Ok so we don’t always mean to drink enough to get a hangover but…when the conversation is good and that heart healthy wine is flowing… well, we’ve all been there. Here are some good tips from mahalo.com to help you get over your self induced misery. After the last time, I swore I would never drink again…until next time….

• To learn how to cure a hangover, you have to know what causes it. So what causes a hangover, besides, of course, drinking too much? There is some debate about the specific causes of that awful morning after, but it seems to break down to several factors.

1. Dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic, which, as the Mayo Clinic explains, means it causes your body to excrete even more moisture than you’re putting into it. If you’re ever stranded in the Sahara between oases, you may find the experience is similar to a hangover (without the fun of the night before).
2. Hypoglycemia. Alcohol makes your liver break down its stored energy and flush it out of your system, the BBC says. That wobbly feeling you get when you’re hung over is pretty similar to the one you might get after fasting for a while.

3. 

   Umbrella drinks are often loaded with congeners. Photo by Bazil Raubach.

   Congeners are some of the chemicals in alcohol that aren’t ethanol. Rule of thumb: the darker the alcohol, the more congeners, and the worse the hangover.

4. Acetaldehyde is, according to a study done at UCLA, another cause of hangovers. Its effects include: sweating, nausea and vomiting. Sound familiar? Your body breaks ethyl alcohol (the active ingredient in alcohol) down in two steps: first into acetaldehyde, and then into acetate, which your body expels. That second step takes time, however, and if you’re outpacing your body, that nasty acetaldehyde stays in your system.
5. Alcohol irritates the gastrointestinal system, notes Dr. Thomas Stuttaford, leading to nausea and intestinal distress.
6. Alcohol makes it difficult to get deep, restful sleep, says Dr. Jeffrey Wiese. Some of the effects you feel are fatigue.
7. Some doctors believe your body is also going through a mini-withdrawal.

Want to make yourself feel really good?

Step 1. Go to a greeting card store and pick out a really, really nice card.

Step 2. Get one that you would send to your best friend or closest relative. Something along the lines of how much you appreciate them.

Step 3. Fill the card with compliments. They should be compliments you could tell anyone, they don’t have to be specific to anyone. Ie. I’m glad you are in my life, I want to spend more time together, I love you, etc.

Step 4. Seal the card and mail it to yourself. That’s right, you read correctly. MAIL IT TO YOURSELF.

Step 5. Get the card back in a couple of days and read it. Feel wonderful about what it written because it is written TO YOU.

Step 6. Enjoy the fact that you got something in the mail besides junk mail or bills.

Step 7. Display the card somewhere you can see it often and remind yourself of all of the wonderful things the card holds.

Step 8. Love yourself

1. Always ask for a doggy bag at a restaurant (if you actually have stuff to put in it, even better).
2. Listen to your cravings (have a little now so you don’t pig out later).
3. Take the stairs
4. Park in the back of the parking lot
5. Have a hard boiled egg with your morning coffee
6. Have coffee (antioxidants!)
7. Have a 5 oz. glass of red wine EVERY day
8. Two words: dark chocolate
9. Drink some water
10. Switch to diet soda
11. Get plenty of sleep
12. Get a massage
13. Rent a funny movie
14. Laugh at it (see number 13)
15. Take a nap
16. Get a pet
17. Pet your pet
18. Hug someone
19. Write in a journal (or blog)
20. Declutter EVERYTHING

OK, I was naughty today and I ate a little more junk than I should. I’m sorry but all I have to say is, pecan carmel roll. Yum. I took a couple of cinnamon capsules and I feel better. Cinnamon helps to regulate your blood sugar so it doesn’t spike and get all crazy. If your sugar spikes too quickly, it’ll drop quickly and then you’ll be having mega cravings for Cinnabon. Cinnamon just evens it out. I also want to say that you don’t have to totally deprive yourself of everything sinfully delicious. It’s all about how much junk you eat at a time. Since I had the cinnamon roll, I went easy for dinner. No biggie.

Sweet.

Ok, sorry for the cheesy headline, I just had to do it. Today’s post is about eggs. EAT MORE EGGS. Why? Because they are super healthy for you AND can help you lose weight. Hellz yeah!

According to the American Egg Board (the people responsible for the “incredible edible egg” campaign), eggs are a nutrient dense food. There are are 13 essential nutrients along with high quality protein. The nutrients are vital to brain function and muscle development.

Don’t skip the egg yolk! The egg yolk contains healthy monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats and nearly half of the protein in the egg.

