— Bob-a-job-alog-a-roonie

Whether metaphorically or physically, we all need a home we can visit, a safe place, whenever we feel overwhelmed.

Traditionally this is our family home, where loved ones (parents, siblings) exist and will care for us without question.

Reality is often much different, and a generic safe place provided by society could be useful.

What if there was somewhere you could retreat to, at any time, and for any reason, where you would be looked after, heard, and not judged?

For many, just knowing it existed would be reassuring and lead to a more positive life.

For others, going there would be less stigmatic than a journey less well known to friends and family. Simply saying you went to your safe spot would be words enough.

We are all society, it cannot be otherwise. And we need to care for each other. Such a default retreat should be available for all. And we definitely have the power to make it happen.

We have IQ and EQ, so here’s a new one.

Assign people a score/value/symbol/whatever based on what they do when they are alone.

For example, some people are good at juggling, so clearly they have done a lot of juggling in their bedroom, perfecting it.

I presume some people practise pouting in the mirror.

Masturbation, of course, has to be in the mix.

Do people watch TV or work on their novel?

Do they have personal habits in private but not in public, like picking their nose?

Do they drink alone?

Are they messy or a clean freak?

So they talk to themselves? Sing in the shower? Meditate?

Do they sleep well?

I’m actually serious. The only way is to install cameras and give the patient months or something to forget they are there.

Research grants welcomed.

My considered opinion – getting plenty of regular sunshine (30 mins per day seems reasonable to me) without any protection is optimal for cardiovascular health. Maintaining some degree of a tan indicates you are getting enough. Tanned people are less likely to get melanoma, and people who get plenty of sunlight get less cardiovascular disease. The trick is simple – pay attention and don’t get sunburnt. Even if you do get burnt, the risks of melanoma seem to be easily outweighed by the benefits of lower blood pressure.

There is a reason why we call it a “healthy tan”.

People with low levels of vitamin D in their blood have significantly higher rates of virtually every disease and disorder you can think of: cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, heart attack, stroke, depression, cognitive impairment, autoimmune conditions, and more. 

People with plenty of Vitamin D in their system are healthier. And we don’t get that from food, but from sunshine directly onto the skin.

Yet numerous studies have shown that Vitamin D supplements have no health benefits. So if Vitamin D is just an indicator for something else we need the Sun for, what is the other thing?

Turns out it is nitric oxide, a molecule produced in the body that dilates blood vessels and lowers blood pressure… the skin uses sunlight to make nitric oxide.

So get out there in the sunshine, because sunshine lowers blood pressure! But…

Wouldn’t all those rays  also raise rates of skin cancer? Yes, but skin cancer kills surprisingly few people: less than 3 per 100,000 in the U.S. each year. For every person who dies of skin cancer, more than 100 die from cardiovascular diseases.

Also:

outdoor workers have half the melanoma rate of indoor workers. Tanned people have lower rates in general. “The risk factor for melanoma appears to be intermittent sunshine and sunburn, especially when you’re young,” says Weller. “But there’s evidence that long-term sun exposure associates with less melanoma.”

Source: Outside

The Cancer Council of Australia says that most people maintain adequate vitamin D levels just by spending a few minutes outdoors on most days of the week. Yet in their Position Statement they admit Vitamin D forms in the skin as a result of exposure to the UVB wavelengths in sunlight, but there is limited evidence available on the amount of UVB required to maintain adequate vitamin D levels. 

And reiterate what I have shared above:

It should be noted that the benefits of sun exposure may extend beyond the production of vitamin D. Other possible beneficial effects of sun exposure that may not be related to vitamin D include reduction in blood pressure, suppression of autoimmune disease and improvements in mood.

In Australia each year there are 40,000 deaths due to cardiovascular disease, and it is impossible to know how many could be avoided with adequate sun exposure. And 1,500 deaths from melanoma, which is almost totally attributable to sun exposure.

(inspired by Movember…)

Let’s face it, there is a serious illness affecting women* worldwide, and it needs fighting. Millions of women are caught up in a cycle of buying new handbags, even though they already have one.

This cycle is speeding up. Once upon a time handbag fashions changed annually. Now it is every couple of months.

Problems:

• Not knowing which item is in which handbag – women often have 2 or 3 in concurrent regular use
• The poor husband looking for an item finds it particularly difficult
• Previous handbags take up a lot of shelf-space, causing larger homes to be built
• Generally the bags are imported, causing an outflow of our country’s cash
• Jealousy of others with better bags causes mean thoughts
• Money spent on handbags could be better spent on more enjoyable, locally brewed products

Solution:

Participating women acknowledge the problems, and commit to only purchasing one new handbag per year (that’s still a massive 60 in the average adult lifetime).

Handbag is only purchased during January and February (aka Baguary).

Any owned bag that hasn’t been used in 10 years should be donated to NZ, where it would currently be in fashion.

* men seem to get by with the same bag for years or even decades…

One of the main causes of death and disease is inflammation. Regardless of the contributing factors like being overweight or having clogged arteries, it is inflammation that ultimately gets you. And turmeric reduces inflammation, better than aspirin. See http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/05/01/turmeric-curcumin/

Given that I love curries – perhaps my favourite food – it is a no brainer to start adding turmeric to my diet.

A. Eat more curries, and choose those with more turmeric in them. The easiest way to achieve this would be to cook them myself, without the use of packet mixes. This is something I have always wanted to do, so now I allocate Sunday afternoons to this endeavour.

I’ll start with recipes from:

http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/collections/curry
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/recipe/easy-homemade-curry-pastes/

B. Add turmeric to non-curry dishes. For example, I will see if Nicola can add it to my roast potatoes:

Gordon Ramsay’s Roast Potatoes with Garlic and Turmeric
Crispy Turmeric Roast Potatoes