I Enjoy My Life So Much More

It’s Monday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Monday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!

Yup, success stories are back! And I’m looking for more. Follow-ups, mid-progress reflections—every story at every stage has the potential to inspire folks out there who are getting started or contemplating a new beginning. Contact me here to share your story—long or not so long. You never know who you’ll impact by doing it. Enjoy, everyone!

Dear Mark, Thank you for asking for my contribution. And thanks for your unending support, inspiration and courage that you show everyday in your writing, your offering of healthy food, and your very presence.

I was a food addict. I was unhealthy. I didn’t really care.

Interestingly, I had Mark’s Daily Apple on my computer for years and never put it together that it was you or that it could be of any real help to me; some cool ideas….someday. When the stronger inkling of doing something about not feeling so well came up in me (age 65), it was the book Primal Blueprint that was there for me and that I was drawn to. Ultimately, I would need to lower my carbs even more to succeed at weight loss, but I am glad I started with your book because it talked about wonderful things like walking barefoot and volleyball on the beach with young studs. It got me feeling/thinking and opened my perspective on food and life.

The pictures above are the beginning middle and ongoing part of my keto/new lifestyle way of living. I now use fasting and lower carb eating to continue to sculpt and improve and perhaps lose a bit more. I think of it as reshaping and renewing now rather than aging.

I now kayak with people younger than me and train with a gyrotonic instructor a few hours a week. I am 19 months into my new journey.

Once I made the decision and choice to do keto, and my body switched to burning fat as my fuel instead of carbohydrates, which for me took 3-4 months, when it became easy for me and has been a joy ever since. Let’s see…..eat this piece of bread or FEEL FANTASTIC. No chance, especially since I can have my own bread which I make with all organic ingredients.

I enjoy my life so much more. Food is this glorious celebration after fasting for a bit. I continue to read and tweek things, and the adventure will never end.

This final picture is just for fun. I feel playful now and frisky. Not sure if the world is ready for me……..

Submitted with so much JOY!!!

Paula M.
September 2019

The post I Enjoy My Life So Much More appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

How Rising Temperatures Due to Climate Change are Shortening Pregnancies

It’s bad enough that adults have made a climatological mess of the world. It’s worse that the mess is having a disproportionate impact on kids—who did nothing to create the problem, but are more susceptible to health issues caused by rising temperatures than adults are. Now, it appears, global warming is doing its damage even further down the human age spectrum. According to a new study published in Nature Climate Change, rising temperatures may have a direct impact on human gestational time, increasing the risk of early delivery.

Babies are considered premature when they are born at 37 weeks or earlier. But delivery between 37 and 40 weeks is still not considered ideal, with late-term births correlated to lower birthweight and even potential cognitive development problems later in life. Many variables can cause an otherwise healthy pregnancy to come to term earlier than it should—one is extreme heat.

To study this effect, Alan Barreca, an associate professor at UCLA’s Institute of Environmental Sustainability, and economist Jessamyn Schaller of Claremont McKenna College, analyzed daily temperature and county-by-county birth rates across the U.S. in a two-decade window from 1969 to 1988. That is an admittedly old dataset, but the researchers had little choice.

“In 1989, the vital statistics system started to be more cautious about information it allowed out publicly in order to make it hard to identify individuals precisely by place or date of birth,” says Barreca. “They even began masking some counties. So 1969 to 1988 gave us the most thorough information.”

In that dataset, the researchers found that on days when temperatures reached or exceeded 32.2ºC (90ºF), the birth rate per 100,000 women increased by 0.97, compared to dates in which the temperature was between 16-21º C (60-70º F). There was a smaller, but still significant, bump of 0.57 additional births per 100,000 women on days that were hot but not quite as sweltering, ranging from 26.7-32.2º C (80-90º F).

The exact biological mechanism by which heat impacts pregnancy isn’t clear, but there are multiple theories. It’s possible heat leads to cardiovascular stress in the mother that in turn causes the body to go into labor early. Another possibility is that high temperatures may trigger an increase in levels of the hormone oxytocin, which plays a role in both labor and, later, lactation.

“There may even be a third cause,” Barreca says, “which is loss of sleep. Minimum temperature on a hot day occurs at night, but it can still be hot enough to disrupt sleep, and that might be an important avenue to early birth.”

The effect of heat on pregnancy was less pronounced in hot-weather regions like the desert southwest and the deep south, probably because expectant mothers who live in these parts of the country have acclimated to high temperatures. Income makes a difference as well: greater wealth means a greater likelihood of air conditioning in the home, mitigating the pregnancy-shortening effect of temperature. And since, in the U.S., income often breaks down along racial lines, the study found that African-American mothers are somewhat more likely to experience temperature-related early births than white mothers.

Not every early birth is the same, of course, and the women in the study delivered at different points within the 37 to 40-week window. On average, however, Barreca and Schaller calculated that an early birth caused by 90º F or greater temperature cost a woman and her baby 6.1 days of gestation.

Across the entire 20-year period sampled in the study, there were 25,000 early births caused by high temperatures annually. That’s a small share of the 3.5 million babies born per year on average during that time window—but it’s still 25,000 babies every year who didn’t get the growth and developmental benefit of a full 40 weeks.

