Lots of nurses don't say it with flowers - at least when on duty in hospital. Imperial College London research involving two hospitals in London apparently showed quite a number of nurses believe that flower handling gets in the way of their work. They may have a point, to an extent. After all, a thirty five year old study found that the water in which flowers had been placed often contained high levels of bacteria. Now bacteria control is undoubtably a huge challenge in the UK and beyond, but a subsequent study could not find any evidence that the water for these flowers ever caused any infection.
Another study showed that patients who had floral arrangements in their rooms had better clinical outcomes when compared to those with none. They had:
- less fatigue,
- less pain,
- reduced anxiety and heart rate,
- lower systolic blood pressure
- reduced need for analgesics post surgery all associated with flowers in their rooms. So, more power to the flower, I say.
To your abundant excellent health,
Dr Ike
Functional Health Expert and Holistic Health Coach.
Sources:
"Should Flowers be Banned in Hospitals?" Ivanhoe Newswire, 12/30/09, ivanhoe.com
Health Sciences Institute
Monday 18 April 2011
Tuesday 12 April 2011
How to lower cholesterol without drugs (2).........
Continuing from part one....
* Eat healthy fats: These include olive oil, coconut and coconut oil, organic raw dairy products (including butter), avocados, raw nuts, seeds, eggs (lightly cooked with yolks intact) and organic, grass-fed meat.
* Exercise: When you exercise you not only increase your circulation and the blood flow throughout your body, but you also strengthen your immune system, giving your body a better chance of fighting an illness before it has the opportunity to spread.
* Avoid smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
* Address your emotional challenges and stress, get professional help where necessary.
These measures are cheaper and safer than drugs, and if used consistently from an early age, will help prevent cellular damage that leads to cholesterol levels rising in the first place. You see, cholesterol rising points to cellular damage - cholesterol is a marker of such damage, rather than the culprit. So prevent cellular damage using these simple and easily implemented techniques!
To your abundant excellent health,
Dr Ike
Health Coach and Functional Health Expert
Sources:
- Health Sciences Institute
- "Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?" published online, January 17, 2008, BusinessWeek.com
- ‘The Cholesterol Myth that is Harming Your Health’ published online 10.08.2010, articles.mercola.com
* Eat healthy fats: These include olive oil, coconut and coconut oil, organic raw dairy products (including butter), avocados, raw nuts, seeds, eggs (lightly cooked with yolks intact) and organic, grass-fed meat.
* Exercise: When you exercise you not only increase your circulation and the blood flow throughout your body, but you also strengthen your immune system, giving your body a better chance of fighting an illness before it has the opportunity to spread.
* Avoid smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
* Address your emotional challenges and stress, get professional help where necessary.
These measures are cheaper and safer than drugs, and if used consistently from an early age, will help prevent cellular damage that leads to cholesterol levels rising in the first place. You see, cholesterol rising points to cellular damage - cholesterol is a marker of such damage, rather than the culprit. So prevent cellular damage using these simple and easily implemented techniques!
To your abundant excellent health,
Dr Ike
Health Coach and Functional Health Expert
Sources:
- Health Sciences Institute
- "Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?" published online, January 17, 2008, BusinessWeek.com
- ‘The Cholesterol Myth that is Harming Your Health’ published online 10.08.2010, articles.mercola.com
Saturday 9 April 2011
How to lower cholesterol without drugs.......
Hi guys and gals,
These are basic measures that all of us can implement to prevent our cholesterol blood levels from ever rising:
# Omega-3 is key: Make sure you’re getting plenty omega-3 fatty acids. Research has shown that as little as 500mg per day can lower your total cholesterol and triglyceride(blood fat) levels and increase your HDL ‘good’ cholesterol.
# Say no to sugar: Eliminate sugar (especially refined sugar) from your diet. There was time when there was no refined sugar as part of our nutritional intake whatsoever - and we were much the healthier for it. Get rid of your sugar addiction, if you have one - now. You will not regret it!
# Eat a good portion of your food raw, especially vegetables like broccoli, carrots, beetroot and garlic, which have all been shown shown to help reduce LDL cholesterol.
To be continued......
To your abundant excellent health,
Dr Ike
Holistic Health Coach and Functional Health Expert.
