Flap Your Lips Friday
Posted by Michelle Moquin on June 13th, 2014
Good morning!
I had something totally different that I planned to blog for today. But..it happened to be the wrong day. Anyway, no big deal, this write was in my queue.
More tragedies from gun violence. When will it end?
Just This Week
The Tragedies Due To Gun Violence Continue To Mount
It’s been a little over two weeks since gun violence made national headlines when a gunman opened fired at the UC Santa Barbara campus, killing six and wounding thirteen. Richard Martinez, the father of slain student Christopher Michaels-Martinez, rallied his community and the nation in the aftermath of the shooting to demand that “not one more” innocent life be lost.
“Not one more” has become the latest rallying cry for gun safety advocates, but the devastating truth of this epidemic is that an average of 33 Americans are murdered each and every day with a gun. There have been 117 mass shootings (in which at least 4 people are injured) in 2014 alone. And while not all tragedies get the same attention as others, they continue to mount up nonetheless. Here are a few events that have happened in just the last week:
- June 5, 2014: Mass shooting at Seattle Pacific University. A 19 year-old student was killed and three others were wounded when alleged gunman Aaron Ybarra walked into Otto Miller Hall on the Seattle Pacific University campus armed with a shotgun and opened fire. The gunman had 50 rounds of ammunition but had to stop and reload his magazine. When he did, another student was able to neutralize the shooter with pepper spray until he was taken into custody.
- June 6, 2014: Massive attack prevented at Georgia courthouse. Dennis Marx arrived at the Forsyth County Courthouse in Georgia armed with body armor, a gas mask, an assault rifle, an assortment of grenades, and “all kinds of ammunition.” Thankfully, he never made it inside. A nearly three-minute long gunfight Friday ended with Marx dead, after being confronted by a swarm of law enforcement officers.
- June 6-June 8, 2014: 23 people shot in Chicago. Over the weekend, 3 people were killed and 20 wounded by gunfire in the city of Chicago. That is an average of somebody getting shot less than every two-and-a-half hours. And that is standard in a city plagued with gang violence and illegal gun trafficking. Last weekend, 7 were killed and 20 wounded by gunfire.
- June 8, 2014: Married couple who embraced white supremacy kill three, including two police officers. Jerad and Amanda Miller walked into a Las Vegas pizza restaurant Sunday and shot and killed two police officers point-blank, then shot and killed a civilian outside a nearby Wal-Mart before taking their own lives. The couple embraced white supremacy and had strongly anti-government views. Jerad Miller spent time at Cliven Bundy’s ranch during the armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management last month, saying in a televised interview at the ranch that if federal agents were going to use violence against Bundy’s armed militiamen, “if that’s the language they want to speak, we’ll learn it.” Jerad Miller, a convicted felon, also tried to use Facebook to purchase a gun, exploiting a big gun law loophole that allows internet gun sales to avoid background checks. An estimated 25,000 guns are illegally sold to criminals over the internet each year because of this loophole.
- June 10, 2014: Gunman opens fire at Oregon high school, killing one. A gunman opened fire today at a high school in Portland, Oregon, killing one student and wounding a teacher. An assistant principal told students to go into lockdown mode, saying “this is not a drill.” The details surrounding this case are still developing. This is the 74th school shooting since Newtown less than 18 months ago.
BOTTOM LINE: We simply cannot let criminals and other dangerous people continue to have easy access to guns and expect a different result than the daily gun violence that rips apart our families and communities. There are common-sense and overwhelmingly popular steps we can take right now to help prevent the next tragedies before they happen. Meanwhile, all it takes for a convicted felon who has displayed radical and violent behaviors to get a military-grade weapon is a quick search of his online social network.
*****
Readers: To me it is a simple solution but getting there is not so easy. What’s your take? It’s Friday…you know what to do. Blog me.
Peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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June 13th, 2014 at 10:38 am
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Mischa, I agree with gun and ammo control but let’s chat about the deeply disturbed individuals out there that most people after the fact would say, yes, he seemed off, most of the time school counselors knew something though (like the police) they can do nothing real until AFTER a crime is committed.
…there has to be a way for the mental health community/school counselors/police even – to intervene before it gets to this violent end.
