Have you been feeling achy lately? If so, you might find this interesting.
You may know that inflammation is a leading cause of pain in the body.
But did you know that chronic inflammation can impact your tissues and
organs, leading to obesity and heart disease? Even low-grade
inflammation can cause problems, since it causes pain which leads to a
more sedentary lifestyle...which leads to more obesity and heart
disease.
What Is Inflammation?
Inflammation happens when your body's white blood cells protect you
from infection. That's why we see swelling around a healing wound.
But
in some diseases, like arthritis, your body's immune
system triggers inflammation when there are no invaders to fight
off. During inflammation, chemicals from your body's white blood
cells enter your blood or
tissues, causing irritation in joints, swelling of the joint
lining, and loss of cartilage over time.
Inflammation can also affect your organs as part of an autoimmune response:
Heart inflammation may cause shortness of breath or fluid buildup.
Bronchial inflammation may cause shortness of breath.
Kidney inflammation may cause high blood pressure or kidney failure.
To lower your body's immune response, it pays to give it fewer targets. Here are three things you can do:
Eat better. Google
"foods that reduce inflammation" and "foods that increase
inflammation." Gut health is one of the primary reasons for body-wide
inflammation that makes you feel tired and cranky.
Exercise, especially
stretching as in yoga. This helps reduce tearing of ligaments and
muscles, which inflames your cells and causes inflammation.
Manage stress.
Inflammation is partly caused by cytokines, chemicals that are released
by stress. But the connections between inflammation and stress can
vary. For more about stress connections, see this article in everydayhealth.com.
Is it legal for a man to marry his widow’s sister?
Win a $5 Coffee Card!
Just send your answer to the trivia question for a chance to win.
Last month's Q&A: Sextilis,
the original name for August, refers to what number in Latin? 6,
because August was the sixth month in the Roman calendar. Congratulations to last month's winner!
SHOULD YOU SELL WHILE THE MARKET IS STILL HOT, THEN RENT FOR A WHILE?
Here's a question I've been hearing a lot this year... "I have a lot
of equity in my home. I'm thinking about selling and putting that money
in the bank before the market goes down again. Should I?"
Of course the answer is, it depends. You still
need to live somewhere, so are you planning to rent, or buy a cheaper
home? It makes sense to rent if you'll be moving out of the area
(because you'd be selling soon anyway). It also makes sense to rent if
you can rent significantly cheaper than you can buy, and then you invest
the difference. Or it makes sense to rent if you plan to share a home
with someone else.
On the other hand, it makes sense to buy if you already want to
downsize, or have your eye on a location that's less expensive...and
good properties are available.
Financial experts don't recommend selling and then renting at a high
amount if you're simply planning to wait for the market to cool off. It
may be many years before the market cools off enough to buy again at a
lower price. And in that time, interest rates will likely rise, further
offsetting any gain you might get through a lower price. (Of course the
situation could turn out to be different..no one knows for sure.)
Selling now might be the right decision for you, or not. My advice is to do a lot of research. First, reach out to me to find out what your house is worth. Pick my brain about where the market is going, thencompare rentals and potential homes to buy. If you decide to sell, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
~Mardin Amiri
(408) 210-2073, info@amirirealty.com
HERE'S WHY THE OKTOBERFEST IS IN SEPTEMBER
It's
a common question, wondering why the majority of the 16 to 18 days of
the Bavarian Oktoberfest take place in September. The name comes from
the history. The occasion for the first Oktoberfest in 1810 was the
wedding of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of
Sachsen-Hildburghausen. On October 12th 1810 the festivities began, and
ended on October 17th. Since it was so well-received, the festival
was repeated in following years, then brought forward into
September, likely because the weather was better. Munich at the end of
September often provides a pleasant, mild Indian summer – wonderful
Oktoberfest weather.
“I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.”
~Lily Tomlin
WORDS COUNT WHEN IT COMES TO SELLING YOUR HOME
In a research study conducted in the early 2000's, a Canadian professor
found that homes where the seller was “motivated” took 15 percent longer
to sell, while houses listed as “handyman specials” flew off the market
in half the time.
“It surprised even me,” said researcher Paul Anglin, who teaches
real-estate and housing trends at the University of Guelph in Ontario,
Canada.
Other findings: Words that denoted “curb appeal” or
general attractiveness helped a property sell faster than those that
spoke of “value” and “price.” Homes described as “beautiful” moved 15
percent faster and sold for 5 percent more. “Good-value” homes sold
for 5 percent less than average. And "must see" didn't make any
difference. Words in the study that helped sell a home:
Handyman special
Curb appeal
Move-in condition
Landscaping
Granite
Gourmet
Golf
Words that hurt the sale:
Motivated seller
Good value
As-is
Clean
Quiet
New paint
I couldn't find a more recent study, but I'm betting many of the words would be similar today...except perhaps for "granite."
FUN BUBBLE GREEN TEA RECIPE
There's nothing quite so satisfying as sucking up chewy tapioca balls
through a giant straw. Here's a quick recipe to take with you wherever
you go.
