Home Hiccup Cure
Here’s a tip from one of our customers:  Nancy says “take a teaspoon of honey, agave nectar, or sugar and hold it in the mouth for less than a minute.  The hiccup just disappears.  Don’t know why, it just does.”  Thanks for the tip Nancy, more people suffer from hiccups than most people realize.

Trouble Sleeping
Your body needs the essential amino acid tryptophan in order to make serotonin and melatonin which help control your mood and sleep patterns.  If you don’t have enough tryptophan, you won’t be able to make enough serotonin or melatonin, and you may start to feel depressed or have trouble sleeping.  The easiest way to get tryptophan is by eating it.  It’s contained in many dairy products, fruits, and lean meats.  Ever wonder why Thanksgiving dinner is so nap inducing?  Turkey is very high in tryptophan.

Chocolate is Good for Your Heart
It sounds too good to be true, but evidence in recent years has been mounting steadily.  Dark chocolate especially is an excellent source of antioxidants.  A 2006 study among Dutch men showed that the ones who ate more foods made from or containing cocoa had lower blood pressure and their risk of death was 50% lower than those who ate little or no chocolate.

I “Swear” This Works
Ever wonder why people are more likely to utter expletives when in pain?  Recent research from Keele University in England suggests that swearing originates in the right hemisphere of the brain, and is more aligned with emotion than language.  It triggers adrenaline, and increases aggression, which in turn downplays pain and weakness.  So, depending on the company you keep don’t be afraid to let it out the next time you stub your toe.

As our lives become busier and faster paced, it’s hard to remember to take the time to “stop and smell the flowers” as they used to say. Stress can build up to enormous levels that will seem insurmountable to most, and lead to some serious health risks if not dealt with in a timely manner. Everyone is familiar with the feeling of being ground down by the daily events and unexpected emergencies that can arise in our day to day lives, but many people aren’t aware of the long term effects that can be left by it. Here are just a few of the lesser known conditions that can be caused or affected by stress:

• High cholesterol
  
• High blood pressure
  
• Insomnia
  
• Headaches
  
• Hair loss
  
• Weight Gain
  
• Acne
  
• Wrinkles
  
• Cancer

One way of combating stress that won’t cost you anything more than your time is meditation. Whether or not you have any of these kinds of conditions, you can feel the effects of meditation even if it’s just for five minutes a day. Just like with exercise though, the more you can do it, the better. There are many types of meditation, but whichever you choose, do it as often as possible. Whether it’s during the day, or when you lay down to go to sleep at night.

For a quick meditation, try these few steps:

1. Take a deep breath, hold it, and count to four, then release it. As you release it, feel the tension in your body begin to drain away.

2. Repeat the deep breath, but this time hold it until a count of eight and again feel the tension lift as you exhale. Try to allow your entire body to go limp.

3. Take a third deep breath, and hold it as long as you comfortably can this time. Feel your entire body relax as you let it out.

4. Concentrate on your breath. Try to imagine seeing the air going in and out of your mouth, expanding and relaxing your lungs.

5. Imagine the oxygen filling your lungs and entering your blood stream as fresh, new energy. Energy that will revitalize your whole body. Imagine the air you breath out to be all the stress and anxieties you may carry with you.

6. Repeat this whenever you can.