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What should I drink to be healthy at 100?
If you ask a centurion from Okinawa, the answer would probably be turmeric tea. This golden spice is a staple tea for many centurions living in Okinawa, also known as the Longevity Island.
Okinawa is considered to be a blue zone where people live to be 100 years old at a rate 10 times higher than anywhere else in the world. Blue Zone is a term used to reflect the lifestyles and environment of the world’s longest-living communities, and there are only 5 in the world!
Okinawans live to be 100 for many reasons: they exercise regularly and also have an excellent diet low in red meat, and high in seasonal fruits and vegetables, fish, whole grains, and lean proteins, including soy. For the Okinawa native, turmeric tea is a nice complement to an already incredibly healthy lifestyle.
This spice is a major overachiever. In fact, many health professionals have claimed that it may be one of the most powerful disease fighters known to humans. There have been over 6,000 peer-reviewed articles published proving the benefits of this beautiful orange herb, and its #1 component, curcumin!
My turmeric research recently made me a lot more interested in making my own turmeric tea at home. So I started making my own over the last two weeks. I don’t know for sure if it’s the tea, but I feel amazing!
My husband has commented several times already about our counters having minor yellow spots. Turmeric’s rich golden-yellow color will stain clothing and may temporarily turn counters and some dishware yellow, so be prepared for that.
How to make turmeric tea at home
Organic ground turmeric can be found at most grocery stores in the spice aisle.
Imagine what replacing 1 soda or sugary drink a day with a turmeric tea could do for your health over the long run!
Turmeric tea is a hearty drink and takes a little extra preparation than just adding a tea bag into a cup of hot water. However, the experience is totally worth the preparation and wait time. I love the idea of adding lots of anti-inflammatory herbs to tea to keep my immune system in tip-top shape.
I have tried several recipes for making turmeric tea at this point. This one is my favorite and makes an excellent place to start if you’re starting to add turmeric into your diet. It is simple and strait-forward and adds the perfect amount of spice. In the beginning, I would start with 1 tsp turmeric and try and add a little more each time you make it to see how much works for you.
1 tsp turmeric (start with this and work your way up to as much as you want!)
1-2 cups of almond milk (you can use water or whatever milk product you prefer, I like almond milk)
tsp cinnamon
pinch in nutmeg
tsp ginger
pinch of ground black pepper*
honey (just a little or a lot, your preference)
*Black pepper is added because studies show it aids in the absorption of curcumin, the healthy component of turmeric.
Directions
simmer herbs and water together for ten minutes on the stovetop
strain out and add honey
Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy!
If making turmeric tea is not your thing don’t let that stop you from reaping its benifits. You can always buy a turmeric supplement over-the-counter to take once a day.
(This post may contain affiliate links. For for information about my disclosure policy click here.)
I am obsessed with learning more about “superfoods” and how I can better incorporate them into our family’s daily meals. My newest favorite is the golden spice, turmeric.
But wait, what exactly are superfoods?
Superfoods are nutrient rich foods that are beneficial for health and overall nutrition. They are considered by many to be nutritional powerhouses that have an extraordinary amount of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. In short, they are SUPER good foods for you.
OK that’s really cool. But why turmeric?
Turmeric in root form.
Two reasons. Turmeric is a spice that is easy to add to many dishes that your already making (I conveniently added it to our eggs this morning and my 1 year old gobbled them up with delight!). But even more importantly, turmeric may be the MOST healthy spice on the planet.
You may know turmeric as the gorgeous orange-gold spice that is used in many Indian and curry dishes. But what is spectacular about this herb is that it is even healthier then it is pretty.
A growing body of evidence suggests that turmeric may help reduce the risks of several diseases and that it may be one of the most powerful anti-inflammatories discovered thus far.
So when I say this spice is healthy, what I mean is that it’s a major overachiever with an A+ on health report card. In fact, many health professionals have claimed that it may be one of the most powerful disease fighters known to humans. There have been over 6,000 peer reviewed articles published proving the benefits of this beautiful orange herb, and its #1 component, curcumin. Geez, that’s a lot! I am overwhelmed just researching it.
