BITES AND STINGS

Natural Cures for Bites and Stings - More Than Home Remedies

If a stinger is still in the skin, it must be removed carefully - or you can break off the top and leave the dangerous end in. Trying to pull the stinger out will also pump more poison in. The best removal is to flick the stinger off.

Next, wash the area with soap and water, or with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol to get rid of the germs. Hydrogen peroxide does not sting at all but cleans just as well if not better.

Ice can be applied if it is available.

Immediate relief for a bug or mosquito bite, bee sting or wasp sting can be attained from applying a paste made of meat tenderizer and a little water. Leaving this on for at least a half hour will take away the pain and itch.

You can also use a slice of raw onion or a slice of raw potato.

When part of a stinger remains in the skin, you can apply a poultice to safely draw the stinger out. A good poultice is stale bread wetted with milk, and it may be necessary to repeat this, adding a new one after the last one dries.

Daily supplements of Vitamin B1 or brewer's yeast, zinc, or garlic (you can get odorless garlic) keep insects away. Perfumes, hair spray, and bright colors attract insects.

Other aids are mixing straight natural apple cider vinegar with baking soda to make a paste and applying to the bitten area.

Use a comfrey ointment as a soothing salve.

Wasp venom is on the alkaline side. To counteract the venom rub some onion juice or natural apple cider vinegar on the bite. Split the leaf of a leek and apply the inside surface to your skin.

Ant bites and bee stings are more acidic in nature. For these you want to neutralize the effect of the venom with a paste of baking soda and very cold water.

Apply straight lemon juice.

A clay or mud paste can also be used to draw out the venom and is usually on hand!

Use a wet tea bag as a poultice: the tannic acid in tea helps with swelling. Black tea is the most effective.

Meat tenderizers contain enzymes that when applied as a paste also draw out the venom and swelling.

Put a slice of cucumber over the area, this is especially effective for ant bites!

A Poultice using winter or summer savory leaves helps with bites and stings.

To reduce swelling, put on a drop of Lavender Essential Oil or Eucalyptus Essential Oil.

STUFFED UP NOSE

Natural Ways to Fix a Stuffed Up Nose - More Than Home Remedies

To clear a stuffy nose, equal parts of natural apple cider vinegar and water should be placed in a small pan on the stove, allowing it to boil slowly. When the fumes begin to rise from the pan, lean your head over it until the fumes are comfortably strong. Inhale for approximately 50 to 80 breaths. The nasal passages will shortly clear after having inhaled the vapour. This treatment is very effective in removing the congestion in the sinuses, together with any inflammation which may result from this excessive accumulation of mucous.

A wonderful mixture to clear a stuffy nose, reduce inflammation and swelling, and calm the nerves is: four drops of Lavender Essential Oil, three drops of Peppermint Essential Oil, seven drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil, and four drops of Pine Essential Oil. The mixture would be put onto a cotton ball so you could inhale the mixture of vapors. Or, you could put the mixture into an aromatherapy diffuser to help more than one person in the family at a time.

Notes: 1) The respiration of a baby or child under 5 can be slowed down or even stopped if peppermint oil is close enough for the baby to even breathe it. 2) High blood pressure may be elevated by peppermint essential oil. 3) Large doses of peppermint oil may be harmful during pregnancy.

"Here is a remedy that has been very effective for me. When you wake up in the morning and are very congested - nose and/or throat - make a cup of water with a squirt of lemon juice and heat it Drink it hot and it will instantly clear congestion."

RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME

Natural Ways to Stop Restless Leg Syndrome

To stop restless leg syndrome, or RLS, put two new bars of soap (unwrapped) in the sheets of your bed. Put the soap on top of the bottom sheet and under the top sheet, down at the foot of the bed, one near each corner. Your legs don't have to touch the soap, just leave them in the sheets. We know this works with Lever 2000, but it will probably work with any bar of soap. Then you can get a restful sleep again

ICE CREAM HEADACHE OR BRAIN FREEZE

Natural Ways to Cure an Ice Cream Headache or Brain Freeze

When you eat ice cream or drink an icy drink too quickly, you can get Brain Freeze, which results in a monstrous head pain. To stop an ice cream headache quickly, just put your thumb inside your mouth (like you are going to suck your thumb), and press on the roof of your mouth - right behind your teeth. The pain will go away immediately.

Fish oil helps patients with chronic heart failure

Omega-3 pill worked slightly better than cholesterol medication, study says

MUNICH, Germany - Fish oil supplements may work slightly better than a popular cholesterol-reducing drug to help patients with chronic heart failure, according to new research released Sunday.

Chronic heart failure is a condition that occurs when the heart becomes enlarged and cannot pump blood efficiently around the body.

