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The Fourth of July means picnics, barbeques, fireworks and gatherings of friends. All of this is a great deal of fun for everybody except your pets. Pets dont consider the noise, flashes and burning smell with a good time. They are terrified of fireworks and often panic. According to statistics, more pets are lost around the Fourth of July than any other time of the year. There are steps you can take to keep your pets safe and happy.

Keep your pets away from the fireworks on July 4th and the days before the holiday. Some people start their celebrating early. Bring your pet indoors at dusk. You can close the windows, shut the curtains. A radio or tv turned on will help to cover up the noise of the fireworks. Pets who usually stay outside should be brought inside. Even if your outside pet has been fine with the fireworks in previous years, you never know when someone will set off fireworks close enough to frighten him into running away. If you have to go somewhere and you absolutely cant leave your pet home alone, keep him on his leash and under your control at all times.

Make your pet feel safe. Ideally, someone should stay home with him, especially if he is very frightened by the fireworks. Pet him. Hug him, talk to him in a soothing voice. Be sure he has access to his crate or safe place. Talk to your vet about calming products, medications, anxiety wraps and anything else that can help him cope with the holiday.

Another reason to keep your pet at home during the July Fourth festivities is the heat. Never leave a pet in the car, even if it doesnt seem that warm. The temperature in a parked car can become deadly to a pet very quickly. When your pet is outside be sure he has shade and plenty of water. Dont leave him alone outside for long periods. If you see signs of heat stroke, such as excessive drooling, panting, trembling or limited urine output, take him to your vet immediately.

Dont put insect repellant or sunscreen on your pet unless it is recommended for use on animals. Something that isnt harmful to people can be toxic to pets.

No matter how much he begs, dont feed him scraps from your barbeque or picnic. A change in diet could give him severe indigestion and diarrhea. Some foods including onions, chocolate, avocadoes and raisins can be toxic to pets. Dont leave alcoholic drinks where your pet can reach them. Those drinks can poison him. He can also become intoxicated, weak, depressed or go into a coma. Drinking too much could cause death.

After the celebration is over, remove all fireworks debris from your yard before you let your pet out. Check your house and yard for skewers, napkins or anything else he might be tempted to eat.

Prepare in advance in case your pet does get out and run away. Make sure he is wearing a collar with an up to date identification tag. If you havent done so already, have him microchipped. Take a current photo of him. These procedures can help in getting him safely back to you.

The Pittsburg County Animal Shelter is located at 1206 N. West St. in McAlester. The hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.on Saturday. The phone number is 918-423-7803. The cost to adopt a dog is $20 and $15 for a cat. All have been spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

Continue reading here:
Your pet on the Fourth of July - Mcalester News Capital

In my recent article, Using Herbs as Medicine, I said that herbal medicine is one of the oldest forms of medicine on the planet.

Because the art of herbal medicine is a lost art in many countries, most people dont know how to prepare and administer herbs. The only way most people take herbs these days is by taking them in pill or capsule form, courtesy of a supplement they bought at a health food or drug store.

But the potency of an herb in pill or capsule form is not strong. To get the true healing benefits of an herb, its best to start with the herb in whole form and make a preparation from that.

There are many forms in which herbs can be administered. Here is a list of some of the most common ways:

Tinctures Alcoholic extracts of herbs such as echinacea extract. Usually obtained by combining 100% pure ethanol (or a mixture of 100% ethanol with water) with the herb. A completed tincture has an ethanol percentage of at least 40-60% (sometimes up to 90%).

Herbal wine and elixirs These are alcoholic extract of herbs; usually with an ethanol percentage of 12-38%. Herbal wine is a maceration of herbs in wine, while an elixir is a maceration of herbs in spirits (e.g., vodka, grappa, etc.)

Tisanes Hot water extracts of herbs, such as chamomile.

Decoctions Long-term boiled extract of usually roots or bark.

Macerates Cold infusion of plants with high mucilage-content as sage, thyme, etc. Plants are chopped and added to cold water. They are then left to stand for 7 to 12 hours (depending on herb used). For most macerates 10 hours is used.

Vinegars Prepared at the same way as tinctures, except using a solution of acetic acid as the solvent.

Topicals:

1) Essential oils Application of essential oil extracts, usually diluted in a carrier oil (many essential oils can burn the skin or are simply too high dose used straight diluting in olive oil or another food grade oil can allow these to be used safely as a topical).

2) Salves, oils, balms, creams and lotions Most topical applications are oil extractions of herbs. Taking a food grade oil and soaking herbs in it for anywhere from weeks to months allows certainphytochemicals to be extracted into the oil. This oil can then be made into salves, creams, lotions, or simply used as an oil for topical application. Any massage oils, antibacterial salves and wound healing compounds are made this way.

