Sylviawh.co.uk Blog

It is true, Dandelion leaves are a great source of health giving properties.  The common and garden Dandelion leaves contain magnesium, niacin, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, gluten, proteins, resin, iron, sulphur, zinc, vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E, and vitamin A.

A great tonic is dandelion tea, it is made from the roots or leaves. It stimulates the body and gets rid of the waste and toxins.

The leaves of the dandelion are rich in magnesium which improves bones and increases bone density, so it is thought that they may actually help with bone disorders like osteoporosis.

Dandelions help the liver and gall bladder to break down fat, by stimulating the flow of bile which helps to prevent gallstones.

They also help the liver with its process of detoxification which is good for diseases such as hepatitis.

Chinese Wolfberries are like a super food they contain over 15 percent protein, 21 essential minerals and 18 amino acids.  There is substantial evidence that wolfberry have significant antioxidant and immune-supporting properties. 

Analyses have found that wolfberries contain 18 types of amino acids, 21 trace minerals, 29 fatty acids, vitamins B1, B2, B6, E, more beta carotene than carrots, more Vitamin C than oranges, and as much protein as bee pollen.

They have been around for thousands of years and  Chinese Wolfberries have been used to treat a wide range of illnesses, and it is known  that the people who ate them regularly lived long and  healthy lives up to the age of one hundred or longer. 

Studies done by the Chinese government have shown that Chinese wolfberries are extremely useful for boosting the immune system, protecting the liver, improving the quality of blood, and improving vision.(3,4,5,6)

This is a headline today “Older people view the past through rose tinted glasses”

Researchers found that ageing brains allow negative memories to fade leaving pensioners with a distorted impression of how great life was in their younger days.

It is believed that as we get older we learn to be less affected by negative information in order to maintain our well being.

In contrast, younger adults need to keep an accurate memory of both positive and negative information to help them through their working life.

Therefore younger people remember more negative events than their older counterparts.

The study also found differences in the way the brains work.

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I wonder how old these researchers are!  Do they have experience of what older people think about the past.

I am over seventy years old so maybe they mean people a lot older than me.

The reason older people look back on the good things that happened during their life, is that no one wants to look back at problems or blackspots.

No one can go through life with only good things happening, or if they do they must be one in a million. So we all tend to look back at the good things that did happen.

That doesn’t mean we don’t look forward to the future, since I lost my husband my life is planning holidays and looking forwards to my grand children visiting every week.  The PC takes up a lot of my time, and I look forward to Xmas just like everyone else.

Looking back on the past might just happen if I am having a sleepless night, but at the moment my memories are more in the last two or three years, not a good time I must admit.  Maybe if I reach the age of 80 or 90 I might start looking back on the good times because there were plenty.

To be truthful I try not to think of the past, its much easier to block it out and concentrate on the life ahead.

Oh one more thing you youngsters might like to know is that even when you get to my age, your mind still feels the same as when you were young.  I can be with a crowd of younger people and feel as if I am no different to them, the same age in fact, yet my body shows the difference. So if I tried to act like them they would think I was a silly old woman.

Even my daughters hold my arm when we are crossing roads as if I am decreptive, yet when I am out with my grand children I am looking after them and watching them as we cross roads. So how old to you need to be to be old woman!  I suppose it must be when you really start thinking about the good things that happened in your past and really believe that there was never any bad times.

After all If you got to that stage who would want to be reminded about bad times, you have earned the right to spend your last few years as happy as possible.

 An Australian doctor has created the Worlds healthiest wine. This is good news for those moderate wine drinkers as two glasses a day is the recommended amount.

The drink is said to clean blood vessels and each glass will reduce the risk of heart a attack.

Wine historian Dr Philip Norrie, explains that each bottle contains up to 100 times the amount of resveratrol in a standard drop, this is a naturally occurring anti-oxidant found in grapes.

Resveratrol helps to maintain blood flow by keeping arteries free of fatty deposits called atherosclerotic plaque.

Dr Norrie said it would act as a “vascular pipe-cleaner”.  The inclusion of such large quantities of this beneficial anti-oxidant is very good news for wine drinkers,” he told Australian Associated Press.

You are effectively clearing your arteries while you drink.

In reality trying to get people to stop smoking, to exercise daily and lose weight, is thought to be the right idea but it doesn’t happen.

Drinking two glasses of wine is realistic, enjoyable and also good for you and I’ve made it even healthier,” he said.

Dr Norrie is now producing his own range of wine, including a chardonnay and a shiraz, each containing 100mg/L of resveratrol per bottle.

He said this was as much as is contained in 70 to 100 bottles of standard white wine or 15 to 20 bottles of standard red.

“He stressed that these benefits are best realised with moderate drinking,” Dr Norrie gave this warning to any connoisseurs planning a wine-based health kick.

University of Queensland cardiologist Associate Professor David Colquhoun also stressed the need for “moderate” consumption as he said the benefits of resveratrol were well known.

“Studies suggested that consumption of wine rich in resveratrol can lessen cardio-vascular disease, heart attack and stroke.

I have not seen any news as to when this wine will be available, or where it will be available, but lets hope its soon.

A few years ago I worked in a private hospital in South Africa. A patient was admitted for removal of spare fat after losing a lot of weight on what she called The Swedish Water Diet.

This well off lady spent some time in a clinic in Sweden and successfully lost four stone in weight, ( 56lb)

Before long she had all the other ladies that were interested on this diet.

