Medical Health

Ulcerative Colitis Advice

On my earlier post Best of the Web: Ulcerative Colitis, I listed a few websites recommended by health professionals. Now I would like to say that I also like the University of Maryland writeup.

Here are the main lifestyle suggestions I found on these websites:

1) Exercise. And note that endurance exercise, such as long-distance running and hiking, can help suppress your overactive immune system.

2) Avoid stress.

3) Avoid milk products, including whey protein. (But make sure to supplement your diet with calcium and vitamin D. Take 1000 mg to 1250 mg of calcium each day, plus vitamin D.)

Egg white protein powder is usually OK (but make sure that it does not contain powdered egg yolks).

4) Don’t eat foods that bother you, period.

5) Stay on a low fat diet.

6) Eat lots of vegetables and fruits.

7) If vegetables and fruits bother you, cook them.

And I would add a few additional pointers:

1) Stay away from most fresh vegetables and fruits. Eat frozen produce. Those fresh, unfrozen vegetables you see in the produce section of your local supermarket/grocery have had plenty of time to grow molds and bacteria, both while on the shelf and while in route to the store. And all those germs and fungi will provoke your immune system. (See A Fish and Vegetable Diet.)

Try to buy products grown in the United States, Europe, and Canada.

2) Avoid all grains. (But you might want to try Quinoa.) Do not eat granola!

3) Do not eat red meat. Eat fish and egg whites. (Do not eat egg yolks!)

4) Do not eat at restaurants.

5) Do not eat processed food (meals, meats, snacks, frozen dinners, cereals, etc.).

6) Fix your own meals. Don’t trust other people to make your meals for you.

7) Take tumeric every day, that is, take it at your own risk. (See Frontier Turmeric Root Ground and New Chapter Tumericforce. But if the New Chapter Tumericforce begins to irritate your digestive system or cause you pain, then discontinue for a month and then start again if you think you can.)

8 ) Take a good, pharmaceutical-grade fish oil every day, that is, take it at your own risk. (I only recommend Nordic Naturals – Ultimate Omega and Ascenta, Nutra Sea HP Fish Oil. Take one to two grams a day and make sure that it does not thin your blood too much: See Colitis, Fish Oil, Chocolate, Tea and Spices.)

9) Get out for a hike or walk every day, or use the treadmill.

10) Do not eat whole nuts and seeds. Eat nut butters and seed butters.

11) Do not take alfalfa or zinc (or supplements that contain alfalfa or zinc). They boost your immune system. You want to stay away from immune-boosting herbs, such as echinacea.

12) Eat the right oils.

13) Read Dr. Sears’ The Anti-Inflammation Zone: Reversing the Silent Epidemic That’s Destroying Our Health. He tells you how to balance good proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, and shows you that it is important to avoid grains. (But note that some of his suggestions will thin your blood; see Colitis, Fish Oil, Chocolate, Tea and Spices).

14) Get plenty of rest. Do not overwork yourself. Take time off. Relax.

Also see Ulcerative Colitis and Diet, Colitis, Fish Oil, Chocolate, Tea and Spices, Autoimmunity, KyoDophilus, Alfalfa, and Zinc, and Related Posts.

Dangerous Household Ozone Generators

Last month I looked up information about in-home ozone generators. A friend of mine was thinking of buying a house in Arizona (she bought it), and the sellers were using indoor ozone generators. The ozone gave my friend a severe headache and caused her blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels. (She takes blood-pressure medication and had to increase the dosage after inspecting the house.)

I rushed to my computer and found quite a few useful websites, and, yes, ozone causes headaches, high blood pressure, sore throats and coughs (see Effects of Ozone Pollution on Seniors and Ozone Generators May Be Dangerous to Your Health). Ozone irritates the lungs, exacerbates lung disease, accelerates aging, and damages home electronics and wiring. In combination with air fresheners or household disinfectants, ozone will produce formaldehyde, a chemical that can cause cancer (see Study Warns of Cleaning Product Risks). The California Department of Health Services began warning consumers about indoor ozone generators back in the 1990s. And Health Canada says, “If you have an ozone generator in your home, stop using it.”

Take a look at these web pages, too:

California Indoor Quality Program

Hazardous Ozone-Generating ‘Air Purifiers’

Ozone Generator Fact Sheet

American Lung Association

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Air Cleaners

National Institutes of Health: Ozone.

Blogging With Windows Live

I just bought a new Toshiba laptop containing the Windows 7 operating system and the Intel i7 Quad processor, plus 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard disk. . . . Wow!

Since this machine comes with Windows Live Writer already installed, I am using Live Writer to write this blog post from my “desktop.”

We will see how it looks.

Update: Nice . . . I edited this post in Windows Live Writer and published it again. And I did not end up with two nearly identical posts. Live Writer was smart and just updated what it had already posted.

