BAD BREATH: A Major Turn Off

Who doesn’t want clean, sweet-smelling breath? Certainly not your lover. Now’s the time to make sure that your oral hygiene is up to par so that you are, to coin a phrase, “kissing sweet!”

Bad breath can be caused in many ways. I’ll tell you about each way separately, but you may have more than one problem area to clear up.

TEETH – Most bad breath comes from food stuck between the teeth. Brushing alone won’t remove this odor-causing condition. You must FLOSS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY, and preferably after every meal. Also make sure to floss before you go to bed. Then brush, and don’t eat anything else until breakfast.

Do you go to the dentist for a cleaning once, or twice, a year? If you haven’t recently seen a dental hygienist for a thorough cleaning, make an appointment right away. Not only will a good cleaning make your breath sweeter, it will save your teeth and keep them sparkling clean.

TONGUE – Believe it or not, the back of the tongue holds bacteria that cause bad breath.

You don’t have to buy a tongue cleaner (unless you want to). All you have to do is take a spoon upside down and scrape it down your tongue from back to front. When you look at the spoon, you’ll see how much “goop” was stuck on your tongue.

INDIGESTION – The last possible cause is poor digestion. When that happens the smell is coming from inside your body. Eating non-diet yogurt often helps digestion, and taking a good probiotic helps as well.

Then there’s mouthwash. I never use “regular “ brands like Lavoris or Scope. They usually contain alcohol and artificial color. It’s better to choose a natural brand, and check the label to make sure that it doesn’t contain alcohol, artificial ingredients, or artificial colors. TOMS is one the companies that makes a good mouthwash. Check out others in your Health Food store, and choose one in a flavor you like.

What about mints and gum? Well, though they don’t really take away bad breath, they at least cover it up for a while. The only really effective way to stop bad breath after eating garlic or onions, etc. is to take something internally. A good product is called, BREATHASSURE. Swallow a couple and rest assured that you won’t make anyone around you pass out!

Here’s to a sweet-smelling and a clean-feeling mouth!

ANTIBIOTICS AND PROBIOTICS

Almost everyone is familiar with Antibiotics…but fewer people know much about Probiotics. The words most frequently used to describe them are Acidophilus and Bifidus. Several other strains exist, but these are the more familiar ones, and they are both super effective.

First, I’ll go into some definitions:

ANTI means AGAINST

PRO means FOR.

BIOTIC means LIFE. (As in the word, “Biology”)

So, what logically follows is: Antibiotics are against life.

Probiotics are for life.

Now, it’s not my intention to imply that antibiotics don’t play a vital part in healing serious infections. They are essential when used to fight off bacterial strains that are detrimental to health. When doctors prescribe an antibiotic, they want that medicine to kill the bacteria that is making you sick. After about 7 days, you’re usually all better. The antibiotic has done its job.

But, while the antibiotic has killed bad bacteria and germs, it has also killed good ones, the “friendly bacteria.” Killing them can lower your resistance to fighting off a new infection, and very often interferes with proper digestion.

So, it’s important to take remedial action right away to restore your body’s “friendly bacteria.” To accomplish this, just as soon as you finish your prescribed dose, start taking a probiotic. This is absolutely essential to bring your body back in balance …and it’s cheap and easy as well.

Go to your local Health Food store and purchase a product called PB 7. That stands for 7 different strains of ProBiotic (PB!). You may also purchase one suggested by an expert that works at the store…but be sure to get one and don’t put off taking it!

Also, eat yogurt every day. The only brands I recommend have the word “Organic” printed on the label – Stonyfield Farms is one example. All the commercial brands don’t work as well. Avoid buying them no matter what their slick advertisements on TV promise. Besides, Dannon and Yoplait and other commercial brands don’t assure you that the milk that makes up their yogurt is hormone and antibiotic free. Who needs more chemicals in our system?

There’s also a yogurt-like drink that comes in plain, and fruit flavors. It’s called, “Kefir” and it too is filled with good bacteria. As a bonus, it also contains protein for your muscles and calcium for your bones.

Organic yogurt and kefir – what delicious ways to stay healthy!

MAKING MENOPAUSE MARVELOUS… ARE YOU KIDDING?

Rarely will you hear any woman say that she is happy about the arrival of menopause. Now, I’m not about to attempt to convince you that this time in life is fabulous. That wouldn’t be a fair promise. Menopause does confront us with many realities that we’d probably rather not face. But face them we must, and when we do, I can promise you that wonderful surprises are in store for you.

The first step for any woman approaching menopause is to acknowledge her doubts and fears. Changes at any age or stage generally cause us to become frightened and insecure. We question, “What will happen to me now?” and uncertainty never feels good.

I want to share with you that I too was terrified that I would become chubby, sexless, wrinkled and unappealing. But, my menopause arrived 22 years ago, and none of these fears have materialized.

Sure, I’m older, but rather than allowing my fears to overtake my Being, I decided to treat menopause as a new and exciting challenge. I began an exercise program, which included swimming several times a week at a local pool. That made me stronger, and kept me from gaining weight. Then I researched special herbs that help women overcome some of the physical downsides of menopause, like night sweats and hot flashes. I discovered a wonderful herb, Royal Maca, from a company called Whole World Botanicals, and added herbs to my health regime.

For me, menopause, in its own way, proved to be a blessing. It forced me to truthfully face myself, and gave me the courage and motivation to make the changes that make a difference in my own life…and, ultimately in the lives of those around me.

As you take action to make your own menopause marvelous, no matter what you have to face, you will transform from being a discouraged, complaining older woman, into a glowing example of mature beauty.