Troublingly, the problem is only likely to get worse. The 1969 to 1988 period was merely the leading edge of the heat spikes the world has experienced in recent decades. As climate change grows more severe—with eight of the ten hottest years on record occurring just in the last decade—more and more babies are likely to be emerging too early into a too-hot world.

How to talk to children about the serious illness of a loved one

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It’s an inescapable truth: sometimes hard, bad things happen in life — including that sometimes parents, or other important people in a child’s life, get very sick.

It’s natural to want to shield a child from news like this, but that’s not a good idea. Children pick up on more than people realize — and can sometimes imagine things to be even worse than they are. Also, it’s important to help children gain the understanding and skills they need to weather a loved one’s illness, as well as to weather the inevitable difficult times in their future.

Talking to a child about serious illness: the first steps

Every child and every situation are different. But here are some suggestions as you think about what to say — and how to say it.

Think about your child’s developmental stage. This is really important. Younger children aren’t going to be able to understand or handle very much, whereas an adolescent can understand much more and will want and need to know much more. Younger children can be very concrete, and might worry not only that they can catch the illness, but also that it’s their fault. Older children can understand more nuance and complexity and will have very different worries. If you aren’t sure exactly where your child is in the developmental spectrum, talk to your pediatrician.

Talk first with your parenting partner. The two of you should be on the same page about what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. It’s also important that the two of you think together about the context of your child’s life, and how the news — and the illness — will affect them, so that you can be ready to manage the logistical and emotional fallout.

Find a time when you can sit for a long time and give your child undivided attention. You may not need a long time, but better to have it than not. At the same time, know that this is just the first of many conversations; you don’t have to relay every bit of information. It’s fine to do an overview, and then revisit and talk through more in other conversations.

Keep it simple and straightforward. Even older children can get overwhelmed by lots of details. For young children, that may be as simple as, “Daddy is sick. He will be in the hospital for a while. The doctors are working to help him.” For older children, that might be, “Daddy has cancer. It’s in his lungs. He is in the hospital for tests while the doctors figure out the best way to treat the cancer.” Use simple terms and simple sentences.

Be truthful. That doesn’t mean going into every gory detail. That’s rarely helpful. But it does mean that if the illness is serious, you should say so. Let them know what may happen next, such as if the person might lose their hair from chemotherapy.

Don’t hide your own feelings. If you are sad or worried, say so. You want your child to know that it’s okay for them to feel that way. As you move through the situation, you will need to find healthy ways to deal with your sadness and worry, as your child will be watching you for cues. Sometimes a mental health professional can be very helpful when it comes to helping both you and your child.

Talk about the helpers. Fred Rogers always used to talk about the importance of pointing out to children the “helpers” such as firefighters in a scary situation. Talk about the doctors and nurses and other people who are helping the person get better.

Talking about serious illness: Answer questions and make room for feelings

Talk about how this will affect their daily lives. Children of all ages worry about this. Let them know that you are thinking about this and planning for it. You might do some brainstorming together about how to manage any necessary changes. Reassure them that they will be taken care of during the illness.

Encourage them to ask any question they have. Answer those questions truthfully.

Be prepared for any reaction. Children may be upset — but they also may be angry, or not seem to react at all. Reactions can play out in all sorts of ways, like behavior changes or trouble at school. Also, children may need time to take in the information, so their reactions may be delayed — or vary from day to day. Build check-in times into your daily life so that you can have more conversations, give updates, see how your child is doing, and see if new questions have arisen.

Ask for help. Talk to your pediatrician. Get a referral to a social worker or mental health provider. Reach out to your faith community or any other available supports. It takes a village to raise a child, and this is especially true when someone that child loves is sick.

Follow me on Twitter @DrClaire

The post How to talk to children about the serious illness of a loved one appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

297: Why the Wahls Protocol Works for More Than MS: An Update With Dr. Terry Wahls

297: Why the Wahls Protocol Works for More Than MS: An Update With Dr. Terry Wahls

In her years of practice, Dr. Terry Wahls has helped thousands of people fight incredible odds. If you haven’t heard her own story, prepare to be amazed. In 2000, Dr. Terry was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her health deteriorated, leaving her in a wheelchair and dependent on medication. She fought back with years of medical …

Continue reading 297: Why the Wahls Protocol Works for More Than MS: An Update With Dr. Terry Wahls...

December 02, 2019 at 04:30PM Wellness Mama® https://ift.tt/2hMTHxr https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Slight hearing loss may affect kids' behavior, school performance

Slight hearing loss may affect kids' behavior, school performance
Reuters: Health
(Reuters Health) - Children with slight hearing loss may do a little less well in school and may be a bit more likely to develop behavior problems, a new study suggests.

Could life insurance go up in smoke for some vapers?

Could life insurance go up in smoke for some vapers?
Reuters: Health
Global reinsurers are stepping up their warnings to life insurer clients about the potential risks of vaping, putting pressure on underwriters to charge certain vapers higher rates than smokers, or even exclude them altogether.

Tear gas used for crowd control in Hong Kong poses health, environmental risks

Tear gas used for crowd control in Hong Kong poses health, environmental risks
Reuters: Health
The use of tear gas to control crowds of protesters in the Chinese-ruled city of Hong Kong could have dangerous effects on health and the environment, a group of academics warns.