It is almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with the flu. What is the best way to protect yourself? Create and support a strong immune system as your first line of defense.
The portals of entry are the nose, mouth and throat. Contact is not as much of a problem as proliferation.
Simple habits can help keep you and others healthy.
First and foremost, frequent hand-washing is very important. An essential key to health and reversing aging is identifying and eliminating toxins from our lives.
Realize everything you touch has bacteria. Run your hand along a handrail; loaded. Turn on a drinking fountain; pick up a pen or magazine. Punch the elevator button at the doctor’s office, the handle on a door, the shopping cart. Anything you touch! You can't sanitize your hands too often.
Remember the "hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of your face.
We must also gargle twice a day with warm salt water. You can use Listerine if you don't trust salt. The virus, H1N1, takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents the proliferation. Gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
Also, similar to the previous mentioned habit, clean your nostrils at least once a day with warm salt water.
Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Surta Neti, which are good Yoga asanas to clean the nasal cavities, but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in alleviating viral problems.
We also need to boost our natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C. If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
And last, but not least, drink as much warm liquids (tea, coffee etc.) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. Warm liquids wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
Open your eyes and read the label. No matter what the front of the box or can says, turn it over and read the back label.
There are big bucks involved in posting things on the label; take advantage of it. And please, always look for USA.
Many products no longer show where they were made; they only show where the distributor is located. However, reading the bar code should tell you where things are made. Foreign businessmen are catching on that the consumers really do prefer products made in the "good old USA," thus resulting in their omission of this important fact.
Go to the bar code. If it’s 00-09, it has been made in the USA or Canada. Products with the bar code 690-692 were made in China, 30-37 were made in France, 40-48 were made in Germany, 471 were made in Taiwan, 49 were made in Japan and 50 were made in the U.K.
It is so simple; 0 at the beginning of the product code number means USA or Canada. Maybe it is symbolic, that 0. It is what we will wind up with if we don't buy American made.
Everybody likes a bargain, but if we define bargain, maybe it isn't. Quality of products, diminished employment, the federal costs to protect and maintain overseas manufacturing and personnel, that’s expensive.
Look closely at produce stickers on fruits and vegetables. They contain different PLU codes depending on how the item was grown. The PLU code for conventionally grown fruit consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has five numbers proceeded by the number nine. Generically Modified (GM) fruit has five numbers, prefaced by the number eight.
The best bet is still to find the time to grow a garden, visit your local growers, and eat fruits and vegetables in season. There are local farmers markets and whole food co-ops in every area of the country. The organic and natural food industry has exploded and made it much easier for people in busy, populated cities to obtain clean whole foods that have not been processed.
Also, when you are looking at the nutrition label, look for the size of the portion, the amount of calories, as well as the fats. Be aware, if it is less than a small amount of trans fats, the companies don't have to list them on the package.
It is not wise to eat anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. And in processed foods, sodium is a big factor. Often, in fat reduced or low-calorie products, sodium/salt is added for flavor. Be label savvy.
Today may be the time to resolve to be educated in taking care of your health. Remember to make today the first day of the rest of your health!
Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented that they like to read about the local happenings and family events such as family and school reunions, birthday and anniversary celebrations, and birth and wedding announcements.
In order to read about these important things, we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us, so we can then pass along the news to you. If you have news to share, please contact me.
Also, if our NRHEG Star Eagle readers would like to share birthdays and anniversaries of your family and friends, or you know of some that should be deleted, or names have changed, please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.
• Thursday, October 13th: Hunter Stephen Knutson, his 8th; Journey Lynn Utpadel, Courtney Ann Deml, Otto Nels Oquist, Mitchell Wallace, Jackie Flor, Rita Thompson, Suzanne Peterson, Becky Wallace, Mikkel & Jennifer Iverson.
• Friday, October 14th: Chris Schlaak, Jim Lutgens, Reece Alexander, Chris Ritz, Janet Goette, Dan Hanson, Breanna & Tim Briedenbach, Delana & Daniel Routh.
• Saturday, October 15th: Madison Lynn Homuth, Corbin Brocker, Colin Matthew Felt Farr, Tony Anderson, Sandy Jensen, Ed Ver Hey, Leroy & Garnet Folie, Heidi & Tim Schaefer.
• Sunday, October 16th: Kade Schember, Jenny Shaunce, Sabrina Marie Bauers, Allie Larson, Donna & Gordon Hanson, Daniel & Regina Van Kampen, Jamie & Amber Jensen, Travis & Stacy Ingnaszewski.
• Monday, October 17th: Lucas Bailey, Pat Wayne, Dale Strenge, David Killian, Sherrie Dahl, Dustin Wayne, Pam & Rick Cook, Sidney & David Kasper, Andy & Mary Ditlevson.
• Tuesday, October 18th: Gordon Jensen, Carrie Nolan Allen, Deloris Nelson, Andreas Quinn Vu, Stan & Cindy Nelson, Randy & Cindy Horan, Tait & Jennifer Ingvaldson, Carol & Larry Cox.
• Wednesday, October 19th: Robert William Pulley, Jody Johnson, Katie Ann Carlson, Jan Klocek Louks, Roger Larson, Jeanene Reese, Kristi Nelson, Everett Thompson, Barbara Olson, Esther Rodi, Jim & Laureen Hohansee.
May every day in the year ahead bring you something to enjoy!