What makes turmeric so healthy for us?
Turmeric popcorn. One of the many things you can add a dash of this spice to.
The active ingredient within turmeric known as curcumin is responsible for its health effects. Curcumin is a substance that has powerful inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
To explain this more clearly, lets discuss the banana. Bananas are healthy because they are high in potassium. Thus, as bananas are a source of potassium, turmeric is a source of curcumin. So actually, its curcumin we have to thank for all the extraordinary healthfulness!
Ok, NOW you’ve got my attention. What are all the amazing turmeric benefits?
So glad you asked! Here you go:
Anti-inflammatory
This is the BIG one! The most powerful aspect of turmeric is its ability to control inflammation. Inflammation is what puts people at risk for most diseases, such as cancer, arthritis, high cholesterol and chronic pain.
Some research has even found that when comparing anti-inflammatory compounds that aspirin and ibuprofen are less effective then curcumin and are considering it among the most anti-inflammatory compounds in the world.
Very important takeaway: turmeric’s key to disease reversal may be its ability to curb inflammation.
Anti-oxidant protection
Oxidative damage is believed to be one of the mechanisms behind aging and many diseases. Antioxidants are beneficial because they protect us from free radicals. Curcumin is a very potent antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals due to its chemical structure. (1)
Cancer prevention
Curcumin in turmeric “interferes with several important molecular pathways involved in cancer development, growth and spread,” according to the American Cancer Society. (2)
Curcumin’s powerful antioxidant advantages have been shown to protect healthy cells, particularly those found in the colon, from cancer-causing agents. It aids the body in destroying mutated cancer cells before they have a chance to spread to other areas. (3)
Brain protection
Research has suggested that curcumin may improve overall memory in Alzheimer’s Patient’s. It is thought to do so by removing amyliod plaque buildup in the brain. (4)
Pain and arthritis management
This is because of turmeric’s ability to improve inflammation which also helps arthritis pain.
Research in 2010 showed long-term improvement in pain and functioning for 100 patients with osteoarthritis in the knee after taking a turmeric supplement with curcumin. (5)
A small study in 2012 indicated that BCM-95, a curcumin product, worked better at reducing joint pain and swelling for patients than a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID. (6)
Lowers risk of heart disease
Can you believe that heart disease kills more people in the world then any other disease? It turns out that curcumin may help stop and even reverse many steps in the heart disease process. (7)
Studies have shown that curcumin is beneficial for heart disease because of how it protects and improves the endothelial (the lining of the blood vessels).
Some studies have even shown that it was as beneficial as exercise and may be as or more helpful then some cholesterol lowering medications. (8)(9)
Wow, that’s impressive! Anything else?
There are so many studies and so much information about the benefits of turmeric and its counterpart, curcumin that I honestly couldn’t read it all even if I had all the time in the world (which I assure you, I don’t). The supply of information on this topic seems endless.
Here are a few of the other benefits turmeric is presumed to help with:
Organic ground turmeric can be found at most grocery stores in the spice isle.
Natural liver detoxifier
Reduces risk of childhood leukemia
Has shown promise in slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis in mice
Aids in fat metabolism and helps in weight management
Used as Chinese medicine as a treatment for depression
Stopping blood vessel growth in tumors
Making cancers cells more vulnerable to chemo
How do I introduce it into my culinary routine?
Sprinkle it on your food. You can add this spice to almost anything. Add some zest to cooked vegetables, meats, egg dishes.
Add a dash to a smoothie (just a teaspoon- you can’t taste it). You can even add it to boiling water to make pasta or soups.
Try a turmeric supplement (I personally don’t do this since I already add it to food, but they are available).
Where do I find turmeric?
You can buy ground turmeric I’m the spice isle at most grocery stores, or buy turmeric here.
Experiment with buying whole turmeric and grating it yourself. You can find it at many grocery and natural food stores.
A few other tidbits:
It helps to add a little black pepper, which contains piperine. This enhances the absorption of curcumin by 2000%.
Curcumin is also fat soluble, so it may be a good idea to take it with a fatty meal.
Historically, turmeric was used as a dye for fabric. It WILL stain your clothes, so be careful not to get in on your clothing while cooking with it. It may also temporarily stain your counter tops or dishware, just FYI.
I want to learn more about how to be healthy… Where do I go from here?
Research, research, research! There is a lot of information out there on the internet and I’m a true believer in educating one’s self on the most current healthcare information.
A word of caution: Just make sure you are researching on credible sites. Some websites are legit, some, well… not so much. PubMed is a good source for researching studies if you feel so inclined to dork out!
Knowledge is power. I love it when my patients become experts on their own healthcare. They arm themselves with better decision making power and are much more compliant with taking good care of their health.
The more you treat your body like a temple by filling it with vital nutrients and antioxidants, the less likely you are to wind up as one of my patients, which is a very good thing!
“Let food by thy medicine and medicine by thy food.” – Hypocrates
If reading this spiked your interest in giving turmeric a try, email me and let me know how it went. I would love to hear about it!
While most people were with their families this Easter Sunday, I was working day one of Emergency Room RN training.
In light this, my family had our Easter celebration and egg hunt with our daughter the day prior. Celebrating holidays the day before or the day after has been one thing I have had to get accustomed to as an RN.
It was surprisingly not as busy as most days in the emergency room, or so I’m told. My preceptor, who has 10 years working in the ER, mentioned that fewer ER admissions occur on holidays then on other days of the year. Apparently, many people like to wait until the day after a major holiday to have a medical emergency and show up in the ER.
There are a wide variety of patients in the emergency room.
The day started off with a bang. I had my very first trauma patient. The unfortunate victim of a car crash that occurred somewhere along the 405. I was hoping the ER would get me out of my comfort zone, and my first experience absolutely did not disappoint.
I also got my first pediatric patient: a baby who luckily didn’t have anything seriously wrong. Having my own 20 month old daughter, I seriously don’t know how well I’m going to handle pediatric patients that are not so lucky.
My patients ranged in age from 8 weeks to 96 years old. Talk about a diverse patient population!
My IV start skills are constantly being challenged.
I started 3 IV’s during the shift, including a few elderly patients, which I often have a difficult time with. Not too shabby, if I don’t say so myself. I have always been pretty good at IV starts, but I hope to really fine tune my skills within the next few months.
One thing I was super impressed with was that my preceptor does ultra sound guided IV’s on a daily basis. So cool. I didn’t even know that nurses were allowed to do that. There are apparently several nurses who do it in our emergency room and it requires additional classes and a special certification. I don’t know of any other floors in the hospital where that happens.
HIPPA and patient privacy
I have been having an issue with how much I ethically can and should disclose on this blog. As much as I want to break down every little detail of what I see, we have this super important legal policy called the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Otherwise known as HIPAA, it is basically a fancy way of saying that any healthcare professional will get fired if they disclose anything about a patient’s identity or medical information. Essentially it legally protects patient confidentially, which is a good thing.
On the off chance that anyone actually does read what I am writing I want to be very careful of this. Therefore, I am going to focus my writing on the skills and tasks that I perform and not on any patient information. It seriously limits what I can talk about, so I am mentioning that upfront.
Also, my husband is also a legal investigator at the hospital and he frequently reminds me about HIPAA. He even teaches courses about it to staff. It is a complete coincidence that we happen to both work for the same medical center (for the record though, I was there first).
Tomorrow I will get up at 5:15am and head out for day 2 of ER training and a whole new round of learning experiences. At some point I need to get a start on the 50 hours on online ER training courses I need to complete. My brain is tired just thinking about it.
Two weeks ago I was writing about how I wanted focus on trying to relax a little more and work a little less.
But life is so unpredictable. Just when you think things are going to be a certain way, a new opportunity spontaneously presents itself.
For the past year my RN title has been Resource Nurse, Float Pool. Essentially this means that I am a resource nurse for short-staffed units and I can float to any Med/Surg or Telemetry unit in the hospital. Soon my skill set is going to get an upgrade.
Soon I will be training to be an Emergency Room Nurse.
Emergency Room nursing is a whole new challenge for me.
