Next time you have a sinus headache try the following simple treatment:

soak your hands or feet in hot water for several minutes.

My husband was suffering from a sinus headache the other day so I suggested he try this out.  He was delighted to find that soon after starting to soak his hands in hot water he could feel the pressure on his sinuses starting to ease and the headache receding.

Give it a try the next time you are suffering from a sinus headache.

You may also find it works for other types of headaches.

Thanks to our friend Irina for mentioning this to us.

My husband recently had a cough which although not serious, seemed to persist.
We don’t like to take medicine when we can avoid it, and have been gradually learning more about Ayurveda.  I thought there must be some natural cough remedies used in Ayurvedic medicine, so decided to investigate.

I found the following remedies which almost looked too simple to be effective.
Guess what… Ken tried them and they worked!!!

Apparently the heating quality of black pepper helps relieve congestion and drives out the cough.

For a cough with mucus:

Mix 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper powder with 1 teaspoon of honey.
and eat on a full stomach 2 or 3 times a day.

For a dry cough or a cough without much mucus:

Mix 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper powder with 1 teaspoon of honey and eat with some ripe banana  2 or 3 times a day.

Refer to the excellent book: ‘The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies’  by Vasant Lad for more information.

( For those of you that are wondering, the cause of Ken’s cough was probably the result of breathing construction dust, not a health related issue. )

Vitamin B-12 is essential for good health. If you are on a plant based diet you should seriously consider taking a vitamin B-12 supplement. You may not be getting enough of this important vitamin through diet alone.

Vitamin B-12 can be taken orally as a pill that you swallow, or sublingually as a pill that you allow to dissolve under the tongue or a liquid that you put under the tongue. It is also available as an injection.

There are differing opinions as to the most effective way of delivering Vitamin B-12. Some believe that sublingual is better than just swallowing a pill, but there does not seem to be any solid research that supports this conclusion. The dosage you should take depends on your particular situation.

A blood test is available to test your vitamin B-12 level.

At vitamin B-12 levels only slightly lower than normal, symptoms such as fatigue, depression and poor memory may occur.

Another consideration: it has also been observed that as people age they may be unable to absorb naturally occurring vitamin B-12 in foods. Sometimes an injection appears to be an effective way of delivering the vitamin in such cases.

Over the past week I finally found enough time to read Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman M.D.

I was delighted at how much valuable information the book provides in a very easy to read presentation. I know I shall be revisiting this book regularly as I work on incorporating more of Dr. Fuhrman’s ideas and refining my approach to healthy nutrition.

The recipes at the back look interesting, and I’ll be giving them a try soon.

I encourage you to do yourself and your loved ones a favor by reading this book.

I have  just posted a new recipe for Vegan Shish Kabobs.

Great for celebrating memorial day with others around the grill.