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Archive for June, 2011

Is being disease-free the same as being truly healthy? Some people seem to think so but let’s take a closer look.

A person can suffer from symptoms like migraine headaches, chronic constipation, one cold after another, digestive problems and feel tired most of the time and still get a clean bill of health from the doctor.

How is that possible? Within the accepted parameters of his profession and according to his training no disease or chronic problem is discernable.

Does that mean the doctor is incompetent? No, he is simply doing as much as his training and education equip him to do. If the tests results say everything is ok and his examination does not prove otherwise then you must be fine.

The truth is that allopathic doctors are trained to detect and fight disease in very specific ways. They are not trained to help you maintain optimal health. Doctors generally do not get involved until a patient’s health has been seriously compromised or tests indicate an impending health risk.

For some reason our culture has confused fighting disease with being healthy. They even call it “health care.” Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it “lack of health care.” Real health care implies that a healthy person is taking steps to maintain or care for their healthy condition. While we’re at it, the term health insurance is also misleading. The real truth is we don’t need it as long as we are healthy.

Being healthy obviously includes the absence of disease. But a truly healthy person does not suffer from symptoms like migraine headaches, constipation, catching one cold after another, persistent digestive problems or feeling tired all the time.

These types of symptoms may or may not indicate the presence of disease but they certainly do indicate a health problem. Our body is telling us we need to care for our health and if we refuse to listen that’s when “lack of health care” comes in.

When we are blessed with good health we feel good. That is because health is not limited to our physical condition. Our mental emotional and physical conditions all come under the general category of personal health.

Good physical health has a positive impact on our emotions and outlook just as poor health has a negative impact on these same areas.

Think back to a time when you were sick for several days or even weeks. How did you feel emotionally? After awhile did you start to feel depressed wondering if you would ever feel good again?

Most people can remember such an experience and would prefer to avoid repeating it. That memory is not based solely on the physical discomfort they experienced but the mental and emotional discomfort as well.

Doesn’t it stand to reason that the opposite is also true? When we feel vibrantly healthy and energetic we also feel happy and mentally alert.

The memories of good health usually do not stand out because when we feel good we tend to keep busy with activities that capture our attention. It’s only when we feel poorly and are forced to abandon those activities that we focus on our health.

Now let’s imagine how easily we could elevate the quality of our everyday life with genuine health care. That means taking steps on a daily basis to appreciate and care for our personal health instead of ignoring it until there is a problem to be fixed.

In reality, the responsibility for our personal health is our own. If we try to push that responsibility off on a doctor who is trained to fight disease we will probably be disappointed with the results.

If we are willing to accept that responsibility ourselves, then satisfying results are much more likely.

Yes, this will require that we put forth some additional effort. First we need to acquire the knowledge necessary to make competent decisions about our own health. Then we must be willing to take positive action based on our newly acquired knowledge.

Is the effort worthwhile? That really depends on whether you want to enjoy your life or just suffer through it. When someone asks you, “how do you feel?” will you to be able to say with all honesty “I feel great” or will you be satisfied with the reply “well, I have not been diagnosed with any disease so I guess I am healthy enough.” As always, it’s up to you.

Before you get up in the morning practice tightening your pelvic and contracting your tummy muscles while you lie in bed. Hold all the muscles tight for three deep breaths and then relax. Do this ten times each morning and you will be toning up your tummy without even having to stand up.

While lying in bed, take three deep breaths to get some oxygen into your lungs then tighten your abdominal muscles and do two sets of 10 gentle crunches before you get out of bed.

As you get up, sit on the edge of the bed and put a pillow between your knees. Stretch your arms up above you while squeezing your thighs together 15 times to tone your legs.

When you are out of the bed, take time to make it properly.

This is activity that will burn a few extra calories.

When you are brushing your teeth, make good use of the time by doing some shallow lunges as you brush.

Exercise On The Go

If you travel to work by tube, walk up the escalators two steps at a time. By taking larger strides you will involve your bottom more in your stair climbing and give your legs and lungs more of a workout. If you do not use the escalators you can try this at home in the evening by climbing your stairs 10 times.

