Joan’s Boomer Blog

Can Magnetic Therapy Relieve Your Chronic Pain?

Chronic Pain doesn’t have to be part of your senior years. Alternative remedies such as magnetic therapy, using magnetic bracelets, acupuncture, reiki and energy medicine offer hope for chronic pain sufferers.

Baby boomers who suffer chronic pain often just accept pain as part of their lives. They take pain medications that harm their livers - Pop a pill and feel a little better - However, that chronic pain from arthritis, back or hip problems, neuropathy, carpel tunnel or other forms of unrelieved pain are still present. You can try and relieve the symptoms but the underlying cause it still there.

How Does Magnetic Therapy Work?

Magnetic therapy has been around for about 4,000 years. Magnetic healing may work to relieve chronic pain by relaxing the capillary walls of the body, increasing the blood flow throughout your system, working much the same as massage therapy, which stimulates the areas around muscles, increasing blood flow and helping the body to heal itself.

In Magnetic therapy a magnetic bracelet or other jewelry is worn which may help increase blood flow and speed healing of chronic pain, getting to the cause of the pain, not just relieving the symptoms.

Where Can I Find Quality Magnetic Bracelets?

One way to get magnetic jewelry is to join an MLM like Amega Global, which offers quality magnetic bracelets, zero point energy wand, an energetic healing tool which can help the body heal from chronic pain - often in minutes), and other energy healing products. Their products are about $200-$600 each.

Or, you can get the same type of magnetic jewelry such as the iRenew Energy Bracelet at Amazon.com for a fraction of the price.

The Magnetic Therapy Industry is a billion dollar business worldwide, with $300 million of that business in the United States.

Life is too short to live with chronic pain. With magnetic therapy, you can increase your quality of life - no matter how long you live. I’ve seen amazing results in seniors over 80 years old, as well as those in their 40’s and 50’s.

If you live in chronic pain and don’t want to take pain medications daily, check out magnetic therapy and energy healing. You might be glad you did.

Joan’s Boomer Blog - Your Know You’re Getting Old When……

There are some moments in life when the fact that you’re getting older kind of slaps you in the face (besides

Our daughter's first house

the times you look at that face in the mirror and suddenly notice a new sag or wrinkle!) For my husband and I, one of those senior moments came this past weekend when our youngest daughter purchased her first home and we helped her move in. When someone you thought of as your baby suddenly morphs into a homeowner, pride is mixed with the feeling of time passing quickly.

The second part of the getting older came from the physical helping with her move! After a weekend of cleaning, moving furniture and cleaning up a yard that hadn’t been cleaned up in over a year, we’re left feeling stiff, old and like we want to spend the day in bed with a bottle of Bio-Freeze.

Still and all, besides feeling we’ll like we’ll never move again without pain in forgotten muscles and joints, there is such a feeling of gratification to see our youngest in this new light. Our youngest daughter has always had her life together, unlike her parents who were children of the 60’s where peace and love solved all problems and we never thought of investing our money for retirement, but the the role of “homeowner” is reserved for true adults. We’re just not yet used to seeing her that way.

Our daughter, Laura, was Valedictorian of her high school class, went to college to study architecture and played softball at a Division one school for 4 years. Now that she’s employed with an architecture firm, she’s decided she wants to also buy houses to rent out and her first purchase was a home of her own.

Prices are great right now in Texas for buying homes and the homebuyer’s tax credit is also a bonus.

Laura is also six years younger than her next oldest sister, while the first three daughters are closer in age. All three of them have married and have small children, two of them are consumed right now with newborn daughters.

Laura has always trailed her sisters in everything. When they were in high school having boyfriends and going to dances, she was in elementary and middle school - a world away. When they were getting married and having kids, she was in college, consumed with books and softball. While her sisters talked about child rearing problems and getting along with husbands, Laura lived her own life in a different realm.

Now that Laura too is a homeowner, it’s cute to suddenly see the conversations turning to where to get the best prices on furniture, how to do home repairs and which Internet provider is she going to use.

