Its the Little Things in Life...

This week an ear infection decided to pay me a visit unfortunately. As a result, i have not been able to lay down flat for the past three days...meaning that i have slept on the couch those three nights. I can honestly say I MISS MY BED! I miss the spacious mattress, I miss that once you turn off the lights they actually stay off, and i miss my beauty sleep not being interupted by kitchen lights or the ice machine, or clanging of spoons against cereal bowls. Whenever i have gone to bed at night, i dont necessarily think about how nice it is to have a dark and quiet room and that i get to sleep uninterupted. Thats all :)

A Health Proposition

So my mom has done a lot of researching lately on seizure/migraine triggers and many things have come to the surface. In short, my diet will soon change here in a couple of days :) A lot of the migraines that I have are caused by what I put into my body; we have found through research that MSG is a big trigger. She was given a website to read and I just read it. Before I looked at it, she told me there were some food items on the website that contained MSG, and if I wanted to be as healthy as I could possibly be, it would be in my best interest for me not to eat those items. Well let me tell you, that was one long list! However, migraines are NO fun, and I can definitely sacrifice some food for comfort....I think.
Hence the list of MSG-infected food:
Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles® (targeted towards children)
Doritos®
Campbell's® soups - all of them
Pringles® (the flavored varieties)
Progresso® Soups - all of them
Lipton® Noodles and Sauce
Lipton® Instant soup mix
Unilever or Knorr® products - often used in homemade Veggie dips.
Kraft® products nearly all contain some
Gravy Master®
Cup-a-soup® or Cup-o-Noodles®
Planters® salted nuts - most of them
sausages
processed cheese spread
supermarket poultry or turkeys that are injected or "self-basting"
restaurant gravy from food service cans
flavored ramen noodles
instant soup mixes
flavored potato chips
restaurant soups made from food service soup base
gelatin hydrolyzed plant protein (found in canned tuna and even hot dogs)
yeast extract
soy sauce
Splenda
Worcestershire sauce
dry milk and whey powder
King Arthur, Heckers, and Gold Medal flour
body builder drink powders containing protein
Parmesan cheese - naturally high in free glutamate
mushrooms - naturally high in free glutamate
Medications in gelcaps - contain free glutamic acid in the gelatin
So.....some will be hard to not eat, but after reading the website, most of these items I wouldnt even classify as "real foods" after reading all of their ingredients.
For all of you out there who are "healthaholics" here are just some easy tips for eating out that will lead to A LOT healthier lifestyle:
AVOID all CHICKEN items
AVOID all SAUSAGE items
AVOID all PARMESAN products
AVOID all Ranch dressings - stick to oil and vinegar Italian
AVOID Croutons
AVOID KFC altogether
AVOID Dipping Sauces
AVOID Gravy
AVOID TOMATO AND MUSHROOM soup
AVOID McDonald’s fries
Ugh, hopefully I can remember what I can and cant eat :) More importantly, hopefully it will help me stay healthy and prevent my migraines.
Also, another plug in that the grass fam is now doing...my mom has found that if you store leftovers in glass containers rather than tupperware and plastic, it is healthier. Studies have shown that microwaving food in plastic containers may cause breast cancer. Even though glassware is much harder to store in the fridge, it is WELL worth it!
Well thanks to all of you who read my health rant, and feel free to ask how well Im doing at eating what im supposed to and staying disciplined in this area :)

A Day in the Life of

At work this week I have been taking care of a VERY LARGE patient......700 lbs to be exact. No I am not exaggerating; I looked at the kilograms, converted it, asked a nurse if it was right, and was confirmed. Yeah, interesting to say the least. In the hospital it is a rule that you should turn each patient every two hours. It usually only takes one or two people, but this time it took ten of us using every single muscle we had. We had to order a special bed and gown for her also. Everything you would do with a normal patient, the difficulty level was magnified like 700 times! It was sooo hard to really do anything which is frustrating at times, but oh well. Two days later, her bed deflated and we had to order a new bed. We could not get her from point A to point B so I was told to call the fire dept. so those hefty guys could come move her, and it took seven of them. We took a dietary survey of what she eats; JUST FOR LUNCH she eats 10 double cheeseburgers from McD's! Well, she'll be in the ICU for a while which is sad, but everyday i learn something very intriguing. Just another day in the life...