Anti-inflammatory Diet, by Jessica Nagelkirk

Today’s research shows a clear link between our health and the food we eat. Poor nutrition choices and hidden food allergies over-stimulate the immune system causing an inflammatory response. At first the inflammation causes changes in how the body functions creating symptoms like joint pain or mood disturbances. Over time, chronic inflammation can cause physical changes in the body, leading to irreversible joint damage, heart disease, or even cancer.

Try to eat only the following foods for 21 days and see how you feel:

Steamed vegetables:

The primary reason for steaming vegetables is to improve utilization and/or availability of nutrients.
Eat a variety of vegetables that you tolerate, excluding members from the nightshade family that are know to be inflammatory like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant.
Avoid use of aluminum cookware or a microwave.

Grains & Legumes:

Allowed grains are millet, basmati or brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, oatmeal, barley, buckwheat, rye, and teff.
Allowed legumes are split peas, lentils, kidney beans, pinto beans, soy beans, mung beans, garbanzo beans, and adzuki beans.
Many people feel best when they eliminate grains and legumes completely. Check out the book Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo for awesome grain-free recipes.

Fish:

Eat fish, preferably deep-sea fish such as salmon, halibut, cod, sardines, tuna, and mackerel.
The fish should be poached, steamed, or broiled.

Chicken:

Eat only white meat from free-range or organically grown chicken. Do not eat the skin.
The chicken should be baked, broiled, or steamed.

Fruit:

Eat 1-2 servings of fruit like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or apples

Sweeteners:

Very small amounts of maple syrup or honey may be used.
Absolutely no sugar, NutraSweet, or any other sweetener is allowed.

Dr. Jessica Nagelkirk is a licensed Naturopathic Physician (ND) specializing in integrative primary care medicine. She is a current faculty member at National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, and sees patients privately at Apis Integrative Health in Marquette, MI.

Elder Care: Here Ye, Hear Ye! (Part 2) by Carol Rose

As I mentioned in the previous issue of Health & Happiness U.P. Magazine, there are many devices on the market to help hard-of-hearing persons function better in their world. Many of these devices can be used with or without an aid. In this issue, I’ll describe a specific part of a hearing aid – the telecoil, commonly referred to as the “t-coil,” and devices designed to work with this important hearing aid element.

How do I know about all this? I am 71 years of age and have a profound hearing loss. I am also one of the fortunate 15% of the estimated twenty-seven million Americans age 50 and up, including two-thirds of men and women aged 70 years and older with a hearing loss, who wear hearing aids.

And I am a Hearing Technology Resource Specialist, (HTRS), which is a volunteer position with the Hearing Loss Association of Michigan, a group composed mainly of hard-of-hearing persons with the goal of helping others with the same disability achieve the best hearing possible for them.

In talking with hard of hearing people with hearing aids, one of the first questions I ask is “Do your aids have t-coils?” The most common answer is “I don’t know. What’s a t-coil?”

As the official website of the Hearing Loss Association of America,www.hearlingloss.org explains, the telecoil is a small copper coil that functions as a wireless antenna linking to sound systems, delivering customized sound to the listener.

It was originally used to boost the magnetic signals from the telephone handset. The telecoil is activated by a t-switch on the hearing aid or cochlear implant. All landline and some cell phones are designed by law to be compatible with a telecoil.

For whatever reason, some audiologists opt not to put a t-coil in a client’s aids. Others don’t tell the client about the t-coil when they first get the aid.

Why some do not put a t-coil in, I don’t know. Possibly the aid is too small? Some of the advertisements say “So small no one will know you are wearing a hearing aid.” Possibly so small it cannot fit a much-needed device?

One reason I’ve heard as to why audiologists will not tell the client about the telecoil is they feel the person getting a new aid may be too overwhelmed with it – the new sounds, buttons to push… they will wait until a future visit to tell and instruct about the t-coil.

So when would you use a telecoil? Increasing the volume on your hearing aid or cochlear implant won’t necessarily increase the clarity of what you hear. Hearing assistive technology combined with a telecoil can improve your understanding of dialogue at work, in a meeting, in the classroom, theaters, places of worship, tour buses, and other places. Some people use telecoils at home with the TV while keeping the TV volume low for the comfort of others. Many public places are equipped with hearing assistive technology.