3) Poultices and compresses One can also make a poultice or compress using whole herbs (or theappropriate part of the plant) usually crushed or dried and re-hydrated with a small amount ofwater and then applied directly in a bandage, cloth or just as is. Whole herb consumption This can occur in either dried form (herbal powder), or fresh juice (fresh leaves and other plant parts). Just as Hippocrates said Let food be thy medicine, it has become clear that eating vegetables also easily fits within this category of getting health through consumables (besides medicinal herbs). All of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are phytochemicals that we are accessing through our diet.

There are clearly some whole herbs consumed that are more powerful than others. Shiitake mushrooms boost the immune system and are also tasty, and they are enjoyed in soups or other food preparations for the cold and flu season. Alfalfa is also considered a health food. Garlic lowers cholesterol, improves blood flow, fights bacteria, viruses and yeast.

Syrups Extracts of herbs made with syrup or honey. Sixty-five parts of sugar are mixed with 35 parts of water and herb. The whole is then boiled and macerated for three weeks.

Herbal syrup

Extracts Includes liquid extracts, dry extracts and nebulisates. Liquid extracts are liquids with a lower ethanol percentage than tinctures. They can (and are usually) made by vacuum distilling tinctures. Dry extracts are extracts of plant material which are evaporated into a dry mass. They can then be further refined to a capsule or tablet. A nebulisate is a dry extract created by freeze-drying.

Inhalation as in aromatherapy can be used as a mood changing treatment to fight a sinus infection or cough, or to cleanse the skin on a deeper level (steam rather than direct inhalation here).

I have a new free six-day email course that I am offering, entitled Enlightened Living: 6 Ways to Build an Authentic, Serene and Healthy Life. Read more about it here: The Enlightened Living Course.

Michael Wayne, Ph.D., L.Ac., is a practitioner of Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine and Integrative Medicine, with offices in Saratoga Springs and Clifton Park. He is also the author of three books, the founder of the Saratoga Integrative Medicine Education Network or SIMEN, the producer/host of the online video interview series Interviews with the Leading Edge at http://www.LeadingEdgeInterviews.com, and Director of the Center for Quantum Revolution at http://www.QuantumRevolution.net. His new book is The Quantum Revolution: The Power to Transform. He can be reached at (518) 210-1557, his email is mwayne2@mac.com and his website is http://www.DrMichaelWayne.com.

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The Fine Art of Herbal Preparation - Albany Times Union (blog)

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BALTIMORE Replacing foods high in saturated fats with those that have unsaturated fats can reduce a persons chance of developing heart disease as much as cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins, according to new advice from the American Heart Association.

This would mean, for instance, swapping that steak for a healthier avocado, using canola oil instead of butter, and not eating carb-filled junk food.

The new guidance from the heart association is not a leap from past direction, but the group sought a fresh look at the evidence in light of some newer, less scientific studies and dietary fads that officials feared were confusing the public.

How the message about diet is received by patients will largely depend on their doctors delivery.

While most physicians would agree that heart health depends on a good diet, some suggest there is a bit more wiggle room than the heart association advisory suggests. Other doctors and health care providers believe the advice does not go far enough in explaining what foods can truly protect their patients from heart disease, the nations leading cause of death.

This tries to put it all in perspective the view from 10,000 feet but sometimes food can still be controversial, said Dr. Michael Miller, director of the University of Maryland Medical Centers Center for Preventive Cardiology. He served on the heart association panel that made the recommendations published this month in the journal Circulation.

Its long been known that consuming less saturated fat lowers peoples LDL, or so-called bad cholesterol, which clogs arteries and causes heart attacks and strokes. But the heart association finds that this is only the case when saturated fat is replaced with unsaturated fat and not refined carbohydrates that contain sugar but no fiber. Both unsaturated fat and fiber have been found to help lower cholesterol.

The group says some newer studies mucking up the healthy heart message didnt consider these dietary replacements.

The guidance should be useful to doctors in advising patients, said Miller, who is also a professor of cardiovascular medicine, epidemiology and public health in Marylands School of Medicine. But hes not a stickler on eliminating all saturated fat. He advises moderation instead.

That means a small, fist-size steak once in a while, two egg whites for every one yoke and even a bit of coconut oil, a culinary darling of late that is mostly saturated fat.

If youre good most of the time, allow yourself one unhealthy breakfast, lunch and dinner a week, he said. But dont go nuts and eat a 24-ounce steak.

He also emphasizes making lifestyle changes such as adding regular exercise and reducing stress.

