KEEP OUR BODY FIT

Mountain Bike:A Guide To Buy

2008-11-20T19:33:00.001-08:00

It can be a bit frustrating as well as time consuming when you buy a mountain bike. Below, you'll find some tips and things to be aware of before you lay down the cash and buy a mountain bike.

Determining your price
There is really no limit as to how much money you can spend on a new mountain bike. To help you keep your spending under control, you should figure out what your price range is and how much your willing to pay for a new bike. When you buy, you shouldn't buy from mass merchant stores such as Wal-Mart. You should instead support your local bike shop and get a much better bike and much better service.

Finding your style
All mountain bikes are designed with several different riding styles and terrain types in mind. You'll need to figure out what type of riding you will be doingthe most. Smooth riding, cross country racing, mountain cruising, or lift accessed downhill is something you need to figure out. Make sure that the bike you select fits your personal style and not that of the sale's staff.

Full suspension or hard tail If you can afford it, a full suspension mountain bike is always worth the purchase. A hard tail, without rear suspension, is much lighter weight and pedal more efficiently, although full suspensions offer more comfort and overall better control. You'll want to make that decision based on your price range, riding style, and the type of terrain you'll be riding on the most.

Finding your favorites
Comparing mountain bikes component to component is nearly impossible, as there are far too many combinations available. The best way to go about doing this is finding a few components that are the most important to you and making sure the rest or the minimums fall within your price range. You can start with the fork then look at the wheels and rear derailleur.

Sales and seasons
During the year, the prices of mountain bikes can fluctuate quite a bit. Spring through summer is the main buying season. If you can wait until the rightprice pops up, normally in the fall and winter, you can save a couple hundred dollars. Many bike shops will also offer discounts or other accessories if you buy
from them.

Finding a good dealer
Finding a good bike dealer is more important than finding the best price. You should always find a dealer that cares more about selling you a great bike than selling you a high priced one. A great dealer will have a clean repairshop and give you the impression that you can really trust them.

Test ride
You should test ride as many bikes as you can within your price range and riding style. You'll find that some bikes will feel right, while others won't. The morebikes you can test drive, you better you'll understand what works and what doesn't.

Doing the research
Product reviews and bike reviews are some of the best ways to find out about a mountain bikes reliability and overall performance. You should always look at whatother owners and reviews think about a bike before you make that final purchase.

Mountain Bike: Cross Country

2008-11-20T19:23:00.000-08:00

Cross country mountain biking is cross country at its finest. Where free riders and downhill bikers use four wheel bikes and ski lifts to get them to their destination, cross country bikers get to the top of the mountain by the ride. Though free riding is very popular, the life vein of the sport has always been cross country biking.

Just as cross country riders are a different breed, the bikes they ride are as well. The cross country bike is completely different in many ways from other
types of mountain riding bikes. The premise for cross country riders is speed. Everything about their bikes revolve with the idea of making the bikes faster and faster.

Bikes used in cross country mountain biking can be fully rigid frame, hardtails, or even full suspension frames. Through the years, the cross over to full suspension has become very popular.

The weight difference between free ride bikes and cross country bikes are considerable. You'll be extremely hard pressed to find a bike that weighs more than 24 pounds, and even that weight can be heavy. Free ride bikes weigh close to 40 pounds,which makes the difference in weight pretty close.

If you've never tried cross country mountain biking, you'll probably find it to be a break from the ordinary. Even though this type of biking involves trails, it's normally the type of terrain that beginners wouldn't want to ride. Involving hills and rough terrain, cross country biking offers
quite the rush.

For mountain bikers everywhere, cross country is the way to go. It offers you a new assortment of bikes, new areas to bike, and a new twist to mountain biking as you know it. If you've been looking for a mountain biking rush, cross country mountain biking is what you need to be experiencing.

Mountain Bike: Another way to fir your body

2008-11-20T19:10:00.000-08:00

Mountain biking is an exciting sport that can be enjoyed by anyone who knows how to ride a bike. Compared to the average bike ride, it does present some danger. Therefore, you should master these basic skills before you hit the trails or the
dirt.

You can practice these beginning skills at a local park, school, bike path, or simply around your house. If you can, try to find a location with a steep hill.

Get a feel for your pedals Practice moving your foot away from the pedal, first while sitting on your bike with one foot on the ground. Next, move on to releasing and replacing your foot while pedaling around for a bit. Those with toe clip and clipless type foot pedals will want to spend a bit more time
practicing.
Sit and spin for position Simply sit on your bike and pedal around. You should keep your arms slightly bent. You should also adjust your seat height so your leg is 70 to 90 percent extended at the bottom of every stroke on the pedal. Keep your body relaxed, as there will never be a position where you should have
either your knees or your elbows locked.

Shifting gears
Get a feel for shifting gears with your bike. The higher gears are harder to pedal and will go faster while the lower gears are easier to pedal and will help you ascend hills. As you get to steeper hills, its best to shift before you get
to the hill rather than while your on it.

Coasting
You should spend a bit of time coasting while standing on your pedals, without actually sitting on the seat. Keep your arms bent but don't lock your knees. Now, try experimenting with shifting your body towards the rear end of the bike.

Pedal while standing
You should get as comfortable as you can with pedaling while standing on your bike. Try lifting yourself off the seat while standing on the pedals,
then crank them around. You should try this in higher gears on flat ground then again in lower gears while on a hill.

Dropping down a curb
Try finding a curb where you can easily get to the upper portion of it. Practice at a moderate speed,standing and coasting right off the curb from the
upper level to the lower level. Try this at different speeds until it becomes second nature.

Once you practice these techniques and get the hang of them, you'll be able to hit the trails feeling comfortable on your mountain bike. Even though it may take some getting used to, it'll become second nature before you know it.

Food Poisoning: An Introduction

2008-10-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Food poisoning is an acute gastroenteritis caused by the consumption of a food material or a drink which contains the pathogenic micro organism or their toxins or poisonous chemicals.Food poisoning is common in hostels,hotels,communal feedings, and festivel seasons.

A group of persons will be affected with same type of symptoms ,and they give a history of consumption of a common food before few hours.

Types of food poisoning...

1) Bacterial food poisoning:
Here the micro organisms called bacteria are responsible.The food material may contain the pathogenic bacteriae or their toxin and will be ingested along with the food.

2) Non bacterial food poisoning:
Due to the presence of toxic chemicals like fertilizers,insectisides,heavy metals and ect.

Since bacterial food poisoning is common it is discussed here.
Bacterial food poisoning:
All bacteria are not harmful.There are some pathogenic bacteria which secrete toxins and cause clinical manifestations.These organisms enter the human body through food articles or drinks.

How food poisoning occures:
1) Presence of bacteria in the water.
2) The raw materials for the food may contain toxins.
3) Premises where the food is prepared may contain micro organisms or toxins.
4) Food handlers may have some infectious diseases.
5) Some animals like dogs,rats may contaminate the food.
6) If prepared food is kept in the room temperature for a long time and heated again can make a chance for food poisoning.
7) Purposely some body mixing toxins in the food.

Some common bacterial food poisonings.
1) Salmonella food poisoning:
There are three different varieties of salmonella bacteria.(salmonella typhimurium,salmonella cholera suis,salmonella enteritidis) These bacteria are present in milk, milk products and eggs. Symptoms of this food poisoning include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Fever is also common.

2) Botulism:
This is the dangerous type of food poisoning caused by clostridium botulinum. The spores of these organisms are seen in the soil and enters the human body through pickles and canned fish ect.Compared to other food poisonings here vomiting and diarrhoea are rare Mainly the nervous system is affected.The symptoms starts with double vision,numbness with weakness.Later there will be paralysis with cardiac and respiratory failure ending in death.

3) Staphylococcal food poisoning:
It is caused by staphylo coccus aureus. These organisms usually cause skin troubles like boils and eruptions.It causes mastitis in cow.Through the milk and milk products it enders and causes gastroenteritis.There will be vomiting,abdominal cramps with diarrhoea.

4) Closteridium food poisoning:
This is caused by closteridium perfringens.They are present in stool,soil and water. They enter the body through,meat,meat dishes and egg ect.If food articles are cooked and kept in room temperature for a long time and heated again before eating can result this food poisoning.Symptoms include vomiting ,diarrhoea and abdominal cramps.

5) Bacillus cereus:
The spores of these organisms can survive cooking and causes enteritis. Diarrhoea and vomiting is common in this infection.

How to investigate food poisoning?
1) Examine each and every person affected.
2) Water sample should be tested.
3) Kitchen, store room and food samples should be examined.
4) The cook and food handlers should be questioned and examined.
5) Samples of vomitus and stool of all victims should be tested to identify the bacteria.

How to prevent food poisoning:-
1) Only purified water should be used.
2) Hygiene should be maintained by all persons keeping contact with food.
3) Workers should use masks, cap and gloves during cooking and serving.
4) Sick individuals should not come in contact with food materials.
5) Kitchen and premises should be neat and clean.
6) Vessels should be washed with soap and hot water.
7) Should not keep the prepared food for a long time in room temperature.
8) All food materials should be kept in closed containers.
9) Animals like dog, cat, rat ect should not come in contact with food materials.
10) Vegetables should be washed before cooking.
11) Meat should be fresh and should be purchased from recognised slaughter house.

Alchohol: Membranous deteriorations

2008-10-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

In order to make perfectly clear to your mind the action and use of these membranous expansions, and the way in which alcohol deteriorates them, and obstructs their work, we quote again from Dr. Richardson:

"The animal receives from the vegetable world and from the earth the food and drink it requires for its sustenance and motion. It receives colloidal food for its muscles: combustible food for its motion; water for the solution of its various parts; salt for constructive and other physical purposes. These have all to be arranged in the body; and they are arranged by means of the membranous envelopes. Through these membranes nothing can pass that is not, for the time, in a state of aqueous solution, like water or soluble salts.

Water passes freely through them, salts pass freely through them, but the constructive matter of the active parts that is colloidal does not pass; it is retained in them until it is chemically decomposed into the soluble type of matter. When we take for our food a portion of animal flesh, it is first resolved, in digestion, into a soluble fluid before it can be absorbed; in the blood it is resolved into the fluid colloidal condition; in the solids it is laid down within the membranes into new structure, and when it has played its part, it is digested again, if I may so say, into a crystalloidal soluble substance, ready to be carried away and replaced by addition of new matter, then it is dialysed or passed through, the membranes into the blood, and is disposed of in the excretions....

"See, then, what an all-important part these membranous structures play in the animal life. Upon their integrity all the silent work of the building up of the body depends. If these membranes are rendered too porous, and let out the colloidal fluids of the blood the albumen, for example the body so circumstanced, dies; dies as if it were slowly bled to death.

If, on the contrary, they become condensed or thickened, or loaded with foreign material, then they fail to allow the natural fluids to pass through them. They fail to dialyse, and the result is, either an accumulation of the fluid in a closed cavity, or contraction of the substance inclosed within the membrane, or dryness of membrane in surfaces that ought to be freely lubricated and kept apart.

In old age we see the effects of modification of membrane naturally induced; we see the fixed joint, the shrunken and feeble muscle, the dimmed eye, the deaf ear, the enfeebled nervous function.

"It may possibly seem, at first sight, that I am leading immediately away from the subject of the secondary action of alcohol. It is not so. I am leading directly to it. Upon all these membranous structures alcohol exerts a direct perversion of action. It produces in them a thickening, a shrinking and an inactivity that reduces their functional power. That they may work rapidly and equally, they require to be at all times charged with water to saturation.

If, into contact with them, any agent is brought that deprives them of water, then is their work interfered with; they cease to separate the saline constituents properly; and, if the evil that is thus started, be allowed to continue, they contract upon their contained matter in whatever organ it may be situated, and condense it.

"In brief, under the prolonged influence of alcohol those changes which take place from it in the blood corpuscles, extend to the other organic parts, involving them in structural deteriorations, which are always dangerous, and are often ultimately fatal."

Alcohol Effect on Membranes

2008-10-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

The parts which first suffer from alcohol are those expansions of the body which the anatomists call the membranes. "The skin is a membranous envelope. Through the whole of the alimentary surface, from the lips downward, and through the bronchial passages to their minutest ramifications, extends the mucous membrane. The lungs, the heart, the liver, the kidneys are folded in delicate membranes, which can be stripped easily from these parts.

If you take a portion of bone, you will find it easy to strip off from it a membranous sheath or covering; if you examine a joint, you will find both the head and the socket lined with membranes. The whole of the intestines are enveloped in a fine membrane called peritoneum .

All the muscles are enveloped in membranes, and the fasciculi, or bundles and fibres of muscles, have their membranous sheathing. The brain and spinal cord are enveloped in three membranes; one nearest to themselves, a pure vascular structure, a network of blood-vessels; another, a thin serous structure; a third, a strong fibrous structure.

The eyeball is a structure of colloidal humors and membranes, and of nothing else. To complete the description, the minute structures of the vital organs are enrolled in membranous matter."

These membranes are the filters of the body. "In their absence there could be no building of structure, no solidification of tissue, nor organic mechanism. Passive themselves, they, nevertheless, separate all structures into their respective positions and adaptations."

Alchohol Effect On Our Blood

2008-10-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

Dr. Richardson, in his lectures on alcohol, given both in England and America, speaking of the action of this substance on the blood after passing from the stomach, says:

"Suppose, then, a certain measure of alcohol be taken into the stomach, it will be absorbed there, but, previous to absorption, it will have to undergo a proper degree of dilution with water, for there is this peculiarity respecting alcohol when it is separated by an animal membrane from a watery fluid like the blood, that it will not pass through the membrane until it has become charged, to a given point of dilution, with water.

It is itself, in fact, so greedy for water, it will pick it up from watery textures, and deprive them of it until, by its saturation, its power of reception is exhausted , after which it will diffuse into the current of circulating fluid."

It is this power of absorbing water from every texture with which alcoholic spirits comes in contact, that creates the burning thirst of those who freely indulge in its use. Its effect, when it reaches the circulation, is thus described by Dr. Richardson:...

"As it passes through the circulation of the lungs it is exposed to the air, and some little of it, raised into vapor by the natural heat, is thrown off in expiration. If the quantity of it be large, this loss may be considerable, and the odor of the spirit may be detected in the expired breath.

If the quantity be small, the loss will be comparatively little, as the spirit will be held in solution by the water in the blood. After it has passed through the lungs, and has been driven by the left heart over the arterial circuit, it passes into what is called the minute circulation, or the structural circulation of the organism. The arteries here extend into very small vessels, which are called arterioles, and from these infinitely small vessels spring the equally minute radicals or roots of the veins, which are ultimately to become the great rivers bearing the blood back to the heart.

In its passage through this minute circulation the alcohol finds its way to every organ. To this brain, to these muscles, to these secreting or excreting organs, nay, even into this bony structure itself, it moves with the blood. In some of these parts which are not excreting, it remains for a time diffused, and in those parts where there is a large percentage of water, it remains longer than in other parts.

From some organs which have an open tube for conveying fluids away, as the liver and kidneys, it is thrown out or eliminated, and in this way a portion of it is ultimately removed from the body. The rest passing round and round with the circulation, is probably decomposed and carried off in new forms of matter.

"When we know the course which the alcohol takes in its passage through the body, from the period of its absorption to that of its elimination, we are the better able to judge what physical changes it induces in the different organs and structures with which it comes in contact. It first reaches the blood; but, as a rule, the quantity of it that enters is insufficient to produce any material effect on that fluid. If, however, the dose taken be poisonous or semi-poisonous, then even the blood, rich as it is in water and it contains seven hundred and ninety parts in a thousand is affected.

The alcohol is diffused through this water, and there it comes in contact with the other constituent parts, with the fibrine, that plastic substance which, when blood is drawn, clots and coagulates, and which is present in the proportion of from two to three parts in a thousand; with the albumen which exists in the proportion of seventy parts; with the salts which yield about ten parts; with the fatty matters; and lastly, with those minute, round bodies which float in myriads in the blood (which were discovered by the Dutch philosopher, Leuwenhock, as one of the first results of microscopical observation, about the middle of the seventeenth century), and which are called the blood globules or corpuscles.

These last-named bodies are, in fact, cells; their discs, when natural, have a smooth outline, they are depressed in the centre, and they are red in color; the color of the blood being derived from them. We have discovered that there exist other corpuscles or cells in the blood in much smaller quantity, which are called white cells, and these different cells float in the blood-stream within the vessels.

The red take the centre of the stream; the white lie externally near the sides of the vessels, moving less quickly. Our business is mainly with the red corpuscles. They perform the most important functions in the economy; they absorb, in great part, the oxygen which we inhale in breathing, and carry it to the extreme tissues of the body; they absorb, in great part, the carbonic acid gas which is produced in the combustion of the body in the extreme tissues, and bring that gas back to the lungs to be exchanged for oxygen there; in short, they are the vital instruments of the circulation.

"With all these parts of the blood, with the water, fibrine, albumen, salts, fatty matter and corpuscles, the alcohol comes in contact when it enters the blood, and, if it be in sufficient quantity, it produces disturbing action. I have watched this disturbance very carefully on the blood corpuscles; for, in some animals we can see these floating along during life, and we can also observe them from men who are under the effects of alcohol, by removing a speck of blood, and examining it with the microscope. The action of the alcohol, when it is observable, is varied.

It may cause the corpuscles to run too closely together, and to adhere in rolls; it may modify their outline, making the clear-defined, smooth, outer edge irregular or crenate, or even starlike; it may change the round corpuscle into the oval form, or, in very extreme cases, it may produce what I may call a truncated form of corpuscles, in which the change is so great that if we did not trace it through all its stages, we should be puzzled to know whether the object looked at were indeed a blood-cell.

All these changes are due to the action of the spirit upon the water contained in the corpuscles; upon the capacity of the spirit to extract water from them. During every stage of modification of corpuscles thus described, their function to absorb and fix gases is impaired, and when the aggregation of the cells, in masses, is great, other difficulties arise, for the cells, united together, pass less easily than they should through the minute vessels of the lungs and of the general circulation, and impede the current, by which local injury is produced.

"A further action upon the blood, instituted by alcohol in excess, is upon the fibrine or the plastic colloidal matter. On this the spirit may act in two different ways, according to the degree in which it affects the water that holds the fibrine in solution. It may fix the water with the fibrine, and thus destroy the power of coagulation; or it may extract the water so determinately as to produce coagulation."

CombiHair:Things You need To Know

2008-10-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hair combing is a routine activity of almost all people.Some people keep a particular hair style throughout their life and some especially younger generation adopt new styles according to new trends and fashion.

Hair styles has got close relation with the personality of a person.The hair of an unhygeinic person is usually tangled and dirty because of lack of washing and combing.To have a healthy scalp hair proper nutrition is needed.General health has got direct relation with the quality and quantity of hair.Regular washing,use of hair oil,proper combing ect are also needed to make the hair beautiful.General hints for combing is discussed here.

1) Different varieties of combs are available in the market.The best comb is selected by considering the nature of hair(hard or soft,long or short) ,style and convenience.

2) Combing should be done with utmost care and concentration.Some people especially gents think about some other matters and comb without any care which may be harmful to the hairs.

3) Combing should be gentle .A vigorous combing can increase hairfalling.

4) Do not comb if the hair is wet. First dry it with a towel and then put some oil and gently massage it.Now the combing will be easy and harmless.

5) Should not be combed in the opposite direction of hairs.This can increase hair falling.

6) Vigorous combing in backward direction can produce traction baldness.

7) Frequent combing can damage the scalp and the hair follicles.Those who carry pocket comb use it frequently and make it a habit.Combing two or three times in a day is sufficient.

8) The tooth of the comb should not be sharp and it should not be pressed too tightly on the scalp.

9) Always clean the comb before and after use because hair and dirt deposited in the gap will make combing diffucult and painful.

10) Others comb should not be used.This helps to prevent fungal and bacterial infections.Head lice can also spread from one person to other by sharing the combs.

11) Combing the tangled hair is difficult and painful.Hence use some shampoo for cleaning and after drying put oil and make the hairs free for an easy combing.

Bad Bread Threatment

2008-10-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Bad breath is a common health problem in the society.Offenssive smell from the mouth may be due to various reasons.The main reason is the presence of anaerobic bacteria in the biofilm formed on the tongue.These bacteria degrades the proteins present in the food resulting in the production of some offenssive gases like hydrogen sulphide,skatol ect.

Bad odor from the mouth in the early morning is seen in almost all individuals.This can be controlled by maintaining oral hygiene.Even after cleaning the mouth some individuals may suffer from bad breath due to some problem in the mouth or in the nearby areas.Some general disease condition can also produce bad breath.Exact cause has to be identified and should be treated accordingly.Some common measures to cure or reduce bad breath are discussed here...

