You don’t have to pay more for make-up

This is definitely not me.

When I turned forty, that was three years ago, excuse me whilst I fill my coffee cup with tears, a good friend gifted me a make-up application lesson at Lanphier Day Spa in Darien CT.

I loved the eye shadow that they used for me and on two separate occasions tried to purchase it from Lanphier. Someone behind the counter there forgot to order it twice! The spa is wonderful, I have been there three times, but the attitude of the girl working behind the counter, three years ago, really turned me off.

I was happy to pay $29.00 before tax for a trio of eye shadow. I loved the colors and thought I looked natural and not made up when I wore it. I was disappointed when Lanphier kept messing up the order, but the owner did send me a free lipstick when I complained and she apologised profusely for the mistake. The order never got completed.

In despair I turned to the internet. I discovered a website based in New Jersey called ImageBeautyDiscountBeautyCenter.com. The same trio of eye shadow I was willing to pay over $30.00 for cost $9.99. This is the exact same product that I paid $20 more for. And for the holidays they are offering $5 off of $30 or more and $10 off $75 or more plus free shipping for orders over $55.

The site has tons of brand name products that sell for much lower prices.

Hippocratic or Hypocritical?

Photo via Photobucket by neanabennett22

The Hippocratic oath, long presumed to be the promise that doctors make to do no harm to their patients, has been tweaked, ever so slightly, here in the United States. I have sensed for a long time now that some of my health providers are becoming a little over zealous about certain drugs that they would like to prescribe for me.

My feeling is that the medical definition for “abnormal” has been altered in order to allow a larger percentage of the population fall into the new “abnormal,” definition. More patients with more problems mean more money.

Needless exams, follow-ups and prescribed drugs, means a lot of anxiety for the patient and a lot of money for drug companies who then reward doctors for selling their drugs.

It is no wonder that health care is the fastest growing industry and largest employment sector in the US.

Companies like GlaxoSmithKline are prime examples of why the health sector is doing so well. The recent scandal regarding GSK’s payments to doctors in order to push drugs such as Wellbutrin, just one of many drugs, provided the concrete evidence of things that I had suspected for a long time.

These doctors supposedly took an oath; an oath to do no harm to their patients, an oath to not over-treat and use understanding when there is no prescription cure. Instead of thinking of the patient first, doctors who fell under the spell of drug companies like GSK put themselves first.

“I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.”

Modern version of the Hippocratic Oath

Gluten and Lactose Free Days 35 to 45

Don’t strike a match and open all the windows. Mom’s just had a slice of white bread.

When did I start to notice that I had problems digesting certain foods? That is a question that I get asked often. The truth is I have noticed certain things for many years but thought that it was normal.

When your tummy bloats after eating white bread and you’ve eaten white bread for most of your life, then that’s just “the way it is.” You’ve never known anything else so that’s part of your “normal.” When I really began to pay attention was about seven or eight years ago.

My mother passed away in May 2004. My healthy eating and excercise regime fell apart during her 9 month undiagnosed battle with cancer. It wasn’t until the very end that a diagnosis was made. About six months after her death I decided that it was time to get back on track. I started the South Beach Diet plan.

Dr. Agatson’s book explained how certain foods turn into sugar in the body, white bread and potatoes being some of those foods. On the diet I felt good, I lost whatever weight I had gained and resumed my workouts. Mentally and physically I started to feel better.

When you’ve been on the diet for sometime you can sway from it occasionally to enjoy the forbidden foods. This is when I noticed bloat and gas pains when I ate certain foods. There is no polite way to say this, but I’ll try. Sometimes the gas was so bad I could have easily turned our Toyota minivan into a convertible. Not very ladylike, and let me tell you, it’s a sure-fire way to get your family angry at you! Enough said.

It has taken me about five years to get to this point. It was a long, brutally fought battle. My cousin, who has coeliac disease said, “You just feel so good when you stick to gluten-free foods.” She’s right. Discomfort should not be a side order when you eat.

This week I tried Larabars which are gluten-free. I wasn’t crazy about them. A little too sweet for me and the consistency was doughy. Did I just say something was too sweet?

My cousin who is coeliac also told me to check out Coeliac.com which is a great resource for learning what foods are gluten-free.

I have stayed with the Mineral Fusion line of skin care and hair care products. Although Renpure is gluten-free, my hair is curly and needs the hydration that Mineral Fusion provides. The Mineral Fusion products sold in boxes sometimes come with a $3.00 coupon.