Steve Pavlina wrote a piece about this incident and I agree with him in that we are living in a very disconnected world in which we objectify others…we do it to animals (he’s a vegan and appalled at people who would objectify and eat animals, & if you don’t consider yourself higher in the chain as he does not, it’s a very valid point of view).
…so people feel comfortable doing it to others now, women call men ‘eye candy’ and that’s totally benign stuff though it is objectification but here’s the BIGGER issue: with men, (do I really need to say ‘some not all’ anymore) of course, the entitlement and the violence that follows enters the picture and yes, of course, we should be up in arms and putting away those who commit horrific acts of violence and murder.
I’m simply stating that it, being violent, entitled, and even modern ‘mental illnesses’ such as severe narcissism and sociopathy runs much deeper in acting out of the dark side of the human pysche and it needs intervention not just gun and ammo control.
That’s it I’ll get off my psychological soap box bc I know most of you won’t care about this (just put me’ in jail and make more laws) but to me, it is ALL about this…all we have to carry around everyday is ourselves and how we master or do NOT master control over our emotions, fears and impulses is EVERYTHING.
Violence likely would not play out so severely if those things weren’t so out of control…and this is mostly a man issue. The 6 basic human fears (and I added 2) are: fear of Poverty, Ill health, old age, criticism, loss of someone you love and death. I added fear of being alone and FOMO – fear of missing out.
The ones prone to violence if not mastered by a person (let’s say a man bc he’d be more likely to lash out and cause a violent reaction) – POVERTY, CRITICISM, LOSS of someone you love (or perceived loss of person you are obsessed with or crave sexually but has no interest in you), and both fear of being alone/missing out are very clearly part of the entitlement behavior of someone like Rogers with a distorted view and ZERO self mastery.
What are we in modern society going to do to change the ‘underpinnings’ of the violent acts?
Ok, now I’m done…
Luv, Zen Lill
June 14th, 2014 at 6:54 am
Guess the blog comments are blocked? I was commenting above mostly about the predominance of male shooter violence towards women as with Rogers et al but the premise I outlined about is for all of societies ‘shooters’ …
June 14th, 2014 at 8:24 am
Zen Lill#1, My comment goes to this quote by you.
“Mischa, I agree with gun and ammo control but let’s chat about the deeply disturbed individuals out there that most people after the fact would say, yes, he seemed off, most of the time school counselors knew something though (like the police) they can do nothing real until AFTER a crime is committed.
…there has to be a way for the mental health community/school counselors/police even – to intervene before it gets to this violent end.”
That is just a tired argument put forward by those who do not want a national background check law. Many dangers in out society are regulated for the general public because the are inherently dangerous and as a result they prevent the mentally ill from gaining access to them.
There is no real way to know if someone is insane or mentally unbalanced. The easy access to guns is dangerous to all of us. Just because a person uses them to do horrendous acts doesn’t make the person insane.
June 14th, 2014 at 8:43 am
Zen Lill#1, you have bought into the NRA bullshit. “I’m simply stating that it, being violent, entitled, and even modern ‘mental illnesses’ such as severe narcissism and sociopathy runs much deeper in acting out of the dark side of the human pysche and it needs intervention not just gun and ammo control.”
Who cares how insane a particular person is if he can’t get his/her hands on a weapon capable of killing dozens of people with a single clip and doing it in a matter of seconds.
We have fire, drug, automobile, child, work, etc laws and you never hear the idiotic argument that we need to address the possibility of insane people interacting in those areas before we enact laws in those areas.
So why do we have to consider insane people before we enact sensible guns laws. People who get caught up in that kind of thought are easily diverted away from the ONLY issue that needs to be considered when it comes to gun violence.
That would be sensible regulation. If the no one can buy a clip that holds more than 15 rounds or buy a gun that can fire 100 rounds a minute, then why would we need to fear that an insane person would get one.
NO ONE needs a magazine that holds more than 15 rounds or a gun that is designed to kill hundreds in a few minutes. Zen Lill don’t get blind sided by these ridiculous mental illness arguments. It is a separate issue entirely and doesn’t have a place in gun control.
June 14th, 2014 at 8:43 am
Marc#3 I agree with you just because those of us that see an act as insane doesn’t make the person doing it insane. He/she may feel that it makes sense to take such an action because they see no other alternative.
I shot my husband and then went to the home of his brother and killed that bastard too. While I was in the process of getting a divorce he had his brother bring me to him and he raped me while his brother held me down.
