Committed to Being the Best	FALL 2006

The Healthy Corner by Karen Kaczmarek

Do you have dry, itchy skin? Here are some easy remedies. 1.  Hot water removes the oil from your skin, so shower in lukewarm water for no more than 10 minutes. 2.  After your shower quickly towel off and slather yourself in moisturizer.  Use an ointment or a cream rather than a lotion, which contains skin drying water. 3.  Invest in a humidifier; the drying effects of the indoor heat makes for dry skin. 4.  Drink water; hydrate yourself from the inside out and drink at least 8 eight ounce gasses of water each day.      Trying to Remember  As we age our memory tends to fail us more and more.  Did you know it could be a health related issue?  Depression:  Mood disorders affect attention and concentration. High Blood Pressure:  Hypertension can cut down on blood flow to the brain. Thyroid Disease:  Hypothyroidism (too little of the hormone) slows down information processing whereas hyperthyroidism (too much of the hormone) gives you distracting physical sensations which make it hard to concentrate. Diabetes:  Fluctuations in blood sugar interfere with attention. Check with your doctor and relay your concerns.   An Apple A Day  As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but not just any doctor, An apple a day may help keep the neurologist away and along with the cognitive decline that often accompanies aging and diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.  A food scientist recently found that a nutrient in apples can protect rat brain cells from damage.  The nutrient provided even more protection that Vitamin C.   When the cards and the germs are wild……  Money isn’t the only thing people put to chance when they gather around the card table.  If you play a game regularly, you are likely to win an opponents’ achy, oozing cold.  In fact, the sniffles are a more sure bet than going home with the most chips.  Let’s say you are sick, you cough into your hands, and then you pick up the cards, shuffle and deal.  Now the chances are the germs from your hands are on the cards, someone at the card table is very likely to turn up sick the next day.  The solution, wash your hands!  It is as simple as that.