Cold & Flu Season is near

No, this bird doesn't have the flu, he was rescued last year, on the farm where I work , and made a full recovery from his fall. Cold & flu season is approaching though so I thought this would be a good time to refresh our memories on how to protect ourselves from those bugs !
It is totally personal preference as to whether or not you get a flu shot but I personally do not believe in them for my family. Go to this link if you want to know why I don't get flu shots http://www.mercola.com/2000/nov/26/flu_shots.htm but that doesn't mean you need to worry about getting the flu if you choose not to get the vaccine. A few common sense precautions will get rid of most of those germs or at least keep them from invading your space. Did you know that some viruses and bacteria can live from 20 minutes up to 2 hours or more on surfaces like tables, doorknobs, and desks. (Ansari, 1988; Scott and Bloomfield, 1989)
Nearly 22 million school days are lost annually due to the common cold alone. (CDC, 1996)
So what do you do ?

• Washing your hands often, with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds will help protect you from germs, more than anything else !
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
  
• If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
  
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
  
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
  Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
  
• Practice other good health habits.
  Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food that give you a variety of vitamins.

Be Aware of Common Flu Symptoms
Influenza usually starts suddenly and may include the following symptoms:
Fever (usually high)
Headache
Tiredness (can be extreme)
Cough
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Body aches
Diarrhea and vomiting (more common among children than adults)
**Having these symptoms does not always mean that you have the flu. Many different illnesses, including the common cold, can have similar symptoms.** See your doctor for proper diagnosis of flu.

If you get the flu dispite your best efforts, get plenty of rest, drink a lot of liquids, and avoid using alcohol and tobacco. Never give aspirin to children or teenagers who have flu-like symptoms, particularly fever.

Your brain on sugar

It's that time again....Just after the sugar shock of Halloween and the hyper anticipation of the "Christmas gimmies." If the thought of your kid(s) ingesting even more sugar makes you want to climb a tree, here's some ammunition for the case against sugar.
I'm not suggesting we all go cold turkey on sugar but if we just start by thinking about how much sugar we , and our kids really do consume, try eliminating one thing at a time , and make better choices, we can go into the new year a little healthier, and feelin' fine !
If you want to skip the science, scroll to the bottom for a few simple thoughts on sugar.

Some facts on sugar :

• Sugar can cause depression
• Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
• Sugar can cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline, hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
• Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach cancers.
• Sugar can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis.
• Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
• Sugar can reduce the learning capacity, adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders.
• Sugar is an addictive substance.
• Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44 percent drop in antisocial behavior

Sugar can do so much more than this so to see all the facts view my references at : http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/dangers_of_sugar.htm
sweet ideas :

• increase your protein intake, especially at your first meal of the day, try eggs more often, or even adding some peanut butter, or cheese to your toast instead of jam.
• switch from white to brown. Try sprouted, whole grain breads, long grain brown rice, whole grain cereals instead of cornflakes .
• read those labels, some of the foods that have sugar in them may surprise you !
• Do not replace sugar with artificial sweeteners. Try to get used to eating less sweet foods instead- drink water instead of juice, for example !
• Bake your Christmas goodies with as little sugar as possible- replace some or all of it with applesauce, pureed raisins or a little honey instead and most recipes turn out great ! If a recipe calls for 1 cup sugar, I use 1/4 cup of honey. The exception is of course , shortbread. sigh... can't be good all the time.