Health and Happiness Reader’s Choice Results

The results of the Health & Happiness Reader’s Choice Awards are in!

Favorite Type of Winter Exercise – Cross Country Skiing
Favorite Marquette or Alger Co., MI Establishment for Soup – Huron Earth Deli
Favorite Activity to Share with Summer Visitors – Go Up Sugarloaf Mountain

Congratulations to Huron Earth Deli & Thank You to All Those Who Participated!

What’s your opinion? Please respond to the following questions:

What’s your favorite place in the U.P. to view the fall colors?
What’s your favorite Marquette or Alger County establishment for pie?

Herbal First Aid, by V. Jungwirth

In this area, lots of us play hard all winter, but the arrival of warmer weather brings people out of the house, ready to hike, bike, swim and camp, with lots more opportunities for minor injuries, and with no snow to cushion falls. Some basic herbal first aid knowledge and a few supplies can save the day, especially if you seek remote areas in your recreational pursuits. But even in your backyard, the following information should be helpful.

Cuts and Abrasions: Comfrey is by far the best herb for treating wounds. It promotes rapid cell growth so it speeds up the healing process and helps reduce scarring. Find a salve you like that has comfrey as a main ingredient. Other herbs that are sometimes used with comfrey are yarrow, which is an astringent, plantain, to sooth itching or calendula to help prevent infection.

Sprains and Bruises: Arnica is a specific treatment for bruising, but it should not be used on broken skin. Arnica salve or oil should be applied to sprains or strained muscles. Wintergreen oil can also be used topically to relieve pain, and it’s a good idea to keep a pain relief tincture such as willow bark on hand.

Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Swimmer’s Itch: As many of us know from itchy experience, any of these misfortunes can ruin a trip, while providing vivid memories for years to come. The best treatment is clay. We always carry a small amount of French green clay as it has many first aid applications and is light to carry. For itchy rashes, mix it with water and paint it on the affected area. It’s very similar to commercial kaolin products. Jewelweed is the herbal antidote to poison ivy, and often grows nearby. It’s a semi-succulent and the juice from the stems can be smeared straight onto a rash. The whole plant can also be mashed and used as a poultice, (chewing works well!) and salves and sprays are available. Plantain is also effective at relieving itching.

Insect Bites and Stings: It’s impossible to avoid insect bites in the U.P. and hard to find aggressive natural repellents. Essential oils diluted with olive oil can be helpful, or diluted with water and applied in a spray bottle. Citronella, eucalyptus, camphor and tea tree all have repellent qualities, and allow you to custom-mix a smell that appeals to you. Once bitten, the treatments for poison ivy can help or calendula can be applied if the bites have been scratched. Plantain is particularly good for treating bee stings.

Victoria Jungwirth is the owner of Wilderness Herbs and specializes in local medicinal plants. She lives in a remote corner of Marquette County where she and her husband build birch bark canoes. She is also a manager at the Marquette Food Co-op.

Reprinted from Health & Happiness U.P. Magazine, Summer 2011 issue.

How To Cheat the Gas Pump

by Steve Waller

If I hear one more person complain about gas prices I’ll scream! Oil company shareholders are too busy cashing big dividends to be sympathetic. Complaining just says you’re grumpy when you fill your tank, but you filled up anyway, didn’t you? Demanding lower prices just says you desperately want to use gas as you always have, you don’t want to change your gas habits and you don’t want to pay so much – you will (but you don’t have to).

Low gas prices don’t make gas more abundant, (it just uses it up faster), doesn’t reduce demand, (so you willingly pay more), and doesn’t encourage renewables. If you really want to teach those gouging you at the pump a lesson, don’t complain, don’t try to lower prices, do what smart consumers do – buy LESS of their darn product! It’s simple math: Buy less = spend less. And don’t say “But I can’t!” because, for many of you, Yes, you can! Here’s how – Go into your garage, basement, shed or storage area. Take a strong flashlight. Look way, way in the back. See that bit of dusty old chrome? Good. Now move all that other stuff out of the way. Grab that shiny metal and drag that old bicycle out into the light of day. Get a few rags and an oil can, (or take it to your local bike shop for a tune up). Find a helmet, a lock and, for considerably less than the price of just one tank of gas, you’ve resurrected your wheels! It’s summer… RIDE!

Get very familiar with the Marquette Police Bicycle Safety Information (mqtcty.org/police_bike.html). Then be absolutely sure to read “What Every MI Bicyclist Should Know” from the League of Michigan Bicyclists (www.lmb.org/index.php/Education/michigan-vehicle-code-pertaining-to-bicyclists.html). Remember, you are responsible for your safety.

Start riding around the neighborhood. Grab your kid’s backpack and bring some supplies home from the grocery store. Log onto the “Marquette Bicycle Collective” on Facebook. The Collective seeks to enhance biking culture in the Marquette area and assist the development of a thriving, diverse bike community. They exist to provide bicycles for rent and purchase, provide bike workshop space, promote bicycle awareness, and provide practical bicycle education.

YES, many of you CAN commute to work. No, you won’t be all sweaty and disgusting unless you make your commute an Olympic event. Actually, you’ll be airing yourself out the whole way! You’ll be an inspiration to your fellow workers. No weather excuses; it only rains occasionally. Consider the wind a challenge. Ride to school, work, to run errands, or just for fun. Whenever you can, ride past the gas station. Then do it again. It feels sooo good! Your gas money stays in your pocket and you lose weight!

An average 150-pound person will burn about 500 calories riding a bike at a leisurely pace, 30 minutes to work and 30 minutes home. You’ll shed 5-10 pounds in about two or three months. By riding your bike or walking to work you no longer need to make time to head to the gym. Just 3 hours of riding per week can slash your risk of heart disease and stroke in half.

Who knows? If you’re already in moderately good shape, ride the Superior Bike Fest, June 24-26 (www.superiorbikefest.com). If you need to get back in shape, maybe by August 13^th you’ll feel spunky enough to ride the Ore to Shore (www.oretoshore.com). Keep yourself and your bicycle in good condition and ride within your limits. In any case, when the gas shareholders come after your money, just smile and ride away!

Steve Waller’s family lives in a wind and solar powered home. He has been involved with conservation and energy issues since the 1970s and frequently teaches about energy. He and a partner own a U.P. wind/solar business called Lean Clean Energy. He can be reached at Steve@UPWallers.net.

Marquette Bicycle Collective on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marquette-Bicycle-Collective/129688747067191#!/pages/Marquette-Bicycle-Collective/129688747067191?sk=info

Reprinted from Health & Happiness U.P. Magazine, Summer 2011 issue.