Curried Chicken Salad

Ingredients

4 tablespoons of mayonnaise  
zest of ½ a lime
juice of ½ a lime
2 teaspoons curry powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 clove garlic, grated
½ teaspoon salt
small pinch of cayenne pepper
2 poached or roasted chicken breasts, shredded

Directions

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients in bowl.

2. Slowly add a small amount of the curry mixture to the chicken, combining well. Continue adding the curry mixture until the chicken salad is at your desired consistency. Then stir in the cilantro leaves.

3. Serve with sliced cucumber, crackers or lettuce cups.

ENJOY!!

Beauty Tip

To achieve a radiant glow, try squeezing an orange and using your finger tips to pat the juice onto your face. The liquid will evaporate leaving your skin glowing and you will also get the added benefits of the antioxidant vitamin C.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a common but serious sleep disorder where your breathing is briefly interrupted when you’re asleep. If you have sleep apnea, you’re probably not aware of these short breathing pauses that occur hundreds of times a night, jolting you out of your natural sleep rhythm. All you know is that you don’t feel as energetic, mentally sharp, or productive during the day as you should do. 

The most common type of sleep apnea—obstructive sleep apnea—occurs when the airway is blocked, causing pauses in breathing and loud snoring. Since sleep apnea only occurs while you’re sleeping, you may only discover you have a problem when a bed partner or roommate complains about your snoring. Though you may feel self-conscious about it or tempted to just make light of your snoring, it’s something you shouldn’t ignore. Sleep apnea can take a serious toll on your physical and emotional health. 

The chronic sleep deprivation caused by sleep apnea can result in daytime sleepiness, slow reflexes, poor concentration, and an increased risk of accidents. Sleep apnea can cause moodiness, irritability, and even lead to depression, as well as serious physical health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, liver problems, and weight gain. With the right treatment and self-help strategies, however, you can control your snoring and the symptoms of sleep apnea, get your sleep back on track, and feel refreshed and alert during the day.

Danie de Villiers 👻👴

High Blood Pressure: A Silent Killer!

High blood pressure  is one of those health problems you can have for a long time without knowing it. Often, it doesn’t cause symptoms right away. But it can still lead to serious issues like heart attacks and strokes. So it pays to know what can lead to it.

Your heart acts as a pump that pushes blood through your body. Blood pressure is the force your blood puts on your blood vessels as it flows. The higher your blood pressure, the higher the force. Without some pressure, your blood wouldn’t flow. It’d be like trying to blow up a balloon with a hole in it. But too much pressure and you’ll have problems.

What Boosts Your Blood Pressure?

You have high blood pressure if the first number is 140 or higher or if the second number is 90 or higher. Most of the time, doctors don’t know what causes high blood pressure. Your age, race, and family history can all play a part. But some things raise your blood pressure:

Being overweight. As your weight goes up, so does the amount of blood you need. That puts more strain on your heart and more pressure on your blood vessels. This is partly why physical activity and a healthy diet are so important.

Little or no physical activity. When you don’t move much, you usually have a higher heart rate, which makes your heart pump harder with each heartbeat. But when you exercise, your body makes hormones that relax your blood vessels and lower your blood pressure.

Too much salt. Sodium, which is in salt, can boost your blood pressure because it plays a role in narrowing your blood vessels and makes your body hold on to more fluid. So it’s best to limit salt in your diet. You also need to get enough potassium, found in foods like bananas, potatoes, and yogurt. It helps to balance your sodium levels and keep your blood pressure in check.

Tobacco use. Cigarettes and chewing tobacco both raise your blood pressure while you’re smoking or chewing. Plus, chemicals in tobacco damage your blood vessels, which narrows them and leads to higher blood pressure.

Alcohol use. Over time, heavy drinking can damage your heart's muscle. If you drink, it’s best to limit yourself. For healthy women, that means one drink a day. For healthy men, it’s two drinks a day up until age 65, then just one.

Stress. Chronic stress can cause problems for your blood pressure. Also, it often leads to behaviors such as smoking and drinking that also raise your blood pressure.

Medical Conditions

Certain health conditions can cause high blood pressure. This is one of the few times when the cause is clear. For example, certain conditions, such as sleep apnea, kidney disease, and thyroid problems, can cause high blood pressure. Sometimes, hypertension can happen during pregnancy and requires special treatment.

How Does Blood Pressure Get Too High?

As your blood pressure climbs, your heart has to work harder to pump blood. Over time, that’s a problem because it’s like constantly flooring the gas pedal in your car -- you’ll wear out your engine. Same with your heart.

Another problem is that your blood vessels are fragile and can only take so much force. Over time, the vessels get little tears in them, which is where plaque starts to collect.

As plaque builds up, your blood vessels narrow, so you have less room for blood to flow through. Your heart then has to pump harder, which creates even more pressure, and the cycle starts over.

Mother's Day 14 May 2017!

Remember, Sunday is Mother’s Day!!  Here are a few facts relating to Mother’s Day as well as a special prayer for Mom you can share with her on that special day!

Since Mother's Day always falls on a Sunday, attending church services is a popular activity among families. In fact, Mother's Day is the third most popular holiday of the year for churches, falling just behind Christmas and Easter, according to USA Today.

Modern day Mother's Day was started by Anna Jarvis in the early 1900s. Jarvis got Congress to recognize the holiday, founded the Mother's Day International Association and even trademarked the phrase "Mother's Day." Jarvis was inspired by her own mother, who had called for "Mothers Work Days" to improve conditions for soldiers on both sides during the Civil War.

