Most of my life I've craved vinegar. I love pickles, pasta fazul with lots of vinegar, and vinegar in water. Salt and vinegar potato chips. During the summer we make sweet pickles--one cup water, one cup sugar, one cup vinegar and fresh cucumbers.
Heaven! We just finished up a batch (the last of the season, *sigh*) and then I drank the juice, although it's too sweet for me.
Out of curiosity I looked up vinegar cravings. A lot of women (it is apparently mostly women) get this craving at puberty. Those men who crave vinegar this way it's a lifelong thing.
The information was quite interesting, and absolutely anecdotal. For most of the women who had this craving, it's strongest the week before their period starts. A lot of them craved vinegar (or pickles) during pregnancy and then the craving went away. Several mentioned the fact that they don't like sweet foods (which applies in my case as well) and many were also lactose intolerant.
I know that people low on potassium (which is found in vinegar) get a lot of cramps. That was another similarity I noticed--many of these people exercise a great deal, and get cramps when they do. Several were marathon runners. When you exercise a lot, potassium and calcium are leached from the muscles if there's not enough in the system, which results in cramps.
Giving blood does the same, for some people (it does for me), but only if the nutrient levels in the blood were too low to start with. Vinegar might balance that. Vinegar also increases the absorption of calcium as well as a number of other essential nutrients.
Another possibility mentioned was an acid/base imbalance. Someone also mentioned the ability of vinegar to balance insulin levels (due to its ability to prevent the absorption of sugars).
Doctors say there's no physiological reason for the craving since vinegar is so low in nutrients, but it's important to remember that many people who crave vinegar aren't just taking a tablespoon (the dose the RDA values are calculated on) but drinking the stuff. Vinegar contains trace amounts of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and iron. So if someone drinks a cup of vinegar they're getting significant amounts of these nutrients. I'm guessing that in most cases when people crave vinegar it's providing missing nutrients and trace minerals, but there are lots of possibilities here.
Whatever the reason, I try to listen to what my body tells me--if it says it wants vinegar and vinegar is available, that's what it will get!
2019 update: I've started making my own fruit vinegars and it's amazing! I started with apple cider vinegar, then apricot, and now pear.
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Something to work on
The crazy herb lady is at it again. I'm bouncy and excited that spring! spring! spring! is here, so yesterday I spent most of the day outside--and today I'm feeling it.
It shows me how important exercise is. Honestly, I hate the treadmill. Walking outside is fine during the summer, but during the winter it's both cold and dangerous. Walking on the treadmill is boring, but the way my legs were hurting last night (after just carting some leaves around and doing a bit of digging!) tells me that I need to make this a priority.
Eating healthy is just one piece of the puzzle. I also have to make sure that I keep in decent shape, keep my brain active and maintain some semblance of a social life. If I intend to be living on my own at 80 or 110, I need to take care of what I have. Which is a really weird thought, you know? I'm halfway there.
I don't feel like it. I don't notice that I feel that much different than I did at 20. Just happier. And I want to keep it that way, which is going to require some effort on my part.
OK. So treadmill walking or neighborhood walking (I won't run on a regular basis because I want to keep my knees and hips, thank you very much) every day. Targeted exercise...the problem is that I see these things as taking time away from my writing. I need to work on that.
It shows me how important exercise is. Honestly, I hate the treadmill. Walking outside is fine during the summer, but during the winter it's both cold and dangerous. Walking on the treadmill is boring, but the way my legs were hurting last night (after just carting some leaves around and doing a bit of digging!) tells me that I need to make this a priority.
Eating healthy is just one piece of the puzzle. I also have to make sure that I keep in decent shape, keep my brain active and maintain some semblance of a social life. If I intend to be living on my own at 80 or 110, I need to take care of what I have. Which is a really weird thought, you know? I'm halfway there.
I don't feel like it. I don't notice that I feel that much different than I did at 20. Just happier. And I want to keep it that way, which is going to require some effort on my part.
OK. So treadmill walking or neighborhood walking (I won't run on a regular basis because I want to keep my knees and hips, thank you very much) every day. Targeted exercise...the problem is that I see these things as taking time away from my writing. I need to work on that.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Sleep disorders
A while ago I had a friend contact me regarding what she thought was adult onset attention deficit disorder. She asked a bunch of people about drugs, and I promptly responded with alternatives. Of course.
