Tricia's Musings

Random Thoughts about life in general, living in the big city of Toronto



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What’s the Real Difference between Wheat and Gluten?

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Two terms that people use interchangeably are gluten and wheat. While you may think that both allergies are the same, they aren’t. There are differences between gluten and wheat allergies and the type of allergy you have can affect what you can and can not eat. Let’s take a closer look at the difference between wheat and gluten.

What Are Wheat and Gluten?

Wheat is a grain – plain and simple. It’s used to make bread, cakes, and anything else that contains wheat or white flour. Gluten is a protein that binds the dough in bread and baked goods. While wheat does have gluten, so does barley, rye, and malt. What does this mean? It’s means that while you may be allergic to wheat, you may not be allergic to gluten. However, if you’re allergic to gluten, you will need to avoid wheat.

Symptoms of Allergies and Intolerances

Allergies and intolerances are different from one another, but are the same for wheat and gluten. Allergy symptoms include digestive problems (vomiting, nausea, bloating, gas, and indigestion), chest pain, hives, eczema, and possibly anaphylaxis. However, an intolerance to wheat and gluten may include irritability, vomiting, headaches, heartburn, fatigue skin irritations, and digestive problems that are similar to those found in allergies. This can make it harder to determine if you have an allergy or intolerance. One way to determine the difference is that allergy symptoms usually occur quickly, while intolerance symptoms may be delayed or never show up at all.

How to Handle Allergies and Intolerances

In some cases, those with an intolerance may be able to enjoy wheat or gluten in small amounts. However, those with an allergy should cut wheat and/or gluten from their diet immediately. An allergy is not something to play around with and can lead to dangerous reactions. The good news is you don’t have to live with the symptoms that occur from either an allergy or an intolerance. Today’s restaurants and food manufacturers are making it much easier for those with wheat and/or gluten allergies and intolerances to enjoy food that meets their dietary guidelines.

Don’t be confused when your doctor says that you are allergy to wheat or gluten. The truth is while you may be allergic to wheat, you may not be allergic to gluten. This can have a huge difference on the foods you’re able to eat. However, if you are allergic to gluten, you’ll need to avoid wheat. Also, it’s important to know whether you have an allergy or intolerance. This can have a huge impact on the lengths you need to go to in order to avoid wheat and/or gluten.

About the Author: Thaddeus Vergeer has worked in the healthcare industry for 15 years and has seen a wide variety of different allergies. He’s currently researching information on ultrasountechnician.info and plans to go back to school to become an ultrasound tech.





Find Yourself a Hobby and Enjoy Its Amazing Benefits

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Hobbies are considered by many as the activities that only those with laid-back and quiet lives can afford to have. The truth, however, is that the people who live busy and stressful lives are the ones who need hobbies or past time activities. The reason for this is that hobbies can bring huge positive changes to a person’s life. Here are some great things you can get from having a hobby.

You get to enjoy your free time.

Having a hobby gives you a chance to free yourself from all the pressures and stress of everyday work and hectic schedule. If you feel overwhelmed by all the responsibilities you have, you must be finding it hard to find the time or even allow yourself to take a break from all your tasks to simply sit and relax. But once you find a hobby to enjoy, it will be much easier for you to have a purposeful break. This way, you won’t feel as if you were just sitting around and wasting your time.

You can experience some positive stress.

If you are someone who isn’t overly stressed and you feel that you are actually under-stimulated, you will find that hobbies are actually a good source of stress. This is referred to as the healthy and positive kind of stress that can make us feel more excited about our lives. For instance, you feel that staying home the entire day is uninspiring and dull, you can attend cooking classes to give you a sense of self-worth and enjoyment. You will do this without any pressure, so you get to be productive without having too much to stress about.

You get the chance to meet people.

Many hobbies are in the form of group activities, which can help you become more sociable. Out of your hobbies, you can join knitting circles, golf enthusiasts and even fiction writing group. Such types of hobbies that let you have connections with other people can definitely boost your social life and can bring fun to your daily life as well.

Hobbies are a form of gratification.

