I love learning about “life hacks”, which are ingenious shortcuts to get things done.  There are numerous versions of them on Instagram and Youtube.  They may seem trivial but can really be helpful when you are in need.

Here are some health related “life hacks” that I’ve compiled:

• After getting blood drawn, immediately put pressure on the area with a piece of cotton and raise your entire arm above your head for about 3 minutes.  You will notice the bruising will be much less.  The pressure against the skin and gravity will prevent the blood from seeping under the skin that would normally lead to unsightly redness and bruising.
• To remember to take your medications before bedtime, rest your toothbrush on the bottle of medication.  When you go to brush your teeth before bedtime, you will remember to take your medication.  (not recommended if you have children who could reach the area)
• For medications to be taken in the morning, put the pills in your refrigerator (not recommended if you have children who could get into the fridge).  Most pills can be safely stored at refrigerator temperatures.
• You can set up reminders on your phone to remind you about when to take medications.
• To remind yourself to fast before bloodwork (especially when cholesterol or blood sugars will be checked in fasting conditions), put a post it on your refrigerator door so you will see the notice before reaching for food.
• Dehydrated and need electrolyte replacement fluid?  If you don’t have access to sports drinks such as Gatorade, you can add table salt to coconut water.  This is approximately the same components (potassium and sodium) that you need.
• Constipated and can’t find a laxative?  Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda can create a laxative effect.  You may need to use more than a few packets or chew a pieces of sugar-free gum, but it can be effective.
• Take cell phone pictures of your medication bottles.  This way when you see your doctor and he/she asks what medications you’re taking, you have all the info right there.  Better yet, create a folder on your phone with your medical information.  You can even take pictures of your test results.  Of course, if your doctor’s office has a patient portal with a smartphone app, all this will already be at your fingertips 24/7.
• Take pictures of your insurance card.  Imagine if you were injured and your wallet was stolen.  Having your insurance information handy is essential when you go to seek medical care.  Otherwise, you may get some scary bills in the mail.
• Have a nosebleed?  Tissues are fine, but if you have a tampon around, you can cut it in half lengthwise and insert it into the nostril.  The string allows you to remove it easily.  Be careful not to pull it out and check.  This often disrupts the clot that forms and results in further bleeding.  Do not keep the tampon in the nostril for more than 12 hours.  If the bleeding doesn’t seem to stop, you should seek immediate medical attention.
• Keep a bag of frozen peas in the freezer.  These are great for muscle aches and injuries as they wrap around your joints much better than rigid ice packs.  Plus, you can have peas for dinner!
• If you need an antacid fast, you can take a teaspoon of baking soda and dissolve it in a glass of water.  Drink it slowly. This can also be used to remove mouth odors.

We have all slept in the same room with someone who snores when they sleep.  Most snoring is due to turbulence of air caused by the air being sucked into the nostrils or the mouth.  This usually happens when we are very tired, as this causes the muscles in the back of the throat to collapse.  However, certain types of snoring can be a sign of something much more serious, a condition called sleep apnea.  Literally apnea means “no breath”.  People with sleep apnea are at risk for several serious diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, accidents, obesity, depression and strokes.

If you or a loved one is concerned about snoring and sleep apnea, here are some warning signs to watch out for.  Sleep apnea can be diagnosed with a sleep study conducted by a pulmonologist (lung specialist) or an ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT surgeon)

• You hear the person stop breathing for a few seconds (no sound) and then hear the person gasp or choke for air.  The person may even wake up from sleep after these episodes.  This is a telltale sign of sleep apnea.  The person’s airway is collapsing and literally choking them from inside and the lack of oxygen makes them wake up.  Some people with severe sleep apnea can have 30 or more episodes each night.
• The person’s blood pressure is higher upon awakening and gets better as the day goes along.  Having the repeated “choking” episodes each night leads to high blood pressure, as the body is under stress.  However, as the person is able to take more deep breaths, the blood pressure will normalize, until the person goes to sleep again.
• People with sleep apnea will have daytime sleepiness and unrestful sleep even with adequate hours of sleep.  While someone with sleep apnea may look like they are asleep, because they are choking so many times every night, the depth of the sleep is not enough.  Good quality sleep requires many uninterrupted hours of sleep.  Sleep apnea sufferers can fall asleep easily during the day, and will often resort to drinking coffee or eating sugary foods to try and stay awake during the day.  This can be quite dangerous for people who need to be alert such as drivers and train conductors.  In fact, most of the recent train accidents have been attributed to conductors with untreated sleep apnea.
• People with larger necks are more prone to having sleep apnea.  In general, men with necks greater than 17 inches, and women with necks greater than 16 inches are more likely to have sleep apnea.  Obesity may also be caused by sleep apnea, as  people may eat more sugary foods to try and stay awake.
• Sleep apnea is more common in people with an overbite (your top jaw/teeth are pushed out more and your lower jaw is pushed back).

Sleep apnea is a serious health condition that requires treatment, which may include weight loss, a CPAP machine, a mouthguard-like plastic piece (mandibular advancement device), raising the head at nighttime with an extra pillow or wedge pillow, and/or sleeping on the side instead of lying on the back.