Attention deficit disorder mirrors the effects of a number of other problems, most of them related to sleep. Several studies have made a connection between ADD and the inability of the brain to turn off the dreaming function when a person is awake.
Most of us go through periods of inattention or distractability. This coincides, in many cases, with an inability to sleep or a lighter sleep cycle, where we don't get all the REM sleep our brains need to stay in top shape. Our brains respond by trying to drop into REM sleep while we're awake. If we get enough sleep, everything works better.
While there are other possibilities, I tend to work with what I can affect. The simplest solution is getting enough sleep, but who has time for that? :) Meditation and exercise increase endorphins and wake up the brain. Many people who exercise enter a state similar to meditation without even thinking about it, a sort of resting state while fully awake.
I learned many years ago that if I could force my brain into a resting state I could make myself fall asleep.
When you're right on the edge of sleep your brain starts to run at random through images, sometimes sounds or snippets of conversation. Almost like a sorting process. One second you're looking at a field of sunflowers, the next you're listening to a snatch of Mozart. Then a child's face pops up, or a conversation overheard. In essence, your brain goes into an ADHD state where anything could be noted and called up. Everything becomes significant.
I found that if I could duplicate this form of random thought, never keeping my mind on anything for more than a second or two, I would drop into sleep without a problem. It does take practice (rather like my technique for getting rid of headaches) but if you're not sleeping well it's worth a try.
If you have random periods of inattention, or find yourself wondering who this person is you've been talking to for the last hour (You know you were introduced, but the name, the name!) it very easily could be a sleep problem.
Sometimes this happens during the day. The trick there is to force the brain to focus on one thing--it usually brings my attention back, and generally it is a clue that I didn't get enough sleep the night before. A fifteen minute power-nap may be helpful.
A tea made of equal parts of catnip, valerian and lemon balm usually helps me to calm down as well, but don't use the valerian if you're taking any kind of chemical anti-depressant or for more than a week at a time. If I need to relax but don't need to sleep, I skip the valerian or go for a smaller dose.
LR Note: YES, catnip is a human tranquilizer. Maybe it affects us differently because cats are alien...or maybe we are.
Additions to your calming pharmucopeia:
Most mints
chamomile
turkey (triptophan)
lavender
Attention deficit disorder mirrors the effects of a number of other problems, most of them related to sleep. Several studies have made a connection between ADD and the inability of the brain to turn off the dreaming function when a person is awake.
Most of us go through periods of inattention or distractability. This coincides, in many cases, with an inability to sleep or a lighter sleep cycle, where we don't get all the REM sleep our brains need to stay in top shape. Our brains respond by trying to drop into REM sleep while we're awake. If we get enough sleep, everything works better.
While there are other possibilities, I tend to work with what I can affect. The simplest solution is getting enough sleep, but who has time for that? :) Meditation and exercise increase endorphins and wake up the brain. Many people who exercise enter a state similar to meditation without even thinking about it, a sort of resting state while fully awake.
I learned many years ago that if I could force my brain into a resting state I could make myself fall asleep.
When you're right on the edge of sleep your brain starts to run at random through images, sometimes sounds or snippets of conversation. Almost like a sorting process. One second you're looking at a field of sunflowers, the next you're listening to a snatch of Mozart. Then a child's face pops up, or a conversation overheard. In essence, your brain goes into an ADHD state where anything could be noted and called up. Everything becomes significant.
I found that if I could duplicate this form of random thought, never keeping my mind on anything for more than a second or two, I would drop into sleep without a problem. It does take practice (rather like my technique for getting rid of headaches) but if you're not sleeping well it's worth a try.
If you have random periods of inattention, or find yourself wondering who this person is you've been talking to for the last hour (You know you were introduced, but the name, the name!) it very easily could be a sleep problem.
Sometimes this happens during the day. The trick there is to force the brain to focus on one thing--it usually brings my attention back, and generally it is a clue that I didn't get enough sleep the night before. A fifteen minute power-nap may be helpful.
A tea made of equal parts of catnip, valerian and lemon balm usually helps me to calm down as well, but don't use the valerian if you're taking any kind of chemical anti-depressant or for more than a week at a time. If I need to relax but don't need to sleep, I skip the valerian or go for a smaller dose.
LR Note: YES, catnip is a human tranquilizer. Maybe it affects us differently because cats are alien...or maybe we are.
Additions to your calming pharmucopeia:
Most mints
chamomile
turkey (triptophan)
lavender
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)