, pineal, thyroid and parathyroid glands.
3. Improves sleep. Oxygenated blood releases tension and calms nerve receptors that send messages to your brain.
4. Strengthens your neck, spine, arms and shoulders. Helps headaches.
5. Tones your abdomen and legs.
6. Calms, soothes and centres the mind and spirit.
7. Helps align the spine, improves posture, facilitates good breathing and reduces muscular stress.
8. Changes your perspective, both literally and metaphorically.
9. Discourages wrinkles. Turn the negative effects of earth's gravity (14.7 pounds per square inch) upside down. Will definitely monitor this one to see if it is true!  

You might want to give standing on your head a try, although I did read that if you have any of the following conditions, then you should give it a miss: high blood pressure, detached retina, glaucoma, hernias, cardiovascular disease, cervical spondylitis, thrombosis, arteriosclerosis, and kidney problems. 

Strengthen Your Core

We have all read the warnings about why fat storage that results in an apple-shaped middle is dangerous, and it is high time that I buckled down and did some serious core strengthening and whittling.  In reading up on the subject, I have learned that it is not just about ab crunches and sit-ups.  Abdominal muscles are just part of the equation. The "core" is also the numerous muscles that serve to stabilize the spine and pelvis and shoulder girdle. These muscles help control your movements, transfer energy, and shift your body weight. And as I know from previous back pain issues, they protect your back.

In order to be effective, core exercises need to target all these muscle groups. For a list of the various muscles and their locations, along with a set of exercises, check out what exercise physiologist and fitness consultant, Elizabeth Quinn, has provided online.

Eat Your Antioxidants

Well, here is good news. The Mayo Clinic reports that antioxidants from food sources are the best choice for antioxidants. "Many researchers theorize that antioxidants in food form chemical networks that then interact in our own cellular and genetic intricacies." While foods contain thousands of types of antioxidants, supplements may contain a singe type of antioxidant or only several. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which in excess, can damage healthy cells through a process called oxidation.

Always one to prefer to do things naturally, I am pleased that including antioxidant foods in my diet is the way to go. Here's a partial list of antioxidant-rich foods:

Berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries)
Beans (small red, kidney, pinto, black beans)
Fruits (apples, avocados, cherries, pears, plums, pineapple)
Vegetables (artichoke, spinach, red cabbage, potatoes, sweet potato, broccoli)
Nuts (walnuts, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds)
Grains (especially oats)
Herbs (ground coves, cinnamon, ginger, oregano, tumeric)
Dark chocolate

For more information, have a look at the Mayo Clinic's Web page.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg has long been one of my favourite spices. Having grown up with British cooking,I have consumed my share of homemade creamy rice puddings with that delicious nutmeg flavoured golden skin across the top. I think that the scent of freshly ground nutmeg is one of the most delectable aromas in the world.

What a delight to find that nutmeg has lots of medicinal properties. It is an antibacterial and anti-oxidant. It can help sooth your stomach and regulate gastro-intestinal tract function. It can promote sleep by mimicking the effect of Serotonin and helps muscle spasms, indigestion, joint and muscle pain, arthritis, improves concentration, and increases circulation. It can also relieve anxiety, depression, fatigue and stress.

Nutmeg is a good source of minerals: copper, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, zinc and magnesium. It also contains Vitamins A, C and B-complex vitamins.  While a little nutmeg is a great thing, it is important not to use more than half a teaspoon in one sitting since nutmeg contains myristicine, and large doses can cause hallucinations, convulsions, palpitations, body pain, vomiting and nausea.

Improve Your Vision

Drink Your Cherries

Life Balance

Down at Remic Rapids, on the Ottawa River, artist John Ceprano has been creating rock sculptures for the past 26 years. Balanced by gravity and small flat stones strategically placed as shims, they form a wonderful temporary summer art installation until nature dismantles them. This particular sculpture represents, for me, life balance. The three stones depict work, family and personal time.

Until recently, if I had drawn a pie chart representing my life balance, it would have been divided into three portions, with two good-sized portions for family and work, and a remaining sliver for my own pursuits, in other words, personal time. Such divisions of time are what you'd expect, when working full-time and raising a young family.

But if I divide that same pie today, while the work portion is more or less the same, the other two pieces are more equally divided  between family and "me time." The boys are older and require (or want) less of my time, which leaves me with a larger slice to devote to myself.

I find I have time to read more, paint, write, exercise, socialize, take up new pursuits and learn new skills. What a perfect time to examine how I want to spend my time, set priorities and create new routines for myself.

