Chris's Weblog – City Chickens

My diary from 2006

Tag Archive: health

Chris's Weblog - City Chickens > health

Dehydration and Rehydration

May 21, 2020 Family, Health , , ,

Last winter I had a very scary health event that included severe dehydration and so that made me aware of the dangers of this condition. I have recently been having symptoms of dehydration again, namely,:-

  • giddiness
  • headaches
  • confusion
  • dry skin
  • dry eyes
  • dark urine
  • tiredness
  • lack of skin elasticity

Scientists warn that the ability to be aware of and respond to thirst is slowly blunted as we age. As a result, older people do not feel thirst as readily as younger people do. This increases the chances of them consuming less water and consequently suffering dehydration

The body loses water as we age. Until about age 40, the proportion of total body fluids to body weight is about 60% in men and 52% in women. After age 60, the proportion goes down to 52% in men and 46% in women. The reason for the decline is the loss of muscle mass as one ages and a corresponding increase in fat cells.

Drinking at least five glasses of water daily reduces the risk of fatal coronary heart disease among older adults. This is a shocking statistic and one we should all take heed of.

Sudden shifts in the body’s water balance can frequently result in dehydration and the physical changes associated with aging expose the elderly in particular to the risks of dehydration. One serious danger to the elderly is that they may not know about their dehydrated condition, which could lead to it not being treated and result in more serious consequences.

The kidneys’ ability to remove toxins from the blood progressively declines with age. This means the kidneys are not as efficient in concentrating urine in less water thus older people lose more water. The information listed on my medical notes includes CKD which is chronic kidney disease. Whilst I realise that this is a common condition in people of my age I do try to drink more water as directed by my GP.

However, I have made a decision to be more proactive with regard to this particular health issue and so have been researching what food supplements I could use to aid my rehydration.

ORS Dispersable Tablets

These tablets must be dissolved in a glass of water to make a drink that is easier to take than the large tablets. The tablets are fruit flavoured making them easier to drink.

Ingredients per tablet dissolved in 100ml of water

  • Glucose/ Sugar /Energy 8.6kcal
  • Citric Acid,
  • Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate
  • Sodium Chloride /Salt 176mg
  • Potassium Chloride 150mg
  • Colourant Beetroot
  • Blackcurrant Flavour
  • Polyethylene Glycol 6000
  • Sweetener/Aspartame
  • Kollidon K25

These tablets are said to contain a balanced formula of electrolytes, glucose & minerals. They do not contain yeast, gluten or lactose. They are free from artificial preservatives and are suitable for vegans and vegetarians. They are cheap to buy and easy to take so I will give them a try. It’s the 21st of May and I have been taking them for one week so I will report back in another three weeks and note any progress.

Electrolytes produce ions and enable the body to function. Body fluid contains electrolytes, chemicals which, when they dissolve in water, produce charged ions. These ions enable the flow of electrical signals through the body.

The major electrolytes: sodium, potassium, and chloride. Electrolytes are substances that dissociate in solution and have the ability to conduct an electrical current. These substances are located in the extracellular and intracellular fluid.

Electrolytes are minerals that conduct electrical impulses in the body when mixed with water. It’s important that you have the correct balance of electrolytes as they are involved in many essential processes within the body.

Some of the most common electrolytes in the human body include calcium, chloride, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.

Mild dehydration can usually be treated by taking more fluids by mouth. Generally, it’s best to drink something with some electrolytes, such as a commercial rehydration solution, though in most cases, even drinking water or tea will help. Be creative and make having a drink an occasion instead of a task. It goes without saying “No Alcohol”. That causes dehydration.

Strawberry and Coconut Water

Strawberries and Coconut Water

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (250ml) of fresh coconut water
  • 1 cup (250 ml) strawberries sliced
  • sugar or sweetener

Directions

  • To make the sugar syrup boil sugar and water together.
  • Add one cup of coconut water.
  • Combine the strawberries and sugar or blend.
  • Serve with ice.

This drink sounds wonderful but the combinations are endless.

Swiss Chard White Silver

May 1, 2020 Cooking, Garden, Salad, Vegetables , , , , ,

Swiss Chard White Silver

I have sown seeds of white swiss chard today, May 1st, as I came across them whilst looking for herbs. Swiss Chard is a favourite of mine that we grew every year at the allotment. It is a very giving plant and needs very little maintenance once established. It is a member of the beet family. When we visited the allotment after being away for a whole year the chard was still there looking as healthy and inviting as ever. Day 7 and a few green shoots have appeared in the Chard pot. Potted on today 24th of May.

The variety of chard that I had seeds of is White Silver which has wide white stems. The early leaves can be used in salads. Later, use the tops as you would use spinach. Treated as a separate vegetable the stems can be sliced and cooked in boiling water and eaten with butter, salt and pepper – simple, tender and tasty.