Here’s what Days 35 to 45 have looked like for me:

Gluten and Lactose Free Day 24, 25, 26 and 27

The dull headache has persisted badly this week. Last year at this time I sat sneezing, eyes watering and feeling just plain miserable in a restaurant. It was a terrible feeling. Not really “sick” but every symptom feeling like I had a really bad cold that just wouldn’t go away.

Would I lie to you? Peanut M&Ms, gluten free, just about, lactose free, hardly. You gotta live a little too!

This year it is a different story. I think I have sneezed about three times this week. Even though this is supposed to be a very bad tree pollen allergy season, which is the big culprit for me.

The only explanation I can think of is that blood vessels, airways and any other ’tube’ that transports air, blood, or what ever else, around the body is less ‘gunked up” with gluten. I can’t think of any other reason.

I also contribute the lack of allergy symptoms to less lactose in my eating habits. Milk contributes to mucus production and this is the first year in my 19 years of living in the US that my sinuses and ear canals have not given me any problems in the spring. This is a side effect I had not anticipated from doing this lactose and gluten-free diet.

The skin is slowly improving. However I do notice that the closer I get to my normal monthly cycle, the chin and jaw line breakouts are inevitable. I have read a little more about this and most articles relate these breakouts to normal hormonal imbalances for women, typical of perimenopause. Isn’t life just dandy ladies?

My niece who is an aesthetician in Ireland tells me that if a girl has acne prone skin in her teens, in perimenopause the same culprits, hormones, come back to visit. The bad news is you get pimples in your teens and in your forties. The good news is that because of the excess of oil already in your skin you won’t wrinkle as fast, or as much. Who’s the lucky girl?

Now I don’t know about you, but having gone through my teens with pimples was enough. Having to do this a second time around in my forties is just a pain. The gluten and lactose free diet when adhered to strictly helps improve the condition of my skin. As I have said in previous posts though, that’s hard to to do when you eat out, have a sweet tooth, and you are not a saint. Yes, shocking news, I know, but I would not mislead you! I am not a saint. There! I’ve said it!

Here’s what days 24, 25, 26 and 27 look like:

Gluten and Lactose Free Days 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23!

Miss me? Good. You did say yes, right?

My friend bought me a lot of organic foods from Shoprite today. I especially liked the Living Harvest Hempmilk, vanilla flavored. I had it with a cupful of Bakery on Main’s Gourmet Natural Gluten Free Apple Raisin Walnut Granola.

I sit here chomping on plain M&Ms, well I  did read somewhere that they are supposed to be gluten free. Hey, I’m hormonal, don’t look at me like that!! Yeah, I’m  talking to you!

This sweet tooth of mine has been a lifelong problem! I wonder if I should get it surgically removed? I envy all those people who don’t have a sweet tooth.

Keep smiling buddy, one day you’re outta here!!

I don’t just have one sweet tooth, we’re talking a mouthful of sweet teeth here.

The last few days have been fine. My skin has been worse because of all the sweet cravings, that’s to be expected when you cave to your cravings.

The glutino bars have been great. Also started a new cinnamon raisin bread that is gluten free, made by Whole Foods. I have to say it is not as good as the Udi’s bread.

Here’s what days 19, 20, 21 , 22 and 23 have been like for me.

Gluten and Lactose Free Day 17 and 18

I am still struggling with choises that are gluten free and lactose free when we eat out. However the skin is much improved and the bumps that were speckled across my collarbone and chest area 18 days ago are now gone, as are the pimples on the chin and jawline.

It is very possible that these changes in skin condition are all hormonal, but I am after all 43 years old, today actually! Hooray!

Keeping track of skin changes and intestinal changes is showing me a pattern in how my body reacts to certain foods. I know for certain that cheese, especially cows cheese, is very hard on my digestive system. The gluten free foods seem to reduce an inflammation of the intestine. I keep thinking that gluten is like glue for your insides; it is sticky and clogs things up. Cheese for some reason has the opposite effect. Yeah, I know, it sounds like I am talking complete *&%$ and in a way, what goes in must come out! So I am talking *&%$! But this stuff is important, especially as we grow older.

The big difference I have noticed so far is in my mid-section. It is a little leaner. So here’s to days 17 and 18.

Getting to the soul of your sole: Part Deux!

From left to right: Newest sneaker has better treads, in the middle the sneaker I have just retired after five months of wear, on the right, the sneaker before that!

I broke down and bought new Vomero 6 sneakers by Nike. It turns out that they are changing the sneaker and will be making new ones.