Less than a decade after she fought so hard to make it happen, Anna Jarvis ended up despising the holiday she helped popularize. She spoke out vehemently over the commercialization of Mother's Day, called for its demise and was arrested during one of her protests in 1948.

Mother's Day is the third most popular holiday in the world, second to only Christmas and Easter. Other countries celebrate their own versions of Mother's Day. The UK has Mothering Sunday, which dates back to the 16th century and is observed on the fourth Sunday after Lent; Japan has its celebration of the Empress Kojun's birthday, which has become just as commercialized as the American Mother's Day; and Spain and Portugal celebrate on December 8 by honoring both the Virgin Mary and their own moms.

A Prayer for all Mothers

Thank you, Lord, that you fill a mother’s heart with love,
That you have instilled in her very being the need to protect her children if at all possible,
Thank you for giving her the gift of nurturing her children, of teaching them, of comforting them,
for feeding them and making a safe place for them.

For guiding them to be all that God has created them to be.
Fill every mother with love, wisdom and endurance,
with strength and patience and joy.
Give them ability to forgive again and again.
Enable her to rely on You and call upon You, because You will give her all she needs.
In Your precious and all powerful name, Amen

Five Beautiful Quotes From Five Beautiful Women

Eleanor Roosevelt

We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship, dependent on its vulnerable reserves of air and soil, all committed, for our safety, to its security and peace. Preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work and the love we give our fragile craft.
Adlai E. Stevenson

What is exciting is not for one person to be stronger than the other... but for two people to have met their match and yet they are equally as stubborn, as obstinate, as passionate, as crazy as the other.
Barbra Streisand

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.
Coco Chanel

I believed that the husband takes care of the family, and the wife takes care of him, and they are true to each other. I know that sounds a romantic illusion, but it can be true. 

Debbie Reynolds

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

 Eleanor Roosevelt

Danie

How oral health can influence your heart health

The health of your mouth may determine the health of your heart. Research shows that there is a link between oral and cardiovascular health, and that the frequency of brushing your teeth has an important role when it comes to heart health. A study found that those who practice good oral hygiene have a lower risk of heart disease than those who brush their teeth once a day. Improving gum health also lowers the risk of contracting periodontal disease.

Gum disease triggers heart disease through toxic compounds that enter through the blood stream. Once it has reached the blood stream, it can damage the lining of the blood vessels, which may cause stroke and heart attacks.

Therefore,keeping your teeth and gums healthy is important for your overall health. Brushing your teeth regularly can eliminate the bacteria that cause inflammation and gum disease.

Danie

Behavior therapy for treatment of children with ADHD

Research shows that behavior therapy is an important part of treatment for children with ADHD. ADHD affects not only a child’s ability to pay attention or sit still at school, it also affects relationships with family and other children.  Children with ADHD often show behaviors that can be very disruptive to others. Behavior therapy is a treatment option that can help reduce these behaviors. It is often helpful to start behavior therapy as soon as a diagnosis is made.

The goals of behavior therapy are to learn or strengthen positive behaviors and eliminate unwanted or problem behaviors. Behavior therapy can include behavior therapy training for parents, behavior therapy with children, or a combination. Teachers can also use behavior therapy to help reduce problem behaviors in the classroom.

•In parent training in behavior therapy, parents learn new skills or strengthen their existing skills to teach and guide their children and to manage their behavior. Parent training in behavior therapy has been shown to strengthen the relationship between the parent and child, and to decrease children’s negative or problem behaviors. Parent training in behavior therapy is also known as behavior management training for parents, parent behavior therapy, behavioral parent training, or just parent training.

•In behavior therapy with children, the therapist works with the child to learn new behaviors to replace behaviors that don’t work or cause problems. The therapist may also help the child learn to express feelings in ways that do not create problems for the child or other people.

Tips for Parents

Following are examples that might help with your child’s behavior:

•Create a routine. Try to follow the same schedule every day, from wake-up time to bedtime.
•Get organized. Encourage your child to put schoolbags, clothing, and toys in the same place every day so your child will be less likely to lose them.
•Manage distractions. Turn off the TV, limit noise, and provide a clean work-space when your child is doing homework. Some children with ADHD learn well if they are moving, or listening to background music. Watch your child and see what works.
•Limit choices. Offer choices between a few things so that your child doesn’t get overwhelmed and overstimulated. For example, offer choices between a few options, such as this outfit or that one, this meal or that one, or this toy or that one.
•Be clear and specific when you talk with your child. Let your child know you are listening by describing what you heard them say. Use clear, brief directions when they need to do something.
•Help your child plan. Break down complicated tasks into simpler, shorter steps. For long tasks, starting early and taking breaks may help limit stress.
•Use goals and praise or other rewards. Use a chart to list goals and track positive behaviors, then let your child know they have done well by telling your child or rewarding efforts in other ways. Be sure the goals are realistic—baby steps are important!
•Discipline effectively. Instead of yelling or spanking, use timeouts or removal of privileges as consequences for inappropriate behavior.
•Create positive opportunities.   Children with ADHD may find certain situations stressful. Finding out and encouraging what your child does well — whether it’s school, sports, art, music, or play — can help create positive experiences.
•Provide a healthy lifestyle. Nutritious food, lots of physical activity, and sufficient sleep are important; they can help keep ADHD symptoms from getting worse.

Danie