These are basic measures that all of us can implement to prevent our cholesterol blood levels from ever rising:
# Omega-3 is key: Make sure you’re getting plenty omega-3 fatty acids. Research has shown that as little as 500mg per day can lower your total cholesterol and triglyceride(blood fat) levels and increase your HDL ‘good’ cholesterol.
# Say no to sugar: Eliminate sugar (especially refined sugar) from your diet. There was time when there was no refined sugar as part of our nutritional intake whatsoever - and we were much the healthier for it. Get rid of your sugar addiction, if you have one - now. You will not regret it!
# Eat a good portion of your food raw, especially vegetables like broccoli, carrots, beetroot and garlic, which have all been shown shown to help reduce LDL cholesterol.
To be continued......
To your abundant excellent health,
Dr Ike
Holistic Health Coach and Functional Health Expert.
Monday 4 April 2011
Checking in to a hotel? What you need to know.....
..... According to Renata McCarthy who is now a lecturer at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, but started out in the industry as a housekeeping manager for a major US hotel chain - in some cases, the cover that protects a duvet may not be changed from one guest to another if the bed has a top and bottom sheet... Not good! Skin cells (humans shed about 1.5 million cells or cell clusters an hour when they sleep), human hair, bodily secretions, fungi, bacteria, dust, dust mites, lint, insect parts, pollen, cosmetics and more can collect - with unhealthy results.
Another no-no are the bedspreads, according to Philip Tierno. Hotel bedspreads, or the quilts inside duvet covers, don't get thrown in with the sheets for a daily wash.
Also Philip Tierno, a director of microbiology and immunology at New York University's Langone Medical Centre, who has carried out hotel room research says some hotels can be a source of cold, flu and gastrointestinal viruses, which can be spread by touching unclean surfaces. So here are some helpful tips they have given:
* Turn down the bedspread or duvet cover and pull it to the end of the bed, avoid coming into contact with it as much as you can.
* Wipe down the sink faucets, bathroom countertop, toilet handle and shower faucets with a damp towel or hand disinfectant (the gel-type you can pick-up at the Duty Free at the airport).
* Wipe down all door handles and knobs including the entryway and bathroom, phone, TV remote, and refrigerator.
* Avoid using water glasses in the room. A recent investigation showed that many hotel chains do not clean the glasses at all. So it would be safe to assume that they are dirty and have merely been wiped to ‘look clean’ and could easily have been used by previous guests.
He actually travels with an impervious mattress and pillow cover to protect against the unseen debris that guests leave behind, literally buried over time, in those supposedly clean, fluffy and comfy beds. So be aware, and maybe think about taking your own, or ask the hotel if they use these types of beddings - it just might save you some unpleasentness on your next hard earned holiday!
To your abundant excellent health,
Dr Ike,
Functional Health Expert and Health Coach
Sources:
A microscopic look at hotel hygiene’ published online, 25.02.11, edition.cnn.com
Health Sciences Institute
Another no-no are the bedspreads, according to Philip Tierno. Hotel bedspreads, or the quilts inside duvet covers, don't get thrown in with the sheets for a daily wash.
Also Philip Tierno, a director of microbiology and immunology at New York University's Langone Medical Centre, who has carried out hotel room research says some hotels can be a source of cold, flu and gastrointestinal viruses, which can be spread by touching unclean surfaces. So here are some helpful tips they have given:
* Turn down the bedspread or duvet cover and pull it to the end of the bed, avoid coming into contact with it as much as you can.
* Wipe down the sink faucets, bathroom countertop, toilet handle and shower faucets with a damp towel or hand disinfectant (the gel-type you can pick-up at the Duty Free at the airport).
* Wipe down all door handles and knobs including the entryway and bathroom, phone, TV remote, and refrigerator.
* Avoid using water glasses in the room. A recent investigation showed that many hotel chains do not clean the glasses at all. So it would be safe to assume that they are dirty and have merely been wiped to ‘look clean’ and could easily have been used by previous guests.
He actually travels with an impervious mattress and pillow cover to protect against the unseen debris that guests leave behind, literally buried over time, in those supposedly clean, fluffy and comfy beds. So be aware, and maybe think about taking your own, or ask the hotel if they use these types of beddings - it just might save you some unpleasentness on your next hard earned holiday!
To your abundant excellent health,
Dr Ike,
Functional Health Expert and Health Coach
Sources:
A microscopic look at hotel hygiene’ published online, 25.02.11, edition.cnn.com
Health Sciences Institute
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