1) Oral hygiene:
Mouth should be kept clean every time to reduce the bacterial action.After food gargling with lukewarm water is very essential.Even after small food articles like snacks,sweets,buscuits cleaning with water is needed.Brushing should be done twice daily.It is said that early morning brushing is for beauty and bed time brushing is for good health.

2) Brushing techniques:
Normal brushing technique should be followed for better result.Many people brush vigorously causing damage to the gums.Brushing after every food and drink can damage the enamel .Bristles of the tooth brush should be smooth but hard enough to remove the food particles from the gaps.The direction of brushing is the most important thing.The upper teeth should be brushed in a downward direction and the lower in upward direction.This is applicable to both inner and outer surfaces.Next comes the crown of the teeth;here brushing is done in anterior and posterior direction keeping the brush in same direction.This applicable to both upper and lower set of teeth.

3) Tongue cleaning:
White or yellowish coating on the tongue can cause bad breath.This is more well marked in the morning and should be removed twice daily with the healp of a tongue cleaner. Tongue cleaner must be used gently without damaging the taste buds on the tongue.

4) Tooth pick:
Tooth pick is a small strip of wood or plastic with a pointed end.This is used to remove food particles lodged between the gaps.Very useful after eating meat and fish.Should be used gently to avoid damage to gums.

5) Gargling:
After every meal gargling with lukewarm water is useful.For better result little common salt is dissolved in the lukewarm water .Different types of mouth wash is available in the market in different trade names.Gargling with mouth wash can also reduce bad breath.

6) Food habits:
Protein containing food articles are known to produce bad breath. Example; meat, milk, fish, egg etc. If these food articles are taken proper cleaning is essential.Some food articles are known to produce particular smell which may be unpleasent for others. Raw onion is the best example.It is said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away and a raw onion a day keep every body away.Small food articles taken in between can also cause bad smell(nuts,fried items etc).Maintaining regularity in food timing is the most important thing.

7) Water intake:
Dryness in the mouth can make a favourable condition for the bacterial activity resulting in bad odor.saliva is needed to keep the mouth moist and to reduce the bacterial proliferation.Production of saliva is closely related with water balance of the body and hence sufficient quantity of water should be taken to maintain the production of saliva.

8) Mouth freshners:
Natural and artificial mouth freshners can reduce the intensity of bad breath to some extent.Spicy articles are commonly used for this purpose.Chewing spices like clove,cumin seed,cardomom,cinnamon,ginger ect are useful. All citrus fruits can reduce bad odor.Mouth freshners and chewing gums are available in the market.these products are also helpful ,but some may cause damage hence should be used with caution.

If the above things doesn't work then what to do? The Alternative can be consider the following:

1) Remove the cause:
Bad breath is common in some general and systemic diseases like diabetes,fevers,gastric disorders,liver diseases and ect.By removing or reducing the primary cause the bad breath will go automatically.

2) Modern medicine:
If bad breath is due to any infection suitable antibiotics,anti fungal or anti viral medicines will help.If it is due to any autoimmune or chronic inflamatory conditions steroids may also be used.Saliva producing tablets can also be used.

3) Dental cleaning:
Dental cleaning done by a dentist can remove the dental plaques and tartar. This can reduce the severity of bad breath.Visit your dentist atleast once in a year.

4) Filling of caries:
Since caries are one of the main cause for bad breath it should be filled by a dentist.Earlier silver amalgam was used ,nowadays it is replaced by synthetic materials.If the pulp cavity is affected by the caries root canal treatment can be done.

5) Tooth extraction:
If caries are deep with destruction of teeth with bad smell extraction is the better choice and a dental implant can be kept in the gap.

6) Tonsillectomy:
Patients with recurrent tonsillitis can have bad breath due to offenssive discharges and release of pasty materials from the crypts of tonsils.Such patients get great relief after tonsillectomy(removal of tonsils).

7) Psychological counselling:
Those who suffer from bad breath may be very much depressed and they be away from the public .This isolation hampers their daytoday activities.Such people should understand the fact that all humanbeings are having bad breath, but with slight differences in intensities.Mostly all people control it by taking personal care.Every human body has got it's own smell,that may or may not be tolerable for others.They should be adviced to do all hygienic meashures to reduce the intensity of smell.Improving the quality of life by all possible means can also help.Moral support from friends and family members are needed for such people.

Some individuals visit the doctor for bad breath without any real problem.It is included under somatisation disorder.They usually complain about pain, breathlessness,abdominal discomfort,bad smell ect.proper diagnosis is needed to rule out any real causes.These patients should be managed with a psychological approach.

8) Homoeopathy:
In Homoeopathy medicines are selected on the basis of physical ,mental,emotional,and social aspects of the diseased person.Considering the whole aspects a constitutional homoeopathic medicine is selected and given in suitable potency and dose.By this all health related problems including bad breath will be solved.On the basis of coating on the tongue,type of smell,cause for bad breath,and other associated complaints a medicine can be given to get relief from bad breath.In the homoeopathic medical repertory by Dr Robin Murphy there are 140 homoeopathic drugs mentioned for bad breath.On the basis of signs and symptoms of the individual a suitable medicine is given.Commonly used drugs are arnica, antim crud, pulsatilla, sulphur, psorinum, nux vomica, ars alb, merc sol, kreosot, hekla lava, silicea, asafoitida, graphites, kali bich, acid nitric etc.

Homoeopathic mother tinctures like cinnamon Q,kreosot Q,zingiber Q,rhus glabra Q,menthol Q and ect can be used for gargling after diluting in water.

BAD BREATH

2008-10-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

Bad breath is a common health problem which greately affects the daytoday activities of somany people. The offenssive odor from the mouth is unpleasent to those who come in close contact with bad breathers.

The problem will be doubled by psychological trauma leading to depression. The sufferers from this problem wil be isolated from the society. This can even lead to marital disharmony.

Literally speaking all humanbeings are badbreathres. Oral cavity contains millions of anaerobic bacteria like fusobacterium and actinomyces which acts on the protein of food materials and putrifies them. This process results in the formation of offenssive gases like hydrogen sulphide,methyl mescaptan,cadaverin,skatol,putrescine ect causing bad odor.

If oral hygiene is not maintained properly all will suffer from bad breath. Most of us control this by regular brushing,tongue cleaning and gargling. Even after maintining cleanliness in the mouth some individuals suffer from offenssive smell due to various causes which has to be diagnosed and treated properly.

Some common causes of bad breath:

1) Poor oral hygiene:
If oral hygiene is not maintained properly the mouth becomes the seat for millions of bacteria which produce offenssive gases by degrading the food debris. Bad breath is severe in those who do not brush their teeth regularly and clean their mouth after every food. Snacks taken inbetween meals can also produce bad breath because of improper cleaning.

Badbreath is common in almost all people in the morning on waking. During sleep there is less production of saliva .Saliva has got some antibacterial properties which help to keep the mouth clean. Saliva conains oxygen molecules which is needed to make oral cavity aerobic. So the reduction in it's quantity during sleep makes a favourable condition for anaerobic bacteria.

2) Food habits:
The main cause of bad smell is due to degradation of protein by the bacteria and hence all food products rich in protein favours bad breath. Meat,fish,milk products, eggs,cakes,nuts,pear and ect can cause bad breath. Some food articles can produce particular type of smell which may be unpleasent. Raw onion can produce typical bad smell. It is said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away,a raw onion a day keeps everybody away. Eating groundnuts can also produce bad smell. However if proper cleaning is done smell can be reduced irrespective of the nature of food. Irregularity in timing of food can also produce bad breath. Small food articles taken in between the meals can also produce bad smell.

3) Biofilm:
There is formation of a thin sticky coating called biofilm on the tongue and oral mucosa. This coating is thick on the posterior aspect of the tongue where millions of gram negative bacteriae are seen .The thick coating on the tongue is always associated with badbreath. Even a thin biofilm can make anaerobic condition favourable for bacterial proliferation.

4) Dental caries:
This is a destructive process causing decalcification with distruction of enamel and dentine resulting in cavitisation of the tooth. These are produced mainly by the lactobacilli . Food particles are deposited inside these cavities and are putrified by the anaerobic bacteria producing bad smell. Normal brushing will not remove the food debris easily and hence they are putrified completely. Caries are common in schoolgoing children and in those who donot maintain proper oral hygiene .Calcium and vitamin deficiency can also predispose caries.

5) Gingivitis:
Gum is a mucus membrane with supporting connective tissue covering the tooth bearing borders of the jaw .The main function of gum is protection .Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gum .Due to various causes gum tissue get infected resulting in swelling,pain and discharge. If the condition become worse the infection spread towards peridontal area leading to continuous discharge called pyorrhoea. Some times the infection goes deep producing alveolar abscess with discharge of pus. Infection can even reach the bone causing osteomyelitis.All these conditions can produce offenssive smell.

6) Gum retraction:
When the gums retract from the teeth a gap is developed which will lodge food particles and cause bad breath.

7) Dental plaques and tartar deposits; Plaques and tartar is deposited mainly in the gaps between the teeth and gum. This will provide shelter for the food debris and bacteria causing bad breath.

8) Ulcerative lesions& coatings:
Almost all ulcerative lesions of the mouth are associated with bad breath. These lesions may be caused by bacteria,viruses,food allergies or due to autoimmune disorders. Apthous ulcer is the commonest amoung ulcerative lesions. Others are herpes,fungal infections,vincents angina,infectious mononucleosis,scarlet fever,diphtheria,drug reactions and ect. Cancerous ulcers produce severe bad breath. All fungal infections produce white coating(candidiasis). Leucoplakia is a white thick patch on the mucus membrane of the mouth & tongue. It is considered as a precancerous condition. Offenssive breath is associated with these conditions.

9) Diseases of the salivary glands:
Saliva is very useful to supply oxygen to all parts of the oral cavity. Even a thin film of coating called biofilm can provide an anaerobic condition in the mouth. Saliva can wet these layers and make an aerobic condition which is unfavourable for the bacteria .Any condition which reduces the production of saliva can increase bacterial activity. Some times the salivary duct is obstructed by stones or tumors.Cancer of the salivary gland is associated with offenssive odor. In suppurative parotitis purulant dischrge in to the mouth causes bad breath.

10) Tonsillitis:
Tonsils are a pair of lymphoid tissue situated in the lateral wall of oropharynx. Inflammation of the tonsil is called tonsillitis. Bad breath is seen in both acute and chronic tonsillitis. Quinsy or peritonsillar abscess can also produce bad breath.

11) Tonsillar plaques & tonsillar fluid:
If bad breath persists even after maintaining proper oral hygeine there is possibility of this condition. Serous fluid secreated from the folds of tonsil is very offenssive. Some patients complain that they hawk some cheesy materials from the throat;which are very offenssive in nature. These are formed inside the tonsillar crypts which contain thousands of bacteriae. In such conditions tonsillectomy gives noticiable relief from bad breath.

12) Pharyngitis& pharyngial abscess:
Pharynx is a fibromuscular tube which forms the upper part of the digestive & respiratory tract. Inflmmation of the pharynx is called pharyngitis, caused mainly by bacteria and viruses. Bad breath is present in pharyngitis along with other signs like cough and throat irritation. Abscesses in the wall of pharynx can also produce offenssive discharge of pus in to the throat.

13) Dentures:
Denture users may complain about bad smell due to lodgement of small food debris in between. Proper brushing may not be possible in denture users especially fixed dentures.

14) Tobacco:
Tobacco chewing is associated with bad breath. The smell of tobacco itself is unpleasent for others. Tobacco can irritate the mucus membrane and cause ulcers and coatings. Gingivitis and pyorrhoea are common in tobacco chewers. Tartar is deposited on the teeth mainly near the gums. Tobacco chewers get gastric acidity with eructations. All these causes offenssive smell.

15) Smoking:
Smokers always have bad smell. It can also produce lesions in the mouth & lungs causing bad breath.Smoking increases carbon dioxide in the oral cavity & reduces oxygen level,causing a favourable condition for bacteria. Smoking reduses appetite & thirst hence acid peptic disease is common in chain smokers.

16) Lesions in the nose & ear:
Bad breath is occasionally seen in sinusitis(infection of para nasal sinuses). In case of post nasal dripping bad breath is common due to the presence of protein in the discharges. These proteins are degraded by the bacteria. Infection in the middle ear with discharge of pus in to the throat through the eustachian tube(passage from middle ear to the throat)can also cause offenssive odor. Chronic rhinitis(infection of mucus membrane of nose) and forign bodies in the nose can also produce bad smell in the expired air.

17) Diabetes mellitus:
Mostly all diabetic patients suffer from bad breath. Coated tongue,ulcers &coatings in the mouth ,increased sugar level in tissues ect are responsible for bad breath.Bacterial growth in diabetic patient is very faster than non diabetic individuals.

18) Fevers:
Bad breath is common in almost all fevers. Even an acute fever can produce bad breath. Severe bad breath is seen in typhoid .Other infectious diseases like Tuberculosis , AIDS ect produce bad smell.

19) Fasting & dehydration:
Dry mouth favours bacterial activity. So any condition which produce dryness in the mouth makes the breath offenssive. Eventhough the food particles are known to produce bad breath, fasting can also produce the same. Production of saliva is also reduced during fasting. Chewing and swallowing also helps to keep the mouth clean.

20) Bedridden patients:
Bedridden patients suffer from offenssive breath due to thick coating on the tongue. water intake is also limited in these patients. Regurgitation of food aggravates the condition. Since they talk less aeration in the oral cavity is reduced which favours anaerobic bacteria to become active.

21) Diseases of stomach & esophagus:
Eructation of gas and food produce unpleasent smell. Abnormality in the function of lower sphincter can allow the food to regurgitate upwards causing bad breath. Bad breath is also common in gastritis,gastric ulcer and cancer of stomach.

22) Intestinal diseases:
Bad breath is common in patients suffering from ulcerative lesions of intestine like ulcerative collitis..Other diseases are malabsorption syndrome intestinal tuberculosis, peritonitis ect

23) Diseases of lungs:
Lung diseases like pneumonia, lung abscess,chronic bronchitis,bronchiectasis,tuberculosis, lung cancer ect can produce bad odor during expiration.

24) Liver disorders:
Liver diseases like hepatitis, cirrhosis,can cause bad breath.Gall bladder diseases with vomiting also causes unpleasent odor.

25) Psychiatric patients:
Bad breath is common in psychotic patients due to poor hygiene,irregular food habits,less water intake and ect.

26) Somatisation disorder:
This is a psychiatric disorder charecterised by the presence of a physical symptom that suggest a medical illness .These patients come with physical complaints like pain,nausea difficult respiration, bad smell ect. This condition is diagnosed after detailed examination of the patient with all investigations.Since this is a psychiatric disorder it has to be managed with a psychological approach.

Back Pain: What Cause It

2008-10-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

Low back pain is a usual symptom amoung the modern civilised people.It affects mainly the middle aged and young adults of both sexes.People who work on the chair with out exercise and those who carry heavy loads regularly are prone to get this complaint.

We can hardly find a person who has not suffered from back pain atleast once in life.The causes of low backpain ranges from simple reasons like muscular strain to cancer of spine and hence backache should not be ignored.The pain is felt in lumbar and sacral region and may radiate to nearby sites.

The following are some causes for backache:
1 Backache due to diseases in the back injuries :

1) Compression fracture of the vertebral column.
2) Rupture of intervertebral discs.
3) Injuries to ligaments and muscles of back.
4) Lumbosacral strain.
5) Intervertebral joint injuries.
6) Fracture of processes of vertebra.

b) Functional backache due to imbalance:-

1) During pregnancy.
2) Pot belly.
3) Diseases of the hip joint.
4) Curvature in the spine due to congenital defect.
5) Short leg in one side.

c) Backache due to inflammatory conditions:-

1) Infection of the bone due to bacteria.
2) Tuberculosis of the spine.
3) Arthritis.
4) Brucellosis.
5) Lumbago or fibrositis.
6) Inflamation of the muscles.
7) Anchylosing spondylitis.

d) Backache due to degenerative diseases in the back.

1) Osteoarthritis.
2) Osteoporosis in old people.
3) Degenaration of the intervertebral disc.

e) Tumour in the spine:--

1) Primory tumour of the bones in the spine.
2) Metastatic tumours from other sites like prostate,lungs,kidneys,intestine ect.

2. Backache due to gynaecological problems:
a) After childbirth.
b) After gynaecological operations.
c) Prolapse of the uterus.
d) Pelvic inflammatory diseases.
e) Cancerous lesions of the pelvic organs.
f) Endometriosis.

3. Backache due to problems in other parts of the body.
a) Renal stones.
b) Ureteric stone.
c) Cancer of prostate.
d) Pancreatitis.
e) Biliary stones.
f) Peptic ulcer.
g) Inflammations of pelvic organs.
h) Occlusion of aorta and illiac arteries.

Investigation of a case of backache
1) Complete blood count.
2) Routine urine examination.
3) Ultrasonography of the abdomen and pelvis.
4) X-ray of the lumbar and sacral region.
5) MRI of the spine.
6) CT scan of abdomen and pelvic region.
7) Examination of rectum,prostate,genito urinary organs.

Treatment of back ache
1) Removing the cause for backache.
2) Symptomatic treatement.
3) Back exercises.
4) Traction.
5) Yoga.
6) Surgery.
7) Homoeopathy.

Alcohol and Body Fit

2008-10-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

If alcohol does not contain tissue-building material, nor give heat to the body, it cannot possibly add to its strength. "Every kind of power an animal can generate," says Dr. G. Budd, F.R.S., "the mechanical power of the muscles, the chemical (or digestive) power of the stomach, the intellectual power of the brain accumulates through the nutrition of the organ on which it depends.

Dr. F.R. Lees, of Edinburgh, after discussing the question, and educing evidence, remarks: "From the very nature of things, it will now be seen how impossible it is that alcohol can be strengthening food of either kind. Since it cannot become a part of the body, it cannot consequently contribute to its cohesive, organic strength, or fixed power; and, since it comes out of the body just as it went in, it cannot, by its decomposition, generate heat force."

Sir Benjamin Brodie says: "Stimulants do not create nervous power; they merely enable you, as it were, to use up that which is left, and then they leave you more in need of rest than before."

Baron Liebig, so far back as 1843, in his "Animal Chemistry," pointed out the fallacy of alcohol generating power. He says: "The circulation will appear accelerated at the expense of the force available for voluntary motion, but without the production of a greater amount of mechanical force.

In his later "Letters," he again says: "Wine is quite superfluous to man, it is constantly followed by the expenditure of power" whereas, the real function of food is to give power. He adds: "These drinks promote the change of matter in the body, and are, consequently, attended by an inward loss of power, which ceases to be productive, because it is not employed in overcoming outward difficulties i.e., in working." In other words, this great chemist asserts that alcohol abstracts the power of the system from doing useful work in the field or workshop, in order to cleanse the house from the defilement of alcohol itself.

The late Dr. W. Brinton, Physician to St. Thomas', in his great work on Dietetics, says: "Careful observation leaves little doubt that a moderate dose of beer or wine would, in most cases, at once diminish the maximum weight which a healthy person could lift. Mental acuteness, accuracy of perception and delicacy of the senses are all so far opposed by alcohol, as that the maximum efforts of each are incompatible with the ingestion of any moderate quantity of fermented liquid. A single glass will often suffice to take the edge off both mind and body, and to reduce their capacity to something below their perfection of work."
Dr. F.R. Lees, F.S.A., writing on the subject of alcohol as a food, makes the following quotation from an essay on "Stimulating Drinks," published by Dr. H.R. Madden, as long ago as 1847: "Alcohol is not the natural stimulus to any of our organs, and hence, functions performed in consequence of its application, tend to debilitate the organ acted upon.

Alcohol is incapable of being assimilated or converted into any organic proximate principle, and hence, cannot be considered nutritious.

The strength experienced after the use of alcohol is not new strength added to the system, but is manifested by calling into exercise the nervous energy pre-existing.

The ultimate exhausting effects of alcohol, owing to its stimulant properties, produce an unnatural susceptibility to morbid action in all the organs, and this, with the plethora superinduced, becomes a fertile source of disease.

A person who habitually exerts himself to such an extent as to require the daily use of stimulants to ward off exhaustion, may be compared to a machine working under high pressure. He will become much more obnoxious to the causes of disease, and will certainly break down sooner than he would have done under more favorable circumstances.

The more frequently alcohol is had recourse to for the purpose of overcoming feelings of debility, the more it will be required, and by constant repetition a period is at length reached when it cannot be foregone, unless reaction is simultaneously brought about by a temporary total change of the habits of life.