With few effective options for heart failure patients, the findings could give patients a potential new treatment and could change the dietary recommendations for them, said Dr. Jose Gonzalez Juanatey, a spokesman for the European Society of Cardiology, who was not connected to the research

"This reinforces the idea that treating patients with heart failure takes more than just drugs," Juanatey said.

The study findings were published online in the medical journal The Lancet on Sunday. They were simultaneously announced at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Munich.

"With a lot of these patients, you have no other choice," said Dr. Helmut Gohlke, a cardiologist at the Heart Centre in Bad Krozingen, Germany. "They've tried other treatments and are at the end of the road."

Italian researchers gave nearly 3,500 patients a daily omega-3 pill, a prescription-formulation pill derived from fish oils, produced by Norway's Pronova BioPharma.

Same benefit from eating oily fish
But doctors said people should get the same benefits from taking cheaper options like fish oil supplements �?or just eating more oily fish like salmon.

Roughly the same number of patients were given placebo pills. Patients were followed for an average of four years.

In the group of patients taking the fish oil pills, 1,981 died of heart failure or were admitted to the hospital with the problem. In the patients on placebo pills, 2,053 died or were admitted to the hospital for heart failure.

In a parallel study, the same team of Italian doctors gave 2,285 patients the drug rosuvastatin, also known as Crestor, and gave placebo pills to 2,289 people. Patients were then tracked for about four years. The doctors found little difference in heart failure rates between the two groups.

Comparing the results from both studies, the researchers concluded that fish oil is slightly more effective than the drug because the oil performed better against a placebo than did Crestor.

"It's a small benefit, but we should always be emphasizing to patients what they can do in terms of diet that might help," said Dr. Richard Bonow, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Hospital in Chicago and past president of the American Heart Association.

Both studies were paid for by an Italian group of pharmaceuticals including Pfizer Inc., Sigma Tau SpA and AstraZeneca PLC.

Omega-3 fatty acids offer brain benefits
Omega-3 fatty acids from fish such as salmon and tuna have long been proven to offer health benefits like protecting the heart and brain, though scientists aren't exactly sure how.

Bonow said that since cell membranes are made of fatty acids, fish oils may help to replace and strengthen those membranes with omega-3.

Fish oils also are thought to increase the body's good cholesterol levels, as well as possibly stabilizing the electrical system in heart cells, to prevent abnormal heart rhythms.

In contrast, statins act on the body's bad cholesterol, which may not have a big impact on heart failure.

Previous studies that investigated the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids have largely been observational, and have lacked a direct comparison to a placebo. It has also been unknown whether taking fish oil supplements would be as good as eating fish.

"This study changes the certainty of the evidence we have about fish oils," said Dr. Douglas Weaver, president of the American College of Cardiology.

Weaver said that guidelines in the United States would likely change to recommend that more heart patients eat more fish or take supplements. "This is a low-tech solution and could help all patients with cardiovascular problems."

Energy or Enemy?

Apparently, it doesn't take a biochemist to formulate an energy drink. No, according to Starbucks, any guy off the street is qualified. At least that's whose opinion mattered most when the coffee giant recently created the ingredient list for its own concoction.

"There are many energy ingredients on the market, and B vitamins, guarana, and ginseng are the ones our customers are most familiar with," says Ruby Amegah, product-development manager for the team behind the Starbucks Doubleshot Energy + Coffee.

Which perhaps in large part explains why the company chose them: It's smart marketing. Trouble is, by letting consumer research influence ingredient lists, energy-drink companies are helping popularize exotic-sounding compounds that even scientists don't yet fully understand.

The approach has worked: Last year, Americans spent $4.2 billion on these supposedly high-octane elixirs. And that's probably why manufacturers haven't strayed far from the best-selling recipe they used when the first energy drinks took off a dozen years ago. It's a formulation that includes a hefty dose of caffeine and sugar combined with smaller amounts of seemingly obscure substances, most notably guarana, ginseng and taurine.

But do these beverages really energize your body and sharpen your mind? Or should you can the energy drinks for good? To help you separate the science from the sales pitch, we analyzed five key ingredients in the market's most popular potions.

Caffeine

What is it?A chemical compound that stimulates your central nervous system. Most energy drinks contain between 140 and 170 milligrams (mg) of caffeine in a 15- or 16-ounce can.

Does it work? Java junkies certainly think so. As for the science, an Austrian study showed that men who swallowed 100 mg of caffeine had a bigger boost in brain activity after 20 minutes than those who took a placebo. Plus, a new University of Chicago study found that a 200 mg jolt made fatigued people feel twice as alert as noncaffeinated participants. "Caffeine indirectly affects many different neurotransmitters," says Andrew Scholey, Ph.D., an herb and nutrition researcher at Australia's Swinburne University of Technology.

