Has Your Partner Made You Laugh?

Laughing together makes everything better -- if only for a few moments. But once you have a good laugh, the effect is not only while you're laughing, but also when you retell the story to others, and when you remember it later by yourself. If it's a really good laugh, it becomes part of the ongoing connection you have with your partner - a shared smile that the two of you can resurrect any time, often with only a single word or phrase.

For Richard and me, the phrase is, "They're making a break for it."

Several years ago I went through a very hard period. Bad pain. Bad attitude. I couldn't work and didn't want to leave the house. I was sunk in misery, waiting for a new medication cocktail to kick in. I was Eeyore, moping and wandering aimlessly from one room to another.

One afternoon as I was heading upstairs, I noticed 9 black socks draped randomly on several stairs. Now, Richard and I have gone mano-a-mano many times about his tendency to leave objects strewn about the house. But this was over the top and inexplicable.

I asked him to join me at the bottom of the stairs and explain the mystery of the strewn socks. He said, "They're making a break for it. Trying to join their comrades in the land of lost socks."

I cracked up. Both at his explanation and at imagining him coming up with this scene and placing the socks, one by one - purely to make me laugh. That became a good day and a shared memory that still makes us smile.

How about you? Any stories about a time when your partner made you laugh?

Exercise for your lungs

This exercise will help any type of lung problem, asthma, bronchitis, or breathing difficulties.

It strengthens the entire breathing system, including the skin, which is often called the " third lung".

To determine the health of the lungs and body, one should measure the length of the inhalation and exhalation. If the exhalation is longer than the inhalation, ill health is indicated, since more is going out of the lungs than is coming in.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and parallel to each other. Your back should be straight, your chin slightly toward your chest, and your head erect, as if the back of your neck is stretching upward.

2. Exhale all the air from your lungs and clasp your hands behind your back.

3. Now inhale slowly, expanding your lungs and pushing your hands away from your back. Keep your chin tucked into your chest, and use only your chest to breathe.

4. Exhaling, drop your hands and bring your arms out in front of you. Continue to raise your arms, bringing your hands up toward your head and then around behind your back, and back up in front of your body, completing one cycle.

5. Interlace your fingers behind your back and begin the exercise again on the inhalation.

The cycle should be done ten times, and the exercise once per day.

Quit smoking tools : http://smokefree.nhs.uk/quit-tools/?WT.mc_id=search&gclid=CO2B9uXS6ZwCFYYU4wodIBm9jg

Patient-Focused Grand Rounds

Leslie of Getting Closer to Myself is hosting the most recent patient blog collection called Patients for a Moment. It's a good read.

And while you're at it - the health care Grand Rounds is up at Suture for a Living.

Prostate cancer could be linked with a virus

Scientists have identified a virus which they believe could trigger some cases of prostate cancer. Researchers hope that, if proven, the findings could lead to a test and possibly even a vaccine against the deadly form of cancer: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6151243/Virus-could-trigger-some-cases-of-prostate-cancer.html

The best natural way to stop Prostate cancer is by prevention. You can do this by using the mineral Magnesium and zinc. Magnesium is an important mineral it maintains strong bones and tooth enamel, calms the nervous system, regulates heartbeat, strengthens digestion but more importantly maintains a healthy prostate in men.

Lycopene which is found in tomatoes can also significantly reduce the risk of prostate cancer. It is available in capsule form as a nutritional supplement from health food shops.

The herb Saw Palmetto ( Serenoa Serrulata) has also anti-cancer benefits. The berries from the herb have been found to inhibit the hormonal secretion of the prostate and is therefore used as treatment for enlarged prostate.

How Much Should the Well, Caretaking Partner Share with the Ill Partner?

Here's a question that some comments caused me to ponder:

How much should the well, caretaking partner share with the ill partner?

The ill partner is suffering from body pain, or fevers, or headaches, or cancer, or from the side effects of treatments. He or she has had to give up full engagement with the world and can no longer do his/her old job or hop into a car to visit friends or go to the movies. Spontaneity has been derailed by the medication regimen. Freedom has been shrunk to fit within the boundaries set by the illness. And, as if this weren't enough, the ill partner is, understandably, depressed over his/her symptoms and limitations.

The well partner has assumed more and more of the couple's dealings with the outside world. He/she does the household chores, negotiates with the insurance company, oversees the kids, tries to stay on top of bills & budgets, and goes to work. And, as if this weren't enough, he/she also takes care of the ill partner. He/she helps the ill partner with the daily living activities the ill partner can no longer perform solo. This can include everything from monitoring medication to waking up 4 times a night to help the ill partner get to the commode.

The well partner is physically exhausted and emotionally bone dry. He/she is so busy every moment of the day that he/she can't stop to spare a tear for his/her own sorrow and worry. In those limited moments when there is a brief respite from the storm, he/she starts to feel choked by stress. It is a physical sensation -- as if all the air has been pulled from his/her lungs.

The well partner doesn't know how he/she can go on another minute and at the same time, he/she knows he/she will find the strength somewhere, some how, to continue. He/she doesn't talk to the ill partner about his/her depletion and anxiety because he/she is afraid the ill partner can't bear it -- that it would push the ill partner over some ill-defined edge into full bore breakdown.

This scenario may fit yours, or it may not. Whatever your circumstances are, I'd like to know:

If you are the well, caretaking partner, how much do you share with your ill partner about your situation? What are your choices based on?

If you are the ill partner, how much do you want to be protected from your well partner's state, and how much would you want him/her to share with you? What are your wishes based on?

Experts urge use of Folic Acid before pregnancy

Folic Acid is a very important vitamin. Together with vitamin B12 it is crucial in the production of red blood cells,preventing anaemia and for the synthesis of nucleic acids (DNA). It is especially critical to the development of nerves in the foetus, and a deficiency in pregnant women is linked to birth defects such as spina bifida :http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8232089.stm

Use of Folic acid can lower the risk of Spina bifida births by up to 70%. Folic acid supplements are quite cheap to buy, so my own advice is that all women of child bearing age should take them but only by the RDA.










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Is Soya Bean good for you?

Soybeans have been found to be a storehouse of phytochemicals, beneficial antioxidant nutrients, such as saponins, phytosterols and phenolic acids, which all protect the body from free radical damage.
They are also a great source of iron, calcium and potassium.

So in health and nutrition what are Soybeans therapeutic properties?.
They will help counter heart disease, and can substantially lower blood cholesterol. In tests 8-16% over several weeks.
It can also prevent bowel diseases>

It can relieve menopausal symptoms. My wife has just started taking Soya and suffers from hot flushes so it will be interesting to see if she benefits in any way. I will keep you posted.
Soya may also have some anti-cancer activity, in particular breast cancer. Women who regularly eat Soya will find that their blood oestrogen level falls.

If you have had any experience of Soya I would be interested to know, please post your comments.
See http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm