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Seasonal Allergies vs Lemon Water

Written by:  Preston Thompson

               Who loves Spring weather? I do! It may be unpredictable sometimes with cold mornings and mild to hot afternoons and evenings, but after a true Winter season is over you can enjoy the warmer weather. It’s just something about the Spring that says, “I want to start new and clean out all the junk I had stored in the colder months.” It also tells us, “Now is the time to rearrange my life!” Activities from walking the dog without wearing layers to little league baseball with the children to barbecues that leave a nice-smelling aroma around the neighborhood make Spring one of the best times of the year.

We human beings are not the only creatures participating in the Springtime fun. Nature, of course, gets involved in all the Springtime activities. As soon as the vernal equinox gifts Earth with more hours of sunlight, nature takes its course. Since the beginning of time, nature has a natural affinity for the Spring. The grass starts to wake up from its six-month dormancy, the animals begin to roam more, and oh yeah, pollination reaches its peak during the Spring months. Trees, ragweed (weeds), and grass begin their mating season by releasing pollen into the atmosphere in hopes that it catches its mate to germinate and produce more offspring during this time. Then the bees, nature’s most valuable player, play a major role in most plant cycles.

               This sounds like the best time to be alive, and it is…unless you have springtime seasonal allergies. As soon as the first signs of warmth hit the atmosphere and the plants begin to release pollen, our sensitive immune systems become active! Immunoglobin E (look it up) is our own antagonist for the perfect Spring. One of five immunoglobin antibodies involved in allergic responses kicks into high defense mode when our body detects an allergen (for this blog, the allergen will be pollen). It fights pollen by releasing histamines from the mast cells (can you tell I took a biochemistry class before?). Our responses include watery itchy eyes, coughing, sneezing, itchy skin, rashes, snotty noses, itchy throats and mouths, swelling, and enough mucus to keep the paper wipes manufacturers in business. In extreme cases histamines can cause fevers. People with asthma suffer from difficult breathing when allergens are present at high levels thus producing more histamines that tells the body to create more mucus in the lungs.  

               And if you are like me, my best friends are the antihistamines during the Spring months. Thanks to today’s smartphones I am looking on the Weather Channel App and Pollen.com to see the predicted pollen count from day to day. I have had most brands of antihistamines throughout my life from Allegra to Zyrtec. Year after year I am telling myself just make it to June, the Summer will come and the pollen count will not be as high, yet manageable. I get that 12 to 24-hour relief when I pop one with some water, but I have had situations where my immune system developed a tolerance to the antihistamine and had to switch up the brand. It is an uphill battle for many of us allergy sufferers.

               Please note I do not work in the healthcare industry nor am I a dietician, but I found a sidekick that alleviates most of my allergy symptoms in an unexpected way. On my path to becoming healthier, I wrote a blog or two about running in 5K’s and how I want to continue running in more so I can stay disciplined on my path to become healthier. So, one day in February my coworker told me about how he drinks lemon water for more energy. I thought to myself that I should give it a try. I do love lemons, and if it can give me energy then I want to take my chances.

               Spring started a few weeks earlier this year. As pollen counts begin to rise, so did the allergy symptoms. Day after day I took Zyrtec and a nose shot of Flonase as a part of my daily routine only to see those symptoms of springtime allergies return hours before the 24-hour relief ended. Thinking to myself this cannot be my entire Spring. By the first official day of Spring, I maintained my routine with the addition of lemon water.

The mixture is very simple. I cut one whole lemon in half followed by squeezing the juice with a handheld lemon squeezer into a cup. Then, I pour the lemon juice into 7 ounces of water. Next, I stir or cap and shake for a minute then drink. Some experts recommend drinking lemon water twice a day in the morning and at night before bed. I typically drink lemon water everyday during allergy season in the morning and go about my day.

SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU ARE SQUIMISH: The first week of drinking lemon water I noticed I was coughing up lots of mucus, thick mucus at that. My sinuses were constantly draining mucus out of my nose as well. Within a week I noticed my allergic symptoms reduced, and the expelling of mucus from my nose and mouth decreased.

NOW YOU CAN CONTINUE READING:  After one week of drinking lemon water, I was skipping days of taking allergy medication as the forecasted pollen count was rising by the day. I was able to do more outdoor activities with little to no symptoms from the pollen allergy. For even better relief I began adding natural honey to my lemon water for a soothing feeling.

I still use allergy medication from time to time, but since drinking lemon water daily I have not been as dependent on it as I was in previous years. What I like most about this lemon water is not only has it minimized my allergy symptoms to pollen, but this home remedy is so easy to make for the on-the-go person. Since lemons are a good source of vitamin C, it can help reduce risk of heart disease and aid in digestive health. And did I not mention since drinking lemon water daily I have more energy to juggle my busy life.

Please note I am no dietician, nutritionist, or work in the medical field. Everything I wrote in this blog is self-observed improvements I have experienced within my own body as a person who suffers from seasonal Spring allergies associated with pollen. Human physiology comes from the years I took courses in Human Anatomy & Physiology and Biochemistry. Talk to your healthcare provider about the benefits of drinking lemon water before deciding to stock up on lemons from your local grocery store and/or farmer’s market. Your healthcare provider knows what works best for your health and has developed a plan to make you healthier. If drinking lemon water is part of that plan, then I say give it a try.

