Letha’s Health Secrets

A mosquito trapped in Manorville, New York and another in Boston tested positive for the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus, the Suffolk County health department announced yesterday. New York announced plans to spray for mosquitos.  Scientists have recently discovered the precise neurons on the antennae of mosquitoes that detect DEET the dangerous poison used in pesticides.

Most experts believed DEET worked by blocking the insect’s ability to detect 1-octen-3-ol, a volatile substance that is contained in human sweat and breath. That would mean that the insects, which find their human victims by smell, would fly right on by a DEET-disguised arm or ankle. However, a new study finds that mosquitos simply do not like the smell of DEET. That makes a difference in our use of pesticides. Continue reading ‘Mosquitos hate eucalyptus, clove, menthol and camphor’

Dharamsala, August 16: (click on the link for live radio)
Members of the regional Tibetan Women’s Association (RTWA) of Dharamsala on Saturday organized a symbolic celebration of ‘Raksha Bandhan’, a Hindu festival of tying ‘rakhi’ (a piece of holy thread) round the wrist of brothers, to cherish and tie “bond of brotherhood with India”. Raksha Bandhan (bond of protection), also called Rakhi Bandhan, is a Hindu festival of love, faith and protection and is being celebrated all over India today. On the occasion, the sisters tie up the sacred traditional thread of ‘rakhi’ round the wrist of their brothers to save them from all evils and to cherish the chaste bond of love between brothers and sisters. Members of Tibetan Women’s Association, armed with rakhis for their Indian brothers, participated in the symbolic religious festival of Raksha Bandhan at the courtyard of the Main Tibetan Temple (Tsuglag-Khang).

High acid foods increase sour stomach, bloating, burps and acid reflux. If you have those digestive discomforts or constipation, drink 1 - 2 tablespoons of health food store aloe vera juice added to warm water after meals. Aloe, a soothing deep-acting cleanser, helps relax muscle tension that makes you feel choked with acid. Use an aloe juice or gel such as Lily of the Desert or other drinkable brands (not the aloe you put on sun burns!) Many people get relief from acid reflux by adding 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water and sipping it with a straw. Some traditional Chinese doctors recommend apple cider vinegar for weight loss because they believe digestive spasms are associated with liver congestion. To avoid acid reflux, (and gout) reduce or avoid the following high acid foods:  Continue reading ‘Foods for Acid Reflux’

I brought back a sun lamp from New York to Vermont. It is mid-summer but feels cold and rainy in the mountains. Autumn brings a change in climate from hot to cool and dry. That is said to increase Vata, according to Ayurvedic health traditions. With a Vata imbalance nerves and energy may be compromised. To prevent arthritic pain during cold, damp days, I work with a heating pad at my waist as I type. It keeps me warmer and brings needed blood circulation to the kidneys. Many people feel depressed in autumn and winter. It may be because the days are shorter and they need extra light and warmth. They can get relief by calming and nourishing their nerves–taking care of their Vata.  Continue reading ‘Happy, Lucky August Full Moon’

The Farmer’s Almanac tells us: Native Americans of the northern and eastern states followed the seasons by naming each full moon. The names, used throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior, are used to this day. August 16, 2008 is called the Full Sturgeon Moon because the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during the August full Moon. Some others called it the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon. People were closer to the earth then.  Continue reading ‘Full Moon in August’

Here are many suggestions for at-home complexion and massage treatments. Have fun. Don’t try them all at once! They are suited for individual complexion types and health/beauty issues that I explain. I have linked to a number of product sources. But you can find the ingredients in your local supermarket, health food store or online. . . Caring touch brings people closer–especially when done with a smile, a soft word and warm hands. Massage helps normalize circulation, firm muscles, replenish nerves, and improve skin tone by bringing oxygen and blood where needed. You will enjoy the spicy aroma and luxurious feel of treatments inspired by mother India. Continue reading ‘Feed Your Skin’

Times and diets have changed over time. The generation that matured during the great Depression believed that health and wellbeing would naturally result from a diet consisting of foods they had lacked while growing up–primarily meat and milk. Getting the world back on its feet after World War II consisted of stuffing the mouths of war-torn people abroad with the typical American diet. The original Care Package contained American surplus foods. According to a Care Inc. spokesperson, “The contents of these packages varied by country: Tea went to England; coffee went to France and Germany; packages going to Italy included pasta. Other typical contents included canned meat stews, cereal and biscuits, jam, canned vegetables, sugar and candy, evaporated milk, butter, cigarettes. One American item that Europeans didn’t know what to make of was chewing gum.”   Continue reading ‘Food, Fitness and the Environment’

Dawn, 776 B.C. in the sacred valley at Olympia in Elis, near the western coast of Greece: The feast days, begun by Hercules to honor his father Zeus, were about to begin. The first Olympic Games attracted over 40,000 spectators to an outdoor stadium consisting of four sloping heights. The silver Alpheus river flowed near the 210 yard long racing path. For five days, chariot races, boxing and wrestling matches, and foot races celebrated the wealth and power of a masculine culture. Every four years all wars stopped as the Greeks paid homage to manly beauty and prowess. The Olympics was a sporting and political event, a contest of wealth and power. Continue reading ‘Olympic Spirit’

Do you live within an injury zone of a Nuclear Reactor? Fill in your zip code and find out.
Fallout danger zones vary for each reactor and are the zones where injury or death are most likely to occur. The nuclear industry is  proposing to build new reactors in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland,  Mississippi,  Illinois, Louisiana, New York,  North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas & Virginia. They will pave the way for attempts to open up new locations for nuclear power plants in the future. According to Greenpeace, the new reactor models that the industry are considering are neither safe nor economically viable. Even if your area is not in the shadow of a nuclear power plant, you may face the threat from nuclear waste repository sites or nuclear waste transportation routes. Nuclear power plants may be cleaner than coal and oil, but there is nothing wrong with wind or solar power. Some say a good way to protect ourselves from radiation include kelp and other seaweeds and mushrooms like reishi. But they have to come from safe, clean sources.

Arjuna tree bark (Latin Name: Terminalia arjuna Wight & Arn.) is a cardioprotective botanical used in Ayurveda (East Indian traditional medicine) since 2500 B.C. It has remarkable cardioprotective, heart muscle strengthening properties. Here are good reasons to take 250 mgs of Arjuna with meals once or twice daily. Continue reading ‘Twelve Good Things About Arjuna’