I was recently selected to be in a new cross training program in our Emergency Department. Apparently they have some staffing issues and want to make sure they have trained Resource Nurses to help fill in the gaps.
In a few months I will be an Emergency Room Nurse at a Level 1 Trauma Hospital! Yay! Wait, wasn’t I just talking about not working so hard? Yup. Isn’t this program going to be stressful, exhausting and require a lot more work? Yeah, pretty much.
But opportunity is knocking and I’m going to go ahead and open the door. This is the first time this kind of cross training opportunity has ever been available at my hospital and I would be remiss to pass it up. In return, I get to expand my nursing prowess and make myself more marketable in my field.
I’m a nerd. I admit it.
If I’m not constantly learning or doing something new I get board pretty easily.
That partially explains why I left a lucrative career to go back to college for a second bachelors degree in nursing at the age of 32. I talk a little more about that here.
Back in my nursing school days I wanted to go directly to working in the ER or ICU after graduation. I had the desire to challenge myself right off the bat by caring for the most critical and vulnerable patient populations. But first I needed a job.
Nurse Residency programs are the place to be for a new grad.
As graduation approached I was frequently reminded that most new grad RN’s had a slim chance of getting excepted into a nurse graduate residency program. In fact, I knew of many RN grads who had been out of school for over a year and were still waiting to get their first job. This was due to the fact that there was a large surplus of graduate BSN’s coupled with a very limited number of nurse graduate residency programs available. From what I hear from new grads today, the problem still exists.
Patients never forget how their nurses made them feel.
To not have employment after 3 years in nursing school was definitely not OK for a gal graduating with 35k in student loan debt!
Since there are more Telemetry and Med/Surg Floors in most hospitals I thought I would have a better chance of just getting my foot in the door if I started there. So to maximize my chances for employment I asked to interview for ANY Telemetry unit position that was available in the entire hospital.
Fortunately my gamble paid off. Shortly after I applied to the nurse residency program at UCLA I started my nursing career on a Neuroscience and Stroke Telemetry Unit. I stayed on this unit for about 4 years and became certified in the specialty.
I still love Neuroscience and I’m so glad I started my nursing career there. Even though I have moved on to other things, I still feel like it is my home.
I’m back in school again. Sort of.
I’m back in student mode. I’m quickly finding out that becoming an Emergency Room Nurse requires an extraordinary amount of study and training. Just this week I completed Pediatric Advanced Life Support Certification (PALS) and Adult Certified Life Support Certification (ACLS).
Last week I shadowed two RN’s in the Liver Transplant ICU and Pediatric Unit to briefly introduce me to the specialties. This is because in the ER I will be working with Pediatrics as well as doing Trauma and Critical Care. Both are new specialties for me.
Next week I start orientation and will meet the preceptors who will help train me for the next 3 months. Then I start the 50+ hours of additional classroom training. I guess I will be doing a lot of studying after I put my daughter down to bed in the evenings.
Training to be an Emergency Room Nurse in a Level 1 Trauma Center will be very challenging to say the least. But I’m ready for it. It is amazing what opportunities arrive when you are least expecting them.
I’m sure I will have many tales to tell about the madness as an Emergency Room Nurse. Stay tuned!
Hello, I’m Sarah, and it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Thank you for joining me on my inaugural blog post!
Embarking on this blogging adventure feels like setting sail in the vast ocean of writing. I have a multitude of topics I’m eager to discuss, and I yearn for a creative outlet to share my passions: motherhood, my experiences as an RN, preventive healthcare, infants, child safety, my love for yoga, and anything else related to healthcare. It’s not a narrow niche, but for now, I’ll let my heart guide my writing.
My First Love: Journalism
Back in the day at Chico State, I pursued a major in Journalism and blossomed as a budding writer with a weekly column in our student newspaper, The Orion. However, shortly after graduating, I realized that newspaper writing wasn’t my calling. I made a complete shift in plans and entered the field of medical device sales.
For nine exhilarating years, I witnessed various surgeries and tirelessly marketed medical equipment to operating rooms along the West Coast. Weekly travel became routine, and during that period, I probably spent the equivalent of several years living out of hotel rooms.