I couldn’t prosecute because in Australia a man has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife. He turned me over and allowed his brother to rape me. When I accused his brother, he testified that it was my husband that was having intercourse with me.
The jury ruled that since I couldn’t see who it was, they couldn’t convict. When my divorce was final I killed them both. To some I may have been insane, but to me it was my only option. I am in prison, but they are dead. In three years I will be out on parole, they will still be dead.
I see that as a very logical decision. I weighted my options intellectually and made my decision.
June 14th, 2014 at 8:48 am
Zen Lill, You have been blind sided by the fringe who don’t want you to look at the real issue when it comes to guns. Focus on what could kill you take, that ability away from the person, and you won’t have to worry about whether the person holding the gun pointing at you is sane or insane.
Why does it matter if the person has a gun that can kill multiple people indiscriminately in a matter of minutes is insane many will die in any case if he/she pulls that automatic trigger.
Would it be okay, if the person was just having a bad day and wasn’t really insane? I don’t think that would matter to the dead, and it shouldn’t matter to those who make the laws governing gun regulation.
June 14th, 2014 at 8:50 am
You are so far wrong Zen Lill on this one that I can’t believe that you actually thought it out before you penned your post.
First and foremost regulate the items capable of causing harm to the public and then concentrate on those special people in the society that you need to address.
June 14th, 2014 at 8:57 am
Zen Lill#1, to me it is INSANE to want to own a weapon that can fire hundreds of rounds a minute and a clip that enables you to.
No one hunts with an assault rifle. So why does a private individual need one? Unless you are going to consider all those idiots, and tiny penis wonders insane what’s the point of your statement.
Just another dumb NRA diversion to take the spotlight off gun regulation. They don’t prevent the ownership of nuclear weapons by civilians by first insisting that we first pursue identifying the insane individuals.
They regulate the ownership of nuclear weapons. So why do we need to address the issue of identifying insane individuals before we regulate the ownership of assault rifles and 100 round clips?
June 14th, 2014 at 9:02 am
Zen Lill#1 did you get that talking point from some old NRA pamphlet? Has it ever occurred to you that if no one can buy an assault rife legally, then the insane can’t buy one legally either.
Those people who have committed their acts (whether you want to call them insane or not) legally purchased those assault weapons. That would seem to me to imply that we need to regulate the ownership of assault weapons not whether the person buying one is insane or not.
If no one has one, no one can use one. How’s that for logic?
June 14th, 2014 at 9:19 am
Zen Lill#1 – “I’m simply stating that it, being violent, entitled, and even modern ‘mental illnesses’ such as severe narcissism and sociopathy runs much deeper in acting out of the dark side of the human pysche and it needs intervention not just gun and ammo control.”
Smile and proudly show your NRA membership when you say that. Your statement is silly at best, disingenuous at worst, because “…just gun and ammo control.” WILL take those weapons out of those acting out the “dark side of the human psyche’s hands. NO gun, NO ammo, NO mass murders.
It’s just that simple. Of course you can still make every effort to help those insane people. As a side on your choice of colors to describe the bad psyche.
I know that you were only using it because we as whites have made anything really bad be non white, hence the use of the adjective “dark” to ascribe to a non sane psyche as bad.
I would venture to suggest that since most of those horrendous murders have been done by us whites, we would be more accurate to term the white “side of the human psyche” as the bad one.
June 14th, 2014 at 9:20 am
Zen Lill#1, Did you notice that until gun and ammo regulation became an issue, no one gave two cents about assisting the mentally ill? I wonder why? Oh yeah, they didn’t need a side issue then.
Thanks for the change of topic, but like Michelle I prefer to stay on the real issue, sensible Gun and Ammo control.
June 14th, 2014 at 9:28 am
Zen Lill#1 – “Violence likely would not play out so severely if those things weren’t so out of control…and this is mostly a man issue. The 6 basic human fears (and I added 2) are: fear of Poverty, Ill health, old age, criticism, loss of someone you love and death. I added fear of being alone and FOMO – fear of missing out.”
How about the violence that accompanies crime? My boyfriend makes me pick up men in bars go home with them, find a way to leave the door unlocked and allow him to enter and claim to be a jealous boyfriend and beat the living shit out of the guy and then take money and other valuables from him.