In the 1980’s I remember the commercials that asked “Where’s the beef?” and “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner!”  They promoted meat as a primary source of protein in our diets and got us thinking that no meal is complete without meat, preferably red meat.  As we are learning more about how diets can affect our health and how our food choices can affect the environment, we are realizing that plant based diets are both better for the earth and for our health.  Here are 10 reasons why you should prepare more plant-based meals

1. Plants are easier to cook.  Almost all meats take more time to cook.  In our busy schedules, cooking plants and plant based proteins take much less time.
2. Less concern for salmonella.  Bacteria such as salmonella can exist on poultry but not so easily on vegetables.  Cleaning up after preparing chicken requires thorough rinsing of the cutting board, knives and cooking bowls with hot soapy water.  Cleaning up after cooking vegetables is a snap, just some warm water and minimal soap, with no risk for bacterial contamination.
3. Plants are cheaper.  You can easily prepare meals with about 50% less money when preparing plant-based meals.  If you are on a budget, going plant-based would be the way to go.  Even when you eat at a restaurant, the vegetable options are almost always less expensive than meat or fish dishes.
4. Vegetables, herbs and fruits are delicious and provide natural flavors.  I rarely hear people say that the “boiled chicken was so flavorful.”  Most meat intrinsically has little flavor.  In contrast, most vegetables and herbs have strong flavors that can stand on their own.  Not convinced?  Try roasting some fennel in the oven and drizzle some high quality extra virgin olive oil on top and a sprinkling of sea salt.
5. Vegetables are a great source of fiber and can actually LOWER bad cholesterol.
6. Ounce per ounce, vegetables take up more room in our stomachs without providing a lot of calories.  Granted, I realize that french fries are also plant-based, but what I am talking about is eating healthy plant-based foods such as salads, roasted vegetables, and stir fries with minimal oil.
7. Longer shelf life.  Most meats spoil within a few days after you buy them.  On the other hand, vegetables such as onions, sweet potatoes, and carrots can easily last a week.  Frozen vegetables can last months and are so easy to prepare.  There are even some packages of frozen vegetables that you can microwave in the bag.
8. Plants are a blank slate.  Add your favorite seasonings from any cuisine.  Make it spicy with curries, or add mediterranean seasoning.  They are very versatile.
9. You can grow your own food!  Gardening is amazing exercise and provides a connection between you and your food.  You can be sure that there are no chemicals or pesticides when you grown them yourself.  By growing plants, you will also be removing carbon from the atmosphere and adding precious oxygen back to the world.
10. You will feel better!  Many studies have found that eating meat can cause inflammatory chemicals called cytokines to form in our body.  Some people who have switched to plant-based diets have noticed that their joint inflammation, irritable bowel, and even depression have noticed their symptoms improve dramatically.

Try a few plant-based diet this week in honor of Earth Day.  If you’re not good at cooking, here are some suggestions on how you can eat more delicious plant-based food.  Plants, it’s what’s for dinner!

In previous blogs, I mentioned that alcohol can be good to raise your HDL, “good” type cholesterol, which may lead to a reduction of risk in heart disease.  This past year, a global study on alcohol habits sponsored by the WHO (World Health Organization) found that alcohol is a significant contributor to death and suffering worldwide from all causes including car accidents, accidental falls, osteoporosis, cancers, obesity, suicide, and mental illness, just to name a few.  So I pose two questions:  Do the “heart healthy” benefits of alcohol outweigh the massive list of illnesses caused by alcohol?  Should we be continuing to consume alcohol as a “medication” thinking it will prolong our lives?

If you look at the study, we should not be drinking alcohol period.  The increased risk of cancers (including all the major cancers such as colon, breast, prostate, stomach) alone is enough to negate the theoretical lives saved from heart disease by even modest drinking.  Hypothetically, if alcohol was a drug that was presented in front of the FDA today as a newly discovered drug to prevent heart disease, it would by no means pass their standards.  Sure, you may not get a heart attack in 10 years, BUT you will die in a car accident from excessive drinking in just one night, or you could die a miserable death from liver cancer at any point.  I can just imagine the TV commercial would be hilarious, and the side effects would go on for at least 10 minutes.  I would say, at this point, if you are drinking alcohol (in moderation, of course) because you enjoy it, that is fine, but if you have a family history of any cancer and want to reduce your risk, then I would say it may be prudent to remove alcohol from your life.  However, if you do not enjoy drinking a glass of wine each night and are doing it solely because your healthcare provider told you it would be helpful to raise your HDL, I would recommend you stop now.  I’m glad there has been new studies shedding light on this serious health issue, which has largely been ignored.

Fast food chains are well-known to be bad for our health, but most people don’t realize that typical restaurant foods may not be much healthier.  While the food they serve may look better and the atmosphere of most restaurants is nicer, there may be just as much saturated fats, salt and sugar in the food.  Many chefs will often say that a dish can be made more palatable if it has enough salt, fat, and sugar.  If you saw how your food was prepared in a restaurant, you’d be shocked.  Typically, the oils they use may be either poor quality vegetable oil to save on costs, or generous amounts of butter.  As an example, did you ever ever wonder why the steaks from top rated steak houses taste so good?  They are usually slathered in butter.  Did you wonder why you could never replicate the taste of steakhouses on your home grill even if you buy high quality meat?  Again, you would think twice before adding as much butter as they do in restaurants, which makes sense because their job is to win over your taste buds and keep you from cooking at home.  Portion sizes at restaurants are also usually much larger.  Here is how to eat out in a healthy way.

To eat healthier, I recommend that everyone make some or most meals at home.  You don’t think you can cook?  Think again, anyone can learn and there are many resources on the web.  Start by making a simple salad that requires no cooking.  Baked foods  or stir-frys are also really easy for the beginner.  Roast some vegetables or mushrooms in the oven, and drizzle with some heart healthy extra virgin olive oil, some fresh herbs, and a little sea salt.  You would be surprised how easy it can be.  By cooking your own food, you will definitely save money, and know for sure what goes into your body.  Cooking is also a great creative outlet.  Experiment with different foods and seasonings that appeal to you.  If you have a favorite unhealthy “splurge” food, try to make a healthier version.  Simply enter the name of your favorite food and “healthy recipe” into Google and you will likely find something appealing that won’t hurt your waistline.