Knowledge is Health
A New Year’s resolution to naturally improve health
2022 dawned with more
than a few in my world feeling
poorly, actively sick, or even
hospitalized, some in dire
straits. Plenty more were recov-ering.
A word we had rarely
BY PAT BRADFORD
even heard a couple of years ago
—coronavirus — has become a
word we speak too much.
A great deal of fear is
attached to that word. Yes, the
virus can sicken and kill, but
so can undercooked chicken
and car collisions. Knowledge
is power.
Demasking the mystery
of a virus that can compel
frightened people to wear a
mask to walk outside, even by
themselves with no one else in
sight, is a good thing.
Thankfully we humans adapt. Three years ago, no one
could imagine acquiring so much medical knowledge or
having so many new things in our homes. Digital ther-mometers
were fairly common but now are ubiquitous
in home medical kits for routine temperature checks.
Joining them are nebulizer treatments and daily blood
oxygen readings on a brilliant little device
called a pulse oximeter.
Oximeters are readily
available in stores and online
for under $10. Previously
not seen outside a hospital
or medical facility, this
little battery-operated
digital reader lightly clamps
onto the end of a finger to
deliver a blood oxygen level
reading and pulse.
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Nebulizers, in home use for
years for those with lung issues
including asthma or COPD,
in 2022 are viewed as another
essential home medical kit
item for lungs. Do your
research or ask your physician
about what meds are best to
put in the nebulizer.
After hearing about blood
oxygen readings on a succes-sion
of friends in the hospital,
followed by one particularly
intense period for one in and
out of intensive care repeat-edly,
a light bulb went off. I
decided to search the Inter-net
for what foods to eat to
increase blood oxygen.
I was shocked by what I
learned. Everyday foods can increase blood oxygen
levels. And not over long periods either, or so I read.
Searching the Internet for “foods that increase
blood oxygen levels” revealed that adding fresh
squeezed lemon to drinking water was a top contender
to increasing oxygen in blood, as were elderberry
tea, turmeric, bananas, grapes, blueberries, garlic,
cabbage, spinach, beets, meat, nuts and seeds, alkaline
foods and water. And here’s the shocker —number
one on many lists was just opening the windows to
breath in fresh air or getting outside. Exercise was also
high on all the lists.
I am putting this information (and my nebulizer) to a
test. A lofty New Year’s resolution was made to increase
blood oxygen by three percentage points, even if it means
walking again, if only to the corner and back.
Do your own search to see what is best for you. We
really are what we eat. (I am seeing results!) Knowledge
is health.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com 19
WBM
This is not intended as medical advice, but a suggestion to gain readily available
knowledge to better care for yourself or loved ones, and/or aid in recovery.
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