Dairy Truth

by Nigel West

Travel sickness, whether brought on when travelling by air, sea or car is a nightmare. If you are unprepared then the resulting mess and smell can affect other people, spreading almost like a virulent virus. On a plane or in the car the smell can take ages to disappear - not ideal if you are at the start of a touring holiday.

Travel sickness and in particular car sickness is often thought to affect mostly children, however medical opinion estimates that 80% of the population suffer from motion sickness at some point in their lives. My daughter was fine until the age of 6, when we discovered that the delay between announcing feeling sick and actually vomiting is so small as to be insignificant. Now 10, she only reads on a motorway or dual carriageway.

Motion sickness occurs when the brain can’t match the information it is receiving from:

1) Inner ears, which sense in which directions you are moving
2) Eyes, which see what direction you are moving
3) Skin receptors, which detect which parts of your body are touching the ground
4) Muscles and joint sensory receptors, which tell you if you are moving muscles and what position you are in

For example, if you are reading in a moving car, your inner ears and skin receptors are telling your brain that you are moving forward, but your eyes are on a stationary book and your muscle receptors reporting that you are sitting still. For some people this is OK, but for others some form of motion sickness will start to build up.

Motion sickness can take the form of dizziness, fatigue, and nausea which may progress to vomiting. Fear of motion sickness can make these feelings a lot worse.

So what can be done to avoid motion sickness? When I was involved in rallying 15 years ago I was fine driving, but navigating was a real problem. I loved it dearly but suffered dreadfully with motion sickness. It got so bad on one event that I could hardly walk when I finally got out of the car. Whilst I was never actually sick, the only way I could stop the nausea was not to eat from getting up in the morning to the event, which generally started in the early evening. I think you will agree this is a bit extreme!

If you often suffer from motion sickness there are a few things to try to make a journey more comfortable.
1) Avoid heavy meals for two hours before the journey. Eat small amounts of something dry such as crackers, crisps or biscuits before the journey, don’t eat any dairy products and avoid salad and fruit as it can be acidic. If possible don’t eat whilst on the trip.
2) Drink small amounts of non natural drinks. Don’t drink milk or any natural juices such as orange juice and others with citric acid. Avoid alcohol.
3) Try anti motion sickness pills, either from you doctor or homeopath.
4) Acupressure bands work well for some people.
5) Studies have shown ginger root can be effective against motion sickness. Ginger capsules are available or you can try a dose of about 1/2 teaspoon of dry powdered ginger, which is equivalent to approximately 1/3 ounce of fresh ginger root, which is roughly a 1/4-inch slice.
6) Avoid staring out the window for long periods of time as this can create motion sickness.
7) Keep still and move gently. If possible stay where there is the least movement.
8) Don’t read
9) Alternative remedies such as EFT (or tapping), hypnosis or acupuncture may help.

There are also a few things you can do to reduce the sensation of motion sickness, even when it has started.
1) Move to the point of least movement. Try and sit in the centre of the plane or in the middle of the boat. On boats it often helps to lie down, although it might feel like the last thing you want to do.
2) Sit facing forward.
3) Look at the distant scenery.
4) Get some fresh air, but keep warm.
5) Avoid talking but try not think about your motion sickness.
6) Move gently, don’t stand up or move suddenly.

Sometimes the preventatives don’t work, so, particularly with children in your nice clean car, it’s worth being prepared. Having been car sick into my grandmother’s hat at a young age, as a child I was used to travelling with a quite frankly grotesque pink potty. Whilst this would catch the offending substance, it didn’t contain it particularly well, meaning having to stop the car to remove the contents and smell.

This wasn’t too difficult in the 60s and 70s, but with so much traffic now it’s not always easy or safe to do. Plastic shopping bags offer little help. Designed to just about hold together for the trip home, they have holes in them, which prevent suffocation but reduce the ability to hold liquid. Another favourite, ice cream tubs work better than the pink potty, but rely on the child to get the lid on without spilling. Unfortunately they are wide but not very deep making spillage a distinct possibility. The best option is the sick bag, as used by airlines and ferries for many years. Sick bags work brilliantly. They are simple for children to use, they are deep so reduce spillage and the top can be rolled down, retaining the contents and the smell. Some sick bags have a clip securing the rolled down top and a flat bottom, meaning they can stand up on the floor of the car, further reducing the risk of spillage.

As companies fight to bring costs of air and ferry travel down sick bags are handed out almost on an as needed basis. The days of accumulating a stock of sick bags from an air flight seem to be over.

Nigel West - having had car sick children and frustrated with not being able to find sick bags in the shops, Nigel and his wife set up Chuckie Bags, offering sick bags in small quantities to families with car sick children, and other sufferers of motion sickness, morning sickness and sudden nausea. Top quality sick bags can be bought online at http://www.chuckiebags.com

by Catherine Franz

Speakers rely heavily on their voice for business. If they do consulting or create audio products, voice maintenance needs to be one of their top self-care priorities. This information also applies to singers, coaches, or sales professionals.

