#462 – Pfizer’s First RA Blogger Summit – Feeding Body and Mind

The well-used blackboard in the teaching kitchen at Haven’s Kitchen.

It was palpable. By lunchtime, the collective energy of the group attending Pfizer’s First RA Blogger Summit had dropped, almost in direct contrast to the rising temperature in New York City on May 31st (90 degrees Fahrenheit). Fortunately, Pfizer and Twist Mktg had a plan to help restore us. They had arranged to shuttle us to Haven’s Kitchen, where we met Chef Seamus Mullen. We enjoyed a delicious gluten-free meal that was prepared with love, and blended with practical and actionable know-how.

It was a privilege to be treated to chilled cucumber gazpacho, kale salad, braised chicken curry with coconut bok choy, ginger rice, and if you had room, almond cake. As we ate, Seamus demonstrated how to make braised chicken curry. He also served up his philosophy for living, working and cooking with rheumatoid arthritis, starting with “I have a great team”, then seasoning his presentation with kitchen and life management tips.

I think I may have been a bit of a Bobble-Head – I was continually nodding in agreement with what Seamus was saying, some of which I’ve blogged about over the life of A Rheumful of Tips.

Here is a sampling of what Seamus shared with us:

• When cooking, use a step stool to alternate resting your feet and easing the tension in your back.
• Change position often.
• Schedule regular mealtimes.
• Pay attention to what you eat, and how it makes you feel. He recommended an app called Thryve, which allows you to keep track of what you eat, and then adjust your diet, accordingly.

“Food is a celebration – a coming together with friends and family. It is the grease for good conversation,” stated Seamus. Food is also a fantastic way in which to invite those living with rheumatoid arthritis to think differently about living, working and cooking with this disease. It is truly important to feed the mind and body, so you can live well, in spite of having rheumatoid arthritis.

Later in the year, as a part of Pfizer’s Rethink RA campaign, Seamus will be cooking and talking his way into the hearts of the residents of ten U.S. cities. (The schedule. along with the recipes for the dishes we had, is posted here.)

Here I am in the kitchen with Seamus Mullen.

Seamus is well-suited to this endeavour – he is approachable and knowledgeable. I appreciate that he shares one of my beliefs – that is to become an observer of yourself, then to take steps to make appropriate health and wellness-inducing changes.

Disclosure: travel and lodging expenses for Pfizer’s First RA Blogger Summit were covered by Pfizer.

#461 – Have Water, Will Travel

Collapsible Water Bottle

A while back, my sister and I were laughing about how, when we were much younger, we would be out all day, without packing a bottle of water, or three.

Now, it seems that we can’t step out the door without adding at least five-hundred grams to our weight. (One litre of water weighs one kilogram.)

It is a fact that air travel is dehydrating, and given that many people are dehydrated before they even reach 35,000 feet, it’s a double whammy. Your system needs water, as it helps conduct the electrical impulses to your cells.

In the old days, we used to be able to take bottled water through security. Times have changed.

I found this lightweight, affordable option. It was perfect for my recent flight to New York City. (The fact that it’s polka-dotted is a bonus!)

Once I cleared security, I filled it up at the fountain. By the time the flight attendant came around to offer drinks, I had already finished the water in the bottle. I ended up getting a refill from the flight attendant.

I also took it out with me on our excursions around New York City. I like that it’s not bulky – once I quenched my thirst, I slipped it into my purse, ready for the next fill up at a fountain.

My only complaint is that it doesn’t hold more water. I did find a larger ones on Amazon.

There’s still time to enter the giveaway for a ticket to Purses with Power. This Washington D.C. event will raise money to benefit The Arthritis Foundation.

#456 – Setting Your Intention

Image courtesy Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It can be easy to get bogged down by loss – whether it be of sight, hearing, or mobility. It’s something that rheumatoid arthritis patients know all too well. One of the many things that helps me move through life with rheumatoid arthritis (and hearing loss) is to have a strong emotional management strategy that allows me to weather the flash of a flare-up (which doesn’t happen often, any more, thankfully!), or the other blips and dips that occur on the highway of life.

On Set Your Alarm Clock!, I shared some of what impressed me from Michael J. Fox’s experiences of living with his particular brand of a chronic disease – Parkinson’s Disease. The symptoms are not the same, but the strategies used to live with a chronic illness can be universally applied.

As time goes on, and you glean new information, your strategies change. You may have lost flexibility in your body, but you can exercise it with your mind. How have your strategies changed over time?

If you are going to be in Washington, D.C., on June 20th, please consider entering this giveaway, which will further the work of The Arthritis Foundation. If you’re not available, perhaps you’d care to enter on behalf of someone who is able to attend.

#454 – Nearing Hearing Loss?

I wear hearing aids, which are not any fun, nor do they fully replicate the sounds that I have lost. They’re also expensive, and they require maintenance. It’s so much easier not to have to use them.

I was at an HOOM event, where I met Rahim Ghanbari, an audiologist who works in North Vancouver. We had a brief discussion about the excessive volume that one encounters in public spaces, such as restaurants, malls and swimming pools. I expressed my concern that the volume was exceeding recommended allowances, going so far as to threaten to wander around with a decibel reader, if I could rent one.

“There’s no need to rent one,” said Rahim. “Just check out an app called Decibel 10th.”

I did, and I installed it. I’ve used it a few times, and I’m not surprised by the readings.

Why not use your decibel reader to see if you agree with the title of this show on CBC’s Q: Are restaurants too noisy?

The Wisequacks, two doctors who impart medical information with humour, have written iPods Are Music To Your Ears. I particularly like the blade of grass analogy that is used to explain how the hair cells in the inner ear are impacted by noise.

In case this post has you clamouring for more, here is Mike Goldsmith on the History of Noise.

What would your answer be to this question that was asked on CBC’s Spark: We Asked the Question: Noise?

Finally, on Hear! Hear!, I equate stress and hearing loss on this guest post I wrote for U.K.-based, Gloveman Supplies Ltd.