Hold your tummy in and squeeze your bottom, wherever you are.

If you are waiting for a bus or a train, isolate different muscles around your body and contract and relax them in turn.

Make every journey a mini-fitness fix. Pick up your pace walking to the station, to the sandwich shop, or even to the wine bar. You will know you have done it right if you are slightly out of breath and can feel your heart racing by the time you get to your destination. Remember this is not about running, just about saying goodbye to the casual stroll and making the most of being on the move.

If you are in the car, always practice good posture by tightening your tummy muscles and keeping your shoulders relaxed.

If you spend the day in an office, take regular screen breaks and move around, even if you do not need to go anywhere. Extra journeys mean extra calories burnt which all add up over the course of a day.

For most men and women alike, the 20s are a time when you first start to feel like a true adult. Unfortunately, it usually isn’t too far after you start feeling mature that your body catches up to you, and those first fine lines of aging start to make themselves visible to you and to the rest of the world, too.

Whether your fine lines are just starting to crop up or you want to take steps to keep them away for as long as possible, you surely want to look for the best anti wrinkle products around. Unfortunately, though, the world of anti wrinkle skin care products is extensive, and it’s often difficult to know what is best for people in their 20s.

Here are some of the top ingredients that are best suited for young adults:

• Nano Lipobelle H-EQ10 is designed to combat free radicals, which are responsible for deterioration of cells over time. As you age, the number of free radicals in your body increases, so taking steps to Read the rest of this entry »

Have you heard of the cayenne pepper and water diet? Controversy has recently surrounded the so-called cayenne pepper and water diet, primarily due to it’s association with Beyonce Knowles who apparently lost 20 pounds during filming for the movie “Dreamgirls” living only on cayenne pepper and water. The facts are not in dispute, the actress did apparently lose weight quickly over a short period and there is no reason to dispute how this was achieved.

However the question that must be asked is can this be called a “diet”? Some would say that what Beyonce Knowles did was simply starve herself of food, surviving solely on liquids. Surely the cayenne pepper had no noticeable effects other than perhaps adding a little taste to the water?

It should perhaps be noted that there are certainly recorded health benefits associated with cayenne pepper, including aiding digestion, strengthening of the heart, claims it contains mild pain relieving qualities, and there are even reports of using cayenne as a dressing for wounds.

Even taking these reported benefits into account, can this cayenne pepper and water diet really be called a diet? It should more properly be seen as a purely starvation exercise undertaken by a committed actor wishing to lose weight quickly in pursuit of her art and career, presumably with the safety net afforded to highly paid and closely monitored movie stars. Presumably she will have been surrounded by assistants and helpers who would have been immediately on hand had Beyonce suffered from any starvation effects or ill health.

The danger in this story as with other fad diets is that impressionable people, young girls in particular, will have heard about this seemingly miraculous cayenne pepper and water diet and will wish to Read the rest of this entry »

To overcome the alcohol addiction, detoxification must be done in the first place. Detoxification is a process of withdrawal that removes the alcohol toxins from the body. It is life-threatening to do sudden withdrawal from alcohol without any specialist. Symptoms can be intense and hard to manage. It may result in the individual being drawn back to alcohol use. So, medical expertise is needed by the individuals to make sure symptoms are minimized. Detoxing physically from alcohol can take 7-10 days or longer. It is not enough to have only detox for sustained abstinence. It should be supported by rehabilitative treatment, which addresses the psychological issues behind the alcohol addiction and teaches addicts to live a healthy life for a long-term recovery.

As we know, alcohol has a sedating effect on the central nervous system. So when someone stops drinking, the brain produces stimulants and the body experiences a form of shock. The symptoms of withdrawal can be mild to extreme. Sudden withdrawal from alcohol can result in brain damage or even death. The physical symptoms might be mild fever, tremors, cold sweats, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. While psychological symptoms can be insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, mood swing, confusion and hallucinations. A residential detox and rehab treatment program might offer the best chance of long-term recovery as it gives treatment to both the physical and psychological alcohol addiction.

