Deacons Doings

The Deacons would like to thank the congregation for their money and food contributions for the Thanksgiving families. Your generosity was outstanding and we fed six families and have money left over to help some others. You always come through and I do believe we live by the saying, "it is more gracious to give than to receive."

May God bless you all.

Gerry Flaten

Cookie Requests from Presbyterian Women

Our Lake Burien Presbyterian Women have recently felt honored to offer memorial receptions to the families of Hank Bakken, Ken Franseen, and Florence Smallwood. It is such a privilege to celebrate their lives with their families and friends. We enjoy getting better acquainted with their extended families and hearing such a variety of stories about so many facets of their lives. God has given each of them so many gifts

With three memorials so close together, our cookie supply for memorials is now depleted. We need your help to fill up our freezer. Please bring cookies to church and mark them "For Memorial Receptions." You can use the empty cans that are in the church kitchen if you like. We are grateful for your support, as are the families. Thank you.

Health Care Team

What works...and what doesn't work

Imagine growing old without arthritis, back pain, cataracts, osteoporosis or memory loss.

Imagine knowing the best way to reduce your risk of cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease indefinitely.

Imagine being able to remain active, enthusiastic and young at heart well into your 70s, 80s and 90s... without turning your life upside down, without crazy health regimes, without pointless dieting or exercise programs.

Speed up weight loss by sniffing.

Research shows that smell may influence your sense of fullness more than the amount of food you eat. To accelerate your weight loss:

• Smell your food.
• Chew it slowly to appreciate the flavor and texture.
• Eat hot food while they are hot to maximize the aroma vapors, but skip the vinegar pills. There's no good evidence that apple-cider vinegar supplements marketed for weight loss work.
• Cutting calories at breakfast to lose weight doesn't work. People who skip breakfast to save calories actually increase their risk of weight gain. Studies have found that people who habitually missed the morning meal were four times more likely to be obese.
• Eat apricots, tomatoes and watermelon to reduce cancer risk but don't waste your money on shark's cartilage. This fishy remedy doesn't work for treating cancer, and it can cost $1,000 a year.

Random thoughts about your health:

• Lift depression with St. John's Wort. A recent study found it helped relieve depression in some people just as well as prescription Paxil.
• Tame blood pressure with meditation. Studies show that meditating regularly can lower blood pressure and reduce the need for medication, but ignore nutritional supplements of fiber and garlic - they don't lower blood pressure.
• Relieve low back pain with good posture. Stand with your back against a wall. Feet should be shoulder-width apart, three to six inches from the wall. Arms should be by your sides. Press your head, shoulders, and back against the wall. Draw in your lower abdomen, pushing your belly button toward your spine to take the arch out of your back. Keeping your back as straight as possible, use your elbows to push away from the wall.
• Protect your eyesight with a supplement called Ocuvite PreserVision... it reduced future vision damage by 25 percent in macular degeneration patients.
• Ease arthritis pain with glucosamine sulfate pills. Some studies have shown that this dietary supplement may be able to reduce pain and stiffness as effectively as commonly used over-the-counter and prescription pain relievers.
• Aspirin works to reduce your risk of heart attack, but adding Plavix doesn't. The maker of Plavix claims that adding Plavix to aspirin helps prevent heart attack and stroke. But for most people at increased risk, that combination seems to provide no greater protection than aspirin alone. And, it may increase the risk of harmful bleeding.
• Ease diarrhea, bladder infections and food allergies with yogurt containing "friendly" intestinal bacteria called "probiotics."

Three memory-boosters that work fast... and one that doesn't work at all:

Do you sometimes forget where you put your keys? Or where you put your eyeglasses? If you want to stop worrying about your memory, just read this carefully: Yes, memory tends to decline with age, but new advances prove that the brain has a surprising ability to "bounce back." Moreover, you can maintain your memory and cognitive skills with a few simple lifestyle changes. It's easier than you might have ever dreamed - if you know these three discoveries from researchers at top universities:

The food you eat can have an astonishing effect on your memory. One example: Fruit and vegetable juices appear to offer remarkable benefits. In one study people who drank juice three or more times a week were 76 percent less likely to develop signs of Alzheimer's than people who seldom or never drank juice.

