by Lisa Copen 

I remember the day my life shifted dramatically. I had had weeks of symptoms of swollen joints and inflammation beyond anything I’d ever experienced or even knew existed. My doctor called my place of work and said the rheumatoid factor was positive, which meant that at the age of 24, I most likely had an illness called rheumatoid arthritis. I bravely asked her “On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being normal, what will my life be like?” She avoided the question, not wanting to give me a specific number. But I like to know what I’m up against and so when I asked her again she reluctantly responded “If you are lucky, perhaps a six.”

Within days, I realized that everything in my life now be impacted by my disease and that there would be no such thing as “normal” again. Every detail of my life would change from the simple struggle to open a door, to stand from the chair, to walk across the room, or to shift gears in my car. Although my carefree lifestyle and attitude would stay imbedded within my heart and personality, it would take a back seat while I attempted to simply try to learn to function while in severe pain.

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 This is not a scientific fact, but I have observed that when the allergy season starts in earnest, those of us with chronic health conditions such as FM, CFS, CS, MFS, etc. seem to suffer more than the general population. Also, over-the-counter products don’t seem to work as well at relieving our symptoms.

For myself, the aching joints and tender points seem to flare with the very first tree blossom and the very first grass that raises its slender stalk above ground. Spring is not a relief from winter but a harbinger of increased suffering. Here are some sites to give you the low-down in your geographic area… happy sneezing.

High pollen levels affect most people who suffer from seasonal allergies. Symptoms may intensify on high-pollen days.

For a list of all the U.S. locations forecast to have high pollen, visit the Pollen Hot Spots page.

Get more information about pollen in our Allergies section.

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Here in California, it seems as if all of us run outside the minute the sun is out so that we can get those golden tans we are so famous for. Science, however, has thrown cold water on our enthusiasm by discovering that too much sun is dangerous to our health.

SYS: Save Your Skin

As teenagers, many of us scoffed at the idea of wearing sunscreen and reached for zero-protection, greasy baby oil instead. We sizzled and fried in the pursuit of the perfect tan. Our skin paid the price and today the sun damage is reflected in brown age spots, more pronounced wrinkling, leathery skin, or worse — skin cancer. Sun damage is caused by two types of ultraviolet radiation (UV). While UVB rays are the main cause of sunburn, UVA rays are the most damaging. These stronger rays penetrate the deeper layer of skin and break down collagen and elastin. The result: wrinkles, sagging skin and age spots.

How to Use Sunscreen

Despite your years in the sun, you can still reduce your skin cancer risk — and your children’s — by wearing sunscreen now.No matter what your skin type, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends you wear a broad-spectrum (protects against UVA and UVB rays), water-resistant sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 all year round. UVA-screening ingredients include avobenzone and oxybenzone among others.

Choose Sunscreen Wisely

Relìvables Sunscreen SPF 30+ is an ideal choice to protect your whole family. It offers water-resistant, broad-spectrum protection — with avobenzone and oxybenzone — to guard against both UVA and UVB rays. Relìvables Sunscreen is also PABA-free. The pump-spray container provides convenient application without the waste of an aerosol. Since it’s oil-free, it dries fast without feeling greasy.

To protect your face while you moisturize year round, Relìvables r day balanced moisturizer contains SPF 15 protection along with Relìv’s exclusive RA7 nutrient complex that may actually reduce the visible effects of sun damage.

This article by Reliv has some good tips and interesting information. I endorse Reliv but am not selling anything. If you want to learn more about Reliv, I have provided that information. I’m more interested, however, in making up-to-date data available to you.

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Portable Device May Relieve Migraine Pain

Study Shows sTMS Eases Pain in People Who Have Migraine With Aura

By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

March 3, 2010 — A handheld device that magnetically zaps pain may be a promising new treatment for patients with a common type of migraine.

Compared to patients who got sham treatments, more patients treated with the experimental device, known as single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS), were pain-free two hours later.