Is it safe? The most caffeine-packed energy drink contains the equivalent in caffeine of about two 8-ounce cups of coffee. If downing that much joe doesn't make you jittery, then quaffing a can shouldn't pose a problem. Of course, if you combine that with other caffeinated beverages throughout the day, then the sum total stimulation could cause headaches, sleeplessness, or nausea. On the other hand, if you're not a regular coffee or cola drinker and you battle high blood pressure, the occasional energy drink could be trouble. Researchers in Finland reported that the caffeine in two to three cups of coffee can cause BP to spike by up to 14 points.

Glucose

What is it? Sugar. Sucrose, another ingredient you'll often see on energy drink labels, is a combination of fructose (the natural sugar found in fruit) and glucose. Many energy drinks contain 50 to 60 grams (g) of glucose or sucrose in a 16-ounce can.

Does it work? Your body runs mainly on glucose, so topping off your tank with the sweet stuff should theoretically provide an instant boost. And in fact, a recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that men who guzzled a 6-percent glucose drink were able to bicycle 22 minutes longer than those who went sans the extra sugar. Where glucose won't help, however, is with the fog of fatigue from too little sleep. A 2006 British study determined that sleep-deprived people who drank liquid glucose exhibited slower reaction times and more sleepiness after 90 minutes.

Is it safe? Dumping empty calories down your gullet is never a great idea, and some energy drinks contain nearly as much sugar as a 20-ounce soda. Then there's the fact that a sudden infusion of glucose can cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to skyrocket, signaling your body to stop incinerating fat. A 2006 New Zealand study reveals that caffeine combined with even the 27 g of sugar in, say, an 8.3-ounce Red Bull may be enough to temporarily inhibit your body's ability to burn lard.

Guarana

What is it? A South American shrub. One seed has a caffeine content of 4 to 5 percent, while a coffee bean has 1 to 2 percent. The amount of guarana in a 16-ounce energy drink ranges from a minuscule 1.4 mg to as much as 300 mg.

Does it work? Yes, if you don't set the bar too high. A study in the journal Appetite reports that people who took 222 mg of guarana felt slightly less fatigued and were up to 30 milliseconds faster on a reaction-time test than those who popped a placebo. Some scientists attribute guarana's effect solely to its caffeine content, but Scholey isn't so sure. His team found energizing effects with doses just under 40 mg, which contain very little caffeine. That means there's probably something else in guarana that produces a stimulating effect on its own or that bolsters the effect of the caffeine, he says.

Is it safe? Scientists at Florida's Nova Southeastern University recently conducted tests and concluded that the amounts of guarana found in most energy drinks aren't large enough to cause any adverse effects. That said, there's still a question mark regarding the safety of higher levels, which could conceivably be consumed by downing a few energy drinks in a brief time span.

Ginseng

What is it? An extract made from the root of the ginseng plant. Panax ginseng is the species most commonly used. The ginseng content in energy drinks typically ranges between 8 mg and 400 mg in 16 ounces.

Does it work? Not if you're hoping for energy to burn. A recent review in American Family Physician determined that ginseng doesn't enhance physical performance. But there is an upside: It may boost your brainpower. Scholey and his colleagues found that people who swallowed 200 mg of the extract an hour before taking a cognitive test scored significantly better than when they skipped the supplement. They also felt less mental fatigue. Ginseng may work by increasing the uptake of blood glucose by cells in the brain and elsewhere, says Scholey. However, the right amount is essential: Only two of the eight major energy drinks we examined contained that optimal dose of at least 200 mg.

Is it safe? Since the amount of ginseng in an energy drink is minimal, harmful effects are unlikely. And while there have been some reports of negative side effects from ginseng—diarrhea, for example—Scholey points out that those occurred in people taking 3 g a day. One caution: If you're on any medications, check with your doctor before knocking back an energy drink. Ginseng has been shown to interact with blood-thinning drugs like warfarin, potentially altering their effectiveness.

Taurine

What is it? One of the most abundant amino acids in your brain, where it can act as a neurotransmitter—a chemical messenger that allows your cells to communicate with one another. You'll find anywhere from 20 mg to 2,000 mg of taurine in most 16-ounce energy drinks.

Does it work? Scientists aren't sure, but it doesn't seem likely. When taurine is dumped into your bloodstream—when you down a Red Bull, for instance—it can't pass through the membranes that protect your brain, says Neil Harrison, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medical College. But even if it could, Harrison's research suggests that taurine might behave more like a sedative than a stimulant. When he and his team applied the amino acid to the brain tissue of rodents, they discovered that it mimicked a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a chemical that slows brain activity.