Alchohol And Production of heat

2008-10-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

The first usual test for a force-producing food," says Dr. Hunt, "and that to which other foods of that class respond, is the production of heat in the combination of oxygen therewith.

This heat means vital force, and is, in no small degree, a measure of the comparative value of the so-called respiratory foods. If we examine the fats, the starches and the sugars, we can trace and estimate the processes by which they evolve heat and are changed into vital force, and can weigh the capacities of different foods.

We find that the consumption of carbon by union with oxygen is the law, that heat is the product, and that the legitimate result is force, while the result of the union of the hydrogen of the foods with oxygen is water. If alcohol comes at all under this class of foods, we rightly expect to find some of the evidences which attach to the hydrocarbons."

What, then, is the result of experiments in this direction? They have been conducted through long periods and with the greatest care, by men of the highest attainments in chemistry and physiology, and the result is given in these few words, by Dr. H.R. Wood, Jr., in his Materia Medica. "No one has been able to detect in the blood any of the ordinary results of its oxidation." That is, no one has been able to find that alcohol has undergone combustion, like fat, or starch, or sugar, and so given heat to the body.

Reduction of temperature
instead of increasing it; and it has even been used in fevers as an anti-pyretic. So uniform has been the testimony of physicians in Europe and America as to the cooling effects of alcohol, that Dr. Wood says, in his Materia Medica, "that it does not seem worth while to occupy space with a discussion of the subject." Liebermeister, one of the most learned contributors to Zeimssen's Cyclopaedia of the Practice of Medicine, 1875, says: "I long since convinced myself, by direct experiments, that alcohol, even in comparatively large doses, does not elevate the temperature of the body in either well or sick people." So well had this become known to Arctic voyagers, that, even before physiologists had demonstrated the fact that alcohol reduced, instead of increasing, the temperature of the body, they had learned that spirits lessened their power to withstand extreme cold. "In the Northern regions," says Edward Smith, "it was proved that the entire exclusion of spirits was necessary, in order to retain heat under these unfavorable conditions."

alchohol: Is There Benefit of it

2008-10-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

As Dr. Henry Monroe says, "every kind of substance employed by man as food consists of sugar, starch, oil and glutinous matter mingled together in various proportions. These are designed for the support of the animal frame. The glutinous principles of food fibrine, albumen and casein are employed to build up the structure while the oil, starch and sugar are chiefly used to generate heat in the body".

Now it is clear that if alcohol is a food, it will be found to contain one or more of these substances. There must be in it either the nitrogenous elements found chiefly in meats, eggs, milk, vegetables and seeds, out of which animal tissue is built and waste repaired or the carbonaceous elements found in fat, starch and sugar, in the consumption of which heat and force are evolved.

"The distinctness of these groups of foods," says Dr. Hunt, "and their relations to the tissue-producing and heat-evolving capacities of man, are so definite and so confirmed by experiments on animals and by manifold tests of scientific, physiological and clinical experience, that no attempt to discard the classification has prevailed.

To draw so straight a line of demarcation as to limit the one entirely to tissue or cell production and the other to heat and force production through ordinary combustion and to deny any power of interchangeability under special demands or amid defective supply of one variety is, indeed, untenable. This does not in the least invalidate the fact that we are able to use these as ascertained landmarks".

How these substances when taken into the body, are assimilated and how they generate force, are well known to the chemist and physiologist, who is able, in the light of well-ascertained laws, to determine whether alcohol does or does not possess a food value.

For years, the ablest men in the medical profession have given this subject the most careful study, and have subjected alcohol to every known test and experiment, and the result is that it has been, by common consent, excluded from the class of tissue-building foods.

"We have never," says Dr. Hunt, "seen but a single suggestion that it could so act, and this a promiscuous guess. One writer (Hammond) thinks it possible that it may 'somehow' enter into combination with the products of decay in tissues, and 'under certain circumstances might yield their nitrogen to the construction of new tissues.' No parallel in organic chemistry, nor any evidence in animal chemistry, can be found to surround this guess with the areola of a possible hypothesis".

Dr. Richardson says: "Alcohol contains no nitrogen; it has none of the qualities of structure-building foods; it is incapable of being transformed into any of them; it is, therefore, not a food in any sense of its being a constructive agent in building up the body." Dr. W.B. Carpenter says: "Alcohol cannot supply anything which is essential to the true nutrition of the tissues." Dr. Liebig says: "Beer, wine, spirits, etc., furnish no element capable of entering into the composition of the blood, muscular fibre, or any part which is the seat of the principle of life." Dr. Hammond, in his Tribune Lectures, in which he advocates the use of alcohol in certain cases, says: "It is not demonstrable that alcohol undergoes conversion into tissue." Cameron, in his Manuel of Hygiene, says: "There is nothing in alcohol with which any part of the body can be nourished." Dr. E. Smith, F.R.S., says: "Alcohol is not a true food. It interferes with alimentation." Dr. T.K. Chambers says: "It is clear that we must cease to regard alcohol, as in any sense, a food".

"Not detecting in this substance," says Dr. Hunt, "any tissue-making ingredients, nor in its breaking up any combinations, such as we are able to trace in the cell foods, nor any evidence either in the experience of physiologists or the trials of alimentarians, it is not wonderful that in it we should find neither the expectancy nor the realization of constructive power."

Not finding in alcohol anything out of which the body can be built up or its waste supplied, it is next to be examined as to its heat-producing quality.

Alchohol and Internal Organ

2008-10-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

The organic deteriorations caused by the continued use of alcohol are often of a fatal character. The organ which most frequently undergoes structural changes from alcohol, is the liver. Normally, the liver has the capacity to hold active substances in its cellular parts.

In instances of poisoning by various poisonous compounds, we analyse liver as if it were the central depot of the foreign matter. It is practically the same in respect to alcohol. The liver of an alcoholic is never free from the influence of alcohol and it is too often saturated with it.

The minute membranous or capsular structure of the liver gets affected, preventing proper dialysis and free secretion. The liver becomes large due to the dilatation of its vessels, the surcharge of fluid matter and the thickening of tissue.

This follows contraction of membrane and shrinking of the whole organ in its cellular parts. Then the lower parts of the alcoholic becomes dropsical owing to the obstruction offered to the returning blood by the veins. The structure of the liver may be charged with fatty cells and undergo what is technically designated 'fatty liver'.

Consumption of alcohol greatly affects the heart. The quality of the membraneous structures which cover and line the heart changes and are thickened, become cartilaginous or calcareous.

Then the valves lose their suppleness and what is termed valvular disorder becomes permanent. The structure of the the coats of the great blood-vessel leading from the heart share in the same changes of structure so that the vessel loses its elasticity and its power to feed the heart by the recoil from its distention, after the heart, by its stroke, has filled it with blood.

Again, the muscular structure of the heart fails owing to degenerative changes in its tissue. The elements of the muscular fibre are replaced by fatty cells or, if not so replaced, are themselves transferred into a modified muscular texture in which the power of contraction is greatly reduced.

Those who suffer from these organic deteriorations of the central and governing organ of the circulation of the blood learn the fact so insidiously, it hardly breaks upon them until the mischief is far advanced.

They are conscious of a central failure of power from slight causes such as overexertion, trouble, broken rest or too long abstinence from food. They feel what they call a 'sinking' but they know that wine or some other stimulant will at once relieve the sensation.

Thus they seek to relieve it until at last they discover that the remedy fails. The jaded, overworked, faithful heart will bear no more. it has run its course and the governor of the blood-streams broken. The current either overflows into the tissues gradually damming up the courses or under some slight shock or excess of motion ceases wholly at the centre.

Decide Your Healthy Lifestyle Now

2008-09-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

t’s time to put your resolution for a more healthy lifestyle into action. While many resolutions fall by the wayside within months, this resolution doesn’t have to! Let's take a look at your resolution to see if you've set yourself up for success in reaching your goals.
Make a realistic plan.
Have you put together an action plan that will fit into your lifestyle? Be sure the changes you make are easy and convenient so you don't have to restructure your whole schedule to accommodate them.

Make a specific action plan.
A specific plan is much easier to follow than an undefined one. Instead of telling yourself, "I want to lose 10 pounds," jot down a plan on how you will shed those unwanted pounds. A specific action plan will guide you toward your goal. If you decide to exercise more, define it further such as "I will attend the Step class at the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:00 pm."

Evaluate "why" you want to change.
Permanent change comes strictly from within you! A change in behavior just to please others will not create a permanent lifestyle change, you must be true to yourself. The decision to lead a healthy lifestyle needs to be your own, personal decision in order for it to be a positive experience. A positive change that comes from within contributes to motivation, adherence, and belief in reaching a goal. If you have made the decision to be healthier because someone else wants you to, chances are good that you've set yourself up for failure.

Take inventory.
In a journal, jot down your goals and priorities (remember to be realistic!) A journal provides a "reality check" on paper because you can refer back to it. If you find your goals and/or priorities need adjustment, do it! When you attain specific goals, celebrate yourself for a job well done. Replace your attained goals with new ones. You will soon begin to witness your successes not only physically and psychologically, but you'll have them on paper to read whenever you need a lift. Your journal can be a great source of inspiration!

Use your creativity.
Leading a healthy lifestyle doesn't mean you are destined to live in the gym and eat tofu! Your goal can be incorporated into many other aspects of your life. This incorporation is one of the keys to success! Do you need to spend more time with your children? Try playing with them for an hour or taking a bike ride with them. Children are very active, if you can keep up with them in their activities, chances are you'll get a good workout! If your nutritional habits need changing, let the whole family join in on the benefits. Family meals can be low-fat, creative, and tasty at the same time! Experiment with different recipes using the foods your family enjoys.

Plan for set-backs.
Sometimes obstacles are just a part of life. There are a variety of things that may pop up to interrupt your progress, sickness, stress, shortage of time, lack of motivation, etc. Roll with the punches and plan for these unexpected set-backs. Don't get discouraged. What's important is how you deal with the situation. Just because you miss a couple of workouts or go out for pizza with the family doesn't mean you've failhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.bold.gifed. All you need to do is the very best you can and get back on track as soon as possible. Don't beat yourself up! Instead, examine the situation carefully, make changes if needed and keep consistently striving for your goal!

Educate yourself.
You know the 'ole saying, "knowledge is power!" Knowledge gives you the power to make informed decisions about your healthy lifestyle. Explore your local library and read books, magazines, and journals that will teach you about proper nutrition and exercise. Not only will this education provide you with sound advice, it will help keep you motivated!

Build a support system.
A fitness partner is truly a wonderful means of motivation. Based on your personal requirements, find one person or a group of people that share your goals. If possible, include your family members, they can support your efforts in integrating your healthy lifestyle into your daily life.

Consult your doctor.
Talk with your doctor prior to beginning any exercise program. This is very important especially if you have never worked out before or are returning from a long hiatus. Heed the recommendations of your physician.

The most important thing to remember is-- have fun! A commitment to a healthy lifestyle shouldn't be boring or make you feel deprived. Take the time to look for successes, even small ones. Then, give yourself a big pat on the back for making progress. Remember, this is a life-long endeavor and changes don't happen overnight. You'll soon realize however, there's nothing more powerful than the feeling of good health!

Obesity and Overweight Cost

2008-09-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

The economic impact of obesity and overweight population in terms of illness, diseases and lost productivity is significant. Obesity and overweight statistics below include cost information on cancer, diabetes, osteoarthritis, hypertension, gallbladder disease, and lost productivity.
Overweight and obesity costs total $117 billion in the United States. Direct cost is $61 billion. Indirect cost is $56 billion...

Direct costs include the cost of physicians and other professionals, hospital and nursing home services, the cost of medications, home health care and other medical durables. Indirect costs include lost productivity that results from illness and death.

Cancer costs related to overweight and obesity:
Breast cancer: Total cost: $2.9 billion, Direct cost: $1.1 billion, Indirect cost: $1.8 billion
Endometrial cancer: Total cost: $933 million, Direct cost: $310 million, Indirect cost: $623 million
Colon cancer: Total cost: $3.5 billion, Direct cost: $1.3 billion, Indirect cost: $2.2 billion

Type 2 diabetes costs related to overweight and obesity: cost is $98 billion (total).

Osteoarthritis costs related to overweight and obesity: Total cost is $21.2 billion. Direct cost is $5.3 billion. Indirect cost is $15.9.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) costs related to overweight and obesity: Direct cost $4.1 (17 percent of the total cost of hypertension).

Gallbladder disease costs related to overweight and obesity: Total cost: $3.4 billion, Direct cost: $3.2 billion, Indirect cost: $187 million.

Lost productivity costs related to obesity (BMI > 30) among Americans ages 17-64 is $3.9 billion. This value considers the following annual numbers (for 1994):

-Workdays lost related to obesity: 39.3 million
-Physician office visits related to obesity: 62.7 million
-Restricted activity days related to obesity: 239.0 million
-Bed-days related to obesity: 89.5 million

Less than one-third (31.8 percent) of U.S. adults get regular leisure-time physical activity (defined as light or moderate activity five times or more per week for 30 minutes or more each time and/or vigorous activity three times or more per week for 20 minutes or more each time). About 10 percent of adults do no physical activity at all in their leisure time.

About 25 percent of young people (ages 12-21 years) participate in light to moderate activity (e.g., walking, bicycling) nearly every day. About 50 percent regularly engage in vigorous physical activity. Approximately 25 percent report no vigorous physical activity, and 14 percent report no recent vigorous or light to moderate physical activity

Direct costs of physical inactivity are estimated at over $24 billion

Sources include: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), American Heart Association, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

How to Control body Weight with a Physical Activity

2008-09-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Exercise helps to control your weight by using excess calories that otherwise would be stored as fat. your body weight is regulated by the number of calories you eat and use each day. Everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do uses calories, including sleeping, breathing, and digesting food. Any physical activity in addition to what you normally do will use extra calories...

Regular exercise is an important part of effective weight loss and weight maintenance. It also can help prevent several diseases and improve your overall health. It does not matter what type of physical activity you perform--sports, planned exercise, household chores, yard work, or work-related tasks--all are beneficial

Studies show that even the most inactive people can gain significant health benefits if they accumulate 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day. Research consistently shows that regular physical activity, combined with healthy eating habits, is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight. Whether you are trying to lose weight or maintain it, you should understand the important role of physical activity and include it in your lifestyle.

Balancing the calories you use through physical activity with the calories you eat will help you achieve your desired weight

a) When you eat more calories than you need to perform your day's activities, your body stores the extra calories and you gain weight

b) When you eat fewer calories than you use, your body uses the stored calories and you lose weight.

c) When you eat the same amount of calories as your body uses, your weight stays the same.
Any type of physical activity you choose to do--strenuous activities such as running or aerobic dancing or moderate-intensity activities such as walking or household work--will increase the number of calories your body uses. The key to successful weight control and improved overall health is making physical activity a part of your daily routine.

Benefit of Regular Exercises

2008-09-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Regular exercise can help protect you from heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, noninsulin-dependent diabetes, obesity, back pain, osteoporosis, and can improve your mood and help you to better manage stress.

For the greatest overall health benefits, experts recommend that you do 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic activity three or more times a week and some type of muscle strengthening activity and stretching at least twice a week. However, if you are unable to do this level of activity, you can gain substantial health benefits by accumulating 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity a day, at least five times a week.

If you have been inactive for a while, you may want to start with less strenuous activities such as walking or swimming at a comfortable pace. Beginning at a slow pace will allow you to become physically fit without straining your body. Once you are in better shape, you can gradually do more strenuous activity...

How Physical Activity Impacts Health
Regular physical activity that is performed on most days of the week reduces the risk of developing or dying from some of the leading causes of illness and death in the United States.

• Reduces the risk of dying prematurely.
• Reduces the risk of dying prematurely from heart disease.
• Reduces the risk of developing diabetes.
• Reduces the risk of developing high blood pressure.
• Helps reduce blood pressure in people who already have high blood pressure.
• Reduces the risk of developing colon cancer.
• Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety.
• Helps control weight.
• Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
• Helps older adults become stronger and better able to move about without falling.
• Promotes psychological well-being.

Specific Health Benefits of Exercise

Heart Disease and Stroke. Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (good cholesterol) and lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart's working capacity.

High Blood Pressure. Regular physical activity can reduce blood pressure in those with high blood pressure levels. Physical activity also reduces body fatness, which is associated with high blood pressure.

Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes. By reducing body fatness, physical activity can help to prevent and control this type of diabetes.

Obesity. Physical activity helps to reduce body fat by building or preserving muscle mass and improving the body's ability to use calories. When physical activity is combined with proper nutrition, it can help control weight and prevent obesity, a major risk factor for many diseases.

Back Pain. By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise helps to prevent back pain.

Osteoporosis. Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation and may prevent many forms of bone loss associated with aging.

Psychological Effects. Regular physical activity can improve your mood and the way you feel about yourself. Researchers also have found that exercise is likely to reduce depression and anxiety and help you to better manage stress.

Millions of Americans suffer from illnesses that can be prevented or improved through regular physical activity.

• 13.5 million people have coronary heart disease.
• 1.5 million people suffer from a heart attack in a given year.
• 8 million people have adult-onset (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes.
• 95,000 people are newly diagnosed with colon cancer each year.
• 250,000 people suffer from a hip fractures each year.
• 50 million people have high blood pressure.
• Over 60 million people (a third of the population) are overweight.

Body Image of Women

2008-09-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Many women struggle with the gap between how their bodies look to them when compared with the projected "ideal" that bombards them continually through television, film, magazines, and billboards. Eating disorders, dieting, and diet aids are often the "answer" chosen to try to remould their bodies to meet the standards of society's "ideal"....

To really tune into her body, a womyn needs to shift her focus away from what society is telling her to look like. As Gloria Steinem so eloquently said, "Change the self-consciousness of a spotlight on the body for the self - confidence of a light radiating from the body". (Revolution from Within, 1996, pg. 224.)

Your daily experience of your physical body is intimately connected with your ideas and beliefs about your worth and personal value. You inwardly form your body image in line with your beliefs, ideas, and thoughts.Quite literally, you live and perceive in the body of your chosen beliefs. By working with your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings, you can reshape your body and restructure your body image.

The first thing you should do for your body, is to feed it a regular diet of nurturing positivity. Learn to really tune into the uniqueness of your body. Being oneself is a rare and challenging path to tred. DynoWomyn have learned to live outside of society's stereotypes of womyn, and have discarded the old worn - out attitudes of what womyn should be like.

Look very hard at what and who you'd really like to be - deep down in your heart and soul. There is Truth in this inner vision. Write down how you'd truly like your body to look, to feel, to act, and to move. The feminine or receptive way of changing your body image is to attract to you, what you really want. Once you know clearly what is best for YOU, learn to assert yourself consistently in your life. Really BE in your body - feel it, savor it, love it, use it to express your inner self.

Your body is a very sensitive instrument - sensitive to the thoughts, emotions, and words that you express through it. In metaphysical studies, your body is surrounded by several subtle or energy "bodies", - layers of energy that radiate from your thoughts, emotions, Spirit and Soul. One of these layers, called the etheric body serves as your perfect energy template through which your body continously renews itself. When the body image that you have of yourself in your mind, matches this etheric template, your body is guided to grow according to your own unique, dynamic pattern. If your mind's image of your body is not in tune with your etheric template, you'll likely feel alienated from your body, out of tune with it, and feel ashamed of parts of it. By tuning into your perfect template, you'll learn to no longer compare your body to the stereotypic standards supported by the status quo.

Connect your mental body image with your perfect etheric template. Your physical body recreates itself daily, around your chosen body image - it can be influenced by your mind, your thoughts and beliefs. When you are able to transform the mental image of who you are, your body will learn to shape itself in that new image.

Meditations and The Spritual Power

2008-09-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

The power of spiritual development meditations have many aspects that help us. The way we open ourselves up to get clear and precise messages during a guided meditation is to open our chakras. In the process of opening our chakras we are increasing the vibration and level of energy with in our bodies. As we increase the energy and level of vibration during our meditation exercises this has a healing affect on us...

This is because when our chakra are at there normal state they may be holding on to emotions or blockages that need to be dealt with. When the chakra are open and there is an increased flow of energy through the chakra it is a cleaning and cleansing process that we are going through. During this process we will often be shown what our blocks are and what we can do to help our selves.