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2022 Blog Blogging Christian Faith Happy Holidays Healing Health Lifestyle New Year New Year Resolution Thoughts Year in Review

A Think Piece on Sunday #5: My 2023 Prayer for You

Written By: Preston Thompson

First, Happy New Year!

2022 is over and our New Year’s resolution did not go as planned. It started out well with hope, ambition, and determination, but somewhere in the year those traits gradually decline. Before we knew it, the 2022 Holiday Season was here while our resolutions from the beginning of the year never got out of the first steps. No big deal! 2022 was not our year, but 2023 will be!

Year after year we set New Year’s Resolution to better our lives. This year will be the year we lose weight, eat better, exercise more, get those numbers down at the annual physical, find a better job, get a promotion, start a business, start a side hustle, be a better person, improve our mental health, work on clearing debt, the list goes on. From there, once we accomplish our resolutions for the year it hopefully becomes a lifestyle.

Like the average person who have real lives, we started strong in January 2022. By Spring 2022, we began to drop out one by one. We became good at our resolutions when the first results were good, but when the results became consistent our efforts began to decrease. What happened? Year after year we get to a certain point within the resolution then stop. What is missing that have us making the same resolution every year only to see little to no improvements in our lives?

Well, it is quite simple. For 2023 I pray you find discipline in your resolution when it gets tougher. I also pray that comfort does not overtake change. Let us talk about it!

Discipline is what separates the achievers from the stragglers. When we set a goal to do something better with our lives, discipline will keep us grounded. It makes us come back repeatedly despite the odds against us in achieving our goals. Discipline will make us study early and often. It reminds us why we chose this resolution and what the end goal will be.

As our resolutions get tougher, the results begin to differ from what they were in the beginning. They become delayed, consistent, and/or diminished. For a discipline person in his or her resolution that means adjusting or working harder to achieve their resolution’s reward. An undisciplined person to their resolution becomes easily intimidated when the resolution does not produce satisfactory results thus becoming submissive to his or her own comfort. This same person is also more likely to give up on their resolution when they receive satisfactory results rather than continuing to make it their new lifestyle. Why is that?

Comfort is easier than change. We can be so comfortable in our lifestyle that it is easy to fall back into it when changes become tough. This is because we know the results of our comfort and know how it makes us feel, comfortable. Even in our New Year’s Resolutions we can achieve our resolutions, and rather than making them a lifestyle, we go back to what has been comfortable throughout our lives. In addition, we can begin a resolution that is a change from what has been comfortably but not beneficial in our lives, become discouraged by the results and go back to comfort.

Whether you are the new year new me, leaving behind the negativity in 2022 and steppin’ on necks all 2023, or New Year’s New Gym Members type of resolution person, I pray you keep going in your resolution all 2023. And if the change becomes the opposition, keep going in your resolution because you could be closer to reaching your 2023 goals. Just know you are not alone on this journey; you have an entire network who wants the best version of you in all of 2023.

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2022 5k Christmas Conditioning December Fitness Healthy Lifestyle November Race Running Training

Running My First 5K

Week 0: Signing Up

I do not have a true athletic background. As far as team sports with competitive play goes, my resume is not spectacular. The “somewhat” athletic experience I have are at fitness centers where I am working out to my own pace.

With that being said, I do not know what it takes to be a true athlete pushing myself beyond my physical limits. Although I played some sports in more fun than competitive leagues, I do not know what it is like to practice daily for countless hours conditioning and training my body for the next game. My current body and mind have very little discipline to become a true athlete.

In Week 0, my wife and I signed up. Excited, yet nervous, I know we will do well. Signing up was the step to prove to myself I can run one. No need to focus on what I have not done in the past or what the other runners have done, I am challenging myself to do something I did not envision I would be doing in my mid-30s. Before taking a step on anybody’s treadmill or running a single mile outside during South Carolina’s unpredictable Fall weather patterns, I told myself I can do this. Running my first 5K in my mid-30s sounds crazy but that feeling of a runner’s accomplishment and the preparation before the actual run feels like it will be more rewarding when it is all said and done.

So, with that being said, why do I want to run a 5K? And not just a 5K, but my very first one. One that I will be running in my mid-30s when most started running 5K’s in their teens and twenties. It is simple. It has always been on my mind to be able to run long distances without getting tired after a short run. I have tried running on my own in the past at my own time and pace, but it got me little results or reaching my goal. I want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, so signing up for a 5K would motivate me to continue conditioning even after completing my very first run. It will discipline me to stay on a healthy routine. Just like school, I am more disciplined to studying when there is a test involved. Well, I see this 5K as a test to my physical health. Will my health and endurance improved when I am challenged to run/walk 3.2 miles in a race to the finish line with other runners? Going against my norm, what am I made of when I am running on the day of the 5K? Will I surprise myself or give in to fatigue? Most importantly, how well will my training and conditioning be leading up to the 5K run day?

I cannot answer those questions at the moment. However, I will find those answers through training. Through the process of training and conditioning I hope I find out just how determined I am to reach my physical fitness goals.

Stick around. My journey to running in my first 5K is just beginning.

Written By: Preston Thompson