TMJ Headaches Again; DIY Healing; Heat; No Juice is Good Juice

This past month or so, I've had TMJ headaches in the morning, along with some mild stomach issues and acne the past week or so. I think it's muscle memory from years ago, back when I wore a night guard for TMJ pain.

Since getting my braces off and getting dental implant in early June, I've been wearing an upper retainer at night. When I wear it to bed, it reminds me of the old upper retainer I used to wear when I was grinding my teeth some years ago after a car wreck. I think I've started grinding my teeth at night again. I wasn't grinding my teeth just before I got my implant, when I was wearing a retainer during the day. I'm not grinding my teeth now, wearing my retainer after dinner and before bed, as my orthodontist recommended. Since I haven't worn my retainer for a few nights, my headaches and neck pain are gone. My skin is clearing up, too. (Inflammation can become systemic and affect other parts of the body.)

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The toe I stubbed a month ago is continuing to heal. When I injured it, I recalled my visit to an orthopedic surgeon last year when I fractured my arm. He looked at my arm, looked at the x-rays, and said, "It'll probably heal on its own in a month." That's what $300 got me. I decided to save my money this time and trust that my body knew how to heal a badly stubbed toe. I put a Bandaid on top and used another Bandaid to attach a piece of cotton ball between the toe pad and the ball of my foot for support. After three days, I was walking fairly well on it. It got infected; I healed the infection with hydrogen peroxide and coconut oil. I have a new toenail now, but it's still thin, sensitive and funny-looking, so I'm still wearing a Bandaid on it. The other toenails are sporting an injury-inspired nail color. And I've kept my money.

OPI Nail Lacquer in You Don't Know Jacques!

You Don't Know Jaques! from OPI. Image from Allure.com.

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Speaking of Allure magazine, this month's issue (September 2013) says that high heat ("overheated workouts") can cause free radicals in the skin and can worsen hyperpigmentation and rosacea. I say overheated workouts are miserable. Exercise that makes you feel that lousy probably isn't good for you.

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Would you believe Allure also gives a thumbs-down to juice fasts? They quote a professor of dermatology who says that all that sugar (comparable to a can of Coke) spikes blood sugar and insulin, along with androgen, an acne-causing male hormone. It also AGEs* you:

Sugar molecules in the bloodstream can also latch onto and degrade collagen and elastin fibers in a process called glycation, which leads to wrinkles and sagging....The skin needs protein to build new collagen and elastin, and nut-derived milks** are also rich in good fats--essential for a healthy, hydrated skin barrier.

What--fats are essential and sugar is bad? Next issue, maybe they'll be telling us that whole grain bread is just as junky as a danish.

*AGE = advanced glycation end products. You don't want candy-coated collagen, do you?
**Beware carrageenan, a thickener used in many nut-derived milks. It's an inflammatory.

"Surprise Skin Sins" by Jolene Edgar. Allure magazine, September 2013, page 236.

This Just In: Yogurt Doesn't Improve Health

A recent study from Spain finds "In comparison with people that did not eat yogurt, those who ate this dairy product regularly did not display any significant improvement in their score on the physical component of quality of life, and although there was a slight improvement mentally, this was not statistically significant," states López-García. Most yogurt is pretty much pudding with a little bacteria . Pudding is a sugar bomb. Hard to believe the stuff doesn't improve health outcomes, isn't it? But as usual, researchers are calling for...more research. "For future research more specific instruments must be used which may increase the probability of finding a potential benefit of this food."

Paleo Diet: Eating Differently from Everyone Else is Fine!

I've been seeing more and more articles by women (it's always women) whose heads have exploded trying to figure out life without yogurt and cupcakes. Oh, the shenanigans they get up to: bathroom problems from stuffing themselves with vegetables, paleo baked goods that don't taste the same as ones from the bakery, and especially the irresistible urge to eat "normally." The technical problems aren't hard to sort out: substitutes like baked goods will taste different because they are different, but an adjustment period of a few months will make those foods taste normal. And whatever you eat, don't stuff yourself. First, though, read a book by Loren Cordain or Mark Sisson to learn about the paleo diet before diving in. The articles I keep reading, though, have more to do with attitude: the urge to be exactly like everybody else or the urge to be helpless. If you're in the second category, I can't, by definition, help you. If you'd rather be Lu

Decongestant Ineffective; Vibration Plate Works

A common ingredient in many cold medicines has been shown so ineffective that the FDA recently proposed taking it off the market. The ingredient, phenylephrine, "failed to outperform placebo pills in patients with cold and allergy congestion," say researchers from the University of Florida. "The same researchers also challenged the drug's effectiveness in 2007, but the FDA allowed the products to remain on the market pending additional research," according to CNBC . Mostly placebos. Photo from Pixabay . I can attest that phenylephrine doesn't work. Before I stopped eating wheat, I constantly had nasal and sinus congestion. I helped keep Sudafed in business when the active ingredient was pseudoephedrine, but I noticed the PE (phenylephrine) variety didn't work at all. The only other decongestants I've found helpful are guaifenesin (Mucinex) and spicy food. Mucinex is expensive because it works! (The cheaper store brands work just as well, though.) Su

Palpitations Gone with Iron

Thanks to my internet friend Larcana, who alerted me to the connection between iron deficiency and palpitations, I doubled down on my iron supplements and, for good measure, washed them down with Emergen-C. It's a cold medicine with a mega-dose of vitamin C, plus B vitamins and minerals. I don't think vitamin C does anything for a cold (a friend bought the stuff and left it at my house the last time she visited), but vitamin C does help iron absorption. After doubling up on iron in the last three days, I feel back to normal. (I'd already been taking quite a bit of magnesium and potassium, so I probably had sufficient levels of those.) How did I get so low on iron? Maybe it was too many Quest bars instead of red meat when I had odd cravings during my dental infection recently. Maybe because it's too hard to find liver at the grocery store and I haven't eaten much of it lately. Maybe the antibiotics damaged my intestines . And apparently, I'm a heavy bleeder .

tess said…

"ouch" on many levels -- feel better soon! :-) on the other hand, it's encouraging to hear sensible advice about nutrition in a magazine!

August 29, 2013

Lori Miller said…

Thanks--I'm already feeling better.

Galina L. said…

I just placed a special order for a pasteurized (as opposite to ultra-pasteurized) grass-fed Organic Valley heavy cream , the only one I know of which doesn't contain carragenon in US. Probably, people who have to be more concerned about status of their inflammation, have to look more closely at the heavy cream as well, it most likely comes with carragenon. May be even using half-and-half could be more reasonable option from the budget and health perspective during times when we live through a lean time.

Kalona is another brand. I like their butter; maybe I'll try their cream again.

http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/our-products/organic-milk/organic-whipping-cream/

Thank you, Lori.
To my amazement, I found the store not far from me which sells Kalona cream. Probably, I will give it a try while Publix is feeling my order.

Lowcarb team member said…

Feel better soon and try to stay positive. Easier said then done but I find it helps.

All the best Jan

August 31, 2013

I'm just hoping I can keep my retainer in enough to avoid that yaeba look.

albina N muro said…

October 05, 2013

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

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