Regular physical activity is probably the best-documented way to shield your brain against aging. You don't have to go crazy, because even modest amounts can yield dramatic benefits. In one six year study, people who walked merely three times a week were 30 percent less likely to develop dementia.

Reducing stress works. Research shows that stress, bad news, family arguments, or unexpected work demands can increase memory lapses. But, you can protect yourself! In a Harvard study, people who did relaxation exercises for 20 minutes a day saw their attention and responsiveness improve significantly in just five weeks.

And here's even more good news about the aging brain: Emotional health improves with age. Research shows that people become less neurotic as they get older!

Supplements don't work. Despite marketers' claims, there's no clear evidence that any supplement, including ginkgo biloba, or beta-carotene can preserve or boost your mental powers.

How to keep your heart healthy with pistachio nuts

It might seem surprising that a little pistachio nut can be one of the secrets of a healthy heart, but it's true: The mighty little pistachio nut contains phytosterols - a substance that blocks your body from absorbing cholesterol. The results: A small handful of pistachios daily may help prevent your arteries from clogging, keep your blood vessels clean, your heart healthy and strong.

Honey Bunches of Oats has lots of healthy oats, right? Wrong.

You'd assume that a cereal with the word "oats" in its name would have lots of oats and provide you with a healthy breakfast. But check the label. Food labels list ingredients in descending order by weight. Honey Bunches of Oats lists whole-grain oats as its fourth ingredient - after corn, wheat, and sugar! A better option: Honey Nut Cheerios. You'll find that a box of Cheerios lists whole-grain oats first!

Why doctors don't take Vitamin E

Once upon a time, lots of folks - doctors included - rushed out to buy vitamin E supplements to protect their hearts. But it turns out that was a mistake. New research shows that vitamin E won't reduce your risk of chronic disease; in fact, it may even make it worse. And you don't need to take vitamin E supplements to prevent a deficiency. Simply eat E-rich foods - like nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils - or take a multivitamin. That should provide you with plenty of vitamin E.

If you can buy a drug at the drugstore, that means it's safe, right? Wrong.

What's the leading cause of acute liver disease in the U.S.? Hepatitis? Alcohol? No, it's ordinary acetaminophen. Yes, that's the ingredient in many products such as Tylenol. That's just one example of what the labels of over-the-counter drugs won't tell you. Many common medications - even when taken as directed - can cause or worsen an alarming number of diseases, ranging from glaucoma to heart disease. For example, the pain relieving drugs ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB) and naproxen (Aleve) can both raise your blood pressure and possibly harm your stomach, liver and kidney if used long-term...and certain heartburn drugs may cause problems if taken with other common medications.

To avoid mistakes, simply follow these safety tips:

1. Avoid remedies that contain multiple ingredients. You may not need all of the ingredients, and they can raise your risk of side effects.
2. Choose by active ingredient, not brand name. You'll avoid getting the wrong ingredient or unnecessary ones.
3. If symptoms persist, stop the drug and call your doctor. You could be masking or mistreating a serious underlying problem or becoming dependent on the drug.
4. Ask your doctor about precautions if you have a chronic disease.

Potatoes make you fat, right? Wrong.

In fact, just the opposite! A baked potato with skin may help keep excess pounds OFF thanks to a healthy dose of fiber! The secret: Don't deep-fry or drown your potato in sour cream, butter and cheese! If your doctor wrote you a prescription for a "baked potato" you might think he or she was nuts. But it wouldn't be so far-fetched. You get all these healthy benefits from one medium-sized baked potato with skin:

• You get 925 mg of potassium to help keep your blood pressure in check.
• You get 50 mg of magnesium to help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.
• You get 5 grams of fiber to help keep your bowels running smoothly and your appetite under control.

Source: Consumer Reports on Health

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PROPERTY AND FINANCE

2011 Budget as of October 31

Budget             $337,950

     Income        $261,773