In this day and age we find that people are always busy. If they aren’t working they are watching television or on the internet. Our lives are so busy that our brains overload and even in our sleep state we find it hard to calm down and to give ourselves a break. During a psychic meditation your brain is being given the direction it has to go. You do not have to think at all, just allow thought to come to you. This is like giving your brain a vacation! Taking away your need to think about everything gives your brain the break you need to reboot where you are not responsible for what comes through your mind, but know that it is for the highest of good. Guided meditation is a very good way to start your meditation process because often when we meditate to find total calm and quiet within ourselves we find it very difficult to slow down our minds and to accept the state our mind is in. For instance, we hear all the little noises and they disturb us. With a guided spiritual development meditation you are supposed to be listening to a voice and you find it very easy to accept what you are given. Removing the responsibility of your own thoughts, but learning to accept the inner voices that are there to guide you and help you along the way,

In conclusion, spiritual development meditations are a fantastic, powerful method of helping you to clear your negativity and to reboot your brain, on occasion, to help you move forward within your life. Having said this, the biggest self gain will probably be the belief that there is more to the universe than just the earth plain because you will find your link to the spirit world

How to Manage Your Depression

2008-09-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Please note that not every technique will work for everyone. Every person will have some that work for them and some that don’t. Once you have found techniques that work for you, it can be helpful to write them up, or type them and print them out, and keep them handy to ensure you'll use them when you need them.

The main concept to understand is that when you are feeling a lot of emotion, you are functioning from the right side of your brain where your negative emotional centre lies. It is commonly noted in psychology that when you are trapped, in a way, on the right side of your brain, your left side is functioning at a lower capacity. The left side of your brain is thought to be the rational or logical side of the brain. It is therefore helpful to get your left side more activated, but sometimes it needs some help during emotionally charged times. There are many ways to do this, but again, find the strategies that work for you.
The Strategies are:..

Shifting your focus away from the emotion and back to your body can be very useful. This can be done by tapping your feet back and forth and really feeling how your feet connect with the floor.

Another way to shift the focus back to the body is to notice how your body feels on the chair you are sitting in. Notice your back on the back of the chair, your arms on the arm of the chair, your legs, and how your hands are placed.

Next, notice your breath. Long deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth if you can. Really feel the breath going into the body. Breath is very life sustaining and supportive – it is a very good thing to connect with at times of feeling emotionally upset. This can help ground and soothe the body and shift your focus away from an upsetting emotion.

Now, the counseling modality I use most of in my practice is something called EMDR (which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). You can read some information about EMDR if you click on the tap in the menu bar of the website. Some of the grounding strategies I am including here are the tools I use to end sessions with clients so that things are not left open and my clients can get home safely, go back to work, or whatever it that they need to do that day.

The most important of these tools sounds very simple but it is very effective. All you have to do is move your eyes up and down in a vertical line. No need to move your head, just your eyes. Turning your body to face a doorframe or the corner of a room can help. You can think of a metaphorical door in your mind closing your emotional self and centering the body.

Becoming more aware of your physical surroundings can help shift your awareness and activate the left side of the brain. This can be done through naming objects you see in the room around you, naming colours that you see, as well and sounds that you hear.

Another way to get both sides of your brain working if you are feeling a strong emotion is to access them both at the same time. This an be done by looking at a piece of art such as a painting or a sculpture – not a photograph though - and count at the same time. You do not need to analyze the art. Just by looking at it, the right side of your brain is accessed. By counting (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 – as far up as you need to go), you activate the left side of the brain. If you are aware of a feeling and do these two things together, the feeling should dissipate.

Going for a walk, or other physical activity, can help the body feel better and help release the emotion. I strongly believe in the term “walk it off”.

Reading is something that many people do to take their minds off their worries. Some sort of distraction can help shift your focus away from the emotion.

Cooking can be another good, healthy distraction. By the way, eating healthily and getting some exercise are two of the best things you can do for depression.

Journalling, or writing, is very helpful for some to help you handle an emotionally charged situation. It helps give clarity to thoughts and allows for some distance from them by looking at them. Some people find writing very therapeutic. If it is not the right thing for you, that is okay. Keep in mind, you do not always have to go back and read what you wrote. Sometimes its just nice to have a place to get it out in the moment.

Other creative outlets are very helpful as well. Doing some art – which does not have to look like anything – helps get emotion out. This is a similar idea to journalling. What colour would anger be? What would it look like?

If you are able to do some art and give your thoughts or feelings some creative expression, follow-up with some good self-care like a nice bath, a walk, or a warm drink.

The ‘Container’ is a very common therapeutic tool. To some, the concept of the container might not sound very useful, but when practiced and developed, it does wonders for helping set emotions, upsetting thoughts, or memories aside when it is not a good time to be aware of them.

The container is about using imagery, or the power of you imagination (your mind) to help you when you need it. Our minds are pretty powerful so I encourage you to give this one a shot and see how it goes. When I first heard of this exercise, I also did not think it would be helpful. Was I ever wrong. Even last week on the street I had a member of a group I had run come up to me and tell me how helpful the container is and expressed, “Its just great.”

The container is about imagining some sort of container that is big enough, and strong enough, to hold whatever you might ever need to put in it. One stipulation is that it shouldn’t be something that you see all the time in your day as you may be getting a constant reminder of what you are trying to forget (for the time-being). It can be made of any material and can be any colour. It needs some sort of door or lid to keep what ever you put in there safe inside. It may need a lock of some sort. Examples could be a warehouse, a safe or vault, a big box, or plastic container.

To use, or access, your container when you need it, it is helpful to have a really clear picture of it first (drawing it can help). You might picture the items you would like to go into your container individually being placed inside. You might just get a felt sense of it being set aside and placed into the container. Some people like to have some sort of animation to help take the items into the container such as a pack man motion or some sort of suction.

Now, an important idea pertaining to the Container is that you are not trying to make the things you place into it disappear or say that they are not important. It is about setting things aside and coming back to them at a later time when you can better deal with them such as in counselling, talking to a friend, or journalling about it at home.

Sometimes it is helpful to have some sort of nozzle or valve on the container so that you can more easily be in control of what comes out when it is time to take something out.

The Safe Place is another very common therapeutic strategy and is a very useful tool for many. I originally learned of the ‘safe place’ in relation to working with sexual abuse survivors. However, as the years have progressed, I have found that this tool is very useful for anyone. Again, this strategy utilizes our minds by using imagery to help calm the body and the mind. The safe place works by closing your eyes and imagining yourself in a place (which can be real or imaginary). It can be any place at all that you find soothing and comforting. Some people call this place a relaxation place or a happy place. It is helpful if there are not people who are currently a part of your life in your safe place because if that relationship were to ever go sour for a time, it would affect your safe place.

The safe place can be somewhere you have been, a place that you liked when you were a kid, a place you have always dreamed of going, or an imaginary place such as somewhere in outer space. It is helpful to notice all the colours that are there, the sounds, the objects. The clearer the image is for you, it will easier it will be for you to access it and to use it when you need it.

Imagine yourself in this place and notice how it makes you feel. Do you feel calm, more relaxed, at peace? Whatever the feeling is, notice also where you can feel it in your body. Allow yourself to stay there as long as you need to calm yourself.

Anther strategy to help alleviate emotional distress is the Spiral Technique. For this exercise, allow yourself to feel the emotion and close your eyes. Which direction would the spiral be turning? Ok, now change the direction – this will decrease the intensity of the emotion. Try practicing it and see if you can have work for you.

Practicing something referred to as ‘Dual Awareness’ can really help get you through when nothing else seems to be helping. For this concept, it is helpful to note that the emotion is caused from a past experience. However, you are feeling that past experience being triggered in the present. Be aware of these 2 things at the same time: the emotion being connected to a past experience and yourself in your present surroundings. Tell yourself, “I can allow myself to know I am okay right now”. The feeling will eventually pass – your body will take care of it in its own in time. It will not last forever. Sometimes you might feel as if you just need to hang on. Find something to help you connect with your current surroundings.

Design your surroundings so that they reflect calm and relaxation. Your surrounds can greatly affect your mood. Soothing pictures, some spiritual objects, or other calming objects help create an atmosphere of better emotional health.

Spend time talking to friends when you can. Be aware of their boundaries so that you do not go too far with pushing limits. It is important to share with people who will be understanding and supportive.

When dealing with issues of anger, there are healthy ways to process it. Anger has a lot of energy to it and wants to have a physical way to get out of your system. Going to the gym, for a walk, or for a run can help. Screaming into or punching pillows can also help. Stress balls are good as well. Find a healthy way to get the energy out. Anger serves a purpose of letting us know that something needs to be different but, just as it can be done with other emotions, anger too can find a positive outlet.

Rescue Remedy is a homeopathic product that is becoming more and more common as it is helpful to calm your nerves. You might give this a try and carry it around with you if you find it helpful. It can be found at many health food stores.

If spirituality is important to you, you can get in tune with your body at times of feeling emotional upset by visualizing your chakra system and aligning the chakras. Be aware of centering the body along this system. Finding other spiritual beliefs or outlets can help as well.

It is important to remember that practicing these tools will help. Repetition is the best way to learn something new. Also, please keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list. There are many ways to ground and self-soothe during times of emotional upset.

In closing, I would like to mention that something I try to encourage to all of my clients and to others in my life as well, is to always attempt to have good self-care. Taking care of what you eat, how much sleep you are getting, limiting the amount of caffeine is in your diet, and getting some exercise will go a long way to helping your body take care of you and help support you better during times of emotional upset.

I hope some of the things on this list will help you.

Nutrition ForAthlete

2008-09-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

These are my top choices for nutrient rich, high carb energy sources (Grains/Breads/Syrups) for an Athlete include:

Quinoa, Organic Pancakes, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Wild Honey, Agave Nectar, Organic Sprouted Breads(flax, spelt, essene) with Organic Jellies, Organic Pasta (Quinoa, Spelt), Hammer Nutrition Organic Bars, and Organic Brown rice.

My top choices for Fruits and berry carbohydrates are:

(Fruits- Grapes with seeds, Apples, Pears, Pineapple, Bananas, Watermelon, Mangos, Oranges and Dates. "Vegetable" fruits including tomatoes, peppers and Cucumbers), (Berries - Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Incan Berries and Goji Berries) ....

My top choices for powders, shakes and gels are (Sport drink powders - Hammer Nutrition Heed and Sustained Energy and Carbo Pro, (Shakes - Isagenix Products (Isalean, IsaCrunch , IsaPro, Ionix Supreme, Sun is everything superfood and cacao powder ), (Gels - Hammer Gels and Organic Clif shots).

For Greens and Sprouts I recommend (Kale, Spinach, Broccoli, Mesclun Greens, Romaine lettuce, Celery, Pea Sprouts, Broccoli Sprouts, Sunflower Sprouts, Dulse and Kelp).

These are my choices for clean non animal protein energy sources (Hemp seeds and hemp protein, Whey Protein, Rice Protein, Vegetable Proteins (kale, Spinach, Broccoli, Sprouts), Wheat Grass, Spirulina, Chlorella, Blue Green Algae, Quinoa, Spelt, Millet, Bee pollen, Organic Eggs (for semi-vegetarians), Wild Caught (Not Farm Raised) Salmon, Cod, or Halibut or tilapia fish (for semi-vegetarians), Almonds, Pumpkin seeds, Uncooked Cashews, Organic beans and Goji Berries). Good choices for Fat Energy Sources include (Flax Seed. Olive oil, Flax Oil, Krill Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, Avocados, Coconut Oil, Almonds, Organic Peanut Butter).

Now here are some of the other secret gems of health and nutrition which many high level nutritionist and wellness professionals have taught me about. A lot of these are not as well known simply because they are not in the mainstream media. You have to go out and seek out this kind of information about superfoods because it is not sold in most supermarkets therefore the average athlete is left out.

Other additions to your "Super" Athletic Diet (Some have been mentioned above and recategorized here) (Superfoods -Spirulina, Chlorella, Cacao Powder, Goji berries, Wheat Grass, Barley Grass, Coconut Oil, Bee Pollen, Maca Powder, and Hemp Seed) ,(Super Juices - Goji Juice, Acai juice, Mangosteen juice, Noni Juice, Aloe Vera Juice) , (SuperHerbs - Cats Claw, Reishi Mushroom, Garlic, Ginseng, Turmeric, Oregano, Parsley, Cayenne Pepper, Holy Basil (Tulsi), Cinnamon, Vanilla, Ginger),(Other Super Additions - Probiotics and Enzyme blends, Fiber such as Psyllium, Oats, Acacia gum, flax, hemp),(Omega 3's such as Flax Seed, Hemp seed oil, Avocados, Almonds) ,Green Tea, Echinacea Tea, Ginseng tea, Milk Thistle tea, Yerba Mate and Dandelion Root tea. Teas are for cleansing, immune system support, and antioxidant support. Supplement/Other Energy Sources which I have used are (Creatine - helps supply energy to muscles and nerve cells), (Glutamine - Recovery Aid, Muscle Promoter, Highly Absorbable Protein), (L-Carnitine - Helps metabolize fats into the mitochondria), (D-Ribose - Aids in the generation of positive ATP levels), and (CoQ10 - Primarily responsible for creating ATP (energy from our cells) in the Mitochondria).

There are many natural anti-nflammatories that athletes should use including (Quercitin, Vitamin D,Green Tea,Omega 3's,Organic Ginger (either raw or powdered),Organic MSM (About 5 grams),Enzymes (capsule form should include Bromelain and Papain),Omega 3's and 6's (1 ounce cold oil or ground flaxseed),Agave Nectar ,Organic garlic (1 clove or sprinkle from a jar),Vitamin C (Either 2 or 3 capsules ground in a blender from a whole food source or Potent C Guard) ,Willow Bark (similar to aspirin),Turmeric,Glucosamine,Resveratrol (Grapes) and Aloe Vera.

I have written other articles specifically about some of the herbs and superfoods listed above. It is difficult for most people to start to consume all of the above foods. What I did was first educate myself about them, then introduce them slowly to see which ones I liked and didn't like. Once you find the few superfoods that agree with you, I believe you certainly are headed in a new direction towards "Xtreme Health".

Once you have a list of "What" to eat you then have the questions of When and how much. Most endurance nutrition resources I have come across seem to equate body weight with how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats should be taken before during and after exercise. The amount of grams that your body requires is dependent on several factors:

1) The cycle of training you are in (Base Training, Build Training, Peak Training, Recovery Training or transition (end of season) training
2) The type of training you are doing
3) The intensity of the training you are doing
4) Your own metabolic make-up (Women, Man) (Good Digestive Health, Poor Digestive Health)(Resting Metabolic rates)
5) Weight loss goals of the individual

How Much to eat?

The factors included above determine your Daily energy expenditure. If you did not exercise at all and just lay in a bed breathing all day your body would burn a certain amount of calories. This is probably somewhere between 1500 and 2100 calories per day. There are 3500 calories in a pound.

Depending on your weight and the type and intensity of activity you are participating in you will burn anywhere from 5 to 30 calories a minute. For instance a 150 pound runner running at a 8.35 minute per mile pace will burn approximately 12.8 calories per minute.

By determining your Resting Metabolic Rate and factoring in the intensity and type of training you are doing you can then begin to formulate a Daily Caloric Expenditure to ensure you are taking in the optimum amount of calories. If the athlete desires to lose weight they should do so cautiously because you want to be able to restore liver and muscle glycogen levels as well as blood glucose levels for your next training session. However it can be done as long as it is done during the base, recovery and transition periods. What I have done with success is a 200 to 400 calorie deficit a day which will give you 1400 to 2800 calories burned per week. This is about 1.5 pounds every 2 weeks of weight loss.

There has been many myths about protein, carb and fat diets and the proportion of which you need to take for weight loss or for muscle growth. I find a 50 to 65% Carbohydrate, 20 to 30% protein and 15 to 20% fat intake to be optimal for endurance athletes. So depending on your calorie requirements for the day, the amount of grams you take in from each category go up and down proportionally. It is important to note that during the different phases of training you will be training in different aerobic zones. For instance during base training you should be training in Zone 1, which is between 60 and 75% of your maximum heart rate. What your body uses for fuel in Zone 1 vs. Zone 4 which is 90 to 95% of your maximum heart rate differs tremendously. The percentages of fat, carbohydrates and protein that your body will burn depends on the level of activity. At rest you will burn 58% carbohydrates, 30% fat and 3% protein. At a mild intensity you will burn 49% carbohydrates, 49% fat and 2% protein and at a high intensity you will burn 75% carbohydrates, 17% fat and 8% protein.

There are a few items are worth noting. One is that your body burns proteins all the time. It is for this reason that the lack of muscle building and strength training has the tendency to contribute to loss of muscle mass and therefore lowers the metabolism over time. Also, your body actually burns more fat during the base or mild intensity phase of your training. We can also see that carbohydrates are the main source of energy during high intensity workouts such as 5k races. In fact muscle glycogen depletion could happen as fast as 50 to 60 minutes instead of the common rule of thumb of 90 minutes during Zone 3 to Zone 4 type of training and exercise.

The amount of grams of each macronutrient (protein, fat, carbohydrate) you need to take in during a particular day depends on whether you have 1 or 2 workouts in a day and you have to take into consideration pre-excerise race meals, during exercise refueling, and post exercise/race recovery as well as the calories you may consume for dinner (night before races), lunches, snacks etc. For instance for 3 to 4 hours of high intensity training you will need about 4.5 to 5.5 grams of carbs for each pound of body weight for that day. For heavy training you need approximately .50 to .75 grams of protein per pound of body weight and about .50 to .55 grams of fat per pound of body weight.

Besides taken into consideration how much you are burning during your workouts perhaps more important is how much you could absorb. A simple sugar carbohydrate with a 6 to 8% solution mix isnot going to provide enough calories per hour. If you increase the solution density you have to drink more water in order to help the digestion process and this may lead to over hydration, cramping, and bloating.

Complex carbohydrate solutions are a little better because the 16 to 18% density of the solution matches the osmolality of the water digestion. I have always been at odds with all the solutions out there but have come to use more of the complex carbohydrate solutions and in fact make my own from coconut water, dates, and spirulina as much as possible because real food will ultimately be the greatest source of energy. It is extremely difficult for most athletes to mix there own home brewed sport drinks but if even one of your 28 oz bottles could be home brewed it could give you a huge edge in your fueling plan. Some companies such as hammer nutrition recommend about 240 to 280 calories per hour, 400 to 600 grams of sodium per hour and 16 to 28 oz of water per hour for a 165 lb athlete adjusted up or down slightly for weight differences.

When to Eat

Knowing when to eat can be tricky for most people because a lot depends on other things going on in your life. Most athletes including myself feel best before a long endurance workout eating 3 to 4 hours in advance. However this is not always possible. You should be eating about 300 grams of carbs the night befoe an event depending on weight. The morning of the event the closer you get to the start time you want to lower the fiber and protein and increase the carbohydrates and actually move towards liquid food as much as possible. It is suggested that the foods primarily in this article be the focus of your choices but occasionally when it is not feasible or affordable it is ok to use traditional sources of energy. However, just be aware that the organic and clean sources of energy will have the least amount of pollutants, pesticides, herbicides, foreign unrecognizable material from cooking, etc, for your body to have to use energy and figure out how to save you from death and store it in fat cells or move it as quickly as possible through the digestive and lymphatic system for removal from your body. You want your body to generate ATP not use fuel to get rid of toxins.

Fluid and electrolyte intake is extremely important if not the most important factor in refueling. Everyones body is different but your body needs to consume an amount equal to your sweat rate. This is different for everyone. However as a general rule you should drink approx half your weight in ounces per day on a normal low intensity day. During exercise between 16 and 28 ounces per hour is recommended. Be careful not to consume so much water that you have to eliminate water very often. If your body has too much water it will need to get rid of it and will take precious alkaline minerals with it. So moderate your water intake based on your daily activity and training sessions.

Electrolytes which are important are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and manganese. Most sport drinks contain only 2 or 3 of these electrolytes but an electrolyte replacement that you could control such as endurolytes by Hammer Nutrition will allow you to have them with you at all times and you can consume them as prescribed. There are also some natural electrolytes which I consume in my water bottles. Coconut water is the most natural form of electrolyte on the planet. It mimics the bloods proportions of electrolytes perfectly. Having at least 1 water bottle on rides with coconut water is a great idea.

I have given a lot of information to get you started on the road towards organic nutrition and sports nutrition. You will be miles ahead so to speak of every athlete by experimenting with the foods in this article and best of all you will achieve great health as a critical side benefit. Health and Fitness are two different things and when you combine the two you are well on your way to achieving Xtreme health.

Facing the Menopause Age

2008-09-04T20:34:00.003-07:00

By this time in your life, you have accumulated an amazing amount of knowledge and experience about yourself. You have come to recognize what makes you feel good, what stresses you, and how to find some relief from pressure and strain. Mid-life brings the gift of wisdom and an awareness of who you are as a person.