Miller summed up the heart association advice this way:

Replacing 10 percent of calories from saturated fats (red meat, butter, palm oil) with polyunsaturated fats (safflower and corn oils, walnuts and salmon) reduces risk of heart disease by 50 percent.

Replacing 10 percent of calories from saturated fats with monounsaturated fats (canola and olive oil, almonds and avocados) reduces risk of heart disease by 30 percent.

Replacing 10 percent of calories from saturated fats with complex carbohydrates (whole grains, beans and vegetables) reduces risk of heart disease by 18 percent.

Replacing 10 percent of calories from saturated fats with simple carbohydrates (sugary foods and soft drinks) does not reduce the risk of heart disease.

Still, not all doctors think this is the right message.

Dr. Dana Simpler, an internal medicine doctor at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, said the consequences of a poor diet can be so dire that she believes the heart association report was a missed opportunity to warn people about how much all their food matters.

She joins other doctors who advocate for a whole-food, plant-based diet, for which she said there is evidence of reducing the chance of a first or recurrent heart attack close to zero.

That means eating foods that are not processed and have little to no sugar, salt or added oil.

It continues to surprise me that the AHA makes such modest diet recommendations for preventing our number one killer heart disease, she wrote in an email. Simply substituting saturated fats with unsaturated fats reduces heart attacks by 30 percent, but, what about the other 70 percent that still have life threatening heart disease?

She conceded that a plant-based diet is not easy to follow, and many people may decide it is too hard for them, but at least let the American public know that there is a diet that will prevent and reverse heart disease almost 100 percent.

Excerpt from:
Heart Association restresses healthy diet - The Columbian

by Cassidy Williams, WSBT 22 Reporter

M-139 near Berrien Springs // WSBT 22 photo

Changes are likely coming to a road in Berrien Springs with a history of crashes.

Plans are in the works for M-139 around the US 31 interchange to be reduced from five lanes to three.

MDOT is calling it a road diet. They hope that slimming down that stretch of M-139 will make the area safer.

Driving involves decisions: When to merge, when to turn, when to slow down. Drivers along that stretch of M-139 will soon involve fewer decisions.

"If you're making a left-hand turn from -- we'll say a ramp off of US 31 to M-139 -- currently you have to cross three lanes of traffic: Two through-lanes and one turn lane to merge into traffic to make a left hand turn, says Nick Shirripa, MDOT spokesperson. By eliminating one lane in each direction, we're making that turn shorter. You have to look for fewer gaps instead of looking for two gaps."

MDOT says this stretch of road has a crash history and something needed to be changed. Those who live nearby agree.

It's always interesting because you have multiple lanes pulling in and people speed -- never within the speed limit," says Beth Perrone, who lives in Berrien Springs.

Some community members say they've been asking for a traffic light, but MDOT says reducing the lanes is the best option.

MDOT will be holding a public meeting Monday to get more input.

"This is a chance for folks to tell us what they think, says Schirripa. If they have some feedback. If they have some different ideas they'd like to see implemented. Maybe if we've missed something in a local context, to let us know."

And those who drive the road every day are hoping this "road diet" is a healthy diet.

"Will it be safer or will it not? It will be interesting," says Perrone.

MDOT says construction on the project could begin by the end of the summer. Mondays public meeting is at the Oronoko Township Hall from 4-6 p.m.

Read more here:
MDOT hopes 'road diet' will improve M-139 safety - WSBT-TV

Garlic is heavily associated with Italian food, grows all over the world and has a very strong and distinct smell. It makes things taste amazing, while making your breath afterward questionable at best. Cest la vie, that is what breath mints are for.

Garlic is a plant in the onion family. It grows in bulb form and then the bulbs can be separated into cloves. Cloves can be chopped, minced, or crushed to be used in your recipes. Garlic is fantastic, but today I want to tell you about the garlic scape. The scape is the flowering tendril that grows out of the ground above the bulb and these are also completely edible. Theyre green, slim and very pretty because they bend and loop sort of like a pigs tail. Theyre a more delicate garlic flavor than the bulb, without the hot bite. Even with all of these attributes, theyre not well-known, so you can buy some, add them to your pasta dish and astound your friends with your worldliness.

Other than adding depth and delicious taste to your pizza, garlic is also something you should seek out for health purposes. People have actually been using garlic for its health benefits for millennia. Garlic is so good for you that some people now take it in supplement form. Im a firm believer that if you can get the same benefits from adding something tasty to your diet, then that is the way to go, and garlic is pretty darn tasty. Anyway, you can acquire the same benefits from both the bulb and the scape part of the plant. Garlic is low in calories while also being highly nutritious. It contains manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, selenium and fiber, as well as decent amounts of iron, potassium, copper and calcium. Many benefits are also derived from the chemical compound called allicin, which is an antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral. There have been many studies linking garlic and allicin to the reduction of high blood pressure, the lowering of bad cholesterol, support of the immune system and increased bone strength.

