Marla Ahlgrimm | A Quick Refresher On Hormones

Marla Ahlgrimm is a retired hormone specialist that spent more than 40 years helping women achieve balanced hormones. Here, she offers a quick refresher on what, exactly, hormones are, and touches on key points as to how they affect the body.

Q: What are hormones?

Marla Ahlgrimm: You’ll hear the description “chemical messengers” more often than once when asking this question. Hormones are essentially chemicals that deliver messages, or instructions, from a specific gland to other parts of the body.

Marla Ahlgrimm’s Favorite Spring Foods (And Why You Should Eat Them!)

Many people across the country have begun planning their gardens, and your local grocery store may have an abundance of green on the shelves. Marla Ahlgrimm says that spring is the perfect time to drop unhealthy food habits. Here are her favorite foods that can help you do it.

Arugula

Arugula, along with other leafy greens, contain a host of helpful vitamins, including K and A. They can help to reduce internal inflammation and detoxify the body. You don’t have to create complex dishes to enjoy the benefits, either. Marla Ahlgrimm says a bowl of arugula sprinkled with nuts with a squirt of citrus juice works well as an excellent side salad.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Wash Your Hands!

As we sit in the grip of a national emergency, Marla Ahlgrimm says it’s important to remember basic hygiene. She explains that washing your hands is the single most important thing you can do when you are trying to stop the spread of anything that might make you sick. Here, she shares information on how and why you should wash your hands frequently.

Washing your hands removes germs.

Many people mistakenly believe that soap kills germs. This is not the case, but Marla Ahlgrimm says that soap and water does something even better: it removes the germs completely. Washing your hands can literally wash away everything from E. coli and norovirus to salmonella and even the now-dreaded Covid-19 novel coronavirus strain. It’s important to know that when you do not wash your hands, the germs on your fingers and palms are transferred to everything you touch, including other people. Marla Ahlgrimm stresses that this is akin to a spark on a dry field and can easily turn into a wildfire of disease.

Marla Ahlgrimm Answers Questions About Healthy Habits

For most of us, our days start out the same, says Marla Ahlgrimm. We wake up, have a cup of coffee, and get ready to start our day. This might include eating a quick breakfast on the way out the door and running to Starbucks for one last shot of motivation before work. But if this is your entire routine, you are doing yourself a disservice. Here, Ahlgrimm answers a few quick questions about healthy habits women should adopt every day.

Q: What is the first thing I should do when I wake up in the morning?

Marla Ahlgrimm: I like to begin my days with a long stretch. This gives me a chance to warm my body up for everything that lies ahead. Before ever getting out of bed, it’s a good idea to reach your arms above your head, and flex your feet and ankles. While you’re doing it, think about how you want the next 12 hours to go. If you start your day with a plan and a positive mindset, you’ll have a better experience than if you roll out of bed mumbling a miserable grumble.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Here Comes The Sun

The Beatles famously sang about the sun’s rising, citing that smiles would return along with it. Marla Ahlgrimm says that John, Paul, George, and Ringo were definitely onto something. According to the retired author and women’s healthcare expert, there is an undeniable link between the sunlight and a good mood.

Marla Ahlgrimm explains that the day and night cycle tells your brains when to release hormones. Specifically, sunlight triggers the production of serotonin. This is a brain chemical that’s associated with focus, calmness, and lightheartedness. When the sun goes down, the body begins to receive melatonin. Anyone who’s ever taken a supplement to help them settle in at night will recognize this is a potent sleep aid -- it’s also a natural hormone.

Happy Accidents: Marla Ahlgrimm On Drugs No One Was Looking For

Sometimes, the greatest advance are those that we didn't know were possible, says Marla Ahlgrimm. The following are a few pharmaceutical discoveries that have changed the world. They are all related in that they were all found by complete accident.

Penicillin

If you don’t know the name Alexander Fleming, Marla Ahlgrimm says that you should. As the scientist that discovered penicillin, Fleming is directly responsible for saving countless lives throughout the years. The discovery was made in the early 1900s during the Spanish flu pandemic. A bit of dust that made its way into the petri dish, where it then molded. An eagle-eyed Fleming noticed that the area around the mold was blissfully bacteria free. The resulting antibiotic was soon being used across the globe.

Marla Ahlgrimm | Flu Remedy To Be Classified OTC

In 2018/19, the flu season took more than 61,000 lives, says Marla Ahlgrimm. This high number of fatalities was largely concentrated in geriatric and pediatric patients. However, the death toll could have been significantly higher if not for Tamiflu and other antiviral medications designed specifically to target the flu virus. And soon, Tamiflu may become an over-the-counter medication.

According to Marla Ahlgrimm, Tamiflu manufacturer Sanofi recently signed an agreement with Roche Pharmaceuticals to release the drug as an over-thhundreds of thousands of individuals expe-counter medication. This measure would potentially provide access to this drug osed to the flu virus each year. People without insurance or those who cannot afford their co-pays would no longer require a trip to the doctor.to

If you are a patient, Marla Ahlgrimm says it is important to remember that this antiviral medication is not a substitute for the flu shot. The flu shot works to build your immunity, whereas the antiviral attacks the virus. It’s also important to remember that you can still get the flu and use the antiviral even if you have had a flu shot. It is more likely that you will have a milder illness after the flu shot, and the antiviral can get you through it a bit quicker.