Is it safe? Taurine is probably fine in small doses, but chug too many energy drinks and the picture becomes less clear. According to a recent case report from St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, three people had seizures after drinking approximately two 24-ounce energy drinks in a short period of time. However, the researchers don't know whether to blame the taurine or the caffeine, or what role preexisting health conditions may have played. The fact is, there's been little research on taurine consumption in humans, so it's impossible to conclude whether it's safe to consume in high doses. Of course, there's no strong evidence to support its role as an energy booster, either.

12 Kitchen Cleanup Tips

Cover the counter.
To limit the mess when preparing meat, chicken, or fish, consider lining countertops with butcher paper (buy it from your supermarket meat department), then fold it up with the scraps and toss it when you're done. The plastic coating keeps juices and goop from seeping onto the counter, saving you one messy cleaning chore.

Cook simply.
"The recipe you cook for Tuesday night is not the recipe you cook on Saturday night," says Chris Kimball, founder and editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine and host of America's Test Kitchen (on PBS stations). For Kimball's family, weeknights call for one-pot meals (soups, stews), dishes cooked fast on high heat (stir-fries, sautés), or pastas, with fruit for dessert. He saves the elaborate, messy meals with multiple side dishes �?and bowls and pans and cleanup �?for the weekend.

Keep the refrigerator clear.
A crowded refrigerator is an invitation to spills from things knocked over as you rifle through it before dinner. Start labeling and dating leftovers (with a grease pencil or masking tape and a pen) when you put them away and there will be no more wondering whether the salsa is past its prime. So excavation isn't needed every time you put groceries away, clear the shelves each week before you head to the market. And try a trick for keeping shelves neat from Joni Hilton, author of Housekeeping Secrets My Mother Never Taught Me (Prima Lifestyles, $18, www.amazon.com) and founder of the cleaning-products company Holy Cow: Use large bins to corral like items �?smoothie fixings, jams and jellies, sandwich condiments, lunch meats, and cheeses. "It's amazing how clean your fridge stays," she says. And you'll spend less time trying to find the mustard.

Fill the sink with hot, soapy water.
Then, as you work, drop in the tools and dishes you've used and let soak. (Put knives in a tall glass or other container so you don't risk cutting yourself later.) When it's time to straighten up, a quick drain and rinse often does the trick.

Cook cleanly.
Line baking and roasting pans with foil or parchment paper to save scrubbing later. Find parchment paper at the grocery store or parchment pan liners online at www.webstaurantstore.com; $6.50 for 100. Slip a piece of foil or parchment between a pot's rim and the lid to keep the lid spotless. Coat measuring cups and spoons with nonstick spray so sticky ingredients, like peanut butter, molasses, and honey, slide right out and the cups and spoons clean up easily. After washing meats or vegetables that will go into hot oil in a skillet, limit the sizzling (and avoid getting spatters of oil all over every nearby surface) by thoroughly drying them with a paper towel before adding them to the pan �?or use a spatter shield over the pan.

Clean up in stages.
Keep a bowl beside your cutting board to toss scraps into as you work, containing the mess instead of spreading it over the counter. When you're done, empty it, clear away any dishes you've used for pre-prep, and put away ingredients you don't need before you begin to cook. Do a similar deck clearing at each stage, if you can, to make working easier and buildup lighter.

Wear your towel.
Tuck a towel into the waistband of your apron (oh yes, wear an apron). Then you won't have to search for it when you need to wipe up small spills, which in turn won't sit around becoming sticky blobs that need scrubbing later.

Use your downtime.
While the water is boiling, the oven is heating, or onions are softening in the pan, you can be doing small-dose cleaning: Load the dishwasher to clear the sink; wipe up that spill; sweep the kitchen floor. You'll thank yourself later.

Tap into phone time.
Place the gear for a cleaning project �?say, mineral oil and a cloth for oiling the cutting boards �?near your phone to remind you to tackle it the next time you find yourself on hold with your credit-card company, author Joni Hilton suggests.

Set and bus your table like a pro.
Use a rolling cart �?whether wicker, wood, or a little red wagon �?to carry dishes and silverware to the table, then clear it of dirty dishes, in one trip each way. This is a chore kids are often eager to help with, says Hilton, a mother of four. At the very least, teach everyone to clear and rinse his own plate.

Clear the clutter.
After dinner, gather the odds and ends from the rest of the house that have found their way onto the kitchen counters, the top of the refrigerator, or the floor, then put them all in a basket and have a helper find their homes. Drop little I-don't-know-where-to-put-this items, such as toy parts and twist ties, into a pretty bowl that can serve as a temporary catchall. (A clutter-control solution you might consider when you have the time: Remove all the utensils, appliances, and tea cozies you never use from your most accessible drawers and countertops and store them somewhere else, like the basement or the garage, in clear plastic bins with labels marked CAKE BAKING, THANKSGIVING, whatever.)