The experience of menopause often helps women to deepen their awareness of their bodies, their emotions, and their needs. The physical changes that come with menopause create extra nutritional requirements. Nutrition and diet pointers are presented to help you choose the best diet for you. A diet that will help you move through menopause with energy and pep. A personal fitness regime will give you the stamina and flexibility you need to make this transition with assurance and comfort...

Menopause often triggers concerns about sexuality and desirability. Your sexual health is important, at any age. Set the stage for the kind of sexual contact that you desire, to provide you with confidence and a relaxed approach to intimacy. These three topics put together - nutrition, fitness, and sexuality provide a framework to help you to create your own recipe for personal rejuvenation. The Food Connection

Menopause is one of the most nutritionally challenging times in a woman’s life. Your informed food choices can have a positive effect on your well-being as you move through this natural change. To stay active, your body needs proper nourishment for a smooth hormonal transition and sufficient energy reserves. A well-rounded diet, with optimal levels of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytoestrogens will lay the groundwork for a healthy adaptation to menopause. A balanced diet includes six basic nutrients. These are water, carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals.

In mid-life, the need for all essential nutrients is important. A healthy, balanced diet is the cornerstone of good health. Nutrition and exercise are key factors in preventing heart disease and osteoporosis. A plant-based diet, especially one that includes soy products is abundant in phytoestrogens which help to ease the symptoms of menopause and prevent cancer.

The general guidelines for nutrition during menopause is to choose a balanced diet using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 1992 recommendations of:

1.Minimum 1,500 calories per day
2.Fats, oils, sweets - use sparingly
3.Milk, yogurt, cheese - 2 to 3 servings per day
4.Meat, Fish, poultry, Dry beans, Eggs - 2 to 3 servings per day
5.Vegetables - 3 to 5 servings per day
6.Fruits - 2 to 4 servings per day
7.Bread, cereal, rice, pasta - 6 to 11 servings per day
8.Eat a low fat, high fiber diet with plenty of whole grains, legumes, raw seeds and nuts, fruits, and vegetables.
9.Eat foods rich in phytoestrogens which are plant-derived estrogen-like compounds: Soybeans and soy products, apples,
carrots, yams, green beans, peas, pomegranates, potatoes, red beans, brown rice, whole wheat, rye, and sesame seeds,
legumes, flaxseed, and pumpkin seeds Phytoestrogens are weaker versions of human estrogen. There are over 300 plants
with estrogen-like activity, but soy bean products(such as tofu) are the highest. In countries like Japan and China where soy
beans are used daily, there are much lower breast cancer rates and symptoms of menopause are scant. Phytoestrogens can
provide an estrogen lift without increasing the risk of cancer as hormone replacement therapy frequently does.
Phytoestrogens also help reduce the thinning of the vaginal tissues which is often associated with menopause.
10.Eat foods high in Calcium: milk, yogurt, cheese, oysters, sardines, canned salmon with bones intact, dark green vegetables,
spinach, broccoli, and supplements as needed
11.Eat Folate rich foods for protection against heart disease: legumes, orange juice, green vegetables

Nutrition Consumption in Preventing Osteoporosis

2008-09-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

It is now a quite well known fact that a balanced diet can help you and your family prevent chronic disease. One of the most serious and damaging diseases that usually occurs in mid-life and in the elderly years is osteoporosis. This disease is more prevalent in women, but men do get it. Osteoporosis can be prevented or reduced significantly with balanced diet, regular exercise and fresh air, and a supportive social network...

The best form of calcium is food sources, simply because bone, like other tissues, requires balanced nutrition. In particular, milk is the best food source of vitamin D, a nutrient essential for normal calcium absorption and bone health. Milk and dairy products, such as cheese, yogurt and ice cream, contain the highest levels of calcium. Although many people tend to avoid milk because of its fat content, which might predispose them to heart disease, especially those with hypercholesterolemia, low-fat dairy products such as skim and 1% milk are safe and contain high levels of calcium.

Nondairy food sources of calcium generally contain much lower levels, but significant amounts occur in canned salmon and sardines when the bones are also eaten. Some green vegetables (such as kale, broccoli and spinach) as well as legumes (such as soybeans and common beans) have small amounts of calcium, but it is not easy to assimilate.

Vegetarians who do not consume milk products should take special care to ensure that they are receiving adequate amounts of calcium in their diets. Some people will find it hard to obtain the recommended amounts of dietary calcium through diet alone; for many, a combination of food sources and vitamin/mineral supplements is wise.

Adequate amounts of vitamin D are also needed for optimal calcium absorption and bone health. Although many families obtain sufficient vitamin D through the exposure to sunlight, adequate dietary sources of vitamin D are particularly important for elderly people or for those who use sun screen preparations routinely. A dietary intake of 400 to 800 IUDs is recommended for such people.

Diet and High Protein

2008-09-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

Protein is a vital nutrient, essential to your health. In its purest form, protein consists of chains of amino acids. There are 22 amino acids that combine to form different proteins, and 8 of these must come from the foods we eat. Our body uses these amino acids to create muscles, blood, skin, hair, nails and internal organs. Proteins help replace and form new tissue, transports oxygen and nutrients in our blood and cells, regulates the balance of water and acids, and is needed to make antibodies. However, too much of a good thing may not be so good for you. Many people are putting their health at risk by eating too much protein. ..

Excessive protein consumption, particularly animal protein, can result in heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and kidney stones. As important as protein is for our body, there are many misconceptions about how much we really need in our diet, and the best way to obtain it. The average American eats about twice as much protein than what is actually required. Some people, in the pursuit of thinness, are going on high-protein diets and are eating up to four times the amount of protein that their body needs. Protein deficiency is certainly not a problem in America. So exactly how much protein does your body really need? Much less than you think. According to the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health, as little as 50-60 grams of protein is enough for most adults. This breaks down to about 10-12% of total calories. Your body only needs .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight. To calculate the exact amount you need, multiply your ideal weight by .36. This will give you your optimum daily protein requirement in grams. Since the amount of protein needed depends on the amount of lean body mass and not fat, ideal weight is used instead of actual weight. Infants, children, pregnant and nursing women require more protein.
People on high-protein diets are consuming up to 34% of their total calories in the form of protein and up to 53% of total calories from fat. Most of these people are unaware of the amount of protein and fat that is contained in the foods they eat. For instance, a typical 3-ounce beef hamburger, which is small by American standards, contains about 22 grams of protein and 20 grams of fat. You achieve quick weight loss on these diets because of this high fat content. High fat foods give you the sensation of feeling full, faster, so you end up eating fewer total calories. However, this type of protein and fat combination is not the healthiest. Animal proteins are loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat. Many people on these diets also experience an elevation in their LDL (the bad) cholesterol when they remain on this diet for long periods. High levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood clog arteries and is the chief culprit in heart disease, particularly heart attack and stroke. So while you may lose weight in the short-run, you are putting your cardiovascular health in jeopardy in the long-run.

Another reason weight loss is achieved on these high-protein diets, at least temporarily, is actually due to water loss. The increase in the amount of protein consumed, especially from meat and dairy products, raises the levels of uric acid and urea in the blood. These are toxic by-products of protein breakdown and metabolism. The body eliminates this uric acid and urea by pumping lots of water into the kidneys and urinary tract to help it flush out. However, a detrimental side effect of this diuretic response is the loss of essential minerals from the body, including calcium. The high intake of protein leaches calcium from the bones, which leads to osteoporosis. Medical evidence shows that the body loses an average of 1.75 milligrams of calcium in the urine for every 1 gram increase in animal protein ingested. Additionally, as calcium and other minerals are leached from our bones, they are deposited in the kidneys and can form into painful kidney stones. If a kidney stone becomes large enough to cause a blockage, it stops the flow of urine from the kidney and must be removed by surgery or other methods.
Plant-based proteins, like that found in soy, lowers LDL cholesterol and raises HDL (the good) cholesterol. This prevents the build up of arterial plaque which leads to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heart disease, thus reducing the risk heart attack and stroke. The amount and type of protein in your diet also has an important impact on calcium absorption and excretion. Vegetable-protein diets enhance calcium retention in the body and results in less excretion of calcium in the urine. This reduces the risk of osteoporosis and kidney problems. Interestingly, kidney disease is far less common in people who eat a vegetable-based diet than it is in people who eat an animal-based diet. By replacing animal protein with vegetable protein and replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, like that found in olive and canola oils, you can avoid the pitfalls of the typical high-protein diet. You will be able to improve your health and regulate your weight while enjoying a vast array of delicious, nutritionally dense, high fiber foods. Remember, eat everything in moderation and nothing in excess. Also, the only healthy way to achieve permanent weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in. Anything else is just a gimmick.

Another strategi to get a slim body

2008-08-30T01:03:00.000-07:00

The Americans are aware of dependency: tobacco, caffeine, alcohol, amphetamines, prescription of pain and sleep. However, most of us is blind vis-à-vis this country the greatest dependence of any meal. The shocking truth is that a lot of weight to more people die from tobacco smoke.

Yes, food is an addiction - as we can all testify. Whether it be a physical, mental, emotional, packed and cultural, or all the drugs mentioned above makes no difference. We are linked, and that is why it is difficult to beat the high demand for the attraction that we are, no matter how we try to think or talk about us.

For some of us, that candy Woo, for others, is salt. It can be greasy, we chose chips, pop or regime swallow us. Seda bread, meat, the rules of referral to the cheese. Many tolerance Combo command and control. And do not forget, the devil himself today, a master of seduction, we weak in the knees and free of meaning… chocolate.

What asked what was taken hostage, these seven strategies can help to flee - is released, weight loss, disease prevention, building and health.

1 For your Hunger Drive

You can control hunger lead to lose and conservation of ideal weight - a mythical culture in May mantra believe. If it is unable to exercise its control of hunger and sell, when your desire, they feel themselves in low-lying, the willingness and self-control. Delete this myth of the brain. Your reader hunger can not be controlled. It is a natural instinct and, like all human instincts, which keeps you alive.

If you're thirsty, drink. If you fall asleep, you sleep. If you're hungry, you know what? You should eat. Just fill the right to food, hunger, which correspond to your drive (see the strategy No. 2). Hooray! You are now free to eat until you're full.

Do not forget to listen to your brain and the race to eat before your stomach is pity. And if you're still hungry, very hungry and need not only emotional comfort or to alleviate boredom, eat! What thunk? It starts to eat when hungry!

How request, triggered by hunger, book, if you stop to the war with your drive and hunger starts to the satisfaction of the farce on the best for food.
2 Sign up in the right type of carbohydrates

For all the carbohydrates of confusion, it is an obvious fact. All carbohydrates are not created. The good guys of all carbohydrates, fruit, raw vegetables and cereals (rice, bread not) and legumes, your thirst for unity, this lack of moderation. If one of your goodies, but poorly screams to you, if the mid-afternoon or evening, television, food and fill out the nature of most foodstuffs for the first place, and request by the gradual disappearance of desire.

NOTE: For the desire to disappear, enough to eat for better food for you really and truly complete.

3 Fossa Bad Boy-carbohydrate

On the other side of the bad boys to promote appetite. The gap between them. Scout and prohibit them from home, work and unity. As experience shows, more refining sugar, candies, biscuits, cakes, salted snacks, eating chocolate and you, you will get more. If your eyes are much easier to avoid.

The natural sugar and sodium (salt nature), ending a perfect nature, nutrient dense packing of fruits, vegetables and cereals and pulses is not greater is your ally in the fight successfully against the conquest and desire. If desire call, first make sure that the load of foodstuffs, particularly vegetables and whole fruit, so that these calls sabotage powerless.

4 Breakfast fruit grazing

The fruits of accelerating the freedom of appetite. The challenge is - enough to eat fruit one day, at the request of traditional food favorites on a leading role, and the centre. Instead of breakfast in the nature of carbohydrates bad-boy that trigger hunger hot (field of coarse grains, quick oats, brown and white toast, pancakes, Pop tarts, pastries), responsible for fat -- eggs and bacon, or simply a cup pick-me-up-then-crash-me-down, why not skip breakfast and the area to fill your stomach in the morning and with nature at the highest level, the lack Mills - fruit?

Make sure your reader hunger and enough to eat

Different Herbs for Anxiety Treatment

2008-08-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

Different Herbs for Anxiety Treatment
by: Greg Frost

Anxiety disorders are a common problem, affecting approximately 20 million adults and children in America. Anxiety is a common emotion consisting of uncertainty and worry faced by many, whilst anxiety disorders are when such fears are experienced irrationally. There are many treatments available, ranging from medication to therapy and alternative treatments. One treatment is through using natural herbal supplements.
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Natural herbs are less costly than medication, and consist of herbs, vitamins and botanicals. They can be taken individually, or with other supplements, but it is best to first consult your doctor before deciding on natural herbs as a treatment for anxiety disorders. They also have the advantage of having no side effects, as compared to medications which can result in side effects such as nausea. Below are some common herbs used in anxiety disorders treatment.

1. Passion Flower

This is a natural plant that is used to treat anxiety, amongst other ailments. Its has unique calming properties, and can also reduce body tremors from fear. It promotes better sleep, and can act as a painkiller. It also contains anti depressants, and is used for high blood pressure and epilepsy.

2. Lavender

This is a more popular alternative than the passion flower, and is also known for its calming properties. It is also one of the more effective treatments for panic attacks, and is a tonic for the nervous system.

3. Lemon Balm

This is used to calm the digestive and nervous system, and also reduces blood pressure. It is uncertain if used alone, lemon balm is effective for treating anxiety attacks. It is usually taken with Valerian, Chamomile or Passion flower.

4. Kava

It is an effective tranquilizer, and whilst it is not an addictive substance, research suggests that it may be linked to liver problems.

5. Valerian

This is another natural plant used for treating anxiety. It also promotes better sleep, allowing for the body to rest and recuperate.

6. Chamomile

Chamomile flower leaves are used to make tea, and is a natural alternative for treating anxiety. It also reduces fever, encourages sleep and enhances the body’s metabolism.

7. Dandelion

The roots and leaves are used to treat the body’s internal systems, and through it, provide relief for some of the symptoms of anxiety. It is commonly used in salads and tea, and can also be used as a substitute for coffee.

There are many natural treatments available, and herbs have been used for treating illnesses for centuries. However, do keep in mind that it is not a quick fix, and can only alleviate the symptoms of anxiety attacks. It is advisable to seek out behavioral or cognitive therapy so as to eliminate the root of the problem causing anxiety attacks.

How I Healed Myself from Fibromyalgia

2008-08-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

How I Healed Myself from Fibromyalgia
by: Rebecca Hanson

Have you ever met a seven-headed dragon? Slaying it is nearly impossible, because as soon as you cut off one head two more grow in its place! I know this first-hand, because I fought with this dragon for 20 years until I found the chink in its armor and pierced its heart, once and for all...

Misdiagnosis Abounds

Like many sufferers of fibromyalgia, I was misdiagnosed for 15 years. Maybe it was because the condition has no specific or single cause, or because it has only recently (1990's) been recognized as a "legitimate" malady. As late as 1982, fibromyalgia was not even an entry in the doctors' standard clinical reference book, the Merck Manual. Over the years my doctors labeled my symptoms as: Chronic back pain (lower, mid and upper), frozen left shoulder (two and a half years), frozen right shoulder (one and a half years), plantar fasciitis, sleep disorder, restless leg syndrome—you get the picture. Finally, in 1997 I was given the label "fibromyalgia" and told that the only treatment was cortisone injections in every muscle where the pain was intolerable.

"Damn!" I thought, "That's a lot of needles!" Not willing to become a doctor's voodoo doll, I never went back to that doctor. Instead I turned to holistic approaches. I tried everything imaginable to "manage" my pain: excruciating deep muscle massage, strict diets, herbal remedies...I even tried a putrid brew concocted by a Chinese medicine doctor.

Admitting Defeat

After suffering for seven years under the futile belief that I could affect my own cure, I gave up. Admitting defeat, I found a new doctor and asked for help. His theory was that fibro is a disease linked to depression. So along with a non-steroid medication for pain, he prescribed an anti-depressant and a sleeping pill. These seemed to take the edge off the pain for a while.

I was "managing" my pain, pretty well until 2005 when I was crushed by trigeminal neuralgia. Excruciating pain exploded across the right side of my face—encompassing the jaw, cheek bone and temple and behind my ear. It was debilitating! I could do nothing but lie as still as possible with ice packs. Aspirin with codeine did not begin to touch the pain. I thought it might be a tooth, but the x-ray did not reveal anything for the dentist to deal with. I was sent to a neurologist who quite rudely told me, "You'd better hope it is a tooth because it's not worth cracking your head open to fix this." The trigeminal nerve does not originate in the spine, but at the base of the brain!

Gadz! I was a mess! So, my family doc prescribed an antiseizure drug in the hope it would block the perception of pain. As I was leaving his office, he said (rather off-the-cuff), "It might help with the fibromyalgia too."

A month later I was undergoing a root canal which eventually cleared up the facial neuralgia, but I stayed on the antiseizure medication because it did take a further "edge" off the fibromyalgia.

At the same time all this was happening, I was running two companies, TeleClass International and the Law of Attraction Training Center. I was happily turning every aspect of my life around and experiencing success and joy in everything I did—except THIS. I figured I just had to accept THIS as "the way it is."

I was beaten down and felt there was just nothing else I could do about it. Of course, my body was continuing to deteriorate under the unrelenting pain.

Body/Mind Connection

My businesses started to suffer also and I decided to hire a business coach. On the intake form, under the heading of Health I wrote: "Ok, I wasn't going to address this, but if it shows up as dramatically as it has this week, then I won't ignore it. I was thrown flat on my back with a muscle spasm around my entire chest. The spasm was continuous for four days." My coach wrote back, "You are pushing very hard on yourself. Nothing wrong with that, except your body is telling you that something is wrong. Therefore, part of your journey is learning how to flow with ease and grace."

Hmmm, he had a point, but I really did not want to address this seemingly endless, impossible health challenge! Nevertheless, I surrendered to my coach and prayed for a solution.

A few days later I was reading and meditating—well, I was sort of reading and meditating—it was hard to stay focused and my eyes were just glancing at the letters in the book when these two sentences jumped off the page into my heart: "If your affairs are out of order, it is a reflection that your thinking is out of order. If your body is out of order, it is a reflection that your emotions are out of order." How to Use Your Twelve Gifts from God, by William Warch

I'm a very orderly person—my house is in order, my office is usually clean and orderly, my bills are all paid—I'm very responsible and my affairs are in order. But my body was definitely OUT OF ORDER and I had no clue what emotion was causing this, I had lived with it for 20 years. Whatever the cause, it was deeply buried.

Defining Event

At this point I decided to cooperate with my coach and an extremely painful memory surfaced! I had been so disappointed—more than disappointed—I was really angry at my body for letting me down when I had to surrender Matthew back into the care of Social Services! WOW!

In 1980 my husband and I had adopted a baby who had been abandoned at the time of birth because it "wasn't perfect." His natural parents would not bond, love or care for him because he was Down's syndrome. My husband was an obstetrician and when he learned the child was abandoned, he was quite shaken. Our fourth child, Sarah, has Down's syndrome and she has been such a joy to us that it was quite disturbing to imagine this little boy without a family. So we asked for and adopted Matthew at birth. What we did not realize at the time was that Matthew was also autistic. The combination of D.S., plus severe retardation and autism was a horrific package, and in seven years I was totally burned out.

That was when I felt such anger at my body. When I give my word or make a commitment I keep it. I'm a person of integrity. For my body to cave in like it did was simply NOT in my realm of possibility. But it had and I had carried this anger inside my body for 20 years!

Letting Go

NO WONDER I WAS IN PAIN! And my doctor was right! If fibromyalgia is caused by depression, and depression is "anger turned inward" as I learned in nurses' training, then indeed I was depressed!

I LET IT GO! Once I "saw" the root emotion—anger—I could understand why my body was screaming in pain. And I let it go. Just like that. In the moment I made my decision to let it go, it left. I knew it. A few days later I started slowly weaning myself off the medications. I'm not a martyr, so if I were feeling pain, I would be back on the meds, but I'm not. I'm free of pain, gaining strength, reprogramming my thinking and adding activities back into my life. This week I started two exercise classes at the local recreation center—a gentle fitness class and water fitness. THAT is a miracle!

Now, I would not presume to know what is at the root of every case of fibromyalgia. But I wouldn't be surprised if a long-held or blocked emotion would surface for most sufferers. My hope and prayer in sharing my story is that it will re-activate hope in your heart, and faith to believe in a miracle for yourself or someone you love.