When I told my own mother that Laura was buying a house, she said “All by herself?!” When Laura met her new neighbor, a lady in her 60’s, her first question was “Do you have any kids?” It makes you see how far women have come since my own growing up in the 50’s. Young women aren’t waiting for marriage for their “real life” to begin. They are stepping out, buying homes, investing, having careers.

So-even though this past weekend gave me a real “I’m getting older” moment, it’s worth it to see this great time in my daughter’s life. Buying this house launched her into the adult world of giving up all her weekends to yard work-lol.

Getting older can be tough on baby boomers but watching the youngsters going through all the things we once went through also makes us appreciate this time of our lives, when all the ups and downs and drama of life is mostly behind us and hopefully we can think “I’m kind of glad I’m the age I am now!”

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Where to buy Chia Seeds

The health benefits of adding chia seeds to your diet are astounding. Chia seeds are the new superfood and a very important ingredient to your daily regimen if you are interested in healthy aging. Are you looking for quality chia seeds to use in your chia seed recipes and gel? You probably won’t find them at your local grocery store but you can now visit our new Chia Seed Store on Amazon.com

For our Chia Seed Store, I’ve chosen the best brands of chia seed, books on chia seeds and their benefits and even some of the ever-popular chia pets and chia sprouting gardens.

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds in your Daily Diet

Among the benefits of chia seeds are their high content of omega3 fatty acids, which are beneficial in protecting us from high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, arthritis and more.

You can buy a pound of chia seed for about $12 and it takes only a couple teaspoons to make 8oz of chia gel. All you need is about 1/4 tsp sprinkled on yogurt, cereal or other foods to get the superfood nutrition.

Read more about the health benefits of chia seeds or pick up a book on chia seeds at Amazon.com. Many of the chia seed products in our store quality for free shipping if you purchase $25 or more on your Amazon order. I have a wish list of Amazon products so if I need something else to bring me up to the free shipping level, I go to my wish list and add something.

Healthy Drinks - Delicious Tea Recipes

The Health Benefits of Green Tea are very well known, but you can also get health benefits from Black tea as well. (Read more about the health benefits of Green Tea here.) For baby boomers interested in health, drinking as little as 3-4 cups of tea daily can reduce the risk of strokes, boost metabolism, help protect you from cancer and much more.

The benefits of green tea include healthy aging, especially if you replace more sugary drinks like soda, with tea.

Some people don’t care much for the taste of green tea so in these recipes, you can substitute black tea also. However, give green tea a try. With these delicious additions to your cup of hot tea or iced tea, you won’t even notice it’s good for you too!

Ginger Orange Tea

Ginger is a great antioxidant, metabolism booster and stomach soother. It’s also great for colds. The tart taste of orange makes this a delightful summer drink recipe.

Ingredients

2 quarts of water

3 one inch pieces of fresh ginger root, sliced thin

1 Tbs honey

1 orange, sliced

Directions for Tea

Put water and ginger root into a medium sized sauce pan. Bring water to a boil, then turn to simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to stand and cool for another 30 minutes.

Add honey and orange one hour before serving.

Strain and serve over ice. You can also reheat and serve hot.

Mint Tea Recipe

Mint is energizing and refreshing and sprigs of fresh mint can be added to any tea you have sitting in the frig. To make mint tea, try this slow cooker recipe.

Ingredients

2 quarts hot water

honey or stevia to taste

8 tea bags (green or black)

2 drops mint extract

Directions

Put water and sweetener into crock pot. Add tea bags and mint extract and cook on low for 2 hours.

Makes 8 servings and can be served hot or over ice.

You can create variations of the above tea by adding other ingredients:

1 tsp almond extract or other flavor of extract you might prefer

2/3 cup lemon juice

1 orange sliced

1 cup cranberry or other fruit juice

1/2 tsp cinnamon (good for lowering cholesterol!)

Other tasty tea recipes, which would make deliciously refreshing drinks for your next get-together

Discover Cooking with Green Tea for added health benefits and great taste too.

50 Hot and Cold Tea Recipes in Green Tea: 50 Hot Drinks, Cool Quenchers, and Sweet and Savory Treats

Read what Dr. Mercola has to say about the many benefits of drinking green tea.

