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Why you should keep a banana in your pocket on your next night out
21st September 2007
A Scotsman, a German and a South African walk into a
bar...
Sorry, not a bar, a barn.
No, this isn't a joke. And before you call the police, Lara
hasn't slipped something into my tea either.
The Scotsman, the German and the South African I'm
referring to were all guests at a fantastic wedding I went
to last weekend.
And it just so happened to be in a barn.
This really was one of the best days of the year for me.
First, I watched a man I NEVER thought I'd see get
married say 'I do' to his lovely girlfriend.
Sorry, wife.
Second, they made such an effort to make sure everyone
had a good time that no one wanted it to end. Plenty to
eat and drink, great music, great company...
Plus, against all the odds, the sun was shining.
Honestly, I'd have put money on it raining locusts than it
being sunny judging by the summer we've had.
But they couldn't have picked a better day.
It was like a walking, talking advert for the good life.
So, in celebration of the lovely couple, I'm going to make
today's issue a wedding special.
Bear with me... the theme gets a bit stretched at times.
But the wedding encapsulated so much about what's
good in life that I think we should all make a special
effort to enjoy ourselves this weekend.
Enjoy good food.
Have a drink.
Maybe even risk a little dance.
So without further ado...
How to fight heartburn with something slippery
- Slippery Elm is an effective soothing herb if your stomach is complaining about the amount you've stuffed in there. And the best way to take it is in tea form.
You can buy slippery elm in powdered format(but watch out for ones with added sugar).
Slippery elm has a pretty thick consistency, so mix a
teaspoon of it with a little cold water until it forms a smooth paste, THEN add boiling water. If you've got a sweet tooth, add somehoney.
- Peppermint tea is also a great after-dinner drink (or in my case after 3rd slice of wedding cake drink). It calms the stomach and relieves feelings of nausea.
- Meadowsweet is a perennial herb that grows in ditches, bogs and other damp and mossy places. Doesn't sound like something you'd want to swallow, does it? But meadowsweet helps the stomach break food down easily. Take some half an hour before or after a meal.
These three remedies are great if you're feeling uncomfortable and overstuffed (like my trousers must feel every day)... but there's a serious side to overeating that's frequently overlooked.
Studies suggest that overeating increases the risk of
bowel cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as
leading to obesity if overindulgence becomes a habit
rather than an occasional blip.
So, make sure you enjoy your food and if you fancy that
third piece of cake on a special occasion, have it. But
special occasion should mean rare occasion.
And the same goes for the next section...
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How to beat a hangover with bananasThe trouble with alcohol is this...
It bullies fluids out of your body (I won't go into HOW
this happens!), and takes a lot of valuable minerals with it - especially potassium.
Potassium is an essential tool to maintain you're the
balance of fluids in your body - so top up your levels
with a banana. Eating just one banana will also give you
a burst of magnesium (which controls blood sugar
levels), and Vitamin C.
Another great remedy is an old favourite... Lavender
honey.
You don't need to carry much, so if you can tuck a small
pot away with you on a night out, take a teaspoon every
half hour until you hit the sack. The honey will keep
blood sugar levels up.
So why lavender honey in particular...?
Lavender has this amazing ability to get to work almost
immediately... helping fight nausea, headaches and
indigestion. So don't worry what you look like if
someone catches you having a spoonful - just imagine
how the other person's going to feel in the morning!How to enjoy exercise without damaging yourselfI swear there were times during 'Come On Eileen' (the
groom's favourite song) that I turned back the clock and
was a teenager again.
That was until the music stopped and I hobbled over to
the nearest chair, with my back so bent people must have
thought I was tying my shoelaces up or giving an ant
directions to the nearest train station.
And don't even talk to me about the next morning. You'd
see more suppleness in a mannequin.
So here are some great natural ways to stop your back
creaking...
- Bananas again! As I've already said, bananas are rich in potassium, and large amounts of potassium seem to
have helped some sufferers. Exactly why potassium helps is one of life's little mysteries, but if it works, why ask questions! Try loading up on potassium rich foods such as bananas, oranges and potatoes.
- Create your own hydrotherapy centre! Agatha Thrash, M.D., a medical pathologist and co-founder and co-director of Uchee Pines Institute in Alabama, suggests that a simple shallow bath can work wonders on the pain - but you MUST use a certain sequence. Fill your bathtub with enough warm water to cover the lower part of your back, then soak for 20 minutes. After the bath, get in the shower and douse yourself with the warm temperature water, gradually turning it cool. The muscles in your lower body will expand and contract and the nerve could loosen up.
- Try a cup of nettle tea. Nettle has been used for centuries to treat dozens of ailments, including sciatica - because active compounds in the leaves reduce inflammation.
- Rub the pain away! Lie on your back, with your lower back supported by pillows. Lift up your leg and massage along the nerve from the back of the knee round to the hip. Then repeat going downwards. Work back and forth across the nerve. Repeat three times.
- St. John's Wort Oil is said to be an effective massage oil for relief of sciatica, arthritis and back pain, so perhaps you can try it with the above tip!
- Freeze it out. Rub an ice cube across any painful area until the ice cube melts. This will help soothe the nerve.
That's it for today. I'm off to pack away a banana and a
pot of honey, just on the off chance I pop out to the pub
over the weekend.
I'll be back again on Sunday.
Till then,
Yours as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
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