He comes in with is AR-15 automatic rifle and scares the shit out of most of the marks. Sometimes he smashes them in the face with the butt of the gun if he is high. It gives me a special high when he does it.
Does that make me insane, if so which category do I fit in your analysis?
June 14th, 2014 at 9:35 am
Zen Lill#2, I love it when you suck up to men by trying to be so “fair.” But you last statement “I was commenting above mostly about the predominance of male shooter violence towards women as with Rogers et al but the premise I outlined about is for all of societies ‘shooters’ …”
is as dumb as your first post supposing that mental illness should be part of the discussion on Gun and Ammo control. I mean if 99% of societies shooters are men why the fuck should anyone waste tax payers money on that 1%?
Logic and the danger that 99% poses would dictate that we concentrate all our attention on violence by men. Until we have made a sizable dent in their violence, we don’t need to worry about the 1%.
This is not the time for that type of political correctness Zen Lill.
June 14th, 2014 at 9:40 am
Wow! I couldn’t get in yesterday and today every post is to Zen Lill or against her. If I may change the subject I would like to thank you Michelle, for seeing the need to post this one.
I have a friend who lost a loved one to this kind of violence. This nation is desperately in need of some kind of sensible gun and ammo regulation.
June 14th, 2014 at 9:45 am
What is it about your blog Michelle that no one wants to admit that they read it? I brought up a subject that you commented on during a luncheon and people just looked at me as if they had never heard of you or your blog.
As soon as the affair was over, many came up to me and privately expressed their opinions on what you commented on. They didn’t mind admitting in private they were aware of you and your blog.
I can understand the Left wanting to treat you as if you don’t exist, but what is with the gutless Right?
June 14th, 2014 at 9:46 am
Michelle I just want you to know that I made my contribution to Grimes’s campaign.
June 14th, 2014 at 10:25 am
“Mr. President: Don’t bomb Iraq. Americans elected you in 2008 in no small part because of your principled opposition to the U.S. unilateral invasion and occupation of Iraq. Don’t double down on George W. Bush’s disastrous invasion and make his failed war your legacy on foreign policy. ”
Insurgents in Iraq have taken Mosul, the country’s second largest city, and they are making their way to Baghdad. Events are unfolding so rapidly in Iraq that this email may be out of date before you read it.
One thing won’t change. It was George W. Bush who lost the war in Iraq. But President Obama could turn this needless and bloody catastrophe into his own legacy if he decides to bomb Iraq.
President Obama is now faced with a decision: Does he double down on Bush’s catastrophic decision 12 years ago to invade Iraq, one of the most foolish and costly decisions by a president in recent decades in terms of American blood and treasury? Or does he do what he promised as a candidate for president in 2008, and finally end the American occupation of Iraq?
For the last 12 years, Iraq has been Bush and Cheney’s war. But if the president takes ownership of George W. Bush’s disastrous decision to invade Iraq by launching a new round of bombing strikes, Iraq will become Barack Obama’s war.
CREDO opposed the war before it began back in 2002. In advance of the invasion, our members raised over $150,000 to fight back against the Bush administration and warmongers in Congress. And today we’re still fighting to revoke the blank check for war — the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq — that gives the president the ability to effectively wage war in Iraq without Congressional approval.
It was as clear back in 2002 before the unilateral invasion of Iraq as it is now — that Americans can’t stop Iraq from sliding into civil war and religious sectarianism without occupying the country indefinitely.
Americans elected Barack Obama in 2008 in no small part because of his principled opposition to the occupation of Iraq. He withdrew combat troops from Iraq in 2011, and that was the right decision. Unless President Obama wants to go down in history as doubling down on George W. Bush’s disastrous invasion, he must oppose further U.S. military intervention, including the bombing of Iraq.
The president has said he won’t send in ground troops but he is under tremendous pressure to launch American bombing strikes. With your help, we stopped the president from starting a war with Syria with our opposition to his administration’s plan to unilaterally bomb the country. It was because of massive pushback from the grassroots — millions of petition signatures and tens of thousands of calls to Congress and the White House — that we were able to defeat the hawks Washington DC and stop the rush to war.
It was a catastrophic mistake and tremendous moral failure to invade Iraq in the first place. If there is one thing we’ve proved in our disastrous decade of invasion and occupation it is that U.S. military intervention cannot create the space for the political solution that is necessary for a safe and secure future for Iraq.