According to psychologists, gratifications are meaningful activities that can bring fun and meaning to a person’s life. These activities come with some kind of challenge that will let you put to use all your great personal skills. Through your hobbies, you will have a sense of flow where you can lose track of time and escape the stressors of everything around you. As a result, you will give yourself a huge favor and eventually enjoy a more positive and healthy lifestyle and well being.

Hobbies protect you against burnout.

Especially for hardworking people, being stressed and pressured are inevitable. This is why these types of people are the ones who really need to form hobbies more. By engaging in some interesting and worthwhile pastimes, they will have something to look forward to and something that will free them from all the worries at work. According to some research, those people with high-demand jobs are vulnerable to burnouts. As a result, they tend to feel that sleep is the only way to rest and be free from any worries. However, still as indicated by the research, these people do not really have proper rest even as they sleep. But by doing an activity that is not at all related to their work, they turn out to be less fatigued and can benefit from good quality sleep. Through this also, they feel more enthusiastic about their work and positive about their lives in general.

Hobbies are beneficial to your health and well-being.

There was a study conducted about the relationship between health and hobbies. According to this study, those people who take the time to engage in any physical or leisure activity even for just 20 minutes in a day tend to be less likely to suffer from too much fatigue. In addition, participating in such leisure and fun activities help lower blood pressure, reduce weight, and increase physical function. These activities also were associated with very high levels of positive mindset and considerably lower levels of pessimism and depression.

You can build better relationships with your loved ones.

So much has been said about the psychological and health benefits of having a hobby. If you come to think of it, all these can lead to one great thing – better relationship with people. You can just imagine when you reach the point when you feel so good about your body and your life as a whole, you can definitely spread this feeling to your loved ones. You will surely find more reasons to spend quality time with them, and every minute you spend will be filled with love and happiness. At the end of the day, you will realize that what it simply takes to have a fuller and happier life is to address your own need of having time to enjoy and live life to the fullest.

Cedric Loiselle enjoys writing about a myriad of topics such as business and finance, health, as well as home improvement and lifestyle. He can even give sound advice as to choosing the best cooking classes New Orleans has for you and your loved ones.

Save Money on Beauty Care Yet Look Like a Million Bucks!

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It can seem almost impossible to find good beauty products without spending an arm and a leg. Not to fear: while it may seem that way, it is not entirely impossible. In fact, you can take care of all of your basic fashion and beauty needs with everyday household items.

As crazy as it sounds, it is true! Some of the household items you will see on this list may actually be better for your beauty routine than some of the store-bought items you own.

Below is a plethora of ideas that will help you to save big on money while still looking like a million bucks.

Skin

Before you click “buy now” on the next bottle of your favorite, slightly overpriced face wash, finish reading this article. After you finish reading this article, go directly to your kitchen. You may not collect $200, but you won’t need to after these money-saving tips.

If you have brown sugar and honey in your baking cupboard, then you are in luck. Mix equal amounts of both into a jar and use it as a sugary-scented body scrub. You can also create a deeper reaching scrub by combining sea salt and olive oil.

If you are running pretty low on a few essential beauty items, don’t leave for the store just yet. Finish reading this paragraph! If you are getting to the last drops of your favorite perfume or body spray, don’t toss it into the trash. Instead, you can pour those few drops into your body wash, face wash, or moisturizer to help the scent last even longer.

Another easy way to save on cash is by using bar soap instead of body wash. The former is typically much cheaper because they require less packaging.

Hair

Here is a tip to save you both time and money: only wash your hair every other day. When you wash your hair too often, you are ridding it of essential oils that keep it healthy. If you feel like your hair has excess oil, you can rub a pinch of baby powder on the roots of your hair.

Have you used clarifying shampoo in the past to keep your hair healthy and full of shine? Did you stop buying it because you were spending too much money? If so, here is a useful tip to get the best of both worlds: rinse your hair with the apple cider vinegar hidden in your cupboard. The vinegar will work to give your hair the extra shine you desire without spending the extra cash.

