Healthy Life Lessons

  Though my children are now 12 and 15, they both still love pillows, blankets and stuffies as a source of comfort. So when Lurera offered to send me their anti-anxiety pillow I knew I had the perfect testers in our house. The Lurera is a soft, plush covered throw pillow that comes with a heating pad and heartbeat machine that can be inserted inside.  I thought the heartbeat machine was a unique idea that does have some science behind it in terms of its ability to soothe.  One kid has a weighted blanket and a 5 foot teddy bear, the other has about a thousand stuffies and blankets on her bed. This kid, the 12-year-old, has been obsessed with soft, furry, plush things since she was an infant. She has just always gravitated towards them. So I guess I should not have been surprised when she snatched up the Lurera and immediately declared ownership. To my surprise, however, she tossed out the heating pad and heartbeat machine and just wanted the pillow as is. The pillow comes ...

I like reviewing supplements but not because I think it will do anything dramatic for me, more because I like to go look at the research and see if its all bullshit. After all, how soon can you see or feel a difference with most of these products anyways? Well, this time I was pleasantly surprised! Flexuron is a combination of krill oil (an amazing source of essential fatty acids (EFAs)), asthaxanthin, an antioxident derived from algae, and hyaluronic acid, which is thought to help lubricate joints. The product is supposed to promote joint comfort. Now my brother is obsessed with asthaxanthin supps for workout related aches  and pains and got me taking it for a few months but I didn't notice a difference...could be the low dose I tried. But within a week I noticed changes from Flexuron. Normally after my Saturday run, my knees ache (which is why I only run once a week). After one week on Flexuron, one knee was completely pain free and the other only ached for a few minutes. After t...