While what is happening in Iraq is tragic, there is no plausible scenario in which further U.S. military intervention magically creates a stable democracy with protections for human rights, religious freedom, self-governance and equal rights for women and girls.
Please join us in saying, once again, NO to war in Iraq.
Becky Bond, Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets
June 14th, 2014 at 10:33 am
I see others using your logic Zen Lill rather than pass sensible Gun and Ammo control regulation they are producing .bulletproof backpacks for school kids!
WTF kind of sad commentary is this on our “society”
and non-existent parenting?
June 14th, 2014 at 10:34 am
We need our social morals back, need to instill that life is precious and no one has a right to take it that’s in gods hands lets do away with these violent video games that’s where most of these kids learn to use guns our military use them to train soldiers to be killers
June 14th, 2014 at 11:06 am
Bruce#19, Get off Fantasy Island. We’re a violent society, lost with no moral compass. Laws are enforced arbitrarily, and repeat offenders consistently let go. Social morals? Thanks to the liberals, we lost those decades ago.
June 14th, 2014 at 11:22 am
Digestive Enzymes May Be Your Answer to Heartburn, Gluten Intolerance,
If you watch the TV ads, you might think that a good probiotic is the answer for all your digestive problems. Don’t believe it.
While it is true that probiotic supplements can help relieve gas and diarrhea—and boost your immunity—when your intestinal bacteria are out of whack, that’s not always the issue.
Perhaps your gut has plenty of “friendly” bacteria, but you are still plagued by gut-related problems such as flatulence, heartburn, lactose intolerance, diarrhea or abdominal pain. What then?
It is time to think about taking digestive enzymes.* These supplements not only help relieve the digestive problems described above, they can also have powerful healing effects for other ailments, such as arthritis and sinusitis, that have nothing to do with the digestive system.
Alert: DIY Remedy for Your Itchy Skin http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/health-a-healing/digestive-enzymes-may-be-your-answer-to-heartburn-gluten-intolerance-flatulence-and-even-arthritis?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=2013-07-19%20BOBL%20CID-0000001454%20(7)%2011/23/13%2009:00%20AM&utm_content=&cid=44433073&spMailingID=44433073&spUserID=NTE4NTQ4MTA2NDUS1&spJobID=214698697&spReportId=MjE0Njk4Njk3S0
When to consider taking a digestive enzyme—most are available at drugstores or health-food stores…
TIME FOR DIGESTIVE ENZYMES
Flatulence.
Most people have heard of the over-the-counter flatulence preventive known as Beano, but they do not necessarily know how it works. This product is actually a digestive enzyme called alpha-galactosidase. Taken just before consuming gassy foods, such as cabbage, beans, cauliflower and broccoli, it breaks down some of the complex carbohydrates into easily digestible sugars, thus preventing intestinal gas.
Heartburn.
I have seen some great responses in patients with frequent heartburn who take digestive enzymes along with—or instead of—over-the-counter remedies such as Tums with calcium, which tightens the valve between the stomach and esophagus.
It is not clear how these enzymes help. It is possible that they deactivate some of the body’s pepsin, a stomach enzyme that plays a crucial role in digestion but that surges upward from the stomach in some patients, damaging tissue in the esophagus. This is what causes the “burn” in heartburn.
Alert: Your Medication Could Be Making Your Condition Worse – http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/health-a-healing/when-medications-compete-helping-one-chronic-condition-while-worsening-another
What to try:
A blend that includes different enzymes, such as lipase, protease and amylase. Some good products include AbsorbAid powder, Botanic Choice Digestive Enzyme Complex and Twinlab Super Enzyme Caps.
How to use it:
Take the supplement with or just after meals.
Dairy Sensitivity.
It’s estimated that up to 50 million Americans have symptoms of lactose intolerance, a sensitivity to dairy foods that can cause bloating, gas, cramps and other digestive problems.
Humans are born with high levels of lactase, the enzyme that is required to digest a sugar (lactose) in dairy foods. But the levels drop in the first years after birth, so by adulthood, many people don’t have enough lactase to comfortably digest dairy.
What to try:
Supplemental lactase will replace the enzyme that’s missing from the intestine. People who take lactase supplements can usually enjoy dairy foods without discomfort.
How to take it:
Chew or swallow a tablet just before eating dairy…for milk and other liquidlike dairy, you can use lactase drops if you prefer. Yet another option: Lactaid Milk, which comes with added lactase.