Petition to Save Arizona’s State Parks

Arizona’s politicians are set to close thirteen state parks. Here is a link to a petition to save Arizona’s state parks. You may sign this petition.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-arizona-state-parks

The organizers will send the petition to Governor Brewer and the state legislators on February 1st, 2010.

You will find a slide show of Arizona hiking destinations on our Flash Gallery, our Arizona Gallery, and our Grand Canyon Trails Page.

Also see the post The Grand Canyon State: Arizona Set to Close and Sell State Parks?

The Grand Canyon State: Arizona Set to Close and Sell State Parks?

The world flies in and takes a long look at Arizona, the Grand Canyon State (see our Photo Gallery, our Arizona Gallery, and our Grand Canyon Trails Page). And soon after arriving in Phoenix, they fall in love with all the other gems Arizona has to offer: preserved yet accessible desert wilderness areas and wildlife refuges, such as the Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction.

But now Arizona’s lawmakers are preparing to vote on budget cuts that could shut down the entire state parks system by July 1. And that vote in January 2010 might result in the sale of state parks to the highest bidders. That’s right: I’m hearing that once an Arizona state park is closed, it must be sold: Land speculators and developers will mutilate our public gems, our community wilderness. They will restrict access, and Lost Dutchman State Park will become a gated community or a private suburb, with lot and house prices starting at $700,000 or more.

Here’s a group of hikers who will show you how to protest the closure of Arizona’s state parks: visit the Take a Hike message board and web site.

Also see Petition to Save Arizona’s State Parks

BPA-free Biodegradable Plastic Bottles

We hear about how plastic bottles are filling our landfills and oceans, but bottled water manufacturers and consumers can solve this problem. We do have biodegradable choices, and biodegradable plastic may cost us a little more in the short term, but I’m sure the costs will fall in the future, as our health and our planet’s health improve.

See www.biogreenbottles.com and BioGreen Biodegradable BPA-Free Sport Bottle with Wide Mouth DuoFlow Lid (26-Ounce). These bottles are BPA, DEHA and DEHP Free, and they are made in the USA.

Tell the bottled water industry that we insist on safe biodegradable plastic.

Also see the post Avoiding BPA in Plastic.

Hiking in Ice and Snow in the Grand Canyon

On Friday December 11, 2009, I phoned the equipment rentals desk in the Grand Canyon’s South Rim General Store (Canyon Village Marketplace), which is located in the Market Plaza, Grand Canyon Village. Arizona’s north country had a huge snowfall last week, and I was wondering about trail conditions.

The employee at the equipment rental desk said the snow extends down 3300 feet below the South Rim, with ice covering the last few hundred feet (of the 3300 total). He said that the snow can be knee deep in spots on the maintained trails and that he would take poles and crampons on hikes. (He went on to say that the the non-maintained Grandview and Tanner trails require snowshoes: the snow is over seven feet deep in some areas.)

You can buy crampons and Stabilicers at the South Rim General Store (Canyon Village Marketplace), or at Babbitt’s in Flagstaff, or you can rent crampons from the Tempe REI (in the Phoenix area).

UPDATE: Ice and snow derailed the Grand Canyon train, but everyone survived without injury.

JANUARY 2010 UPDATE: A friend told us the Grand Canyon’s South Rim General Store (Canyon Village Marketplace) was sold out of crampons on Dec. 30, 2009. The Grand Canyon had fresh snow on Dec. 30 (and some of the roads were closed that day), but when we hiked the Bright Angel Trail on January 1, 2010, the snow did not reach all the way down to Indian Garden, which is located about halfway to the Colorado River.

40% Off Coupon for Ultralite Golite Gear and Apparel

Golite emailed me a 40% off coupon that is good for online purchases made on golite.com before January 1, 2010. At checkout on the GoLite website, use the coupon code BCORP09. I phoned GoLite and they said that it’s fine for me to distribute the coupon code: anybody can use it to get multiple bargains.

As an ultralite backpacker, hiker, and trail runner, I have bought quite a few GoLite products (as well as gear from Osprey and Vasque). GoLite sleeping bags and down jackets are usually under two pounds in weight.

The GoLite coupon code is BCORP09

I also do price comparisons using
Google Shopping, http://www.google.com/products.

Avoiding BPA in Plastic

For a good article on plastics and BPA (Bisphenol A), see this National Wildlife Federation Article. The authors identify the plastic products that contain BPA and they tell you how avoid them.

Healthy Dating?

Here is what I posted on a dating site:

I’m not looking for makeup and hairdos. Personally I think you’re foolish to post your photo on a free, open-access dating site that most likely attracts not only legitimate daters but also men and women from the slinky side of shady (if you know what I mean). I don’t want my photo mixed in with theirs.