Boost Your Metabolism with these Easy Tips

As we get older, our metabolism slows, which is one reason we gain weight as we age. You can speed up your metabolism, however, by following some simple tips.

Our metabolism is the rate at which our bodies burn calories and a slower metabolism means that weight creeps up on us as we age. Weight gain as we age leaves us vulnerable to supposed “old age” diseases like heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, arthritis and more. Speeding up our metabolism is the key to keeping our weight down.

So how can you speed up your metabolism?

Hate to say it but exercise, of course, is the number one way to speed up metabolism. Not only does your metabolism speed up during exercise but for several hours after a cardio workout - so you get double the increase in your fat burning if you exercise. Plus, muscle burn more calories than fat so having more lean muscle increases metabolism too.

Drink water - a well hydrated body runs more smoothly and burns calories for efficiently.

Drink more green tea. Green tea not only offers health benefits but also increases metabolism.

Try Deep Breathing - Deep Breathing is one very easy way to boost metabolism. Read Jumpstart Your Metabolism: How To Lose Weight By Changing The Way You Breathe for some easy tips on deep breathing. Most of us only breath shallowly, not using all of our lung capacity. Deep breathing not only helps boost metabolism but increases energy and good health and relieves stress.

Add these metabolism boosting spices to your daily diet.

Spices like cayenne, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon all boost metabolism. Adding them to your daily diet also helps protect your body from diseases like cancer. Turmeric is also good for inflammation leading to arthritis, ginger is good for nausea and indigestion and cinnamon helps lower cholesterol and regulate blood sugar. So far as is known, there are no adverse effects to adding these spices to your diet either.

Other Recommended Reading on boosting your metabolism:

Read more about superfoods which help boost metabolism.

Read Ultrametabolism: A Simple Plan for Automatic Weightloss by Dr. Mark Hyman

UltraMetabolism Recipes - 200 Recipes to boost metabolism

WebMd - Make the Most of Your Metabolism

Have Fun and Earn Prizes with SwagBucks!

Want to have some fun and win some prizes? Swagbucks is almost a phenomenon these days. Sign up is totally free and everything you do helps you to win Swagbucks prizes. I recently installed the Swagbucks tool bar so it comes up each day. I can use the Swagbucks search tool, check the blog for the daily prize code, or shop using the stores on Swagbucks. Just about everything you do can earn you come bucks, which you can then spend on free prizes.

What Kind of Prizes can I win with Swagbucks?

One recent special offer was a $5 Amazon gift card for 450 Swagbucks. This was marked down from 1,000 Swagbucks and thousands of people took advantage of this one. Every day there are some special offers or you can just visit the Swagbucks store to see prizes like:

• Gift Cards for various online stores
• Tee shirts, hats and other fashion gear
• Magazine subscriptions
• Books
• Gift sets
• Video games
• Music

Here’s a great way to save money when dining out. With just 400 Swagbucks you can purchase a gift card for a $25 e-card for Restaurants.com. At Restaurants.com you can then buy $25 gift cards for various restaurants for just $15 - which would be free if you used your Swagbucks card.

There are 43 great gift card choices, including Starbucks, Target, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Ticket Master, Lowes, Paypal and many many more. You’re sure to find a gift card that you can use yourself or give as a gift.

You can also get Swagbucks widgets for your blog or website. There’s a group on Facebook to keep you up to date as well.

Another way to save with Swagbucks is to sign up for their free newsletter which lists the latest offers for your favorite stores or the latest Swagbucks news.

Sign up for SwagBucks today. Have some fun and win some prizes, all for just searching or shopping at stores you’d ordinarily use anyway.

March is DVT Awareness Month - Watch this Free Video on How You Can Prevent DVT

March is DVT Awareness Month and this year the program’s focus is on prevention of deep vein thrombosis. DVT happens when blood clots form in the deep veins of the body, usually in the lower extremities. DVT is caused when the muscles of the leg are inactive, which allows blood to collect and clot. These clots can travel to the heart and lungs and become life threatening.