Over time, this grueling lifestyle left me thoroughly burned out and desperate for change. Unfortunately, my resume pigeonholed me as a salesperson, limiting my options.
Christmas circa 2016, Roseville, CA. RN, Mom.
From Corporate Sales Exec to BSN Student
A longing for greater clinical medical knowledge and the desire to be a better human lead me to go back to college and earn my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). To say this was a challenge is an understatement. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life!
Leaving a high-paying job to go back to school for three years to come out with a lower-paying job is not the most financially wise choice. However, it did make me a lot happier in the long run. Following my passion for healthcare has been one of the greatest life changes I have ever made.
This was taken during my pediatric rotation at Kaiser West Los Angeles. I was such a newbie nurse!
I Began My New Career as a Registered Nurse
Shortly after graduation, I joined the RN residency program at UCLA Medical Center, specializing in the Neuroscience and Stroke unit. A few years later, I obtained certification as a Stroke Certified Registered Nurse and began mentoring other new graduates in my unit.
In 2015, I completed the Yoga Works Urban Zen Practitioner Program at UCLA. This program aimed to help nurses provide holistic care by integrating Eastern and Western approaches. I delved deeper into some of my favorite things: yoga, in-bed yoga movements, guided meditation, essential oils, and Reiki. It was an incredible learning experience that fundamentally transformed the way I deliver care to my patients.
From Neuro/Trauma to ER Nurse
In early 2017, I was accepted into an RN training program in the Emergency Room. It’s an intense, challenging, and exhausting environment, and I absolutely love it! It’s certainly not for the faint of heart. My skills have been pushed to the limit, and I can confidently say that I excel at difficult IV starts. That’s what happens when you initiate five or more IVs in a single day!
Being a Nurse Means Constant Learning
I dabbled in the medspa industry for about eight months as a side gig because I thought it was a career I was interested in. I became certified to use various lasers (IPL, hair removal) and also got certified to give injectables (Botox, Juvederm, etc..). It was fun for a while, but I ultimately decided to stay full-time at the hospital because I am way more passionate about the clinical side of nursing.
There were “perks” to being in the Medspa industry that I liked, like free injectables and free skincare products. Eventually, though, I realized that wasn’t a good enough reason to leave the hospital, and I didn’t love the work.
Nursing school helped me foster this passion and gave me a solid foundation for understanding health and the human body. I do my best to stay up to date on current healthcare and nutritional studies, and I try to be a good educational resource for my patients and family.
The stress of my first career lead me to search for ways to better care for myself. I started practicing yoga and meditation regularly, and it has remained a happy habit for over a decade. Now I incorporate it into my daily life and don’t know where I would be without it. There are a lot of things I practice at home to keep myself and my family healthy that I am excited to share on this blog.
Newest Job Title: RN Mom
On Halloween morning in 2015, my husband and I welcomed our daughter, Zoe, into the world. She is a spunky, sweet, and smart little lady who has changed our lives for the better. I apologize in advance for the ridiculous amount of baby photos that I am sure I will post in the future.
Zoe made her arrival seven weeks early due to a very rare and dangerous condition I got when I was 33 weeks pregnant called a placental abruption. In short, the placenta (lifeline from mom to baby) that was giving Zoe blood, oxygen, and nutrients suddenly disconnected from my uterus. This caused me to hemorrhage internally instead of delivering blood to where it should have been going- to Zoe!
Luckily right as it was happening, I was feeling terrible, and my husband had taken me to the hospital to get checked out. I was lucky to be there in the nick of time to have an emergency c-section. My doctors informed me that babies don’t usually survive placental abruptions, and we are forever grateful.
Zoe is our miracle baby, and we thank our lucky stars for her every single day. There is no better gift than the gift of a healthy baby!
Our very early days as new parents.
I have a few goals in this writing journey: explore the awesomeness and insanity of motherhood while trying to balance a career as a nurse, nurture a happy marriage, foster friendships, and continue to learn and share healthcare information—basically, all the lifestyle things I love.