About 35 million Americans have migraines, according to the American Headache Society, and about 20% to 30% of these patients have headaches that are preceded by visual or other sensory warning signs.

Known medically as migraine with aura, aura-associated warning symptoms may include seeing flashing lights or zigzag patterns, blind spots or blindness in one or both eyes, a prickling feeling on the skin, and even visual and auditory hallucinations.

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I so related to this devotional by Max Lucado that I just had to share. How frequently I run from the giant of despondency when I am again faced with another bad day. Or perhaps the giant of dependency when I go back to my meds one more time to try to ease the pain.

What giants are you struggling with? Perhaps finding their names will give you a handle on who to bring before the Lord.

by Max Lucado

Goliaths still roam our world. Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Danger. Deceit. Disease. Depression. Super-size challenges still swagger and strut, still pilfer sleep and embezzle peace and liposuction joy. But they can’t dominate you. You know how to deal with them. You face giants by facing God first.

Focus on giants—you stumble.

Focus on God—your giants tumble.

You know what David knew, and you do what David did. You pick up five stones, and you make five decisions. Ever wonder why David took five stones into battle? Why not two or twenty? Rereading his story reveals five answers. Use your five fingers to remind you of the five stones you need to face down your Goliath. Let your thumb remind you of …

1. THE STONE OF THE PAST
Goliath jogged David’s memory. Elah was a déjà vu. While everyone else quivered, David remembered. God had given him strength to wrestle a lion and strong-arm a bear. Wouldn’t he do the same with the giant? A good memory makes heroes.

“Remember His marvelous works which He has done” (1 Chron. 16:12). Catalog God’s successes. Keep a list of his world records. Has he not walked you through high waters? Proven to be faithful? Have you not known his provision? How many nights have you gone to bed hungry? Mornings awakened in the cold? He has made roadkill out of your enemies. Write today’s worries in sand. Chisel yesterday’s victories in stone. Pick up the stone of the past. Then select …

2. THE STONE OF PRAYER
Note the valley between your thumb and finger. To pass from one to the next you must go through it. Let it remind you of David’s descent. Before going high, David went low; before ascending to fight, David descended to prepare. Don’t face your giant without first doing the same. Dedicate time to prayer. Paul, the apostle, wrote, “Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long” (Eph. 6:18 MSG).

Prayer spawned David’s successes. His Brook Besor wisdom grew out of the moment he “strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6). When Saul’s soldiers tried to capture him, David turned toward God: “You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Ps. 59:16).

Invite God’s help. Pick up the stone of prayer. And don’t neglect …

3. THE STONE OF PRIORITY
Let your tallest finger remind you of your highest priority: God’s reputation. David jealously guarded it. No one was going to defame his Lord. David fought so that “all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Sam. 17:46–47).

David saw Goliath as a chance for God to show off! Did David know he would exit the battle alive? No. But he was willing to give his life for the reputation of God.

What if you saw your giant in the same manner? Rather than begrudge him, welcome him. Your cancer is God’s chance to flex his healing muscles. Your sin is God’s opportunity to showcase grace. Your struggling marriage can billboard God’s power. See your struggle as God’s canvas. On it he will paint his multicolored supremacy. Announce God’s name and then reach for …

4. THE STONE OF PASSION
David ran, not away from, but toward his giant. On one side of the battlefield, Saul and his cowardly army gulped. On the other, Goliath and his skull-splitters scoffed. In the middle, the shepherd boy ran on his spindly legs. Who bet on David? Who put money on the kid from Bethlehem? Not the Philistines. Not the Hebrews. Not David’s siblings or David’s king. But God did.

And since God did, and since David knew God did, the skinny runt became a blur of pumping knees and a swirling sling. He ran toward his giant.

Do the same!

Let your ring finger remind you to take up the stone of passion.

One more stone, and finger, remains:

5. THE STONE OF PERSISTENCE
David didn’t think one rock would do. He knew Goliath had four behemoth relatives. For all David knew, they’d come running over the hill to defend their kin. David was ready to empty the chamber if that’s what it took.