Learn more about how you can prevent DVT

Increasing blood circulation in the extremities is the key to prevention and working with Mary Ann Wilson, RN, founder and host of PBS program “Sit and Be Fit,” the Coalition to Prevent DVT has developed a free educational video featuring simple, low impact movements to increase blood circulation. You can find the free video at Prevent DVT.org

We all know being active is important, especially as we age, but even in going about our daily tasks, like sitting at a desk, taking a trip on an airplane or during a family vacation can pose risks for getting DVT.  Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Awareness Month gives everyone a chance to put DVT Awareness in Motion.

This year’s program goes beyond building traditional awareness of the signs and symptoms of DVT and emphasizes the importance of preventative care in everyday settings such as:

• Office sitting
• Lying in bed, whether in the hospital or at home
• Assisted Living or Rehabilitation Facilities
• During Travel

The video also features stories from those touched personally by DVT. One of the stories comes from Coalition to Prevent DVT National Spokesperson, Melanie Bloom.  Bloom shares her story about learning the news of the loss of her husband, NBC News correspondent David Bloom from complications of DVT while covering the war in Iraq.  Watch this special public service announcement from Melanie here.

DVT is preventable and it is treatable.Take the opportunity of DVT Awareness Month to get out and tell your friends about this condition and the free video. You just might save a life.

Lose Weight, Improve Health, Reduce Stress with Deep Breathing Exercises

Deep breathing exercises can dramatically improve your life and your health. Deep breathing is easy to

Free Your Breath, Free Your Life

do and doesn’t cost anything. You can perform deep breathing exercises anyplace too, standing in line at the grocery store, waiting in the doctor’s office or just before going to sleep at night. Learn these simple techniques and you can improve your health, reduce stress levels and even lose weight.

The Health Benefits of Deep Breathing

Most of us breath shallowly, never using our full lung capacity. Short, shallow breathes are linked to high blood pressure and stress. Think about it. If you’re under great stress, you probably breath very quickly and very shallowly.

Deep breathing releases endorphins, which improve our mood and help calm stress. Other benefits of deep breathing is that it helps to calm and focus your mind, and boost your energy and metabolism. Studies have shown that asthma sufferers benefit greatly from doing deep breathing regularly.

Deep Breathing Exercises are Easy to Do

Here are some easy deep breathing exercises:

Exhale all the air from your lungs.
Inhale slowly to the count of four
Hold your breath to the count of seven
Exhale slowly through the mouth to the count of eight.

Repeat this exercise three or four times. This helps to get rid of all the stale air trapped in your lungs and it will refresh and relax you.

Yoga Belly Breath

Breathing exercises are an essential part of any yoga practice. During yoga, focus is always on the breath. One yoga breathing technique is the belly breath.

Sit or lay in a comfortable position.
Draw the breath in deeply and slowly through the nostrils but instead of expanding the chest, take the breath into your diaphragm or belly region, expanding it. Exhale slowly through the nostrils, allowing the belly to sink back toward the spine. Repeat for several slow breaths.

More deep breathing exercises from Dr. Andrew Weil

Many meditation techniques also focus on deep breathing. Here’s one simple meditation technique

For More Information on Weightloss and Deep Breathing:

Jumpstart Your Metabolism: How To Lose Weight By Changing The Way You Breathe

Make deep breathing exercises a part of your daily routine. If you feel stressed or need energy, do one of these deep breathing techniques and you’ll feel more calm, more energized and stress free.

If you have an online business which sells a product, whether it’s a physical product, a membership or other information, you certainly need a reliable credit card processing system. Here are some of the things you should look for when choosing a company to handle your business.

• Security - You want your customers to know their credit card information is safe and secure. A secure server is a must.
• Fast Processing and quick approval - Helps you process orders sooner and leaves your customers satisfied.
• Accepts both debit and credit cards.
• Allows for recurring billing.
• Allows you to void a transaction.
• Easy installation and use.

In choosing an online credit card processing company, there are some other important questions to keep in mind too:

• Is there a monthly minimum? Does the company charge you  a monthly fee if you don’t have a certain number of orders?
• Do they charge an annual fee?
• Do they offer a compatible Internet gateway?
• Do they offer after hours support?