I prefer to chop the whole stem and leaf and toss it in the pan with a little oil and lemon juice. Put the sliced stem in first and cook a little before adding the leaf as it takes a little longer to soften whereas the leaf wilts very quickly. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Perfect beside fish or steak.

Swiss Chard White Silver

White Silver is a classic Swiss Chard with thick white stems and glossy, rich green leaves. With an RHS Award of Garden Merit, this robust leaf beet is a versatile addition to the vegetable plot or even the flower border. Baby leaves can be used in salads while the juicy, mature stems can be chopped and steamed, or used to add a sweet crunch to stir-fries. Mature leaves can be used as a delicious spinach substitute. Sow Swiss Chard ‘White Silver’ up until August for cropping into the New Year. Thompson&Morgan.

Swiss Chard

Finally, Swiss Chard is very good for you being naturally low in calories and carbohydrates but very high in Vitamins K, A and C. A diet rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits has been shown to lower heart disease risk factors, Swiss chard is an excellent source of potassium, calcium and magnesium, minerals that help maintain healthy blood pressure. There is also current research that indicates that these leafy greens can actually lower LDL cholesterol.

Herbs – Parsley, Sage and Thyme

May 1, 2020 Cooking, Garden, Herbs , , , , , ,

Inspired by Gardeners World I have sown a pot of mixed herbs. Just one large pot. The lady on TV had plenty of ready grown herbs and was potting them up into a large container. Expensive, instant herb garden. I only had a ten-inch pot and a few old seed packets plus a new bag of multi-purpose compost. I have searched through my seedbox and I don’t have any Rosemary seeds to make up the foursome.

The seeds are sown and now on the window ledge. I have watered them and enclosed the pot in a polythene bag to preserve the moisture. I estimate that germination should take place between two and four weeks.

Sage Broad Leaved

The perennial broad leaved variety of Sage that I have sown takes a little longer to germinate. I have grown this variety before at the allotment and as I remember it formed a beautiful shrubby bush with downy grey-green leaves and purple flowers. The taste is strong and distinctive and the aroma is wonderful. I will be happy if I manage to get one bush for the garden as the seeds are quite old.

The leaves of this herb are usually mixed with onion and breadcrumbs to make a delicious stuffing for pork or chicken. However, its unique taste and aroma enhance the flavour of many dishes.

Sage

Only seven days have passed and already many green shoots have appeared.

Parsley Italian Giant

Parsley comes in two main types, flat leaved and curly leaved. The seeds I had are of a flat-leaved variety and are the ones I prefer to use in cooking. The variety that I have sown is Italian Giant. This parsley has a distinctive flavour and is good with fish, salads and soups. It is easy to grow indoors or outdoors, as it is very hardy with good frost resistance.

Flat Parsley

Thyme English Winter

The variety of Thyme I have sown is English Winter. Thymus Vulgaris is a hardy evergreen perennial with dark green leaves that are followed by clusters of small pink flowers. This herb hails from the Mediterranean and can be picked all year round. The active ingredient in the leaves is Thymol which lends the herb its strong flavour and antiseptic properties. Thyme is used in cooking to flavour meat and stews. It is the classic herb used in bouquet garni and enhances the taste of most meats.

Thyme

In addition to livening up the flavour of food, the thyme plant is also the source of thyme essential oil. Thyme oil has antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. It is commonly used as a preservative in foods, cosmetics, and toiletries.

Sowing Saved Bell Pepper Seeds – Capsicum

February 16, 2018 Cooking, Vegetables , , , ,

Bell Peppers from saved supermarket seeds:

I hate to be negative but last  year I raised loads of pepper plants but didn’t harvest any edible fruits. I saved lots of seeds from bought peppers over the year and having had successful germination with saved seeds before I am once again sowing seeds of green, yellow and red bell peppers. I have obviously been doing something wrong when it comes to producing edible peppers so its back to researching the internet for growing tips for me. I have had good germination, potted on some good strong plants but sadly rarely got to eat the fruits of my labour. Below is a list of points that I gathered from my research.

Update on 17th February – One 7″ pot of moist compost sown with about 30 seeds of red, yellow and green peppers wrapped in a plastic food bag and put on the computer box for a little bottom heat. Fingers crossed.

Update Easter Sunday 1st April 2018 – The germination was amazing and today I am potting on the best twelve of the Bell Peppers grown from saved seed.

New sowing of bought seeds 1st April – I bought  new seeds of a yellow, sweet long chilli pepper. The variety is Sweet Banana from Seekay. I have sown four seeds today along with another pot of four saved seeds of a long red chilli pepper that I bought from Lidl. They were packed with seeds so I couldn’t resist saving them.

