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Danny the Dragon author
Planning a Gluten-Free Vacation for Your Child
The trick is planning ahead. Call the local health food stores where you’ll be staying well ahead of your trip and ask them about their selection of gluten-free foods. If there aren’t enough gluten-free choices, usually the store will be happy to order your favorite gluten-free foods for you. If there aren’t any health food stores around, some grocery stores have health food sections and may be able to order gluten-free foods for you as well. You can always bring along your own supply of gluten-free foods, such as gluten free crackers for the road or gluten-free flour and pasta for …
Help Your Child Get Enough Fiber in His Diet
It’s important to realize and meet the challenge of getting enough fiber in your child’s diet, and it’s easy, too. An important way to provide enough fiber in your child’s diet is by feeding him lots of fruits and vegetables. A simple salad, containing spinach leaves, broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes, adds seven grams of fiber to your family’s dinner. Apples make a great, high-fiber snack for your celiac child at school. For dessert or along with a meal, a fruit salad can add three to five grams of fiber. I also recommend dates, which have around four grams of fiber …
The Negative Health Influence of Loneliness: The Importance of Friendship
In studying women’s health issues and meeting women in my work, it’s clear that loneliness is not only not fun, but it’s actually unhealthy. Researchers have recently asked if people who are alone are at greater risk of dying, and studies are showing that they are—if they feel lonely. Recent studies are confirming the negative health indicators associated with loneliness. One study found that drug use among young people was higher among those who said they were lonely. Older lonely people tended to have higher blood pressure and poorer sleep quality and were found to be more tense and …
What to Look for in Healthy Friendships
What should you look for in a good friend whose companionship will bring health and happiness to you instead of just raising your blood pressure? There are a few things you should ask yourself before befriending someone. First of all, make sure to choose a friend who has positive things to say to you. Every once in a while, a good friend may need to tell you something that might be tough to hear—“hard truths”—but these remarks should be very infrequent and you should generally walk away after spending time with them feeling better about yourself. Also, look for friends …
Eat Better, Sleep Better
How much sleep you get can make or break your day and also your health. Read on for some tips for how to get a better sleep by some simple changes to your diet. Eating more plant carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains, can have a significant impact on your slumber. These foods help to produce a gradual, steady rise of blood insulin, helping the entrance into the brain of the amino acid tryptophan, a neurotransmitter that helps induce sleepiness and improve mood. (This explains why a glass of warm milk before bed can help …
You Can Raise Awareness for Celiac Disease
How do we get the estimated three million Americans with celiac disease properly diagnosed and adequately treated? The answer lies in increased awareness and research. There are currently 49 autoimmune diseases, and celiac disease is the only one which isn’t supported in research by the government. This needs to change. In my research efforts to find out the answer to the painful symptoms I was suffering, I was finally able to get the proper diagnosis. It took a lot of time and determination, and most people aren’t able to devote themselves to this degree. It’s not right …
Protect Your Celiac Child from Hidden Sources of Gluten
Learning all the usual gluten-containing foods, such as breads and pasta, is only part of the challenge of going gluten-free. Gluten makes soups and sauces thicker and salad dressings creamier, keeps yogurt and soft cheeses firm and dried spices from clumping up, and it keeps candy bars from sticking to the factory conveyor belt. Gluten appears in the filler in pills and tablets and hides in lipsticks, toothpaste, and even mouthwash. If your celiac child is prone to putting everything in his mouth, you’ll also need to watch out for crayons and Play Doh, which also contain gluten. What’s …
Health Benefits of Choosing Good Friends
An author, researcher, and humanitarian, not only have I come across the benefits of friendship in my work, but I’ve experienced them personally. It’s important to be aware of other research which suggests that one should be careful to select positive friends, as the stress that comes from bad friends can negate the health benefits of having their friendship. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at Brigham Young University, has found that dealing with people who arouse conflicted feelings in us can raise blood pressure more than dealing with people we don’t like. Participants were hooked …
Some Helpful Sleep Tips
The National Sleep Foundation offers a few tips which I’ll pass along. First, make sure bedtime is a routine and relaxing affair; keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool. Make sure to exercise regularly, but make sure you don’t exercise in the evenings, as this can interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Next, avoid caffeine for at least eight hours and alcohol for a few hours before you go to sleep. You may not think your cola from dinner at five o’clock is disrupting your sleep at midnight; not only can it prevent you from falling asleep, but …
Get Some Sleep!
You know what a difference it makes when you’re well-rested. How much sleep you get can make or break your day and also your health. However, sometimes no matter how early you hit the hay, getting a restful sleep can be tough, especially as you age. There have been times when healthy sleep eluded me, but luckily I’ve learned a few things about how to get a healthy sleep naturally, and now I’m happy to say that it is rare that I don’t catch a solid night of peaceful sleep. About 70 million Americans experience sleep problems ranging …