And, being an inspiration is a fine way to spend one’s life!

AGING SKIN: Can We Do Anything About It?

Hardly a day goes by in which we are not faced with the dangers of sun exposure.

How many of us can recall our youthful years of slathering ourselves with baby oil, and lying out in the midday sun to catch those precious tanning rays? Yes, that’s what we did, mindless of its skin aging effects and potential skin cancer risks.

There’s a song that teases:

“Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”

That sentiment might have been uttered in jest, but these days, skin cancer, brown age spots and prematurely aging skin are no laughing matter.

You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating:

Do not go out in the midday sun -- that’s from 11 am to 2 pm -- unless you are heavily protected. Now, what do I personally mean when I caution you to be protected? From my point of view, safe sunning requires much, much more than the application of sun block.

Here are my suggestions:

1. Always wear a hat. Don’t just wear a cap. Choose a lightweight one with a brim to protect your hair, your scalp and, most importantly, your face.

2. Purchase your sun block at a Health Food store, not at a department store or a pharmacy. When you are exposed to the sun, you do not want to bake dangerous chemicals into you skin. Chemicals exacerbate skin aging, and almost all commercial brands contain them. I recommend Aubrey products, and those you can purchase from the mercola.com website.

3. Wear sunglasses even when you’re swimming. Eyes can be damaged permanently if not properly protected.

4. Use Aloe Vera after any exposure to the sun. It is a natural healer, and helps prevent burning and blistering. If you can purchase a whole leaf from your health food store, do it. Cut away the green skin and apply the inside “guck” to your body. Be careful with your clothing when applying because it stains badly. But whatever its downsides, Aloe Vera is a remarkable resource for keeping your skin young and healthy.

5. Wear lightweight, gauzy all-cotton clothing that covers your skin, but still is appropriate for the hottest days. Cotton protects, absorbs perspiration, and is stylish to boot.

6. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Use only the finest crèmes, making sure they do not contain parabens, SLS, or mineral oil. Read those labels!

Thus protected, go out and enjoy the beauty and renewal the sun provides.

As a final note, I want to reveal that I do not avoid the sun. Of course I want to avoid skin aging, but I believe we need it to produce ample Vitamin D, to keep our bones calcified, and to penetrate into our bone marrow. I want to stress the importance of bone marrow – it’s the body’s amazing manufacturing plant that produces both red and white blood cells, essentials components of our immune system. Since our bone marrow requires sunlight to pass through the skin, don’t avoid exposure to the sun altogether.

Love the sun. But love your skin as well.

LONGEVITY: What does it mean to you?

Do you remember the lyrics from the old song titled “It Aint Necessarily So”?

There’s one verse that tells it all:

Methuselah lived nine hundred years

But who calls that livin”

If no gal would give in

To no man who’s nine hundred years?

Well, perhaps we “aint” all aimin’ for a gal, or a guy, to give in to us, but we do want to live long lives. Admittedly, nine hundred is stretching it, but the longevity sentiment is there nevertheless.

Statistics reveal that the number of older Americans is increasing at a rapid rate, and that the percentage of men and women over 60 is already over the 50% mark, and is rapidly growing. This is a definite indicator that longevity is here to stay.

What does that mean to you?

For starters, it signals a great opportunity for you to take aging into your own hands, and become the victor over aging, not its victim. You can have the desired longevity you crave.

In the past, debilitating aging appeared to be inevitable. Except for a few hardy citizens with good genes or good luck, the rest of us poor folk seemed doomed to become weak, sick, senile, sexless…you name it.

Not any more. Look around you at the countless example of vibrant, healthy, fit and attractive older people out there. Hardly a rarity, beauty and strength and inspiration are radiating from our older population.

Each of us has the opportunity to use our 70, 80, 90, 100 or more years, to create and enhance the courage, wisdom and gratitude that time offers. We, as elders, can share the blessings of longevity, and turn aging into a precious gift to give to the world.

So now, when you’re asked if aging is an inevitable decline, you can answer:

“It Aint Necessarily So”

ANTI-AGING: Fact or Fiction

These days, with the growing population of older Americans, the buzzword is, Anti-Aging. It seems that no one wants to age.

Ever since Superman rolled back the Wheel of Time and Ponce de Leon sought the Fountain of Youth, we have been fighting to stop the aging process. I believe that the question of whether or not we can win this battle depends on how we experience aging.

Time passes. We all know that. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity tells us that how we experience the passage of time is relative to what is going on. Well, that holds true for aging as well. What we consider “old” and what we consider “young” is dependent on what is going on in our lives at any one time. It’s all relative. We can decide we are against aging –ANTI-AGING – or decide to be PRO-AGING…meaning that we are not fighting time, but instead are making the most of it.

If we view our lives only from the perspective of chronological age, we can, in fact, feel like a victim of Time. Then we will become intent on anti-aging. But if, instead, we use our years to grow and learn and become glowing examples of exquisite aging, we will enrich our own lives – and, as an added benefit, add immeasurably to the lives of the young.

After all, everyone is destined to grow old…but hating aging and spending our mature years fighting against what we fear is an inevitable decline, is not our destiny. Instead of cursing aging for what it’s doing to us, we can embrace the aging process, while doing whatever we can to be healthy and fit at every age. This is a personal choice that each of us must make.

I’ve chosen to make Time my ally, not my enemy. So, though I am certainly against old age with illness, and loss of vitality, I am definitely for vibrant, healthy aging.

Anti-Aging? No!

Exquisite Aging? You bet!

What choice will you make?