Gluten Intolerance.
If you are one of the millions of Americans who is sensitive to gluten, a protein that is contained in wheat, barley and rye, you already know that a simple slice of bread or a bowl of wheat cereal can lead to hours of digestive problems, such as diarrhea, stomach cramps and flatulence.
Important:
Many people who think that they’re gluten-intolerant actually have fructose malabsorption, which occurs when the small intestine can’t absorb fructose, a plant sugar.
Get checked by a doctor before assuming that gluten is the problem. Fructose malabsorption is typically diagnosed with a hydrogen breath test—after ingesting a fructose solution, the amount of hydrogen in your breath is measured. An increase in hydrogen means that the fructose has not been properly digested.
What to try:
If you are sensitive to gluten, you can try taking a supplement such as GlutenEase, which contains a blend of protease enzymes. You might be able to eat small amounts of wheat and other gluten-containing foods without discomfort.
How to use it:
Take one capsule with meals. Double the dose if one capsule isn’t effective.
If your gluten sensitivity is caused by celiac disease: Don’t depend on any supplement. Patients with celiac disease must avoid even trace amounts of gluten, and supplements are unlikely to help.
RELIEF FOR OTHER PROBLEMS
Arthritis.
A study published in Clinical Rheumatology found that a European product known as Phlogenzym, a blend of the enzymes bromelain and trypsin and rutosid (a flavonoid), was as effective at treating osteoarthritis of the knee as a commonly prescribed anti-inflammatory drug. Researchers believe that this particular mix of enzymes may help with all forms of osteoarthritis.
What to try:
Consider buying Phlogenzym online from a European pharmacy. Take two capsules three times daily, on an empty stomach. Phlogenzym’s major ingredients—bromelain, trypsin and rutosid—also can be found in US health-food stores. Follow dosage instructions on the product .
Caution:
If you take these enzymes for arthritis relief, be sure to do so only under the supervision of a physician. In some individuals, the protein-digesting components can damage the lining of the stomach.
Sinusitis.
Bacterial sinusitis usually responds to antibiotics, but some people can have chronic sinusitis that lasts 12 weeks or more—even when they are taking medication.
What to try:
Bromelain or other protease enzymes (with protease or trypsin on the label). They are not a replacement for antibiotics if you have a stubborn bacterial infection, but they can help to reduce inflammation and discomfort while the infection is active and even while you are taking an antibiotic.
How to take it: Follow the directions on the product label. The dosing directions will depend on the specific enzymes, concentrations, etc.
IT’S NOT WHAT YOU EAT—IT’S HOW YOU EAT
If your gut acts up during or after a meal, you may want to change how you eat before trying a digestive enzyme. What to do…
Eat slowly and chew your food well.
This gives the enzymes in your saliva a better chance to start breaking down your food before it reaches your stomach.
Enjoy your food and relax. People who are stressed have an increase in dopamine and adrenaline, hormones that inhibit normal digestion.
Be aware of any tension you feel in your body…relax your shoulders and jaw…and breathe slowly (your abdomen should expand and your chest should not rise when you breathe in).
Take a walk after eating.
It increases metabolism and helps you digest more efficiently. It also stimulates motility, the intestinal movements that move food (and wastes) through your system. Walk for at least five minutes—a leisurely pace is fine to promote digestion.
WHAT ARE DIGESTIVE ENZYMES?
Digestive enzymes are present in saliva, the stomach and the small intestine. Their job is to break down the food you eat into smaller components.
After about age 50, the pancreas produces only about half the amount of digestive enzymes that it did when you were younger. Some individuals find that they have less gas, bloating or fullness when they take an enzyme supplement during or after meals.
Alert: Feel Like You’re Going Color-Blind? You Are… http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/health-a-healing/color-vision-changes-as-we-age
*Digestive enzymes are generally safe, but check first with your doctor if you have a chronic condition or regularly take any medication or supplement.
Source: Leo Galland, MD, director of the Foundation for Integrated Medicine in New York City.
He has held faculty positions at The Rockefeller University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Stony Brook University. He is the developer of the Web site PillAdvised.com, which discusses how to avoid dangerous interactions when combining medications with supplements. He is the author of The Heartburn and Indigestion Solution (Renaissance Workshops).