 

Our administration and representatives are negotiating the terms to take over our health care system, in the belief that it is too expensive, and will cripple our economy if the costs are not controlled.? The human element is the plea to cover people that do not have insurance, so they will have access to the best?care money can buy.

Rather than plow ground that has been plowed by writers more gifted than I, my focus is how to provide health care to uninsured citizens.? If this is a national priority, let’s not destroy the health care system that stands between us, and the grim reaper in the process.

As a former County Commissioner, I had the responsibility to oversee and fund the county health department.? This health care facility provided basic services to many who could not afford (or chose not to pay for) access to private?care.

County health departments exist throughout the nation, working quietly to benefit society’s poorest citizens.? Free or reduced price, health care is already being provided depending on your ability to pay.

The present discussion is about building a new bureaucracy and restricting health access for everyone.? Why not increase the funding for County Health Departments around the nation?

In exchange for this added charitable benefit, the uninsured could only be treated at hospital emergency rooms after hours, and only if hospitalization was required.? Hospitals would bill the county health department for any services provided, at the lowest negotiated group network price.? Hospital emergency rooms would no longer be required to accept anyone who walked in their door.

Funding should be allocated by population on numerical bases, and disbursed to each congressional district.? The Federal Government’s role would end at this point.? Each Congressional District would have a local board, composed of one commissioner from each county.

These district boards would be responsible to Read the rest of this entry »

1. Your diet plan should be easily incorporated into your daily life. If a the plan doesn’t seem like something that will easily blend in with your lifestyle and the amount of time that you have on a daily basis, then it is not a realistic weight loss plan for you. Your key to success in losing weight is finding a program that will easily fit into your unique lifestyle.

2. You need a weight loss system that doesn’t require a lot of radical changes. If it the program you choose requires you to make drastic changes right out of the gate, you are setting yourself up for failure before you even begin. In order to be successful in your journey to lose weight you must be willing to make changes, but the plan must allow you to at least semi-gradually incorporate the changes into your life.

3. You also need a diet plan that doesn’t deprive you of your favorite foods. Foregoing your favorite foods is the #1 reason why most diet plans fail. You need a plan that teaches you how you can eat your favorite foods and still lose weight. Otherwise you will return to your favorite foods and regain the weight you just worked so hard to lose.

4. Your diet plan should help you avoid “scale screeching plateaus”. Nothing is more frustrating during your journey to lose weight than hitting the “dreaded plateau” where your scale refuses to budge! If you don’t continue to lose weight each and every week, then discouragement, frustration, depression and all sorts of weight loss defeating attitudes show up. You have to find a diet program that keeps the weight loss momentum going!

5. Your diet plan must allow you to have variety of foods and calories. To lose weight fast you must be able to vary your foods and calories. Any program that makes you eat the same category/types of foods and/or the same amount of calories, day-in & day-out, is a program that will surely not give you the fast nor long-term weight loss that you are seeking. Make sure you research a permanent weight loss solution that allows for a vast variety in your food choices as well as your calories intake range.

6. You don’t just want to lose weight fast, you also want to find a diet plan that will allow you to sustain your weight loss. Make sure that any diet plan that you consider has a maintenance aspect to it as well.

You may have noticed that the toll of aging has been greater on some parts of your body than others. It is very common for middle age men and women to suffer from knee problems such as arthritis, tendonitis, and limited range of motion.

This is especially so for people who are unhealthy and over weight. Therefore, it is important that you begin to focus on knee exercises and fitness over 50.

The health of your knee is an important part of fitness over 40. If you are over 50, there is a greater urgency to protect and strengthen your knees.

Your knees bear your weight all day as you walk, stand up, go upstairs, and do many other basic activities. When your muscles and tendons are weak, they cannot adequately absorb shock before it reaches your knee and causes damage.