During flu and cold season, vocal cords become highly sensitized and need as much care as a valuable instrument. Think of your voice, and we should, as an expensive, rare violin. If you were going to play the violin the next day — same relation as having a speaking engagement — you wouldn’t expose that violin to a night in a smoke filled room, lay cigars or pour alcohol all over it and expect it not to suffer from the abuse the next day.

Antibiotics don’t help viral infections or laryngitis — a common result from a viral infection caused from a cold or flu. Recently, I suffered got the flu and suffered from a severe case of laryngitis. I had to cancel a teleclass, lose a week of work, and almost a paid speaking engagement. The more I self-treated through media knowledge or recommendations, the worse the laryngitis got.

It took over 20 days before I improved and then two weeks later, it returned. After great frustration, I finally visited my ear, nose, and throat specialist, only to learn that everything I was trying was actually contributing the extended suffering. Let me pass along some of my learning so you don’t need to go through this. Like me, some of it will surprise you.

Food and Beverages

Warm or hot beverages work best. Cold beverages with ice produces the voice center to spasm generating coughing that results in laryngitis. Stick to drinking room temperature water.

Black Currant Pastilles, which are glycerin-containing lozenges for adults, keeps the throat moist. Pastilles are perfect to take before, during, and after flying or traveling from one temperature extreme to another, say New York to Florida in winter. It is good to have these on hand since they are difficult to find. Many professional singers use Black Currant Pastilles 24 hours before their performance.

Avoid anything with mint or menthol.

Throat Coat® Tea, designed specifically for voice professionals, is rated higher than Pastilles. The tea contains licorice root, which is widely used to enhance throat and upper respiratory tract health. Any beverage that affects your stomachs acid level, like caffeine, will also affect your vocal cords. Caffeine is a mild diuretic and dries the throat and vocal cords. Coffee, including decaf, due to its natural oils causes acidic results that cause vocal damage. This includes chocolate. If you suffer from acid reflux disease, you need to take extra care of your voice since it cause permanent damage. Sodas also cause acid reflux and damages vocal cords.

With a cold or flu, we usually drink orange juice. This acidic beverage actually lengthens laryngitis. So does the amount of lemon you use in water. A tiny bit of lemon in warm water with a small amount of honey is a great elixir that actually smoothes the vocal cords.

Dairy increases throat mucus for some people. If after you drink milk, you feel even a little mucus in your throat, you probably have a very mild milk allergy. This will affect your vocal health and can length laryngitis. Nuts have the same allergy affect.

Common Causes of Voice Strain

It’s common knowledge that shouting, screaming, and excessive talking strains voice cords. But, did you know that whispering, coughing, loud sneezing, crying, laughing, and throat clearing could do the same damage?

Emotional or environmental stress also causes voice strain. Especially major changes like separation/ divorce, new job, kids going off to college, grieving, not enough sleep, moving, and even hormonal changes in adolescents or maturing adults. If you add any of these with the need for a quality voice, you will need to take extra care in order not to bruise or damage your throat center or vocal cords.

Voice Maintenance

When experiencing laryngitis, limit unnecessary talking, and pause frequently to swallow and remoisten your throat, even during speaking engagements. Relaxation techniques, like yoga always help, yet conscious aware of your posture and breathing during speaking can save or further bruise voice projection especially if your voice is weak from a cold.

One of my favorite exercises that I do every morning or while driving to a speaking engagement is a vowel review. Stretch your neck comfortable upwards and recite the vowels — a, e, i, o, u. Let your vowel trail off after each one especially the “u.” If experiencing laryngitis avoid whispering. Whispering actually stresses vocal cords reducing recovery significantly. If you smoke or visit smoke-filled rooms, triple your maintenance plan, smoke is very damaging.

If you lose your voice, you will require additional rest time over a 4-7 day period. This means limiting your voice to 15 minutes a day. Looking on the bright side, listening skills will definitely improve. Keep phone calls brief; avoid all non-speech voice use, including throat clearing, coughing, and sneezing or any odd sound effects. Snoring also doubles strain.

Over-the-Counter

Even though they give brief relief, throat sprays and medicated lozenges dry the throat and extend recovery. If used for an emergency, you must follow with extreme care.

Herbs can also cause side effects. You will want to discuss their use with your doctor or herb practitioner. Herbs like barberry reduce inflammation and infection caused from respiratory infections, but can also cause an allergic reaction especially if already using another remedy. Herbs like eucalyptus, German chamomile, goldenrod, goldenseal, licorice, marshmallow, peppermint, saw palmetto, or slippery elm are remedies for vocal cord inflections. Adding garlic and ginger to your foods also reduce cold symptoms including sore throat and don’t need professional advice.

Support Team

If your voice is vital to your income, you will want to have an ear, nose, and throat physician familiar with your medical history and working with singers. With an ongoing relationship, it’s easier for them to provide advice when out of the area.