Important points to remember when growing peppers.

  •  Pepper plants are slow growing and need plenty of time to produce fruit before frost.
  • They are an ideal plant for container growing.
  • They need rich well draining soil with added calcium and regular watering.

Facts

  • Germination is 10 to 15 days
  • Harvest should  be 65 to 100 days
  • Require full sun.
  • Regular and frequent watering.
  • Rich soil with added calcium.
  • Ideal for containers.

Tips

  • To promote growth place a mat of tinfoil around the base of the plants to help the plant benefit from direct and reflective heat and light.
  • Sweet bell peppers are known for their high vitamin C, A and B6 content.
  • Plants should not be outside until the soil is warm, so start your seeds indoors in order to get a harvest before winter.
  • Find your expected last frost date and sow pepper seeds eight weeks before.

Bell peppers are some of the most versatile vegetables in the kitchen. They can be sautéed  with onions, sliced or diced in salads, soups, and casseroles. They can be stuffed, grilled, used on sandwiches, or simply sliced for a fresh, flavorful, and crunchy snack. These colourful vegetables  have a high vitamin and mineral content. Regular consumption of green peppers, which contain more than twice the vitamin C of an orange, helps protect against disease, boosts the immune system, lowers inflammation in the arteries that can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and cholesterol build up. Other nutritional benefits of bell peppers include thiamin, niacin, folate, magnesium and copper. 

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Aicok Juicer

February 8, 2018 Cooking , , ,

I have recently treated myself to a juicer. Initially it was to use up all the frozen berries that had accumulated in the freezer because I hadn’t been making jam. However, I am now very keen to try to consume a daily smoothie having read about the health benefits. Apparently its not just fruit that can be used up by juicing but vegetables too. My Aicok Juicer is small and was relatively cheap and is the centrifugal type.

There are two main types of juicer, centrifugal, the most popular and the cheapest and masticating cold press or slow juicers.  Centrifugal machines shred ingredients with their toothed blades on the bottom of a spinning sieve with a force that separates the juice from the pulp. They often have two speeds for hard or soft fruits and veg while pricier ones sometimes enable you to juice particularly soft fruits like berries. Centrifugal juicers generally tend to be smaller than masticating ones and work quickly. Some don’t even require you to chop fruit and veg up first. Masticating or cold press machines crush fruit and veg using slowly rotating augers that press out the juice through a punctured screen. There’s little they can’t juice but be warned, they are slower and often trickier to clean.

The next step is to discover which fruit and vegetables mix well together and which ones taste good. It seems obvious to me that any fruit and veg are healthy but not all go well together. The first experiment was made from what was available in the kitchen on that day. I had two bananas, half a pineapple and a few grapes plus a couple of scoops of Greek yoghurt and a good spoon of honey. This first try taught me something. I put everything that I was using in together through the little funnel to be juiced. Wrong!!! I should have just juiced the fruit and then added the yoghurt and honey to the smoothie afterwards. Made perfect sense after the event. I have since made juice with some frozen red currants, blackberries and raspberries that have been sitting in the freezer since last Autumn. I think I am going to love my new gadget. A few days on and although I have enjoyed quite a few smoothie drinks I am dismayed at the pulp waste which gathers in the bottom of the machine. I have given some to the chickens and composted some but am still shocked at the amount of waste created. I think citrus fruit in particular is still best done by hand in the old fashioned squeezer.

 

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Look Up Stretch Up – 2018

January 2, 2018 Family, Yoga ,

I am a great believer in the benefits of Hatha Yoga and having had to have a break from it during the time I was looking after Adam I was eager to get started again. However, it was a good twelve months after he passed away before I felt strong enough to go back to my class. I knew it would take time to get back to fitness, especially at my age, but was determined to try. Now my teacher and the rest of my class mates are, to be polite, quite mature ladies. After a few weeks of puffing and panting and trying to get back to a semblance of fitness my teacher became ill. She had been battling cancer in my absence and had a relapse. At 80 years old she is still a strong woman but classes have been suspended for the foreseeable future. I am on my own. I know what I have to do but haven’t been doing it. On top of this my winter belly is stopping me from touching my toes and cutting my toenails. Drastic action is required. Advice from those who know is to practice little and often and to have a sequence or a plan in mind before you start. Quiet time, space and comfortable clothes are essential. I found the header image online so I hope the lady doesn’t mind.