Kukicha Tea

It was only recently that I learned of kukicha tea, a Japanese tea also known as twig tea. The twigs of the Cameliua sinensi are steamed and fried, then aged and roasted.  The tea has a pleasant nutty flavour which I find quite appealing.  And if simply the flavour wasn't enough, the tea is filled with many healthy properties: vitamin A, B1, B2 and C,  as well as zinc, copper, selenium and manganese, Rich in antioxidants, it is low in caffeine. This tea is quite different from any of the others that I've tried and is one of my favorites.

Moisturize Your Hair

After buying a huge bottle of olive oil , I have been thinking of all the various uses it might have, which made me think about using it as a hair moisturizer. I have very dry hair and scalp, so pouring olive oil on my head actually makes a lot of sense.  Anyway, I was ready to give it a try.  So I did, and my hair felt soft and silky so this is something I might do every to weeks.  If you'd like to try it, here's what I did:

1. Warm about 1/4 cup of olive oil.
2. Pace a towel around your shoulders to keep the olive oil from staining your clothes.
3. Pour a little oil into the palm of your hand, rub hands together.
4. Work oil into your hair (and scalp too, if needed). Repeat, until you have covered all areas.
5. Once the oil is evenly distributed, comb through.
6. Tie your hair up or place hair in a plastic shower cap.
7. Let the oil soak in for 15  to 30 minutes.
8. Shampoo the oil out of your hair until it no longer feels oily. You may need to shampoo several times. 
9. Condition with your regular hair conditioner and rinse well.

Cinnamon

With the return of autumn, my thoughts turn to all sorts of delicious spicy baking that we naturally seem to gravitate to when the cold weather hits. Inevitably, it has cinnamon among its list of ingredients. What a joy it is, then, to discover that cinnamon is a wonder spice! A word, or two, of caution: there are two types of cinnamon: Ceylon cinnamon (the true cinnamon) and cassia cinnamon. It is hard to figure which one is the most beneficial. I did read that Ceylon cinnamon is more tasty. As in everything, do not overdo. Ingesting large amounts of cinnamon may be toxic. I am going to try to add cinnamon whenever I can, to flavour some of the foods that I prepare, rather than eat it by the spoonful. Here are just some of the possible benefits of cinnamon that I have been reading about:

1. Regulates blood sugar.
2. Reduces LDL (the bad) cholesterol levels.
3. Reduces inflammation, has antioxidant effects and fights bacteria.
4. A good source of manganese, iron and calcium.
5.4. Detoxifies the system.
6. Stimulates brain function.

I did find a good explanation of the differences between the two types of cinnamon online that may make things a little clearer.

The Happiness Project

Nature

The Longevity Project

Van Gogh

Well, I am already putting my new National Gallery membership to good use. Beside getting me in free to the permanent galleries, I was able to view a visiting exhibition of 47 paintings by Van Gogh for half the admission price. Which is all to the good since I already saw the show at full price earlier in the season.  Landscapes and florals were at the focus and I was struck by how interesting Van Gogh's perspectives are. Faced with a flat field to paint, he put everything on angles to create interest. And he seems to have played with the proportions of foreground, mid-ground and background, with emphasis on the foreground. All different ways of looking at things and placing them in a painting. Much food for thought and inspiration for my own painting. Vincent has given me a new way of looking at things.

Membership to the Arts

This was a gift that is going to keep on giving.  The gift of a year's membership to the National Gallery, from a dear friend, is going to motivate me to take many visits there this coming year.  It will inspire me, uplift me and  nudge me to do more of my own painting. Imagine in the dead of winter, being able to wander the galleries at my whim, free-of-charge, to take in all those wonderful colours, textures and images. Sensory stimulation when it is much needed. Thank you R! 

Tumeric

Tumeric, the spice of India for thousands of years, just think curries. The main ingredient in tumeric is curcumin, a natural antiseptic, antibacterial agent, anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant. That's a whole lot of power to pack into one delicious spice. And if that wasn't enough to encourage you to use it in your diet, this wonder spice may aid in fat metabolism, making it useful for weight control. Research is being conducted to determine whether tumeric may have properties that can prevent or treat various types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and arthritis.

Quinoa

Quinoa, pronounced keen-wa. How is it that it has taken me so long to find this super food? This ancient seed, from a vegetable related to Swiss chard, spinach and beets, was a favourite of the Incas.

Packed with nine essential amino acids, it has more protein than rice, millet or wheat. Gluten-free, it is a complex carbohydrate with a low glycemic index, low on cholesterol and rich in fibre (almost twice as much as grains).

If this wasn't enough, quinoa is a source of calcium (1 cup of cooked quinoa contains 30 milligrams), potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, riboflavin (B2), lysine (essential for issue growth and repair)  and manganese (an antioxidant).