HOW DO YOU MANAGE?

The value of enough sleep

As a parent, I often tell my children they will feel better or a situation will look better in the morning if they have a good night’s sleep. In fact it has become a family joke that Mom’s cure-all is “you just need more sleep.”

According to Dr. Andrew Weil in his bestseller, Spontaneous Healing, “a good night’s rest is an effective healing technique that will abort many incipient illnesses.”

When you sleep, your body’s defence systems are revitalizing and doing important repair work. The more sleep, the better. Doing with less sleep is neither heroic nor admirable. It’s depleting.

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Producers face the reality of shifting grain price expectations

Significant price shifts have occurred in various grains as compared to what was expected at the beginning of the calendar year. Crop insurance prices can be used as a base for the changes.

If sleep doesn’t come easily, you might try a common folk remedy such as spreading a few drops of lavender oil on your palms, and inhaling deeply several times. The effect is wonderfully relaxing.

Indoor air quality

During the winter months we spend most of our time indoors, usually in our homes. Unfortunately, the modern home has many substances that may be hazardous to our health. These range from minor irritants, such as dust and animal dander, to major irritants, such as the chemical vapors emitted by modern building materials and furnishings.

Indoor air quality problems can be complex and there are many potential solutions. Without a thorough inspection of the home, time and money may be wasted on measures that don’t address the major source of the problem.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has developed The Clean Air Guide, How to Identify and Correct Indoor Air Problems in Your Home and an accompanying video This Clean House. Both can be ordered by calling 1-800-668-2642 or contact your local library to see if copies are available.

The guide provides six steps for assessing your home to determine the type and source of irritants.

Make sense of the situation. This section provides a quick overview of health concerns of members of your household to determine whether the house has an indoor air quality problem or whether it’s associated with biological or chemical contaminants.

Evaluate your location. This step helps you to examine the area where you live.
Assess your house. Several worksheets will help evaluate your house’s structure, furnishings and products as contributing factors to your health concerns. Two different groups of contaminants, biologicals and chemicals, are identified. Each worksheet is further divided into three columns, sources, symptoms or problems and corrective measures.
Decide what to do. This step will help you to analyze and choose from the corrective measures identified on the worksheets what is right for your circumstances.
Take action. This is where you do the corrective work to improve the air quality of your home. Suggestions are given for seeking professionals who can do this work for you.

Feedback and evaluation. This is where you use your own observations of the measures you have taken. Have they been effective or are others needed? Measuring progress toward a clean air home is not a simple matter. You will need to take into account the general well-being of family members as well as specific health conditions. The ultimate test, of course, is that your home will allow you to breathe easy in fresh, odor-free air at a comfortable temperature and humidity.

Let’s cook for our dog

This is the title of a book written by veterinarian Dr. Ed Dorosz. He provides basic information on the nutritional requirements for an active healthy dog. He encourages informed shopping decisions for commercial dog food by discussing how to evaluate these foods for your particular pet.

The most interesting part is a selection of recipes for preparing food for your dog from fresh ingredients found in your kitchen.

He points out that as pet owners we are in the best position to notice changes in our dog’s appetite, hair coat, vigor and general health. He believes that many diseases and problems with dogs may be caused by poor nutrition.

Here are some do’s and don’ts if feeding table leftovers to your dog:

Fat is tasty but it has lots of calories.

Avoid spicy and salty foods, especially chili, pepperoni or luncheon meats.
Cooked vegetables are fine, but raw vegetables should be mashed or aged.
Avoid raw fish because of fine bones and the anti-vitamin thaminase.
Avoid potato sprouts because of the toxin solanine.
Overcooking leads to vitamin losses.
Cooked meat bones become brittle, raw bones are better.
Chocolate is poisonous to a dog.
Sweet foods such as cookies and cakes do not belong in the dog dish.
Leftovers can be stored for several days and used a little at a time for flavor enhancing.
Keep trimmings from meat, bread, vegetables and fruit that can be used later in a recipe or mixed with commercial dog food.

Spinach and rhubarb contain oxalic acid, which binds calcium.
Dogs like garlic but use powder, liquid or cloves, not salt.
Feeding leftovers, up to 25 percent, with a quality commercial dog food will not affect the balance of nutrients appreciably.
Dogs can’t digest milk but yogurt is a good source of protein for dogs as well as being low in calories.

Most of the recipes in the book are for a dog that is fully grown, in good body condition, has moderate exercise and no stress. They are not intended for a growing puppy, nursing mother, working or sporting dog. Dorosz provides some recipes for specific situations and dietary needs. I have tried the following recipe for our dog, Snowy, who gave it his vote of approval.

Leftover omelet

A good way to use leftover beef, chicken, turkey or pork.

4-6 ounces 125-170 g

leftover meat

2 eggs 2

2 tablespoons 30 mL

vegetable oil

Chop the meat scraps and fry in the oil. Beat the eggs gently and pour over the meat and continue frying. Cool and cut into pieces. Feed as is or mix with equal portions of dry dog food, rice or mashed potatoes or other carbohydrate ingredient. You can add a crushed multi-vitamin/mineral tablet or other vitamin/mineral supplement. Feed the amount that suits the size of dog.

Let’s Cook for Our Dog also contains hand drawn illustrations and eight watercolor prints of dogs. The book and copies of the prints can be ordered from: Our Pet’s Inc., Box 2094, Fort Macleod, Alta., T0L 0Z0. The books are $19.95 and the prints are $24.95, including shipping, handling and taxes.