Copyright (c) 2008 Rebecca Hanson

Eliminate Cellulite Today With an Amazing Technique

2008-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

Eliminate Cellulite Today With an Amazing Technique
by: Darren Brent

You may be wondering that the 'orange peel' skin is there because you are overweight. However, that is one of the biggest myths - cellulite as it is called, can affect anyone! Understanding what cellulite is important to learn how to reduce or eliminate it. Cellulite is the uneven distribution of fat cells in the body due to the connective tissues which distribute the fat cells under the skin. Fat is important for our body but improper distribution or lumping gives the look that everyone dislikes. ..

Although you can either just accept it or try to do something with the new techniques that have been introduced to eliminate cellulite completely. Results vary from person to person depending upon the extent of cellulite accumulation or even the skin textures. Usually, most of the techniques are quite effective as any product or method that improves the blood circulation helps to reduce cellulite as well.

We sit in the office and work all day, while that sitting is one of the reasons that one gets cellulite as the blood circulation is poor in this position.

Get up and walk for sometime in the office helps the blood flow in the legs, reducing cellulite over a period of time. Doing minor exercises while sitting in the chair also helps pump up blood to your legs. Walking for short time spans or just getting up to stretch your legs in the office helps better circulation of blood.

Avoid wearing high heels and tight sandals for long time periods as they restrict blood flow up your legs. Wear it only when essential otherwise walk bare foot or in flat heels, and loose comfortable footwear. It may sound difficult and unfashionable but it is a good way to eliminate cellulite! There are some herbal oils that also help dissolve the fat accumulated under the skin or at least smoothen out the lumps. You can apply these oils and massage it in for better absorption by the skin. Over a period of time, these can help break the fat globules and smoothen out skin textures. There are many such products which have actually helped people fight the otherwise loosing battle against cellulite.

Massage is another good way of reducing cellulite. Get a full body massage with essential oils to harmonize your body and mind. While you relax the relevant essential oils will also help in proper circulation of blood while the soft connective tissues that get stimulated will automatically relax which helps to level the fat cells also. Try out some of these very effective remedies and eliminate cellulite from your life.

Why Weight Loss Pills Are Ineffective For You

2008-08-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

Why Weight Loss Pills Are Ineffective For You
by: Ted Cantu

You just bought a nighttime and daytime formula of weight loss pills. You have been taking them for … months. Lets face it, this weight is not falling off your body and you got to wonder why this is taking so long. It’s obvious there is some kind of problem here with your weight loss program. Maybe pills aren’t the answer? ..

Dr. Berneathy has some rather unexpected statistics on the subject of weight gain. He mentions in his talks that the body will be almost immune to weight loss pills because of one simple reason. The body has to detoxify. Your body has to get rid of all of the junk and garbage that you put into it through eating fast foods, non-foods, and harmful substances that clog up your system.

What Is Detoxification?

Being overweight and suffering from obesity are becoming all too common these days. This carries a huge load of negatives such as health risks and illness. It is for this reason you must detoxify your body.

That means getting rid of anything that’s man made. I would scrap any product that had artificial sweetners, additives, artificial coloring and preservatives in it.

I would get my hands on a green drink too ASAP. I found some liquid chlorophyll in my health food store a few months back and I liked it. I made a drink out of that with some purified water. I found this naturally uplifting and it put my body in check. My pH level increased to a deep rich green color, (yes I use the testing strips) in a matter of a few days.

You will notice some differences when you start to clean your body out. My sweat didn’t stink anymore and I had no foul odors. This sanitized my body from the inside out. I started to notice real change too in how I approached food once I was cleaned out. I didn’t have cravings for things that I thought I would miss. In fact, I had gotten so wound up in my work that I would forget to eat breakfast AND lunch. I am not suggesting that you do this but my energy level soared through the roof.

It was after I had experienced this body cleansing that I decided to do something with my exercise program and the foods I ate. I wanted to reach higher levels of this type of living. I learned one thing that Spring and that was detoxification is the key to a better life.

Getting back to the Weight Loss pills for a moment. The marketing pitch for a lot of these products claim that you can eat whatever you want and still lose the weight. The foods they show in their ads include pizza, chocolate, cake and pies. Good grief.

If you are going to detoxify yourself then make sure the foods you eat are good foods and not junk foods. There is no point in going back to a “fried chicken diet” or a “chocoholic overload diet”. If you are going to start taking care of your body and are willing to go all the way we got some good news for you.

The weight will start to come off of you after you detoxify.

Lets Get Back To Basics

So does that mean you can do all of this with diet pills? Perhaps but if you do not have the right fundamentals of weight loss and how your body reacts to certain foods you could be on the never ending rollercoaster. It is no wonder why so many diets fail when they hit the market. You need to know what combinations of food are good for you and which ones aren’t.

To learn more about detoxification and how it affects weight loss you need a coach.

America's Children Are Dying To Lose Weight

2008-08-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

America's Children Are Dying To Lose Weight
by: Foster W. Cline MD And Lisa Greene

Wasting away, Katie died weighing only 58 pounds. And she was sixteen. That just doesn't seem possible to me when I look at my seven-year-old daughter who weighs in at about 55 pounds. Anorexia is a medical enigma. Although there is little concrete evidence of what actually causes anorexia, most experts agree that there are several contributing risk factors. We believe that awareness of these risk factors can reduce the odds that they will be triggered so we are hopeful that this information will save lives. If you're a parent or a teacher, you need to read on…

Word has it around town that Katie had been told by a high school teacher that "she needed to go on a diet." So she did. Certainly this one comment didn't cause this young lady to spin out of control with dieting but it might have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Negative comments about body type and size from authority figures, teachers, coaches and parents, can have a big impact on an adolescent child's self-esteem and are implicated as possible triggers in studies on anorexia. Never underestimate the power of the spoken word to heal… or kill…

Eating disorders (bulimia and anorexia) have historically been considered a girl problem but the pendulum is swinging. Anorexia is being diagnosed more frequently in boys, too. Young boys are becoming more body image conscious than in previous generations. Case in point: my nine-year-old son has come home from school upset on several occasions because kids have called him fat. He is far from fat; in fact, he has cystic fibrosis so we are grateful for any extra padding he has and work very hard to keep his weight as high as possible. His diet is exactly the opposite of what everyone else is eating, filled with high fat, high calorie foods. Jacob understands the importance of complying with his dietary requirements but it can be hard for him to go against the norm.

With the emphasis on childhood obesity and diabetes, children are thankfully becoming more aware of the necessity of good nutrition and weight control. But I wonder if there is a price to be paid by children who are predisposed to eating disorders. With the media, parents, doctors, schools and peers emphasizing being thin and high achieving, it will be unfortunate if the numbers of children diagnosed with anorexia accelerates.

The difficulty lies in knowing which children are predisposed to eating disorders. As our society addresses the obesity issue, are we unknowingly putting some children at risk for eating disorders? How can we address the very real, very troublesome problems associated with the alarmingly increasing body mass index of our young children without triggering other children's potential for becoming anorexic?

This is a problem every parent of every child should consider. Research shows that about 6% of young people suffer from an eating disorder and this figure is thought to be low. The next time you are at a school assembly, look around. There are likely to be at least 10 kids there who have an eating disorder. One of them may even be your own. It is thought that the "anorexic mentality" is in place long before there is physical evidence of the disease. Has your thirteen -year-old been on a diet lately? Stats say that there is an 80% likelihood that she has been. Dieting at a young age puts children at risk for anorexia.

The cause of an eating disorder in any one child is unclear because multiple factors appear to play a role. Genetic factors, family interaction patterns, and the individual's own character and personality have all been implicated. But to summarize the problem in a single sentence, it appears that the illness is a response to coping with stress in genetically predisposed children who are filled with denial about their feelings and weight. There! Quick, short, concise, and anything but simple. This single sentence has many implications for parents and parenting. Let's take a brief look at each of these contributing factors individually and provide parenting responses that might be helpful in combating eating disorders.

1. The Genetic Factor in Eating Disorders

Eating disorders, like many other behavioral illnesses, appear to run in families. Not only does the illness itself run in families but the predisposing temperament seems to as well. The one good thing about illnesses that run in families is the fact that children can be prepared to recognize warning factors prior to the onset of the problem. When children are forewarned, they are forearmed. This forewarning is best carried out in a heart-to-heart discussion about possible future problems. A loving parent, relative, or counselor can initiate dialogue before the child is an adolescent, in an informative, non-hand-wringing and factual manner that indicates a hopeful outlook for a healthy future.

2. Anorexia and Bulimia as a Way of Coping with Stress

Food and emotions are closely linked. Over- and under-eating change brain chemicals that affect anxiety and depression. They are both often unhappy and ineffective ways of coping with stress. An authority on anorexia recently noted that a child's inherent vulnerabilities "load the gun," and environmental stresses "pull the trigger." So, assuming inherent vulnerabilities like genetics are unchangeable, how can we avoid pulling the trigger? Is it possible that we can use parenting techniques that will reduce the odds of pulling the trigger?

We believe the answer is yes. We can easily use parenting techniques that excel at raising children who effectively learn to cope with stress in healthy ways. Such techniques include guiding children to solve their own problems rather than solving them for them, allowing children to experience the consequences of their decisions, and responding to children's mistakes with empathy and understanding rather than anger, frustration, and criticism. These are great immunizations against the use of food as a dysfunctional coping response. The experience of coping and overcoming difficulties with good problem-solving skills leads to the ability to confront feelings and issues in a healthy manner, rather than displacing them with changes in food intake. Also, the child's history of successfully coping with painful outcomes of poor choices makes denial much less likely. And, when a child's mistakes are met with empathy and understanding rather than anger and frustration, a child feels supported and understood rather than criticized, demeaned and alone.

3. Psychological Factors in Eating Disorders

Two personality factors have often been reported to be present in eating disorders: perfectionism and high, unrealistic expectations of self. Even when anorexic adults have achieved success, deep down they report feeling insecure and inadequate. There is a tendency to see things only in extremes without shades of gray:

"I'm good or I'm bad."
"I'm pretty or I'm ugly."
"I'm successful or a complete failure."
"I'm perfect or defective."
"I'm fat or I'm thin."

Healthy parenting techniques discourage this type of thinking. Parents: don't over-reassure your children. Over-reassurance actually validates the child's negative thinking and may lead to unhealthy "either/or" black-and-white thinking. Responding with, "Gee, honey, I see it differently, but tell me how you are no good," allows for less manipulation, more acceptance of responsibility, and a child's far more accurate self-examination. Using encouragement rather than praise is also an important parenting technique to increase children's self-awareness. Encouragement gives them experience in viewing themselves, their responses, and their creations realistically, rather than simply trying to please an authority figure. With this simple tool, parents can easily help children learn how to feel good from the inside out rather than looking for approval and self-worth from authority figures.

4. The Role of the Family

There are a number of family factors that are thought to play a role in eating disorders. As we look at some of these interaction factors, it is safe to say that while healthy parenting patterns certainly will not cause or aggravate the problem, they may not be able to alleviate the problem either. Loving, effective parents are known to have had children suffering depression, suicide, and eating disorders. Also, this discussion on parenting styles should not be used as a source of parental guilt but instead provide motivation for change if change is needed. Parents do the best they can, under the circumstances they experience, to raise their children with the love they are able to show. The problem in examining family patterns lies with the fact that all sorts of dysfunctional patterns have been reported. These form a long list:

- Smothering and over-protective families
- Controlling and critical parents
- A chronic feeling of being abandoned and misunderstood
- Having parents or a family that overemphasize appearance and achievement
- Having rigid parents who don't model good conflict resolution skills

The effect of unintentional, yet unhealthy, parental responses cannot be ignored. Again, good parenting techniques do not guarantee success, but at least they are unlikely to contribute to the problem. So rather than focusing on what is speculatively wrong, it is more effective to focus on doing what is right by using healthy parenting skills rather than the unhealthy ones that contribute to dysfunctional family patterns. Whether or not an eating disorder is present, or may be present in the future, it will never hurt for parents to show healthy responses and good parenting techniques.

5. Societal Influences

Finally, there are possible societal factors that influence eating disorders. Big drinks and big burgers have enticed the population into a diabetic frenzy. While most of the population is downright overweight, the females that populate the media (those who model prettiness and good looks) are generally thin to the point of appearing anorexic themselves. Talk about image confusion! On the male side of the equation, we have the same issue with buff men cavorting playfully with thin, pretty women.

With so much emphasis in our culture on athletic performance and good looks, it is not too surprising that some predisposed children take things too far. And, although on the surface it seems reasonable enough to blame society for the self-destructive choices of an individual, this is ultimately self-defeating when dealing with individual situations. Blaming society or others simply removes individual responsibility and accountability and actually increases the likelihood of the negative behavior.

In conclusion, when all is said and done, nobody, at this point, can say with any certainty the exact cause of an eating disorder in any one particular child. But we can say with absolute certainty that all the speculation, studies, reports, and conjecture do not implicate the healthy family interaction patterns taught by Love and Logic. It would appear the personality of the anorexic person is not that of children who have grown up in a home advocating honest acceptance of personal responsibility and where children are:

- Lovingly supported by parents who view mistakes as learning experiences,
- Allowed to make choices and share control,
- And encouraged to cope with the stresses of life in healthy ways.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure particularly where eating disorders are concerned. At this time, there is no cure for anorexia. And America's children are dying to lose weight.

Fat Loss Revealed Part 2

2008-08-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

The secrets to achieving the lean athletic physique that you’ve always wanted are held by Canada’s top trainer, Yuri Elkaim. Most people waste a lot of time in the gym with no real direction or positive results. Fitness and wellness coaches, such as Yuri Elkaim know there is a better way. ...

Yuri is a former professional soccer, Certified Kinesiologist, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the nationally ranked University of Toronto men’s soccer program, and considered by many as Canada’s top trainer and fitness expert. He’s created Fitter U™, the world’s only 12-week body shaping fitness program for iPod/MP3 players geared to helping people lose weight, burn fat, and improve their fitness level. In this article, Amy Coates, Total Wellness Consulting’s nutrition expert will be interviewing Yuri on various facets of weight loss.

…continued from Part 1.

AC: So for beginners, a good nutrition program is possibly the most powerful factor?

YE: Absolutely! Obviously a nutrition program is vital – you must create a caloric deficit through a combined exercise and nutrition approach. But, more so I like to focus on getting my clients to focus on eating healthier, higher quality foods. I like to preach the qualitative side of nutrition more so than the quantitative calorie counting side.

So the key for the fat loss programs I use is exactly that – how can we force the body to burn as many calories as possible, and continue to burn them between workouts. The idea is to demand as much work from the body as possible – and maintain that caloric burn for as long as possible.

Now the ONLY reason the body burns calories is because the muscle tissue is working. It doesn’t matter what activity you are involved in – aerobics or weight training – its muscular demand that determines caloric burn. So you have to begin with that in mind.

Let’s think about this:

You can run a mile in ten minutes.

You can swim a mile in twenty minutes.

After a year of swimming every day and not running – you can now swim a mile in 16 minutes.

Without running – how much has your running improved? Very little. Why? We only have ONE cardiovascular system – so why doesn’t improving your swimming (and cardio system) automatically improve your running?

Because the ONLY reason your cardio system was involved in the first place was because of demand from your muscular system. So you adapted to the SPECIFIC MUSCULAR demands of swimming which by default then involves the cardiovascular system – it’s not the other way around as most people think. The muscles don’t move because of cardiovascular demand – the cardio system is elevated because of muscular demand.

AC: What’s the takeaway message?

YE: Hopefully the readers can understand – that we need to program the body based on the movements it’s going to perform – not based on the cardiovascular system. That’s an upside down method.

AC: So what methods work for fat loss? What methods are ineffective or inefficient for fat loss?

YE: Circuit weight training and interval training always work. Steady state aerobic work never works long term in the real world. Now for those of you out there who will no doubt get caught up talking about health, cardiac heart disease, cholesterol etc - I'm not arguing with you. But we’re talking about fat loss here.

However - for fat loss, the research is unequivocal - high intensity work is superior.

I think the problem is this:

Aerobic training by nature is lower intensity. At some point you get so good at it that it just doesn't burn as many calories, and in effect, you are burning fewer calories than you used to for the same time investment. So what do you do? Go for longer and inevitably run into the same problem? Or increase the intensity? Increasing the intensity is the obvious answer.

AC: You have commented that aerobics were useless for fat loss. This caused a lot of controversy. What did you mean?

YE: I'm sure you'll agree Amy that it only seemed to cause controversy with people who don't do this for a living. Most of the good practitioners in this area didn't even blink. It's not controversial at all in terms of fat loss and I'm getting bored going over it.

I don't think anyone who has trained themselves or anyone else has ever seen low intensity cardio to be a very effective fat loss tool. The loss in lean mass that is typical in most weight loss programs needs to be offset - and steady state aerobic training (despite it's plentiful health benefits) only adds to that problem.

So let me expand on what I meant:

When I said "Aerobics are useless for fat loss" what I meant was "aerobics are useless for fat loss". Is that clearer?

Ok - to be less antagonistic, let's just say that aerobic training for fat loss is the most overrated and overemphasized method in use today. It's completely outdated as a fat loss modality. Here's something to remember – write it on your fridge it you have to: Lifting weights in the intensity zone of 8-12 reps coupled with short rest periods has been shown beneficial for releasing the androgenic hormone testosterone and growth hormone. These important hormones encourage development of lean muscle mass (metabolically active tissue). Fat, on the other hand is just along for the ride! Aerobic exercise has been linked with the release of the catabolic hormone cortisol, which is antagonistic to the development of lean muscle mass.

The efficiency argument is interesting. Does weight training build muscle? No. It breaks down muscle and the body ADAPTS by building more muscle. So in aerobic training - when we "encourage the use of fat" - do we force that same body to adapt by storing more fat? Interesting, most exercise and fitness experts all seem to think so. Think about it for a moment. Who is leaner and more defined…a 100m sprinter or marathon runner???

Seriously - there are thousands of overweight individuals each year who complete marathons. Now completing a marathon is damn impressive to me. However it shows that the aerobic fitness needed to complete a marathon doesn't have anything necessarily to do with creating a fat loss effect. So if you are capable of two to three hours of steady state running and still not be burning enough fat - we can either go to a higher intensity or you can try four hours of running. Any takers for the latter?

In terms of fat loss - calories burned are the most important factor. And aerobic training burns less calories than anaerobic training and weight training overall (besides doing very little to increase your metabolism -your body's calorie burning engine).

So if we accept that lean mass is a major factor in your fat burning engine - and aerobic training makes that engine smaller (i.e. less muscle) and more efficient at burning fat (remember more efficient means it burns LESS) - how can having a smaller more efficient fat burning machine burn more fat? It doesn't.

AC: So you are saying that cardio is the least important component?

YE: I don't think so necessarily. However, I do believe that a combination of properly structure strength training accompanied by high-intensity interval training is the MOST effective way to burn fat while promoting lean muscle mass. The results speak for themselves, time and time again!

About The Author

Yuri Elkaim is the owner of Total Wellness Consulting and creator of the only 12 week body shaping fitness program designed for Ipod/Mp3 players. Please visit http://www.myFitterU.com for more info.

Why You Need To Detoxify Your Body

2008-08-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Why You Need To Detoxify Your Body
by: Ted Cantu

I got the phone call early on a Monday. It was from California and I had no idea what I was about to learn from the amazing Dr. Berneathy. Dr. B, as he is affectionately known, has created a dynamite weight loss formula for his patients in his Chiropractic clinic. I was about to embark on a real education. ..

If you want to lose the weight then you will have to lose any type of victim mentality and get positive. I learned from Dr. B that weight loss was not that hard to do. This guy had the secret that so many other programs out there seemed to miss.

I am going to tell you some of these strategies now.

Lesson 1: You Got To Detoxify – Now what does this exactly mean? You have to get rid of all the junk in your diet. If you are serious about weight loss then you must get rid of the excess garbage in your daily diet. There is a time period here that you will have to observe. This is a multi-step process that you must start on if you want to lose the unwanted pounds.

Lesson 2: Keeping A Positive Mindset – Getting powerful results starts with a healthy mindset. I suggest getting rid of all the substances in your daily pattern that lead to racing thoughts. In this category I include caffeinated drinks, alcohol, sugar and other stimulants. I recently switched to herbal teas from around the world and noticed a huge difference in every aspect of my life.

Lesson 3: Move – You got to get in motion if you want to lose weight. Life is about motion, it is about doing, it is about experiencing new things, you got to get out of your living environment and breathe fresh air. Even if you are not used to exercising you have to get up and out. Mobility is everything. This is going to help you build up your mindset to finally exercise.