Recent studies also show the benefits of eating eggs when you’re dieting. People who eat an egg or two for breakfast stay fuller longer (because of the protein) and are shown to lose more weight than dieters who didn’t eat an egg for breakfast.

Here’s the nutrional breakdown of an egg according to askmen.com.

Vitamins
A: good for the skin and growth.
D: strengthens bones by raising calcium absorption.
E: protects cells from oxidation.
B1: helps properly release energy from carbohydrates.
B2: helps release energy from protein and fat.
B6: promotes the metabolism of protein.
B12: an essential vitamin in the formation of nerve fibers and blood cells.

Minerals
Iron: essential in the creation of red blood cells.
Zinc: good for enzyme stability and essential in sexual maturation.
Calcium: most important mineral in the strengthening of bones and teeth.
Iodine: controls thyroid hormones.
Selenium: like vitamin E, it protects cells from oxidation.

Yikes! Now I’m hungry… gotta go get something to eat…egg related.

I saw this on TV today and it caught my interest because my sister suffers from thyroid disease. The shoulderstand, AKA sarvangasan supposed to help your thyroid function at it maximum capacity. You might be saying, but I don’t have thyroid disease, why should I care? Well the thyroid directly affects your metabolism. So whether you have thyroid disease or not, it’s best to make friends with your thyroid, pronto.

The following is from www.holisticonline.com and describes how to do the shoulderstand.

Technique

1. Lie flat on your back. Inhale deeply while raising your legs and spine until the toes point to the ceiling.
2. The body rests on the shoulders and the back of the neck. The body is supported by the hands, which are placed on the center of the spine between the waist and the shoulder blades. Keep your spine and legs straight.
3. Breathe slowly and deeply with the abdomen and concentrate on the thyroid gland. On a male, the thyroid gland is located behind the adams apple. For women, it is located in the same area which is a few inches above the sternal notch (hollow of the neck where the neck joins the rest of the body.) or approximately half way up the neck from the sternal notch. Stay in this position for about two minutes.
4. To come out of this posture, just bend your knees, curve your back and slowly return to lying on the floor while exhaling. First bend your knees, put the palms on the floor, then curving the spine, gradually unfold it the way one unrolls a carpet. When your entire back touches the floor, straighten the knees, take a deep breath and slowly lower your legs to the ground while breathing out.
5. If you wish, you may go straight into the next posture (the ‘reverse posture’) instead of lying down.

I am a notoriously bad sleeper. It takes me forever to fall asleep and it’s hard to stay asleep. And, I’m all about a good nap. As a result, I’m always interested in finding out how I can get better sleep. I figured that since this was such a big issue for me, it’s probably a big issue for a lot of other people out there. Tried and true methods like warm milk or chamomile are effective but turns out there are a bunch of other things that you can turn to if one of the others fail.

Here’s what works

• Cashews- according to Women’s World magazine, the magnesium in these nuts has a soothing effect on your nervous system. This helps you fall asleep and helps you sleep deeply. Have a handful before you hit the sack.
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich- Peanut butter is high in tryptophan. Yup, that same ingredient you find in turkey and the carbs in the sandwich help you feel sleepy.
• Jasmine-researchers from the Wheeling Jesuit University found that people who sleep in a jasmine scented room fall asleep faster, sleep more soundly and are more alert the next day! I like to place a scent diffuser, like the kind with the reeds on a table in my room.
• Warm bath-The National Sleep Foundation says that women who took a long bath before bed typically slept just as well as women who took a sleeping pill. Just make sure your bath is warm and not hot.
• Bananas- This amazing fruit is like a sleeping pill in a peel. Bananas contain melatonin, serotonin, magnesium and potassium, all wonderful sleep inducers.

Got any old wives’ methods that help you sleep? Post them in the comments, I’d love to hear them.

Welcome to my little spot on the web. I am going to be learning to live a (fairly) healthy lifestyle alongside you guys. I’m the first to admit that I have a penchant for Diet Coke and Taco Bell. My goal for this blog is not necessarily about getting rid of all of the things you love in life, it’s just about incorporating them into a healthier way of life. My mom and I have shared an interest in supplements, health info and using food to improve your overall well being for a long time. I have always shared what we learn with my friends and family so it dawned on me I should jump on the web and start sharing with other people.
So! Let’s learn to be healthy, using common sense, everyday things. You don’t have to completely change your way of living and spend all kinds of money to make a few painless changes.

Welcome!