The most common hearing loop is a wire that circles a room and is connected to the sound system. The loop transmits the sound electromagnetically. The electromagnetic signal is then picked up by the telecoil in the hearing aid or cochlear implant. To use a hearing loop, one easily flips the t-switch on the hearing aid or cochlear implant. No additional receiver or equipment is needed. Using a telecoil and hearing loop together is seamless, cost-effective, unobtrusive, and you don’t have to seek out and obtain special equipment.

Traveling in airports is difficult for me. I cannot understand the noise that is coming over the loudspeakers. Not so in the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, MI. A sign on the door as one walks in tells the hard-of-hearing person to turn on his or her t-coil. And upon turning it on – wah -la! All the announcements go direct to my hearing aids! Now I can not only hear, but I can understand! For those in the medical world, there are stethoscopes designed to connect directly to the telecoil; for the home, there are induction loop pads which will connect the hard of hearing person with t-coil equipped aids directly to a sound system, such as a TV.

One of my favorite pieces is the Clipboard Portable Induction Loop. It looks like an ordinary clipboard but it contains a piece of wire inside it, which connects to the what? You guessed it! The t-coil in the hearing aid! Perfect for the hard-of-hearing college student, professor, or the hard-of-hearing counselor, doctor or nurse.

Telecoils can also improve hearing on hearing-aid-compatible phones, and can be used with neckloops to replace headphones. A neckloop is similar to a hearing loop, except it is worn around the neck and can be plugged into other audio devices, (such as an MP3 player, computer, or FM or infrared receivers), to transmit the audio signal directly to the hearing aid telecoil, bypassing the need for headphones.

Don’t assume that your hearing aid will automatically come with a telecoil or that it will be recommended. Or, if a telecoil is present, don’t assume it has been programmed to suit your individual needs. Today, approximately 65% of all hearing aids dispensed in the United States have telecoils. Yet, few consumers are told about them and know how to use them.

Use the Consumer Checklist, which contains information about t-coils, published by the Hearing Loss Association of America when purchasing a hearing aid (available on http://www.hearingloss.org).

Note: Automatic telecoils are available but work only with telephones, not hearing loops, so ask your audiologist or hearing instrument specialist to include a manually-operated telecoil in your hearing aid and ask for advice on how to use it. Also, see http://www.healthandhappinessupmag.com/events for information on registering for Sept. 27th’s free Kooser Program, The Hidden Impact of Hearing Loss, which includes vital information on choosing hearing assistive technology.

Carol Rose is a writer, photographer, found object artist and outdoor enthusiast living in Grand Marais. Wondering about Bluetooth technology and HAT (Hearing Assistive Technology)? Carol will discuss this in a future issue of Health & Happiness! In the meantime she wishes you “Happy Hearing!”

Inner Nutrition: Selfish or SELF-Nurturing? by Kristine McPeak

I enjoyed lunch with a new friend recently, a courageously authentic woman who left her husband, a woman who grew tired of enabling his unhealthy habits. She felt she would “die a slow death if (she) didn’t leave.” And 6 months later, she still wrestles with the question, “Was it selfish to put herself first?” It seems the message that she is being selfish comes not from within as much as from others.

Even at the time she made the decision to leave, I sensed she still needed to hear this was the right choice. I applauded her decision in making this difficult, but healthy SELF-preserving, SELF-nurturing choice.

I found myself thinking how I’ve noticed women tend to put the needs of others well before their own, without even realizing this is happening. Some friends have been uncomfortable with my direct questions. Others have thanked me.

So, if you will, let’s have lunch together. I hope to stir future conversations with your friends. And stir up some questions only you can answer.

Do you often give more of your SELF than feels healthy, or appreciated? Are you always “on”? Are you always on the go? Do you find yourself exhausted at the end of each day? Are you always tackling a never-ending “to-do” list? If you answered yes, don’t be discouraged and please consider reading further.