Last year, while experiencing a mild case of laryngitis, I saw my doctor before I left for a speaking engagement but I didn’t know to mentioned I was traveling to a high elevation. By the time I checked in at the hotel, I was in bad shape. An emergency call and I was armed with new instructions. The next morning I was fine. Did you know that most taxi companies will pick up and deliver called-in prescriptions usually at the same rate as a cab ride?

(c) Copyright 2005, Catherine Franz. All rights reserved.

Catherine Franz, a veteran professional speaker and Business Coach, Graduate of Coach University, Mastery University, editor of three ezines, columnist, author of thousands of articles website: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

by Lisa Barnes

We’ve all heard the slogan, “milk, it does a body good” - but what kind of milk? While some milk is fine for some, many others, especially children are allergic or intolerant from their first drink. An estimated 30 million Americans have some kind of lactose (the milk sugar in all dairy products) intolerance, and more than 100,000 babies are thought to suffer from milk allergies.

There is a difference between lactose intolerance and milk allergies. Children with lactose intolerance are deficient in lactase, an enzyme produced internally to break down lactose. This can result in stomache aches, gas and diarrhea. However children allergic to milk have reactions to some or all of the proteins: casein, whey, and lactalbumin. The adverse effects can cause gastric problems as well as skin issues such as rash, and eczema, and nasal distress such as runny nose and congestion. These reactions can come as soon as babies are breastfed (by mothers ingesting dairy products) or given milk based formulas. Babies are more likely to be born with a milk allergy vs. a lactose intolerance.

The good news is that most children outgrow a milk allergy by the age of 4, according to Paul Ehrlich, M.D., pediatrician, allergist and clinical assistant professor at New York University School of Medicine. Plus he says, “the more attentive you are to keeping milk out of your children’s diet, the sooner the allergy with go away.” Although this is not always easy as cow’s milk and other dairy products are in many processed and packaged foods under the ingredient names: whey, casein, lactalbumin, caramel color, and nougat, among others. Thus it is important to read labels to avoid reactions. Organizations such as the Food Allergy Network, as well as nutritionists can help you identify and steer clear of hidden dangers.

Today many people are asking which milk is the best choice for their families and children. Some households have more than one kind of milk and milk alternative to satisfy different ages, dietary restrictions, and tastes. In addition to considering the various cow’s milk alternatives, many parents of children who can drink cow’s milk are buying organic brands to minimize the exposure of the hormone bovine somatotropin (bST) or recombinant bovine growth hormone (rbGH), which some pediatricians and nutritionists such as Robert Pastore, Ph.D suspect as an agent of premature development in children.

So what milk or milk alternative should you buy? Here are some options. And no matter which brand or alternative you try, choose those with fortified calcium, magnesium and vitamin B-12, which makes cow’s milk such a nutritional giant. Here are some cow’s milk alternatives:

Almond Milk
Not high in protein (only two grams per 8 ounces, as compared with 8 grams in cow’s milk) this naturally sweet beverage does have some beneficial fats and calcium. Because of the smooth and creamy texture it also works well for cooking and baking. Almond milk is not an alternative for those with nut allergies.

Goat Milk
Coat’s milk has only slightly less lactose than cow’s milk, making it an inappropriate alternative to those with intolerance. However it does have different proteins from cow’s milk, so may be a good choice for some with allergies. Goat’s milk is slightly sweet and salty with a fat level and consistency similar to whole cow’s milk.

Rice Milk
This is the least allergenic milk alternative, as it is suitable for children with milk intolerance and allergies. However it is lower in protein and much thinner in consistency than cow’s milk. Young children not getting enough protein from food sources, should not substitute rice milk.

Oat Milk
Oat milk is high in fiber however low in protein. Oat milk has a slightly sweet taste and light consistency. It is highly tolerated by most kids who have soy, rice and milk allergies. However it is not acceptable for children with celiac disease or other wheat and gluten intolerances and allergies.

Soy Milk
This is high in protein and the most popular cow’s milk alternative. If you’re a vegetarian, or if your baby has trouble digesting cow’s milk protein, the doctor may suggest a soy-based formula. Although between 5 and 30 percent of children with a cow’s milk allergy are also allergic to soy - thus it is not an option for everyone. Recent research and questions have arisen over soy’s phytoestrgen levels and possible link to interferance with children’s hormonal and sexual development. Some pediatrician’s caution not to give more than 2 serving a day to children.

When in doubt about milk, formula, allergies or intolerances, talk to your pediatrician or consult a nutritionist to help guide you to the safest choices for your family’s needs.

Lisa Barnes is the founder of Petit Appetit, a culinary service devoted to the palates and health of infants and toddlers. She teaches in-home private cooking classes to parents, nannies, mothers’ groups, and parenting resources throughout Northern California and is the author of The Petit Appetit Cookbook (published by Penguin Books, March 2005).

For more information on Petit Appetit, The Petit Appetit Cookbook or to sign up for a free email newsletter, go to http://www.petitappetit.com.