Over time, this damage can limit your knee movement and load bearing ability. Therefore, keeping your legs and knees strong is a key to Read the rest of this entry »

Aerobics are the only exercise that can burn fat, while sensible eating prevents fat from accumulating on your muscles. However some people have specific problem spots-arms, thighs, love-handles at the waist, etc. ?which stubbornly droop even after having lost fat. This is where weight ?training – let’s call it spot-shaping – comes in.

While your layer of fat above a muscle is being steadily burned off, these spot-shapers firm up specific areas so that they shrink and take up less space. That means, for example, you will lose the treacherous inches that form those unseemly love handles. On the other hand, if you want to gain inches at some other spot, you just have to increase the weights you work out with.

Spot-shaping is much like painting a full-length portrait of yourself. Obviously, you want to look better and with a few strokes of the brush make your hips appear more streamlined. So it is with spot-shaping, Suddenly, one day, you look in the mirror and marvel, “Is that really me?” That special feeling of looking good goes beyond mere cosmetic changes. There are other positive off-shoots. Things become clearer somehow. Circumstances which had previously appeared to be mountainous, magically assume the proportions of a mole-hill. You don t shrink from situations like you did earlier. With the there-is-nothing-to-be-nervous ?about feeling coursing through you, you become more calm, more relaxed. You can view situations with a clear mind.

All these bonuses come to you little by little. Both physically and mentally ?you are stronger, swifter and more flexible. You will understand what me mean when you hear about Raksha, an executive in a multinational firm. As long as she was obese, she was always fatigued at the end of the day. One day, she took to aerobics and sensible eating. It took her three years to burn off all that fat. Then, she decided to go in for weight-training. Seeing those tiny dumb bells in Read the rest of this entry »

The booming requirement for a fit and healthy life has contributed to a boom in the fitness equipment industry. When these fitness equipments are used properly they help to burn out the excess calories. This in turn helps to maintain physical health and well being of an individual. Actually fitness equipments ensure faster results. But all this depends on your choice of equipments. Your choice has to meet your fitness requirement and this is a crucial factor.

Getting the correct exercise equipment is not an easy job nor is it simple. Sometimes you even become frustrated searching for the right equipment. You have such a lot of options to choose from various equipments that you may be confused. But do not consider these as negative. You just have to consider the various options that fit your needs.

There are many well established firms or companies which sell the best life fitness exercise equipment. The companies offer the best workout products for you to choose from. The prices of this equipment is also affordable. There are a variety of life fitness workout equipment. The treadmill is equipment which can be used for walking or running. F3 treadmill is a foldable model but it has the same quality that the regular treadmills have. It has got everything that the regular treadmills have. This treadmill can be customized by fitting in either the basic or promoted console workouts. The treadmill also has in it the adjoin heart rate hand detectors. This sensor helps you to keep a track of your heart rate while you are working on it.

Fitness equipment is substantive for the right exercise and a full body work out. Regular use of fitness equipment is beneficial both to the body and a specific group of muscles. Obese people can loose their weight through the use of fitness equipments for exercising. Proper exercise and balanced diet can make a person look 10 years younger than they are.

Today a lot of fitness equipment is available in the market at a low-cost. The most sought-after fitness equipment is:

o Multi-gym is an exercise equipment in which incremented plates can be used for varying loads. They are applied to beef up the chest, shoulders, arms and other parts of the body.

o The dumbbells and barbells are equipments which have weights attached to a small long bar. This instrument is used to tone up biceps, triceps, and limbs, shoulder joint, second joint, calf muscles etc.

o The rowing machine is useful to tone up the pectorals and the lower back.

o The Swiss ball which is a rubber ball can be used to develop balance and for exercising the abdomen in addition to the back muscles.

o The exercise bike is a fixed bicycle. It consists of friction boards for working out the legs.

But bear in mind that wrong and broad usage of fitness equipment can lead to inflammation of muscles and sinews. Fitness equipments are to be used so that you derive some sort of benefits from them. You should not over use them and get exhausted.