Lesson 4: Water Based Foods – Just like Dr. B said do not eat junk foods. Artificial colors and flavors are ultimately bad for you and they must be avoided. Taking the bold step to water based foods will take some imagination There are a lots of great things to be said about what kind of vegetables you buy. You can either buy organic produce, eat vegan, or go totally vegetarian. Avoid taking too many radical steps to reach your goal. Your shifts in this area should be gradual.

Lesson 5: Love Yourself – I always found that I usually got the munchies around 10 PM every night. This became a problem but I found ways around it. I was never tempted by late night advertising by Taco Bell because I had problems with dairy and my sinuses. I was able to find some guilt free snacks to help tide me over. I found things like black bean dip and blue corn chips that were fat free. I also found this amazing Green Tea Non Dairy Ice Cream. If you are willing to stretch your imagination you will come across some incredible finds. This is totally up to you. The other thing I can tell you is to get plenty of rest and drink plenty of water.

Lesson 6: Take Control – Avoid being a victim whenever possible. Avoid living in a constant state of “reaction”, (ex: you’ll never believe what this guy said to me, you’ll never believe what happened to me today, I could only get that promotion if so and so was out of the way etc.). These types of inner conflicts are not healthy for the mind. You are controlling the situations around you. It is for this reason you must have self mastery.

Lesson 7: Eat Often – You can achieve great things with smaller meals. You can eat multiple times a day and not have to worry about going hungry. If you are eating the right things in the right combination then hunger pangs are a thing of the past. You are going to be well settled and will not have to worry about calorie counting. The body will start to adjust to your eating habits and you won’t have to worry about how much you need to eat. Your portions will be smaller.

Dr. Berneathy is well schooled in all of these areas. He is an abundant wealth of knowledge and I decided to take him on as a client. These areas of weight loss intrigued me and yet I wondered how I could apply these rules to my life.

We talked about fundamentals and what it would take to get fantastic results. Weight loss is a complicated game if you don’t approach it the right way. That is why there are so many diets that fail and fall off the market place. But talking to Dr. B made things really simple. We need to stop stuffing ourselves with fake food. But more importantly we had to follow a process that would help eliminate waste before the pounds would fall off.

The importance of this subject matter cannot be underplayed. Disease can settle in if the body is not where it should be. Losing weight is a very serious subject matter and you should take proper steps to take care of your body.

As Dr. Berneathy says, “You only got one you!”. And I couldn’t agree more.

Miraculous Acne Scar Elimination!

2008-08-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Miraculous Acne Scar Elimination!
by: Darren Brent

Acne can affect people of all ages; however it occurs most often during puberty as the body goes through hormonal changes. It has also been known to affect people in adulthood, even if their skin was clear during their teenage years. In some cases acne leaves scars on the skin after chronic and prolonged acne, especially if it is left untreated. The pitting on the face and other parts of the body is easily spotted.....

Acne scars will usually fade over time, but sometimes severe acne leaves permanent scars that can be the cause of some embarrassment to the sufferer. Although there are less cases of adult acne, it is not uncommon. Acne which strikes during the adult years may be due to skin allergies or accumulated toxins.

Another type of acne which is rare, but no less irritating, is scalp acne. It is very painful and difficult to treat as applying any cream or antibiotic medicine can be difficult due to hair growth. Although acne on the hairline is visible, the regular use of anti dandruff shampoo can help in some cases. A dermatologist should be consulted for severe cases of acne.

There are different methods of acne scar treatment available which help in lessening the scars by removing the older skin layer and helping new, smoother skin grow. Although there are intensive medical treatments such as laser treatment open to sufferers, cosmetic surgeries are also available. There are also various natural remedies that can actually do wonders for the elimination of acne scars.

Water is a miracle drink not only for the treatment of acne scars, but also for facial skin care in general. Keeping your skin in top condition requires drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water everyday. Skin scars can be dramatically reduced with the intake of water. Drinking water increases the dermal moisture content, making the skin soft and more flexible. Your facial skin is delicate and needs to be properly cared for.

Change your eating habits and consider adding organic, natural fibers to your diet. Your diet has a direct impact on the skin; the more fresh vegetables and fruits you eat, the better pH balance in the body will be. Application of Vitamin E directly onto the acne scars also helps the cells rejuvenate. You can break open a capsule of Vitamin E and a

Forget Dry Skin and Have a Queen's Face

2008-08-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

Forget Dry Skin and Have a Queen's Face
by: Darren Brent

Our skin is the biggest organ and the most delicate also. It requires constant moisturizing, hydration and pores kept free from blockages, for you to have a radiant complexion. When we sweat, the built in toxins are released through our skin pores, thus keeping our skin clean and healthy.. ..

When you are young, the skin has inherent natural oils that it secretes to keep the skin healthy and supple. However, as we age, the skin gets drier and loses its ability to produce oils, so you need extra application of natural organic creams and lotions for intense moisturizing of the skin.

When the skin loses moisture, it becomes very dry and cracks appear or skin peels and becomes irritated. Usually, the fungi and microbial infections sets in damaged dry skin and later flares up. Dry skin not only does not look good but the accumulation of dead skin cells, need constant exfoliation. The best way to achieve normal, healthy skin is to have a regular skin care routine which will make you look attractive and have a flawless skin. As you age, the skin loses its moisture content very fast and signs o aging show up fast. It is beneficial to use good authentic organic skin care products, which will help you attain the proper PH balance in your skin.

Some home beauty tips are very effective when you have dry skin. Mash up a banana and add some honey and little milk to make a paste. You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oil like sandal, rose or lavender to get the perfect fragrance. Apply this rejuvenating face mask and leave it on for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Wash it off with warm water and apply pure almond oil or avocado oil as moisturizer. Repeat this process once a day for a fortnight and see the difference!

The best way to clean your dry/damaged skin is to use a mild soap and use extra moisturizers like pure oils for maximum benefits. Avoid any alcohol based skin care product as it tends to dry out the skin. Alkaline soaps and skin care lotions should be used. Drinking plenty of water every day and eating a balanced diet certainly helps you have an acne free, well nourished beautiful skin. Protect your skin from the harsh rays of the sun and use a soft, gentle sunscreen lotion when ever you go out. Follow the tips and you will see your dull, luster less dry facial skin transform into a supple, soft and beautiful complexioned young face.

What is the French for Diet

2008-08-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

What is the French for Diet
by: Mary Watson

France is well known as a nation of food lovers, so even the French are susceptible to the obesity syndrome. However, there are many people, especially women, who have bucked the trend and remain to be slim. Some French woman can eat all manner of delicious foods, indulge in wine and yet still stay trim and beautiful. What's their secret?

It would appear the French Diet is very appealing as there are no restrictions on carbohydrates or fat and no calorie counting, just good quality food eaten in moderation. The key here is quality and not quantity.

Their diet contains all fresh whole foods and they avoid processed foods, junk or fast foods, and sugary drinks. The French are passionate about cooking, so when cooking for themselves or friends, they will go to great lengths to seek out the freshest produce and ingredients for their meal. This is typically done on foot by walking around the farmers' markets, boulangeries and fromageries, all the time burning calories and contributing even more to a healthy lifestyle.

It's important to point out that French portions are a fraction of the size of those in the United States. So, while a French woman would be happy to unhurriedly savour a small plate of delicious quality food, others would rather wolf down a double helping, which is very often inferior quality.

The French tend to eat consciously and slowly, making sure they savour each and every mouthful. The psychology is by stopping to enjoy your meal, you will feel satisfied faster and will not tend to over eat. If you relax while eating, your body will metabolise food more efficiently, whereas hurriedly eating your food will lead your body to secrete Cortisol, which is steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex as part of the body's response to stress.

French woman also drink plenty of water too. A good point to remember is, as well as prolonging your life and keeping your internal organs (liver, kidneys etc) clean and healthy, water will speed up your metabolism and aid weight loss.

The French Diet

With the French diet, you can eat unprocessed meat, fish, poultry, grains, bread, dairy products, vegetables and fruit. A varied diet is essential, as each food contains different vitamins and minerals necessary for long term health. The only conditions are on the size of the portions.

Other foods that are allowed include, croissants, pastries and baguettes. Did you know that a French croissant weighs in at just 1 ounce!

Real cheese is fine but processed cheese is definitely out. As you may be aware, the French regularly enjoy a glass of wine, especially at meal times. Red wine is packed with antioxidants and has recently been proven to be good for the heart. The French have a low incidence of heart disease and many cite red wine as the reason. However this should be restricted to 1 or 2 glasses a day.

Lastly, the French love fresh fruit and vegetables, and there are no restrictions on these. That's because they are low in calories and nutritionally dense. They also use heart healthy Olive Oil for cooking and dressings, rather than artery-clogging hydrogenated cooking oils.

So, it would appear that the "French Diet" isn't really a diet in the traditional sense, instead it's much more of a lifestyle. The only drawback in this hectic age in which we live, is finding the time to eat a meal slowly and in a relaxed state.

Understanding The Kinetic Chain - A Personal Trainers Guide To Movement Dysfunction.

2008-08-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Understanding The Kinetic Chain - A Personal Trainers Guide To Movement Dysfunction
by: Dax Moy

In this current era of 'functional' training, core stability and balance-oriented training it's easy to get carried away with learning what I call the 'HOW's' of exercise.

HOW to balance on a swiss ball, HOW to integrate movement patterns and HOW to devise exercise programmes that have a high transfer into 'real life' situations.

After all, these are FUN elements that demonstrate a greater application of knowledge, skills and abilities to our clients. Or do they?

Interestingly, when asked, many of my students (all qualified personal trainers and therapists) had little real foundational knowledge of what makes their exercises 'functional' beyond "they have a carryover into real life".

I call this a 'lack of WHY?!'

This 'lack of WHY' is a 'disease' of almost epidemic proportions within our industry and one which, in my opinion, will keep us from ever reaching professional status if left unchecked.

Simply put, too many fitness instructors are prescribing exercise based upon the latest trends, personal preferences and outright exercise mythology.

This is like visiting your doctor and being prescribed medicine based upon 'it works for me so let's give it a go'. I'm sure that you wouldn't be too impressed if this happened to you, but what about your clients?

What kind of 'professional' service are they receiving?

The aim of this series is to provide you with the WHY's necessary to make your exercise prescription much more than a 'hit and miss' process and plant your feet firmly on the road to professionalism.

We start our journey with posture, the foundation from which our function, and ultimately all personal training is built.

What Is Posture?

According to the American academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons posture committee as far back as 1947, posture is:

'That state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects the supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity, irrespective of the attitude in which these structures are working or resting. Under such conditions the muscles will function most efficiently...'

The key to the above statement is Balance, for it is balance or it's antagonist imbalance that appears to be one of the major influences in creating structural deformation resulting in pain.

Indeed there is much evidence to suggest that chronic imbalance can result in Postural Distortion Patterns that can perpetuate the cumulative injury cycle. This appears to make sense, especially if the kinetic chain concept is applied to the equation.

The kinetic chain is best described as a movement system consisting of myofascial (muscular), Articular (joints) and neural (motor) components with each being dependent on the others for optimum performance, both statically and dynamically. This movement system requires precision of movement based on the alignment and mechanics of each joint as well as how these joints are recruited to create a movement pattern.

In simple terms, the movement produced at any joint in the kinetic chain directly affects the joints above and below it. Dysfunction in any one of these systems may have direct and detrimental effect on the function of its neighbours.

Clearly then, there is much to concern ourselves with when prescribing exercise and stretching programmes to our clients, as every programming decision we make will affect the systems of the kinetic chain. This is obvious of course, but have you ever stopped to think of it in this way before?

Now 'understanding the WHY' becomes much more important doesn't it?

Why Do These Imbalances Occur?

Firstly, we are ALL imbalanced to some degree, even if our posture is considered optimal (we'll talk about this later). This is because there is actually an inbuilt ideal imbalance between the muscles crossing any joint e.g. Knee extensors/flexors, plantar flexors/dorsiflexors. This is simply a reflection of the functional roles of these muscles and beyond the scope of this article.

The muscle imbalances that we must concern ourselves are those that create alignment distortions that affect structural function. These can be caused by but not limited to:

Postural Stress

Living, as we do, under the force of gravity has created a structure, which seems to have placed the ideal imbalance in favour of our extensors; after all, structure determines function.

Unfortunately, modern living creates a 'synthetic' environment where sitting dominates our function and as a result affects our structure.

For simplicity, it is useful to think in terms of postural stress as 'training for posture'.

Imagine 'training' 16 hours/day 7 days/wk for a specific event. You're probably going to get very good at it aren't you? Well, most people get very good at 'bad' posture!

Many posture experts tend to use VladimirJanda's 'short and tight' vs. 'long and weak' classification system (8) as a way of simplifying the processes that create and result from postural distortion and often classify muscles as 'tonic' and 'phasic'.

This oversimplification tends to ignore individual differences in terms of 'normal' posture as well as making assumptions based purely on static posture.

When a muscle becomes facilitated (not necessarily 'just' short and tight) it increases in 'tone' and may decrease the neural drive to its antagonist. This is known as reciprocal inhibition and is a normal quality of the kinetic chain.

However,it becomes a problem when muscles that are supposed to be 'turned off' during a movement sequence remain 'switched on'. This has the effect of creating a situation known as synergistic dominance, where synergists are forced to take on the role of a prime mover due to inhibition.

Pattern overload

Using our 'training for posture' analogy above, it becomes clear that any movement pattern repeated often enough has the potential to create strain upon the tissues creating that movement.

This may create stress patterns in the joint structure, leading to arthrokinetic inhibition where the joint itself causes inhibition of the surrounding tissues or lead to synergistic dominance as an avoidance pattern.

It is important that the stresses applied to our joints be changed regularly through changes in exercise, loads, planes and ranges as well as changes to postural alignment, if pattern overload is to be avoided.

Painful or prolonged noxious stimuli

Injury to a joint creating swelling and/or pain may activate the type 4 joint receptors (nociceptors) that are receptive to these stimuli. These receptors are capable of creating arthrokinetic inhibition in order to protect the joint from further damage.

Lack of core stability

This has been indicated as a possible cause postural distortion and pain. We all train for mobility but how many of us train for stability?

Just how much spinal flexion strength do we need in this vertically loaded body of ours?

Probably not that much! Simply stabilising the platform that our spines work off seems to improve the function most of the clients that I work with (myself included).

Other problems occur here when the tone/strength of Rectus Abdominis is greater than that of the Erector Spinae. Again, reciprocal inhibition and synergistic dominance have the opportunity to 'take root'.

In Conclusion

Our postures are often the only clear indicators of the forces acting upon our bodies. More importantly, they illustrate our ability to cope with those forces.

A clear understanding of WHY muscular imbalance and postural distortion occur is fundamental to every exercise that you will ever prescribe.

With this knowledge of WHY, it becomes easier to see HOW, WHEN and WHERE to apply exercises and stretches to your clients in order to bring about functional and aesthetic improvement.

When, and only when, you can do this you will truly be applying personal to your training.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2 of this series will examine postural types and how to assess them both statically and dynamically.

Part 3 will examine manual muscle testing and Range of Motion assessments.

Part 4: Putting it all together. Programming for postural improvement.

Drug Detox Demand May Be Reduced By New Computer Program

2008-08-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Drug Detox Demand May Be Reduced By New Computer Program
by: Rod MacTaggart

Most of the 500 Metro Detroit doctors who recently evaluated a new online prescription drug program say it improves patient safety and quality of care by reducing the number of pharmacy errors, patient allergies and harmful drug interactions that can occur as a result of hand-written prescriptions. This is good news for the thousands of victims of prescription drug problems who end up needing drug detox...

The majority of drug-related trips to emergency rooms and detox centers – not to mention sudden deaths and trips to the morgue – are caused by problems with prescription drugs. Hospitals, ERs and detox centers in recent years are seeing more dependencies, addictions, overdoses and life-threatening drug interactions as a result of prescription drugs than more traditional illicit street drugs like heroin, cocaine in its many forms, and perhaps methamphetamine.

Most drug detox facilities now provide specialized medical drug detox services for a host of different prescription drugs. And although detox centers help people with problems caused by legitimate prescriptions, many of the most commonly abused prescription drugs have found their way into the illicit street drug pipeline. And virtually all of the popular prescription drugs now found in schoolyards, night clubs and on the streets require drug detox to safely get off them.

The new prescription drug program, called ePrescription, is used by doctors right in their offices to access online information about a prescription drug, including generic alternatives, potentially harmful drug interactions, and potential allergic reactions. Patients already taking other prescription drugs often don’t remember what they’re taking or forget to tell the doctor about them – or the doctor doesn’t ask. But because the program lists all the patient’s medications, it helps avoid the serious side effects or even dependencies that lead to drug detox when the wrong drugs are combined. And because the doctor uses the computer to print out new prescriptions, it helps prevent patients from getting the wrong drug or wrong dosage just because a pharmacist couldn’t read the doctor’s handwriting.

In the two years that doctors have tested the program, 3.3 million prescriptions were written, and nearly a third of them – one million prescriptions – were identified as offering potentially harmful drug interactions, and another 100,000 prescriptions were spotted as being potentially allergic. In all, 423,000 prescriptions were corrected – changes that, if not corrected, might have caused injuries and even deaths. For drugs with a high potential for dependency such as narcotic painkillers and many antidepressants and antipsychotics, keeping track of the prescriptions with the computer surely helped prevent trips to drug detox.

The power of the new program to improve patient health and prevent prescription drug misadventure was lauded by most of the doctors testing it. They said it alerted them to potential problems they wouldn’t have noticed otherwise, and they liked how the program let them check other medicines patients were taking. Mixing prescriptions is always an area of risk that can precipitate dependency or addiction and lead to the need for drug detox or to complications and even death.

Detroit’s new online prescription drug computer program appears to be helping get that city’s prescription drug error and abuse situation under control, and should help save a lot of people from needing a drug detox program.

Achieve Wealth using the Power of your Subconscious

2008-08-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

Achieve Wealth using the Power of your Subconscious
by: Greg Frost

Your subconscious mind is a powerful tool, and if harnessed correctly, you will be able to align your inner world with your outer world. By exposing yourself to more of what you would like to achieve in the outer world, your inner world will similarly be reinforced. ...

The key difference in attitudes of the wealthy and the less so is in the way they think and behave. How you think is reflected in your inner world, whilst your behavior is how you express in your outer world. Hence, your actions are important as they create subconscious impressions of your status. Here are a few ways how you can create congruence between your inner and outer world, and so achieve greater wealth.

1) Your Choices

Your actions and choices will create the environment around you, which will either spell out wealth, or poverty. By choosing to use the best quality products that are necessary, you are subconsciously telling your mind that you can afford it and that you are superior. This is not the same as simply over spending, or buying more than what you need. It is about aligning your inner and outer world, so that you satisfy your needs in a way that maximizes your utility.

2) Don’t Waste Money

Often, you find yourself buying a cheaper substitute for a product that you really want. Whilst an off the rack mp3 player may serve the same function as an Ipod, for example, the utility you derive from and Ipod is much higher. You will feel dissatisfied with your mp3 player, and this unhappiness that you experience may eventually motivate you to buy the real McCoy so as to satisfy your need. By buying what you would prefer in the first place, you will save on the money that you have spent buying repeated products.

3) Your Mindset

Those who are less well off are unwilling to spend money on the items that they would like to possess, because they are afraid. On the other hand, the wealthy do not limit their minds in this way, and hence obtain greater satisfaction. When you are happier with what you have, you will send forth vibes that attract even more happiness in life. Like attracts itself; this does not mean wasteful spending, it is simply spending where necessary.

Your environment plays a big part in affecting your subconscious mind. Your surroundings will impress upon your mind that you are wealthy or poor, and by surrounding yourself with symbols of wealth you will create the same conditions in reality. Hence, there is a match in your inner and outer world.

Whilst you may not be able to avoid signs of poverty, you can create greater focus on wealth by focusing on signs of abundance. Placing yourself in environments where you are able to relate to the rich will help you to achieve this congruence. When you can fully master the subconscious mind to work in your favor, you will be able to generate sound plans and executable ideas to achieve greater wealth.

Endometriosis - Diet And Nutrition Can Reduce Symptoms

2008-08-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Endometriosis - Diet And Nutrition Can Reduce Symptoms
by: Carolyn Levett

Diet changes can help reduce the symptoms of endometriosis

Changing your diet to deal with Endometriosis is an excellent foundation to assist you in reducing the symptoms, and will help regenerate your health.

Adjusting what you eat can bring about many positive physical and metabolic changes, as well as improving our health. Many of you may be aware that various illnesses and diseases have responded very positively to changes in diet, and Endometriosis is no exception. ...