The picture above is a year of sneakers, approximately $330. Each pair has covered 6 miles a day, 6 days a week for five months. You can figure out the mileage yourself.

Nike Vomero 6 sneakers. The one closest to camera has worn down treads because they have been worn for 5 months, as has the sneaker in the center. The sneaker furthest away is brand new.

I know that I need new sneakers because I start to trip on the treadmill. The tread on the sneaker is so worn down it literally sticks to the belt and I trip as I speed walk.

Date sneakers are first worn written on heels.

I have also started to keep track of when I buy my sneakers and wear them for the first run/walk. I write the date on the heel as shown in the picture to the left. This helps me to budget in for new sneakers a few weeks prior to the “tripping” on the treadmill starts.

I have been averaging 5 months from my sneakers. I speed walk on a treadmill in-doors and cover about 38 miles per week. If you cover more miles, then your sneakers will break down faster.

If you over wear the sneaker you could end up damaging the arch of your foot or start to feel pain. It is important to change your sneakers regularly if you workout daily, either running on a treadmill or outside.

Gluten and Lactose Free Day 16

Ok, I was doing well today until six o’clock rolled around and I saw that round of soft cow cheese in the fridge. It went really well with the Onion Baked Rice Crackers from Sesmark, they were gluten free, but I am betting the cow’s cheese has lactose? Who am I kidding here, it is 100% lactose. Oh well, let’s see what happens to it in the digetsive system.

I went shopping yesterday at Whole Foods. They are having a great sale on Glutino products this week. Almost $1.50 cheaper per pack if you buy two. So I did. The cupboard is filled with gluten free crackers, yogurt covered pretzels (soooooo good) and anything else that was on sale from Glutino.

Shoprite has a fantastic organic aisle that does just as good a job of labelling gluten free foods with shelf talkers. Very precise and easy to shop there too so give Shoprite a try also. Their prices are more consumer friendly than Whole Foods. But you have got to watch for those sales, they are pretty good. Pick up their flyers or click the links to see what is on sale this week.

Hope your day was a good one? Here’s what my day 16 looked like:

Gluten and Lactose Free Day 15

I have been plagued by a headache all day, not related to the diet, related to seasonal allergies. Still, the symptoms are far less severe than they have been in the past.

I had my usual Udi’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread with gluten and lactose free spread for breakfast, along with black coffee. For a snack I had a Glutino Apple Breakfast Bar.

For lunch today I ate Dr. McDougall’s Low Sodium Lentil Soup with Sesmark Onion Baked Rice Crackers….absolutely delicious and al gluten and lactose-free.

The sesmark crackers are a great snack and the lentil soup is a great source of protein. When you have these gluten free and lactose free products in your kitchen, it is just a normal day of eating really!

Day 15, apart from this nagging headache, is good.

Here’s what it looks like:

Gluten and Lactose Free Days 12, 13 and 14

I was away from Friday night until late last night, and there is nothing more challenging to a gluten  and lactose free diet than eating out.

I tried to think ahead and packed some Glutino Bars and glutin free crackers, that really was a big help. I also brought my Udi’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread (4 slices) the buttery spread and jelly, both gluten free and lactose free. So breakfast was not a challenge at all.

Lunch and dinner out were difficult, especially because we were eating with a large group, and you can’t very well say to the twenty others who are perfectly happy eating at TGIF, “Sorry folks but there’s little or nothing on the menu that seems gluten free to me.”

How many cobb salads can a person eat in one weekend anyway? I’ll answer that for you, one. The choice for dinner on Sarurday night was limited to say the least.

For lunch on both Saturday and Sunday I had pickles and chicken salad from a place in Princeton, NJ called Hoagie Haven on Nassau street. Great place, so give it a try if you visit Princeton.

Needless to say that I broke down and had peanut M&Ms and a Kit Kat this weekend….I won’t lie to you, they tasted great, but the following day my stomach was in turmoil.

I know there is lactose in the chicken salad because of the mayo, and allegedly the Peanut M&M’s are gluten free, as are the Plain ones, Kit Kat contains gluten but both candies contain lactose, so massive fail this weekend.

The skin is showing signs of abuse too. I didn’t drink enough water, that is for sure. My stomach was in complete distress on Sunday, but here I am, Day 14 and back i my own kitchen. The start of a new week and a new day.

Here’s what days 12, 13 and 14 look like:

Due to the increase in days the values/ratings are now shown on the left side of the chart, the days on the bottom bar and the colors relate to the criteria being measured.