So if youve been won over and want to try and add more garlicky goodness to your diet, try the following recipe, adapted from Healthy Gourmet. Impress your friends, improve your health and keep the Altoids handy.

SUMMER E-SCAPE SKINNY DIP

Ingredients:

3 cups green peas, fresh or thawed

1 tbsp. yellow mustard

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup garlic scapes, chopped

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Serve with fresh veggies.

Makes three cups.

Miranda Beverly-Gill is the front-end manager and marketing coordinator at Maple City Market in downtown Goshen.

Continue reading here:
CLEAN PLATE: Add more garlicky goodness to your diet - Goshen News

It is crucial for all of us to understand that what we put in our bodies affects much more than our outward physical appearance. In fact, in recent years, even medical professionals are adamant that what we eat can have a significant impact on disease outcomes and our overall health.

Regularly consuming foods that are known to cause chronic inflammation has been linked to the onset and acceleration of major illnesses including cancer, Alzheimers, heart diseases, diabetes and depression. Conversely, consuming foods with anti-inflammatory properties can aid in the prevention and intervention of such diseases.

"Many experimental studies have shown that components of foods or beverages may have anti-inflammatory effects," says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Below you will find a list of foods that cause inflammation and foods that decrease inflammation. It is important to be mindful of how you feed your body day in and day out. Just like you would care for your car to keep it running better and longer, you must think of your body as a well-oiled machine that needs to be maintained in the same way to avoid breaking down.

Red meat Many meat products contain high amounts of saturated fat, and epidemiological studies suggest that diets rich in this type of fat tend to promote inflammation.

Fried foods Fried and processed foods such as French fries, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, and onion rings contain high levels of inflammatory advanced glycation end products (AGEs), compounds that form when products are cooked at high temperatures, pasteurized, dried, smoked, fried, or grilled. Researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that when people cut out processed and fried foods that have high levels of AGEs, markers of inflammation in their body diminished.

Refined carbohydrates White flour and products with high glycemic indexes such as pizza, pasta, crackers, cookies, can cause blood sugar levels to spike and trigger the bodys inflammatory response. High glycemic diets also have been linked with increased blood levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory marker associated with heart disease.

Soda & sugar The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition warns that processed sugars found in sodas, sweet treats, and sugary beverages trigger the release of inflammatory messengers called cytokines. Sugar goes by many names so look out for any word ending in ose e.g., fructose or sucrose on ingredient labels.

Olive oil - Olive oil contains a natural anti-inflammatory agent and may be partly responsible for the low levels of heart disease among those following a Mediterranean diet. Use olive oil on salads and when you cook instead of butter or vegetable oil.

Dark leafy greens Vitamin E may be key in protecting the body against pro-inflammatory molecules called cytokines. One of the best sources of this vitamin is in dark green vegetables such as spinach, Swiss chard, kale and broccoli.

Whole grains To maximize nutrition while minimizing inflammation, stick to whole grains such as barley, quinoa, rye, or brown rice when you shop or cook. Many of these grains are also gluten-free but be sure to check labels if you have celiac disease or a gluten intolerance.

Fatty fish - Oily fish, like salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to help reduce inflammation. To get the benefits, however, you need to eat fish several times a week, and it should be cooked in healthy ways.

Nuts - Another source of inflammation-fighting healthy fats is nuts particularly almonds, which are rich in fiber, calcium and vitamin E, and walnuts, which have high amounts of alpha-linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fat. All nuts, though, are packed with antioxidants, which can help your body fight off and repair the damage caused by inflammation.

Other fruits & vegetables Fruits and vegetables in general are rich in antioxidants, such as flavonoids, carotenoids and vitamins A, C and E. These antioxidants help reduce inflammation. The more brightly colored the fruit or vegetable, the richer it is likely to be in these beneficial substances. Good choices include spinach, berries, carrots and broccoli. Eat all different colors of fruits and vegetables, preferably organic and either fresh or frozen rather than canned, for the most benefits. Different colors indicate different nutrients.

For more information about the anti-inflammatory diet, Dr. Andrew Weil considered to be the father of integrative medicine, speaks volumes on the subject. Hisanti-inflammatory food pyamidillustrates in more detail the way he suggests we all eat for graceful aging and vibrant longevity.

I hope you find this information as helpful as I have. Please feel free to share your stories here. I will continue to keep you posted on my health journey.Follow me for updates@christiemandia.

Link:
Eat your way to good health: the anti-inflammatory diet decoded - PhillyVoice.com