Hello everyone. No I haven’t disappeared, just got busy. November and December are two my toughest
months because of multiple school visits, speaking engagements and
signings. By the time the holidays roll
around, I’m already bushed, but the holidays wait for no man...or woman.
Let’s give that a bit
of attention first. I love Thanksgiving,
Christmas and New Year’s. With my daughter’s engagement, we’ve also added Hanukkah
into the mix. That’s a new joy for all
of us. It’s a pleasure to spend time
with family and friends, but when you’re going, and hosting, and cooking, it
can also wear you down. Holidays often
bring as much stress as fun. As with any
chronic illness, MS likes to take your stress and make it so much worse. I once asked the nurse at my neurologist’s
office why it was so much busier than usual that day, (right around the
holidays). She told me that MS patients
as well as other neurological patients have tons more issues at the
holidays. Not surprising.
So, what to do? Of course, you want to keep up your meds and
watch your health in all aspects. It’s
extremely important to stay as physically fit as you can in order to keep the
MS flair-ups at bay. But it’s also very
important to keep emotionally and spiritually fit. I am a real believer in mind over
matter. I am a Christian,
Episcopalian. We go to church regularly
and I have a strong belief in the power of prayer. I hope you also have a spiritual avenue that
helps support you in this way. I also
believe in meditation. This can take any
form you like, including prayer. I do
daily yoga to help flexibility and relieve stress, but I also meditate for at
least ten minutes each day. There are
lots of meditation programs out there to help you focus your mind and body to
stay healthy. I use one I found online
along with mental images of my body healing itself. It really has proven to be a valuable tool to
keep me healthy. If that’s too out there
for you, then just remember that a positive mental attitude has been proven to
lead to healthier living.
Along with
that comes a new study.
“Vitamin D may slow the progression of multiple sclerosis
(MS) and also reduce harmful brain activity, a new study suggests.
Correcting vitamin D deficiency early in the course of the
disease is important, according to the report, published online Jan. 20 in JAMA Neurology.”
http://consumer.healthday.com/cognitive-health-information-26/brain-health-news-80/vitamin-d-may-aid-ms-patients-684034.html
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/GeneralNeurology/43974
I mentioned the benefits of Vitamin D in a previous blog, but now
it is gaining validity. The upshot is
that more study is needed but most neurologists now agree that Vitamin D seems
to slow disease progress by slowing the appearance of plaque in the brain. They haven’t determined how much Vitamin D is
necessary or whether you should be only up to par or beyond normal daily allowances. They also don’t know whether supplements or
actual sunlight make a difference.
Still, though, it can’t hurt to get a bit more Vitamin D in your
diet. Talk to your doctor to determine
how much. Don’t take a chance and
overdose. You want enough but not too
much.
Take care of yourself so others won’t have to.
Melinda
