The Old Cooker

The Old Cooker

Your heart … and water




How many people do you know who say they don't want to drink anything before going to bed because they'll have to get up during the night?

The reason some people have a need to urinate often at night is that gravity holds water in the lower part of your body when you are upright (your legs swell). When you lie down and the lower body seeks a level with the kidneys, it is then that the kidneys remove the water because it is easier.

Your body needs a minimum amount of water to help flush the toxins out of your body. There is never a bad time to drink water but consider the following as being especially good times:

·       Drinking 2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs

·       Drinking 1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion

·       Drinking 1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure

·       Drinking 1 glass of water before going to bed – may avoid a stroke or heart attack

Water at bed time will also help prevent night time leg cramps. Your leg muscles are seeking hydration when they cramp and wake you up with a Charlie Horse. My doctor told me that this is a very common occurrence but wasn’t sure what caused it. Now you know how you may be able to prevent it.

Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A.M. and noon. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened.

1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night. The reason: aspirin has a 24-hour "half-life"; therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the aspirin would be strongest in your system. This was confirmed to me by a long-time doctor friend.

 2. Aspirin can last a long time in your medicine chest, for years. You can tell when it gets old because it begin to smell like vinegar.

3. Keep a bottle of at your bedside. By now you should have researched the symptoms of a heart attack regardless of your age. But there are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. You should also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating, however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently. You should also know that there are instances in which there may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack.

Unfortunately, the majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did not wake up. However if chest pain does wake you up from your deep sleep immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water. Then call 911. Say "heart attack!" - Say that you have taken 2 aspirins.  If you are able, try to also call a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by. Then take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and ... DO NOT LIE DOWN!

[Source: edited from www.healthdigeZt.com]
 
Quote of the Day:
 
"Water is the driving force of all nature"
- Leonardo da Vinci
 
 

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Sodium: Don’t ya love it?






A shake of salt makes everything taste better. Right?

Salt on your eggs at breakfast, salt on your burger at lunch, salt on your steak at dinner, salt on your popcorn for an evening snack. The list goes on. I recently tested a new “improved” taco seasoning mix for McCormick and was unpleasantly surprised that they suggested using the whole packet, a whopping 2280 mg of sodium in a 1.25 oz packet, adding to what’s already in the other ingredients. But then, that’s for 6 tacos and my appetite usually tells me that 3 is my limit.
Even so, that’s 1140 mg of added sodium which is getting pretty close to the 2300 mg that the Institute of Medicine recommends per day as the Adequate Intake level for most Americans. Note that if you are in only one of the categories below your sodium limit drops to no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day.

•You are 51 years of age or older.
•You are African American.
•You have high blood pressure.
•You have diabetes.
•You have chronic kidney disease.

So, how well do you do on a daily basis when you grab a bite at your favorite restaurant?  Check it out below (these are all PER PERSON):


Red Robin: A-1 Peppercorn Monster Burger, with Steak Fries and Monster Salted Caramel Milkshake - 6,280mg



The Cheesecake Factory: Bruléed French Toast with optional bacon - 2,230



Famous Dave’s: The Big Slab - 4,320mg




The Cheesecake Factory: Farfalle with Chicken and Roasted Garlic - 1,370mg



BJ’s Brewhouse: Small Deep Dish Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza (small) - 4,680mg



Chevys: Super Cinco Combo - 3,950




Joe’s Crab Shack: The Big “Hook” Up - 7,610mg




Maggiano’s Little Italy: Prime New York Steak Contadina Style - 5,260mg


I know “but it all looks so good”. If you eat this kind of stuff often do your heart a favor and at least don’t reach for the shaker to add even more salt.

[Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest]



QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

“Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food
- William Hazlitt



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Bacon wrapped chicken


This is an exceptionally easy recipe to prepare but looks and tastes great. Start with 5 oz lean chicken breasts, rub them with your favorite choice of dry seasonings and wrap each filet with two slices of bacon.  Bake them in a 400 degree oven for 40 - 45 minutes and serve. The bottoms will be quite greasy so I like to place them first on a few folded paper towels on a paper plate to drain.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

"I want to grow my own foods but I can't find any bacon seeds"

- Unknown


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Nantucket Pie


Nantucket pie is great all year around but especially festive for Autumn through the Holidays. This recipe was given to me by my friend Benita who brought it to a post-Christmas Julbord festival. It is easy to make and was a big hit at our event.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups chopped cranberries
  • 1-1/2 cut chopped pecans
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cup flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-1/2 sticks melted butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a deep pie dish with non-fat cooking spray. Mix the flour, sugar, eggs, melted butter, salt and almond extract. Spread the cranberries and pecans in pie dish and sprinkle the sugar over the top, then pour the mixture prepared above over the top.

Bake 30 - 40 minutes.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

"There are four unbroken rules when it comes to Thanksgiving: there must be turkey and dressing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.”

- John Hadamuscin


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