Do you regularly put yourself on that list? On top of that list? Do you even put your SELF on that list? Do you make time to slow down and care for your SELF? Do you recognize when you’re stressed out? Do you take conscious deep breaths? If you answered no, please see this as an opportunity to make life-altering changes. See this as a new day, a new path that can gently lead you toward caring for your SELF.

Please consider making a list of ways to nurture and care for your SELF. Put it on your refrigerator. Tape it to your computer. Consider committing to one thing each day that is only for you; one thing that nurtures your soul; one thing that feeds your SELF. Perhaps you will commit to adding one healthy loving act to your “to do” list each week that nurtures and cares for your SELF.

The time is now. And, only you can care for your SELF. Only you. Nobody else. Only you. The time is now. Right now. Put down the paper, grab a pen and paper and start writing. Your health depends on it. Perhaps you will start small.

Eat something healthy.

Drink more water.

Move your body.

Pamper your feet.

Stretch your muscles.

Enjoy a massage.

Schedule bodywork.

Perhaps you will notice more often when you are not at ease, doing something about it long before dis-ease settles into your being. Perhaps you will choose to DE-stress your SELF out, long before you stress everyone around you out. Perhaps you will find yourself taking deep breaths, long before other people remind you to chill out.

And if you don’t provide SELF care, how much can you really provide for others? We can only give away that which we have to give. When we run on fumes, we only have fumes to give. When we have recharged our batteries through SELF care, when our cups runneth over, when our gas tank is full, we have so much more to give to others.

SELF care is a vital element in a healthy, balanced woman’s life. Nobody else can do it for you. Mandy Hale said, “It is not selfish to love your SELF, take care of your SELF, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.”

Kristine McPeak is a spiritual, outgoing introvert who loves being outdoors! She helps people regain their balance as a physical therapist assistant, and practices Healing Touch and Emotional Freedom Technique out of her Marquette office. Look for PeaceShine on Facebook, email laughinggirl66@gmail.com or call 906-869-4953.

Creative Inspiration: Spinning Your Web, by Roslyn Elena McGrath

Glimpse the shimmer within shimmer within you

that snags your dreams

and digests them into poems,

stories, anecdotes, detailing your pursuits.

Glimpse the shimmer within shimmer within you

that composes melodies,

visualizes songs, and arranges cantatas

into vessels that carry your essence.

Glimpse the shimmer within shimmer within you

that turns sounds into words, words into stories,

stories into epics and epics into history

that echoes your perspective.

Glimpse the shimmer within shimmer within you

that causes thoughts to grow into patterns,

patterns into beliefs, and beliefs into panoramas

of living art that creates itself.

You are now enchanted here,

the believer of the tales you’ve spun.

Turn this weaving at an angle now

and watch the kaleidoscope rearrange.

The colors shift and change

to elaborate new stories.

Cause and effect continue unbroken

‘til the strand holding them together changes.

Allow one piece of the puzzle to emerge

and the whole puzzle is recreated.

You are a shape-shifter,

turning with the tides set in motion

by your self-created patterns

that shine upon reflection

and remain invisible in the dark,

netting the nuggets that fuel their weave.

Beauty lies in the lace of creation,

its tensile strength and endless adaptability

mesmerizing us deeper into its geometric repetition,

echoing the sound wave its Originator made.

Strum a strand for your own expansion, expression,

create a new form that propagates itself for you.

Witness the shift

of one heart humming

with Original creation,

hanging in the mystery of the Void.

You are endless patterning

recreating itself

with thoughtwave

after thoughtwave.

Channel the changes you desire

into your warp and weft

as part of the Eternal Tapestry

that lives and breathes and moves.

Continue your hum louder.

The chorus grows to support you.

You emerge with poetry

laced throughout your skin

and echoing through your pores

into your cells and out to the world,

a spinner spinning itself into glory.

Roslyn McGrath facilitates healing experiences through her art, poetry, intuitive counseling, energy healing, workshops and guided meditations. This poem was inspired by her painting Spider Woman, and will be part of her meditation CD series. Listen to other meditations, view art and learn more at www.intuitivelearningcreations.com.