Nails

Did you know that the quick fix to your nail woes is hidden in your desk drawer? It’s sitting right next to your pens and pencils. The secret fix is actually your White Out. If you received a French manicure recently but don’t want to spend the extra cash to get your chips fixed, then go ahead and fill in the chips with White Out.

Lips

We have one last tip before you run to your kitchen in search of your new beauty products. This one’s about your lipstick. Do you have a bunch of tubes with a little bit of lipstick? Cut off the extra pieces, mix them in a microwavable container, pop it in the microwave, and rub it on whenever you want some lip balm.

After you give these tips a try, let us know what you think!  Do you have a suggestion we left off the list?  Let us know about those too!

Blogger Mayra Zepeda loves trying out low-cost, DIY beauty ideas.  She also likes taking advantage of inexpensive ways to change up her appearance.  For example, she is a big fan of cheap colored contact.

Some Ways To Improve Your Arthritis

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There are millions of people that deal with the pain and frustration that comes with various types of arthritis each and every day.  Unfortunately, this particular health condition has the tendency to stick around and can get progressively worse overtime.  If you’re one of the many that suffer with this problem, you’d probably be interested in learning about some of the treatment options that are available.

Medicinal Options

Many health professionals will stress the importance of introducing some type of medicinal treatment into your daily routine as a way to reduce the effects of arthritis.  For some individuals, this prospect can be stressful, frustrating, and even introduce a number of side effects into the picture.  However, it is important to understand that finding an effective medication often requires a certain amount of trial and error.

As each human body is unique, so too are the ways that one person may respond to one medicine or another.  Usually the only way to be sure how you will react to a type of medication is to give various doses a shot, and to adjust them as needed.  This process can take a considerable amount of time, but for those individuals that find the right balance, it can pay off immensely.

Physical Treatment Options

Of course, there are more ways to counteract this medical condition.  Staying active is an important part of keeping your body as healthy as possible.  While this can be a real challenge for people who suffer from arthritis, finding the right exercise routine can have a big impact on your overall mobility.  Your doctor may prescribe physical therapy, or even recommend finding another activity to keep you moving.

Enrolling in a yoga, tai chi, or water aerobics class are popular solutions that can help you stay fit without causing excessive stress on your joints.  It is important for people with arthritis to start fitness plans at a slow pace as to avoid over-exerting themselves to the point of causing more pain and discomfort.  As your body becomes more accustomed to the movements and the routine, you should be able to increase your frequency and intensity little by little.

Diet

You might be surprised to learn that diet can have a real effect on the way that your body moves and operates.  Like a car, keeping your body healthy requires the right fuel to keep it running smoothly.  Speaking with your doctor or someone with training in proper nutrition could help you eliminate the harmful foods, and incorporate more beneficial eating habits into your diet.

A Balancing Act

Depending on your individual situation and what type of arthritis you are dealing with, you may find that combining more than one treatment method provides the best results.  In fact, many doctors recommend that their patients find a good balance of all of these treatment methods to improve overall health, as well as to address their arthritis.  Doing some research, or speaking to your doctor to learn more about your options might just be the first step towards being healthier.

Staying healthy when you’ve got a health condition working against you can be a real challenge, but it is possible.  While it cannot be denied that arthritis can be a painful condition, with the right treatment plan that possesses the most effective balance, you may be able to take back control of your life.

Written by Lawrence Reaves for Solstice Medicine, providing chinese herbal medicines to treat ailments such as arthritis and joint pain and many other illnesses.

5 Steps Towards a Flawless Face

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When I made the appointment for my very first facial, I never imagined I was signing up to be berated for two hours by an esthetician. I always thought the condition of your skin was just something you’re either born with, or wealthy enough to afford expensive cosmetic procedures to fix. Unfortunately, I was not born rich or perfect looking so I sort of stopped caring about conforming to an ideal a long time ago.

Apparently I was totally wrong. Unlike the rest of your body, the skin on your face is actually a product of your mannerisms and habits, and even small adjustments can totally alter the quality of your skin. So today my shame is your gain, as I will condense my beautician’s chastisements into 5 simple steps you too can take to get a flawless face. For the record, I have tried all 5, and can truly say that they work!

  • DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE

Unlike the skin on the rest of our bodies which is protected by clothing, our face is out in the open, all the time. This means that most of us touch our faces more than any other part of our bodies. We touch our faces with our hands and fingers, which apparently are always filthy. Everytime you touch your face, you are rubbing all the dirt and grease and bacteria that is on your fingers, into the delicate pores on your face, creating a perfect environment for a blemish. Gross.

Changing an unconscious mannerism is difficult. Once you become aware of it, you’ll be shocked at how often you touch your face throughout the day. I just keep my esthetician’s lecture about how dirty my hands are in my head, and that pretty much curbs any desire I have to let my fingers wander anywhere near my face.

  • Cut Back on Dairy Products

As a former vegan, I already knew about the negative effects of dairy on the human body. After all, it is unnatural for mammals to drink breast milk after infancy. But, I had no idea that dairy products like milk and cheese can compromise your complexion. According to my esthetician, Patricia Plikshe, your body cannot properly break down  dairy products (this is why so many people are lactose intolerant). When your body is unable to completely process stuff like junk food and dairy, it comes out in your skin. I guess you really are what you eat!

Another reason why dairy is so problematic, is because most large scale dairy farmers inject their cows with heavy amounts of hormones to keep them perpetually lactating. The added hormones get secreted into the cow’s milk, which then goes into our bodies when we drink it. This extra jolt of hormones we get from milk wreaks havoc on our complexions. I have since switched to soy milk and stopped eating cheese. Guess what? I lost weight AND got clearer skin. Win/win!

  • Throw Out Cheap Products

This is where money gets involved, folks. To my shock and horror, those cheap, 5 dollar face lotions I had been buying at the grocery store were one of my main problems! Cheap products are filled with ingredients your skin can’t absorb. Many lotions even contain petroleum. Yup, the same crude oil found in gasoline is going onto your face if you penny pinch in the cosmetics department. When your skin can’t absorb this stuff, it just kinda fills up your pores, causing tiny white bumps and small cysts on the skin known as mila. Once mila forms, you need to exfoliate and use a good product with glycolic acid to get rid of them.

Trust me people, it’s worth it to shell out the 25 extra bucks on the high quality, all natural products recommended by your esthetician. Spending some extra cash, means you no longer have to put lotion laced with gasoline on your sensitive face think about it.

  • Watch How You Wash

Since our faces are constantly exposed to the elements, and absorbing whatever grossness is on our fingers, your face requires a more thorough washing than you might think. Even if you use high quality face wash, in order for it to be completely effective, you should rub the soap into your skin for 60-90 seconds per wash. Taking the extra two minutes to wash properly is like giving yourself a mini-facial everyday. The results will surprise you!

Also, I was dismayed to hear from my esthetician that I had to perform the whole face washing ritual twice a day. I’m a pretty low maintenance chick who rarely even goes to the salon for a haircut, so hearing that I had to end and start each day with pampering my face was not good news. The first question I asked was, “Why do I have to wash my face before and after I go to bed? How could my face get dirty while I’m asleep?” (Obviously I’m not a model client). Well, apparently your body detoxes when you sleep and pushes impurities out through your pores. If you don’t wash your face right when you wake up, then all those toxins just sit there on top of your skin. Eww.

  • Don’t Try and “Do it Yourself”

The most common way people destroy their skin is by trying to pop blemishes themselves. Trying to be your own esthetician will do irreversible damage to your pores, and will only make your complexion worse in the long run. Besides, you are never supposed to touch your face, remember? Doing this can cause infections and create permanent scars. The amount of force that is created by two fingers pressing down and breaking skin, will surely leave a scar that will be far more unsightly than letting a little pimple run its course.

I recommend just letting an esthetician handle what goes on with your face. During a facial, they will safely perform “extractions” if they feel it will not do damage to the skin. Let the fate of your face rest in the hands of a qualified professional!

Jessica Ruane is a freelance blogger for Instant Checkmate. She specializes in writing about personal growth, beauty, social media, and more. Follow more of Jessica’s work on Google+ and ChrunchBase.

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