Every month in my newsletter Health & Healing, I have a column of short, interesting facts called “Did You Know?”. In honor of the holiday season, I’d like to share a few of these snippets that pertain to this time of the year.
• Mistletoe is good for more than stealing kisses. Iscador, an extract of mistletoe, is a well-studied cancer therapy that is popular in Europe.
• This holiday season, burn only candles made with beeswax or vegetable wax and all-cotton wicks. Both paraffin (a petroleum byproduct) and lead-core wicks (found in a third of all candles) release pollutants that can undermine indoor air quality.
• People who are conscientious are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s and dementia.
• The aroma of frankincense, in essential oils or incense, helps relieve anxiety and depression.
• Japanese researchers found that gargling with water several times a day helps prevent colds.
• Studies show that chewing gum reduces appetite and cuts caloric intake.
• Indoor heating can dry out your sinuses, making you more vulnerable to some cold viruses. When the heat is on, use a humidifier, or place an oven-safe pan of water over a radiator and refill as needed.
• In addition to protecting against bladder infections, pure, 100 percent cranberry juice was recently shown to raise protective HDL cholesterol and antioxidant levels.
• A 3-ounce serving of turkey contains 6 grams of fat. The same serving size without the skin has only 1 gram.
• More than 20,000 US kids are treated in ERs for shopping cart–related injuries each year.
• In a recent study, the smell of peppermint, cinnamon, lemon, and coffee improved drivers’ concentration while fast food, bread, and pastries caused irritability and a tendency to speed.
If you have any short, interesting tidbits like these that I could use in the newsletter, feel free to send them to me at [email protected].