Now unless you can drink lots of water The Swedish Water Diet is not for you, as it consists of eating all your normal meals but drinking at least 12 to sixteen pints of water a day.

We nurses were not to well pleased as our days were spent filling water jugs and emptying bedpans.

I don’t know how well this diet worked for others as eventually they went home, but you could give it a try if you enjoy drinking water as it is free.

There are now concerns that soft fizzy drinks like Fanta and Pepsi Max that contain a preservative called Sodium Benzoate, it is said to cause serious cell damage.

Sodium benzoate is a preservative that has been used for decades by the global carbonated drinks industry.   It derives from benzoic acid and occurs naturally in berries.

 It is used to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Fanta, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

 It has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA which are usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse.  It can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

This could also lead to controversy about food additives which have been linked to hyperactivity in children.

Sodium benzoate had already raised concerns about cancer because when it is mixed with vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance.

High levels of benzene were found in four brands of soft drinks last year when a survey was done by The Food Standards Agency, four brands were removed from sale.

The Independent on Sunday were told “These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it: they knock it out altogether.

“The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it - as happens in a number if diseased states - then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously. And there is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to damage to this DNA - Parkinson’s and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing.”

Just a couple of tips here as I been so busy today shopping and wrapping Xmas presents.

If you are going on holiday to a foreign country and you are worried about getting that nasty tummy bug, a simple remedy  that you might enjoy, is take a tot of whisky every day while on holiday.  The bugs don’t like it and your tummy should stay bug free.

If you are going to a hot country, never wear perfume it attracts the mosquitos, and mosquito bites aren’t nice.

Every one should know that sun creams are essential, but be wise and wear a hat when the sun is hot, apart from getting skin cancer ladies, that hot sun  plays havoc with skin as you age.  Those brown patches that they call age spots are a result of all the sun you have caught when you were younger.

Once again the festive time is here, and with it comes the colds and flu and any other ailments to spoil the festivities.  The cold weather has set in and this brings an abundance of health problems, mainly Flu, colds, coughs, sore throats, and the dreaded stomach bug.

Any one of these leaves us feeling washed out and miserable, theres not a lot we can do about it except let them run their course.

Of course you can alleviate the suffering a little with all the remedies in the chemist shop, cough mixture, tablets, throat sweets, and of course all the herbal remedies.

There is only one way to try and combat these illnesses and that is by keeping our immune system as healthy as possible.

The immune system defends people against germs and micro organisms, it is made up of  special cells, proteins, tissues, and organs, and in most cases, the immune system keeps people healthy by preventing infections.

Keeping fit is the natural way to stave off illness, but even the fit and healthy people can’t always escape the germs that that are easily passed from one person to another.

As the years roll on your immune system may need some help in the form of supplements or tablets to boost the system. 

 One of these is Glucasan it contains specific 1-3, 1-6 Beta-Glucans that prime the innate immune system, this is the part which reacts to disease-causing bacteria and other micro-organisms to keep us healthy.  At Stamford Bridge the Chelsea footballers are said to swear by it.

Another booster is Green tea it contains a mixture of antioxidants that help boost your immune system and neutralise free radicals in your body, these are available from your nearest Tesco stores.

Immunecare Lactoferrin which is more expensive at £29.99 for 60 tablets, It is a super supplement’ capable of preventing vicious viruses including HIV, CMV, herpes, hepatitis C and glandular fever. Lactoferrin stops viruses binding to the body’s healthy cells and so halts the viral infection before it can, literally, take hold, It is absorbed into the bloodstream where it binds to and inactivates unwanted antigens that commonly cause bacterial and viral infections.

There are many more remedies that can help but don’t expect 100% protection it doesn’t happen, just be grateful for staying healthy longer.

There is no doubt about it that cereals are the healthy start to the day. Cereal is packed with vitamins and provides more fibre, iron, folic acid, and zinc and less fat, sodium, sugar, and cholesterol, compared with other breakfast foods.

We are talking here about cereals such as Cornflakes, Shredded Wheat, Wheetabix, and those types of cereals, not the ones packed with sugar.

I lived on Cornflakes well into my teens and wasn’t interested in other foods, grapefruits were also a favourite when I got a bit older.  With this recipe for eating I never had any childish ailment and up to this day I have only ever suffered with a cold or the flu.

I do eat normally now but I think those cornflakes stood me in good stead.

Hear is what the researchers say.

Researchers also found that people who eat cereal have better overall diets. They drink more milk eat less fat, sweets, bread and fizzy drinks.

Scientists also recorded a big jump in physical activity on days when cereal was eaten. The researchers said: “Eating cereal for breakfast may have implications for healthier eating throughout the day, as cereal eaters ate more fibre and less fat all day.

I have recently been on a twelve day holiday to Toronto and I found a wonderful city.  One thing that amazed me was that during my entire stay I could count the number of over weight people I saw on possibly one hand.

This may be due to the amount of walking people seem to do, I must admit I have not done so much walking for a long time as it is not the type of City to take buses or trams unless you are going further afield.

Shopping is all underground, seventeen kilometers of it, it is a shoppers paradise, but very hard on the legs and feet if you are not used to it.

One thing I noticed in and around the city was lots of parks and leisure areas. Black squirrels were in abundance and seemed to have no fear as they searched for food and ran amongst the people.

This is not really a health subject but I felt I had to write about it as I was impressed with Toronto. I have travelled to many places including the US and south Africa but in all my seventy years The Niagra Falls was the most impressive sight I have ever seen.

It was such a thrill to sail under the falls even though I got soaked through.