Domestic Geek

Back in the old days (like Pioneer times), sugar was a luxury. If you ever read any of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, you know that sugar was for the most special of occasions.

My friend Amy does not allow any kind of flour, sugar or caffeine into her diet. As with caffeine, I was totally amazed at how much sugar (especially refined and modified sugar) is in everything. Food manufacturers put sugar in just about everything because it makes them taste better to our whacked out taste buds.

I've started eliminating some sugar sources and I'm amazed at how much better I feel already. I'll go into a little more detail in the next post why sugar is so bad for us.

Since I'm about to go get myself a big old cup of coffee, I guess there's not a better time than the present to talk about caffeine.

It truly is an addictive substance. All you need for proof of this is to observe anyone trying to kick the caffeine habit: increased irritability, moodiness, headaches, etc.

Unfortunately, caffeine is in a lot of products. I had no idea how pervasive the substance is until I met someone who has an allergy to caffeine. I was floored at all of the things she can't have: chocolate, soda, tea, even some pain relievers and other OTC medicines contain some. Even items labeled as decaffeinated can still have trace amounts of it. It's also not always called caffeine in the labels.

Caffeine is a diuretic and can deplete the body of needed electrolytes. It also hampers the ability to lose weight. Then there is the sleep disruption and the stress on the body causes by the rollercoaster adrenaline levels.

It's one substance I'm trying to wean myself from.

Edit: Prompted by Marisa's comment, here's an article about the effects of caffeine on weight loss.

A gross topic, I know. Guys, feel free to skip this one.

As I mentioned last time, antibiotics kill off the good bacteria in our bodies that keep yeast in check. Everyone, men and women alike, have yeast in their bodies. It's only when our bodies get out of whack that it becomes a problem.

Yeast infections are also not just vaginal or in the genital area. I've had out of control yeast in my armpits and in my mouth. It's an extremely painful.

There are several steps you can take to keep yeast in check. One already mentioned is to use antibiotics sparingly. Diet is also important. Eating natural yogurt with live cultures (and no high fructose corn syrup) helps keep yeast in line. In the mouth, don't overuse mouthwashes and as far as other areas of the body, keep them clean and as dry as possible. Yeast thrive in warm, damp area.

When I was a little kid, I spent a whole lot of time being sick. In addition to the constant cigarette smoke I was breathing and causing major respiratory problems, anytime I got the slightest fever, Mom (bless her well meaning heart) would give me Tylenol, aspirin or some other fever reducer. We also had a pediatrician that would give me a booster shot of penicillin and prescribe antibiotics for the slightest hint of sickness (even for viruses that wouldn't be affected by them).

It wasn't until I was in college that I learned that you should let fevers run their course unless they're dangerously high. I seriously didn't know that it was the body's way of fighting off microorganisms that had invaded it. See, some of these can only live in a body at normal temperature. By popping drugs at the first sign of fever, I was allowing them to take over my body and ultimately it would take me longer to get well.

Look at what has happened in medicine thanks to the likes of my pediatrician. There are more and more drug resistant strains of many bugs. Not only that, but antibiotics throw off the delicate balance in our bodies by killing off good bacteria (such as those that keep yeast in check).

Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for your health. My friend Marisa agrees. She used to be a smoker and has succeeded in giving them up. I know many people that smoke get really irate when you bring up this fact. Seriously, though, they call them cancer sticks for a reason.

This one is near and dear to me because I lost my mother indirectly to smoking. She developed pneumonia while being sick (smoking lowers your immune system), slipped into a diabetic coma and ultimately passed away. While she was in the hospital, they were pumping all of the crap out of her lungs and it was solid black for days. Totally grossed me out.

You can't get proper oxygen to your system when you're choking it out with smoke. Then there are the chemicals you put into your system. Besides being bad for you, the danged things are expensive. Just to let you know that I've been there, I used to smoke back when I was in college (late '80s) and gave them up then because they were costly. Look at how much the price has increased since then!

I have a couple of other friends online that are trying to give up the habit — good luck to Marcus W. and Cass in this endeavor.