If your business is mobile or requires you to process credit card remotely. then you’ll also want to consider wireless credit card processing. If you’re just starting out, be sure and ask the same questions as above so you know up front there are no hidden fees and they offer the support you need.

If you take online orders, the right credit card processing can quickly take the worry out of your business.

Free Newsletters for Senior Discounts, Coupons, Freebies and Samples

‘ve scoured the internet for Senior Discounts and I came up with a list of websites which offer free daily or weekly email newsletters listing new discounts, coupons, freebies and samples. Many of these discounts aren’t just for senior citizens either. Anyone with a little time can save big on the many discount and coupon offers out there.

If you sign up for the free newsletters, you get a summary of new coupons and discounts and also, having  link handy in your inbox helps you remember who has the great money savers you are looking for. I can tall you that, with age, memory is the first thing to go-lol.

Here is a great list of online discount and coupon websites that offer free registration and a free newsletter, along with a summery of what they offer.

SeniorDiscounts.com offers a weekly newsletter with “hundreds of senior discounts,” opportunities to enter contests and more info on how to locate senior discounts. On their homepage is a list of featured discounts. There is also a paid subscription to this site but you don’t have to join to gain benefits. You can also submit any discounts you find to this website too.

These sites also have free newsletters with coupons and freebies and they aren’t just for seniors. You can save a lot of money each week with these great newsletters though.

CouponSurfers - Emails you a newsletter with about 10 of the weeks’ new printable coupons. They list nearly 300 printable coupons on their website.

Coupon websites abound on the Internet. Many have free newsletters or you can save the listing in a file and check them weekly for the best deals. You don’t have to be a senior to get these great discounts!

Printable Coupons.blogspot.com offers grocery, restaurant, retail, pet food coupons and more.

StartSampling.com offers printable coupons and samples and freebies. The only catch to the freebies is that you have to give your name and address so they can mail them to you. This can be good or bad. They can mail you samples and coupons if you don’t mind getting a little more “junk” mail.  I’ve gotten free magazine subscriptions through this website, including Parents Magazine for my daughter and Better Homes and Gardens for me - as well as lots of free samples.

CouponCabin.com offers a weekly newsletter with coupons to your inbox, plus a listing of coupons you can use on the internet. Great listing of printable coupons.

ValPak.com You may be familiar with the Val-Pak that is mailed out to you with great discount coupons but they also have an online version. You can sign up for their free newsletter, tailored to your zip code, with great weekly deals.

Costco If you’re a member of Costco, you can sign up for their free newsletter and find out about their latest coupons and sales.

My Grocery Deals.com newsletter with links to printable coupons. You can also put in your zip code and get deals just for your area.

Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter for your favorite grocery store. I go to Kroger all the time and they offer a free newsletter and printable digital coupons on their website. You can fine tune it for your zip code too. Kroger stores also include Fred Meyer.

Another great tip for saving on groceries - take your weekly newspaper coupons and match them up to the sales at your favorite store. Most of the time, Kroger and Albertsons, for instance, will match their weekly sales to the weekly newspaper coupons, which doubles your savings.

Don’t forget newsletters for products you like also. I love Betty Crocker products so I signed up for the newsletter, which offers free recipes and over $16 in coupons in the last issue.

Here’s another hint for shopping on the Internet. If you want to purchase something, do a search for “product name and Promo code” to see what comes up. When I was purchasing domain names for my websites, I put in “GoDaddy promo code” and came up with a discount that brought my domain name down from $9.99 to $7.69 each. This works for just about any product if the coupon is out there somewhere.

If there is a store you frequent, sign up for their membership club or any newsletters they have. I love hobbies so I get an email newsletter from Joann’s and Hobby Lobby each week with printable coupons and all their latest sales.

You can also set up Google alerts to be delivered once a day to your inbox, keywords like senior discounts and you get a listing each day of blogs, websites and others which mention senior discount. I have alerts set up for baby boomer, RV Travel and Knitting, as well as Senior Discounts, which keeps me current on what’s being written on these topics each day.

Keep checking back for more senior discounts as I find them!