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Kalms – Herbal Medicine for PTSD and Insomnnia

December 8, 2017 Family, Herbs ,

Life, for the majority of us, is littered with tragedies and mine is no exception. Like most I have tried to count my blessings and carry on. However I have been persuaded  to get some help in the form of Kalms. Update – One month on and I have to say that the Kalms have definitely helped me to get some undisturbed sleep. I only take one at bedtime and as if by magic the flashbacks seem to be much less and some nights not there at all.
  • Kalms is a traditional herbal medicinal product used for the  relief of symptoms of stress, mild anxiety,  irritability and sleep disturbances.
  • Kalms Lavender One-A-Day Capsules is a traditional herbal medicine used for the temporary relief of  mild anxiety, stress and nervousness.
  • Kalms Night and Kalms  One-a-Night are traditional herbal medicinal products used for the temporary relief of sleep disturbances.
All contain Valerian Root, Gentian and Hops.

Valerian

Valerian is a perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers that bloom in the summer. Its flower extracts were used as a perfume in the 16th century. Valerian has soothing, calming properties which counteracts anxiety and has been used traditionally to promote sleep. Valerian, also known as Valeriana officinalis, is a flowering plant native to Europe and Asia. The root of the plant has long been used in herbal medicine for a variety of conditions such as sleeping difficulties, digestive complaints, anxiety and headaches.

Gentian

Gentian, one of the bitter herbs, has been used by herbalists for over two thousand years to help stimulate liver function. It was named as a tribute to Gentius, an Illyrian king who was believed to have discovered that the herb had healing properties. Gentian root herb comes from the yellow gentian plant, Gentiana lutea. This European native produces wrinkled, light to dark brown roots commonly used to make health supplements.

Hop

The hop first attracted attention as a medicinal herb in early Egypt.  It was later used in Europe to treat liver disease and general digestive complaints. Hops have a long history of use in folk medicine where they have been used to treat a variety of complaints. For example, hops are thought to have a sedative action and have been traditionally used in hop pillows for the relief of insomnia. Also, hops have been used as herbal antibiotics and were incorporated into wound salves and anti-inflammatory compresses. Hops also have a long-standing reputation for their ability to affect women’s hormonal balance, being used in hop baths to treat menstrual disturbances. The list continues, with hops being reputed to alleviate migraines, earache, bed-wetting, leprosy, travel sickness, digestive problems, kidney stones and coughing. With so many cures ascribed to one plant, it is easy to see how many viewed them as old wives tales. However, over the last few years there has been a major change in attitudes. New technologies have been developed which allow the rapid and relatively inexpensive testing of chemicals both synthetic and natural as cures for chronic diseases. As a result, pharmaceutical researchers have taken an increased interest in herbal remedies in their hunt for new medicines.

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Pear – Pyrus Communis

August 23, 2010 Garden , ,

Surprisingly the pear tree is a relative of the rose and the quince. Of our three pear trees in the garden only one has given us a decent amount of fruit this year. The Red Williams, a Minarette,  did have three baby pears but only one has reached maturity. It is a corker however and we are looking forward to next year when we may see more fruit. The Conference has no fruit at all but is a very healthy tree. The Beurre Hardy has about fourteen fruit all looking great and they should be ready to harvest soon. Late September or October is the time for picking pears I believe so it wont be long now.

Pears are a good source of vitamin B6 and vitamin C, potassium and copper. A slow-releasing energy fruit, excellent for helping to balance blood sugar levels.

 

Hatha Yoga

April 23, 2010 Yoga , ,

Yoga is my latest passion. I have been thinking about trying it for years and done nothing about it but on Mother’s day this year Deb and Sean, my son and his partner, got me all enthused again. Deb has been going twice a week for about a year now and can’t recommend it enough. The lady that I was going to go to years ago, Marie, proved elusive and after much searching on the net and looking in the local papers I had all but given up when serendipity stepped in and I bumped right into her in Sainsbury’s. That was it. On the following Thursday night I presented my very stiff old body at her class and haven’t looked back since. I have been going twice a week and have made some lovely new friends as an added bonus. I feel so much better in myself after such a short time. It’s all about control, stretching and breathing and makes such sense for a lady of a certain age. Thanks Sean and Deb for the inspiration and the new yoga mat.

Hatha Yoga is a particular system of Yoga that focuses on the belief that purification of the physical body  leads to the purification of ha, the mind and tha, vital energy. Compared to the seated meditation posture it marks the development of asana, the full body postures now popular. wiki

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Brussel Sprouts

April 12, 2010 Allotments, Herbs , ,

Brussel Sprouts are a good source of Thiamine, Riboflavin, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Today we planted up the new brassica cage with twenty Brussel Sprout plants and fifteen Cauliflowers. We gave them a feed of blood fish and bone and circled them with lime and slug pellets. I tidied up the salad tent and sowed three rows of spring onion and a row of salad leaf. I also sowed a largish pot with coriander seeds. Apart from being a useful herb they look and smell good.

As the weather has been dry for days on end we gave everything a good water too.