Imitate him. Never give up. One prayer might not be enough. One apology might not do it. One day or month of resolve might not suffice. You may get knocked down a time or two … but don’t quit. Keep loading the rocks. Keep swinging the sling.

David took five stones. He made five decisions. Do likewise. Past. Prayer. Priority. Passion. And persistence.

Next time Goliath wakes you up, reach for a stone. Odds are, he’ll be out of the room before you can load your sling.

From Facing Your Giants
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2005) Max Lucado

May your day be blessed.

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How to make a difference for Haiti earthquake victims? A small project really… dresses from pillowcases. Yes, that’s right! And it’s only a $1.00 a dress. Read how this industrious lady turned the simple concept into an outreach, not only for earthquake children, but for friends and neighbors as well. She’s gone from a Saturday morning of 6 ladies to appearing on local TV.

We who have less energy can still participate, even if only a pillowcase a week. Call Sue and she will get you going.

Sue Bushell turns pillowcases into dresses.

The Roseville resident recently started a sewing group to help with this endeavor. Bushell, 64, and her friends have one goal in mind: Make dresses for girls in developing countries.

The clothes fashioned by this local group will go to feeding stations and orphanages in Haiti, a country in desperate need following the massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12. An estimated three million people have been affected by this earthquake, including one million people left homeless and with limited access to basic resources, such as clean clothes.

“These kids have been in total upheaval,” Bushell said. “They’re wearing the same clothing they wore (during) the earthquake. We can’t visualize what that’s like.”

After learning of the Dress a Girl Around the World campaign, which supplies dresses to girls in impoverished nations, Bushell knew she had to take part.

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 I was impressed by this article on eggs. I have eaten 2 eggs for breakfast each day, for years. I’m happy to know that my good judgment has been affirmed.

Now that Easter is over, you may still have a basketful of dyed eggs left in your refrigerator. Take heart — that colorful collection is packed with powerful nutrition. You may just discover the egg truly is an incredible edible.

Hard-Boiled Heart Helpers

For years, eggs got a bad rap for contributing to high cholesterol. But while eggs do contain cholesterol, more recent studies show eating one egg a day doesn’t increase the risk for coronary artery disease or stroke among healthy adults. In fact, eating eggs may help lower blood pressure, a significant risk factor in heart disease. Saturated and trans fats in your diet have a much bigger impact on cholesterol levels than eggs. Cracking Open Nutrient Nirvana

Eggs are excellent sources of many important nutrients, including all nine essential amino acids, healthy unsaturated fats, and 13 essential vitamins and minerals, such as iron, riboflavin, folate, selenium, and vitamins B12, D and E. They also are a potent source of choline.

Research shows only about 10 percent of pregnant women, women, men and older children eat the daily recommended amounts of choline. Yet this nutrient is essential for normal functioning of all cells, including those involved with metabolism, brain and nerve function, and memory. Choline also helps cells transport other nutrients throughout the body, and it promotes fetal brain development. Two eggs provide about 250 milligrams of choline, which is about half of the recommended daily intake for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

In addition, the choline in eggs is a key player in breaking down homocysteine in the blood. Homocysteine has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

Eggs also contain the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which can help prevent macular degeneration, a leading cause of age-related blindness.

Poached Protein Power

Cracking in at just 70 calories, each egg provides 6 grams of high-quality protein — half of which is in the yolk. (This is 12 percent of the recommended daily value for protein.) This protein helps you stay fuller longer. Research even shows a breakfast of eggs can reduce your total daily calorie intake by preventing snacking in between meals. In addition, eggs’ high-quality protein helps you build and maintain muscle. Eating eggs after exercise can even encourage muscle tissue repair and growth.

Crack and Shake It

An eggscellent breakfast idea to fuel your day is pairing a poached egg with a nutrition-packed Relìv shake on the side. You’ll be well on your way to meeting your body’s nutritional needs for optimal health.

information from a Reliv newsletter… if interested in more info on Reliv go to: www.reliv.com

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