Some of the positive physical changes that take place when we change our diet, will at first not seem reliant on our food intake, but they are. For example, eating the right kinds of foods can:

~ sharpen our mental alertness
~ help us to stop feeling so sluggish
~ give us more energy
~ regulate sleep patterns
~ regulate bowel movements
~ balance blood sugar levels
~ regulate metabolism
~ regulate body weight
~ control hyperactivity - especially in children

We are very much a reflection of what we eat. When someone has a diet loaded in fats, the first place it will show up is in their complexion, with greasy, sallow skin. When we are constipated, an Iridologist (alternative health practitioner specializing in diagnosis using the iris of the eye) will immediately see this in the lack-lustre appearance of the eyes. With a lack of vital nutrients in our system, the body will eventually give you tell-tale signs.

The diet in modern day western society has become depleted of vital nutrients for many reasons. Intensive farming has robbed the soil of vital trace elements which used to be taken up by the crops as they grew, and in turn we consumed them. We rely so much on convenience foods now, which are very low in goodness. Much of our ‘fresh’ produce like fruit and vegetables is actually gassed and then stored in warehouses for months.

Many of us eat ‘fast food’, which is not very nutritious - the longer that food is left standing in a heated serving cabinet, the less nutritious value it has. People get lazy; they cannot be bothered to shop for valuable ingredients, yet alone cook good wholesome food anymore.

Scientists, health researchers and others have now found that the lower your food intake, with fewer calories and proteins, the longer you will live. We simply do not need the food intake that we have in the West.

What the body needs is a simple, balanced, preferably organic diet, which is prepared using fresh ingredients, and is viewed as our means of sustenance rather than being viewed as ‘something to stop us being hungry’. We do have many problems and issues surrounding food in the West, with anorexia, comfort eating, and many other eating disorders. Food is also used in many social situations, but this is no excuse for not being able to feed yourself with good food when you are at home.

Food is our fuel, it makes us function, grow, replace worn out cells, gives us energy, and feeds the entire body. Food is the secondary requirement to life, with oxygen being the first basic requirement. More important than food is our daily requirement for water. We need lots of it; plain, fresh water. Yet most people only drink a small proportion of what the body really needs.

But going back to food; it provides us with energy. The foods we take in include:

~ Carbohydrates, which provide the chief source of energy for bodily functions and muscular exertions
~ Fats which are the most concentrated form of energy. Three fatty acids are essential in the diet because the body cannot make them itself.
~ Proteins, which are the building blocks in food, the construction materials for growth and repair of cells
~ Fibre, indigestible parts of plants which provide roughage and aids digestion
~ Vitamins and minerals - the organic substances which the body cannot make, but which it requires in small amounts to maintain health

Controlled Diet for Endometriosis

Controlling your diet to help you deal with Endometriosis is an excellent starting point. As I have said earlier, we really are a reflection of what we eat, and the body responds very quickly to what is put inside it. Let me emphasize that point thus:

~ Look how radically altered we become by too much alcohol - which can happen very quickly
~ A Sumo wrestler is not born large - they eat themselves large
~ Body builders do build up their bodies with power/weight lifting, but they also use a high protein diet to back it up
~ Drink too much coffee and you have a caffeine rush
~ Travel to another area and you may get upset by the change in water consumption
~ When we are hungry, many of us suffer that awful drowsy blood sugar drop; eat something and we can pick up again very quickly

So the body is very sensitive to what is put in it, and sometimes that sensitivity is quick to show up. Unfortunately other sensitivities are not noticed and will creep up on us, which is when we suffer from dietary deficiencies and a lack of trace elements. There are times when our body gives us clues that we have a deficiency and we start to have cravings for certain types of foods.

The role of a controlled diet in Endometriosis management has proved exceedingly beneficial for many women. Some women have even been able to be totally symptom free with changes in diet. The plan of the endo diet is to relieve or prevent some of the disabling symptoms that occur with menstruation, as well as the general pain of endo. The goal is to decrease estrogen levels, stabilize hormones, increase energy, alleviate painful cramps and stabilize emotions.

SO WHERE DO WE START!

Let’s start with pain and hormones in relation to diet …………

Endometriosis is an estrogen-sensitive condition, but the painful menstrual cramping that occurs is predominantly due to prostaglandin synthesis in the body. Prostaglandins are naturally occurring fatty acids, which are derived from dietary sources. The body can produce different types of prostaglandins through a complex series of pathways.

There are the ‘good guys’ and the ‘bad guys’ of the prostaglandin group. The goal of a controlled diet is to block the ‘bad guys’ for their negative actions on the body, and increase the ‘good guys’ for their opposite and beneficial actions. The action of the bad guys is to increase uterine contractions, and the good guys have a soothing effect. By changing the types of oils that are taken into the diet, the production of the good guys can be stimulated, which helps with uterine relaxation. These oils are composed of omega-3 fatty acids, which lead to positive prostaglandin production. Excellent sources of the omega-3 fatty acid producing oils are:

~ Evening primrose
~ Safflower oil
~ Walnut oil
~ Flax seeds/oil

It is also important to decrease intake of those fatty acids that will stimulate the bad guys which are found in saturated fats, butter, animal and organ meat, lard.

In addition to decreasing bad fat intake, the diet should also consist of high fiber. Not only does this help with good digestion, but it is also thought that a diet high in fiber can decrease total circulating estrogens. It is recommended to incorporate 25 grams per day of fibre. Good sources are:

~ whole grains excluding wheat and rye
~ beans, peas and pulses
~ brown rice
~ vegetable and fruits
~ oatmeal

The following foods are recommended to modulate estrogen levels by incorporating one or two servings a day:

~ mustard greens
~ broccoli
~ cabbage
~ turnips

FOODS TO AVOID

~ wheat - this includes breads, cakes and pasta products, all based on wheat
~ refined and concentrated carbohydrates
~ sugar, in whatever form, including honey
~ alcohol
~ caffeine which is found in tea, coffee, soft drinks
~ chocolate
~ dairy produce including all milk, eggs and cheese
~ fried food, margarine and hydrogenated fats
~ soy products and soy protein - tamari can be used in small amounts
~ tinned and frozen packaged foods as little as possible
~ additives and preservatives

Note: Meat, dairy and eggs promote the pro-inflammatory prostaglandins.

FOODS BENEFICIAL FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

~ beans, peas, lentils
~ onions
~ garlic (raw or lightly cooked)
~ carrots (contain beta-carotene)
~ live yogurt (good for healthy intestinal flora)
~ rhubarb
~ seeds and sprouted seeds
~ ginger
~ green tea

HORMONE REBALANCING

Foods containing natural plant sterols can be helpful. They are thought to block the estrogen receptors, so in turn excess estrogen in the body cannot ‘lock-in’ to these receptors. These include:

~ peas, beans and pulses
~ red and purple berries
~ garlic
~ apples
~ parsley
~ fennel
~ brassicas: cabbage, cauliflower etc
~ nuts and seeds
~ celery, carrots
~ rhubarb
~ sage

VITAMIN AND MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS

Although the best source of vitamins and minerals is through a well balanced diet, many foods today are depleted in these vital trace elements. Today, most of us need to supplement our diet with some of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function optimally.

The following is a list of supplements that will help women with Endometriosis:

Magnesium - is a mineral and is believed to ease cramping with menstruation

Zinc - is essential for enzyme activity, helping cells to reproduce which will help with healing. Zinc is also reported to boost the immune system and helping to create an emotional sense of well-being

Calcium - levels of calcium in menstruating women decrease 10 to 14 days before the onset of menstruation. Deficiency may lead to muscle cramps, headache or pelvic pain.

Iron - women with Endometriosis tend to have very heavy periods which can lead to an iron deficiency. This can lead to anemia which is characterized by extreme fatigue and weakness.

B vitamins - these are important for the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the body. B vitamins are reported to improve the emotional symptoms of Endometriosis, and have proved helpful in dealing with PMT

Vitamin C - is well known for helping to boost the immune system and help provide resistance to disease. It is also used in the body to build and maintain collagen within the body.

Vitamin A - is another immune system booster

Vitamin E - plays an important role by increasing oxygen carrying capacities and also strengthens the immune system

Selenium - when taken together with vitamin E has been reported to decrease inflammation associated with Endometriosis, as well as immune system booster.

OTHER USEFUL SNIPPETS:

Certain vegetables have substances that activate liver enzymes and help the liver to detoxify chemicals. This allows the liver to eliminate excess estrogen from the body more effectively. These vegetables include: broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

Auto immune diseases are thought to be triggered by free-radicals in the body, which could be an added factor in Endometriosis. Free radicals are destructive molecules and are found naturally in the body but can be made worse by pollution, stress, illness and smoking. There are minerals and vitamins that will help to fight off these free-radicals because of their antioxidant properties, including: vitamins A,C,E, CoQ10, selenium, vitamin B complex, as well as specific supplements being sold specifically as Antioxidants.

TO SUM UP

~ increase omega-3 fatty acids
~ avoid meat, dairy products, wheat and sugar
~ increase fiber
~ modulate estrogen intake
~ avoid caffeine and alcohol
~ avoid refined foods, e-numbers, additives
~ minimize or avoid soy products as they contain high levels of phytoestrogens, and soy contains a particular toxin which seems to be particularly detrimental for women with Endometriosis
~ peel fruit and vegetables to remove toxic chemicals
~ eat organic produce wherever possible
~ drink lots of filtered or mineral water

A Guide On Spa Etiquette

2008-08-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

A Guide On Spa Etiquette
by: Chris Turley

After a week of endless work, crazy traffic jams and a few relationship misunderstandings here and there, your stress level is probably about to hit an all time high. Fortunately, a place called the spa has been invented to help you keep what's little left of your sanity. Needless to say, a trip to a nice spa can make a hell week heavenly. ....

To help you make the most out of your spa experience, here are some spa etiquette tips to follow:

- Don't be late for your appointment. Being late means you don't have respect for another person's time. But aside from being impolite, it also means you won't have enough time to relax or spend at the sauna or steam bath. Having sufficient time to relax before your massage session is vital in getting the most out of your spa experience.

- Before you arrive at the spa center, be sure to turn your cellular phone off or put it in silent mode so as not to bother other spa clients who just like you are craving for some quiet time. When you're in a spa, there is nothing more annoying than having your peaceful beauty rest disturbed by a loud silly ringtone.

- Discuss with the therapist and the spa center staff any issues that you may have. If you prefer a female therapist, or if you're not comfortable being massaged in nude, don't hesitate to tell them. Also, feel free to talk to them about preferences that you may have like type of music, lighting, room temperature or amount of massage pressure.

- Leave valuables at home. Even if most spas have lockers with lock, it's still safer not to bring any valuables when you get a spa treatment.

- Use the spa facilities with care. Be sure to ask for assistance in case you don't know how to operate any facility. There is nothing embarrassing in asking.

- If you're scheduled for several treatments, have the massage prior to the facial but the body treatment should go first before the massage.

- It's all right to have a chat with your therapist but don't feel obliged to do so if you prefer to some quiet time during the treatment.

- The therapist will give you ample time to rest and cool down after the massage session but it doesn't mean that it is okay to take a whole afternoon nap. Just spend a few minutes to cool yourself down and give yourself time to reenergize.

- Don't forget to give a 15% tip to your massage therapist. Be sure to let him or her know if you are pleased with the service. Show appreciation by recommending the therapist to your family and friends who are also massage aficionados.

Spa experiences are truly heavenly. With the peaceful ambience, sensual aroma and the pleasurable treatments available, it surely is nice to give yourself a break by visiting a spa. Indeed, there's no better way to reward yourself after working so hard and subjecting yourself to the rigorous and exhausting demands of your daily life.

Blow Away Your Dandruff

2008-08-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Blow Away Your Dandruff
by Darren Brent

Do you suffer from itchy scalp but embarrassed to scratch in public?

Do you have hair loss while you always have white flakes shedding on your clothes?

You are not alone as there are millions like you who suffer from Dandruff. Understanding what this skin disease is and how to combat it effectively is the only solution. Dandruff is the name given to the shedding of skin on the scalp, and appears as white flakes in the hair causing discomfort....

Although our skin sheds dead cells and renews itself every fortnight, the word dandruff refers to the unsightly shedding of dead skin which is known to be caused by a fungus. The common symptoms are itchy scalp and white flakes visible in the hair and surface when you scratch.

Dandruff is usually two fungi, Malassezia Furfur and Pityrosporum ovale, that reside in the human body. The fungus sometimes creates an imbalance, so that the renewal of skin cells leads to an overload of dead cells being shed. Most of the dandruff shampoos which claim to reduce dandruff contain Zinc Pyrithione and Nizoral. However, the more chemical you apply to your skin, the more the chances of an adverse reaction increase. In the case of an allergic reaction, consider trying out natural and herb based shampoos, which can contain the growth of dandruff.

You will need to wash your hair very frequently with these highly chemical based shampoos to curb the spread of these fungi. The main function of anti dandruff shampoos is to wash away and remove the dead skin cells faster than they can be shed. This is the only way to keep your scalp healthy and clean. Anti Dandruff shampoos contain strong chemicals which break down oils and contain fungicides to kill the microbial and fungi growth for cleaner hair and a healthier scalp. Lemon, orange, basil, papaya, cloves and other citrus fruits contain astringents that help keep the scalp clear of dead skin.

Applying herb based oils containing Lemon have concentration of anti fungal properties. Lemon oils are used to treat skin allergies which occur due to intense oil production. Lemon has a unique quality of sapping away excess oil which helps to eliminate acne and dandruff. Washing your hair after oiling it well with coconut oil is also known to benefit curbing dandruff. You can also condition your hair using eggs, once a fortnight as egg is known to give a beautiful shine to your hair.

7 Simple Rules For Staying Young... No Matter What Your Age Is

2008-08-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

7 Simple Rules For Staying Young... No Matter What Your Age Is
by: Dax Moy
Why is it that so many people dread getting older?

I mean, what is it that causes sensible, mature, educated people to burst into tears or go thorough 'mid-life' crises at the very mention of their 40th birthday?

It's weird isn't it...

After all, getting older is a natural part of life. Inevitable in fact, because if we don't get older then it means we must be dead!

After working with thousands of people from all walks of life I can reveal this; it's not the actual calendar years that cause people stress and concern, it's what those years do to your body, your face, your appearance.

Not much of a revelation, I agree, but nonetheless it's true.

In fact, if it wasn't for the visible signs of aging that build up over the years, most people wouldn't give a damn about how many candles they have on their birthday cake at all.

The trouble is, we're all brainwashed from quite an early age about what it means to grow older.

We're told "you're not getting any younger y'know!" or "You really should be slowing down and taking it a bit easier at your age" or "You shouldn't expect to achieve as much as you did when you were younger".

What a load of rubbish!

Look, let's get something straight once and for all.

Despite what you've been told by doctors, physios and so-called fitness 'experts' over the years, you do not automatically enter into a downward spiral of performance and appearance as you age.

Physical degeneration is NOT an inevitable part of the aging process.

In fact, you can and SHOULD be able to not only maintain but also improve your physical abilities across the course of your lifetime. You CAN be fitter in your 40's, 50's, 60's and even 70's than you are in your 20's and 30's.

Don't believe me?

Just look at the likes of ultra distance runner and adventure racer Helen Klein. She took up jogging at age 55, progressed on to complete over 75 marathons and 100 ultra-distance marathons (these are races over 100 miles in length) during a career that went on well into her mid seventies.

What about Professor Art De Vany, author of 'Evolutionary Fitness'? At age 68 he rides mountain bikes and dirt bikes competitively (in open competition), trains rigorously on a daily basis and has an amazingly muscular and firm physique with only 8% bodyfat. He's 68!!

These aren't isolated cases, though sadly, they are quite rare...though they needn't be!

Any day of the week you could begin the process of building the better, fitter, faster, firmer, stronger, leaner you and start to benefit from the amazing energy and vitality that's available to you at every moment of your life, regardless of age.

But first, I need you to understand something.

These improvements do not come from some new fad fitness programme.

They don't come from Dr Whoojammywotsits latest diet.

They don't come from those fancy gizmo's, gadgets or wonder pills that you keep buying from all those late night infomercials.

They come from good, old fashioned, honest-to-goodness effort.

Quite simply, if you want to get your butt off, then you have to get off your butt!

There is no other way!

Now, I know that's not what you want to hear and that many of you reading this will probably stop at this point, but nevertheless, it's true. And what's more, you know its true.

So, what are you going to do about it?

If you're like most people, probably nothing. You'll sit there, read this article and decide that I'm either nuts (You're could be right) or that the cost of getting what you want is too high and requires too much effort to achieve.

If that's you then I must respectfully inform you that you are officially insane. After all, isn't one of the definitions of insanity 'repeatedly doing the same things yet expecting different results'?

For those of you who still have your mental faculties intact : ) and are willing to make the changes necessary to achieve a fantastic body (regardless of your age), here are a few pointers.

1.Engage in challenging exercise EVERY DAY- Look, 3 times a week just doesn't cut it when it comes to maintaining or improving your physical self.

The human body is a movement machine, so MOVE IT!... or lose it.

2.Use strength based exercises AT LEAST 3 times a week where you challenge the muscles and joints and load the bones.

With over 600 muscles in the human body it just doesn't make sense to train the way most people do by isolating different muscles and blasting them to death. Instead, use my 600 rule and try to find exercises that use as many muscles as you possibly can.

3. Drink fresh, clean water every day.

You need around a litre for every 50lbs of body weight in order to maintain a decent hydration level within the body. Less than this and your organs, your skin, your muscles and even your brain cease to operate effectively.

4. Avoid all processed food.

Another name for processed food is 'denatured' food. In other words, all of the nature has been removed from it in order to make it last longer on the shelves.

Do you really want to eat something without any 'nature' in it? Only you can decide that, but I tell you this; foods with colourings, flavourings and numbers instead of ingredients will more likely end your life early than extend it.

Opt instead for fresh produce ensuring that 80% of what you eat comes from fresh (ideally organic) sources.

5. Eat less.

People eat too much. Enough said!

6.Sleep more

The human body requires sleep of both great quality and quantity.

Getting 8 hours a night is a good start, but not enough. To truly benefit from your sleep, try to get your sleep patterns worked out so that you are asleep between the hours of 10pm and 2 am to make the most of your body's hormonal repair processes. The hours 2am to 6pm are important to countering stress.

In other words, all sleep is not the same. The timing is important too.

7. Relax more

Yep, I know I said to move more but I also want you to relax more too.

That doesn't mean watch more TV. Read a book, listen to music, take a massage or acupuncture, take more holidays, add variety to your weekends.

Studies show that people who are more aware of the need for a blanc between activity and constructive relaxation live longer, are less stressed and achieve more.

Well, there you go. My guide to looking and performing better as you age.

It may not be what you were expecting. In fact, many of you are probably thinking, 'yeah, but I know all that already, where's the new stuff?'

Sorry, not this time!

There's nothing faddy, or hi-tech about this approach.

It just works.

My challenge to you is to take everything I've just told you and use it for 30 days in its entirety. Don't skip a thing.

If you do, I GUARANTEE that no matter what your current age or physical condition is, you'll look, feel and perform better than you have in years.

You up for it?

5 tips to help with home recycling

2008-08-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

The issue of recycling has been an important one for some years, but recently, with councils resorting to fortnightly collections in a bid to encourage recycling, this is an issue that has been receiving increased attention across the country. Councils are doing what they can to encourage recycling by providing recycle bins to households to make this task easier, and the government has pledged to increase the number of recycling bins in public areas to also encourage this activity....

We can all do our bit for the environment, help to reduce landfill site waste, and help others by recycling many of the items in our home – not just rubbish but all sorts of items. And once you get the hang of recycling you will find that it is an easy, effective, and useful way to do your bit for the environment.

1. Learn more about what can be recycled. Many people just think about things like cans or bottles when they think about recycling, but you can actually recycle pretty much anything. This includes textiles, rubber, building, materials, carton and cardboard, and more. Before you automatically throw something into to rubbish for collection think carefully about whether you could actually recycle the item in some way.

2. Familiarize yourself with the recycling bins in the area. There are different recycle bins for different things, such as some for bottles and cans, some for textiles, etc. The government has also promised to increase the number of recycling bins in public areas. In the meantime, it is a good idea to try and familiarise yourself with where the bins are in your area so that you know where to go to recycle your items.

3. Make use of the council recycle bin. Local authorities have issued many households with recycle bins now so there is no excuse for not being able to recycle. Make use of this facility and recycle as much as you can – with a bin on your doorstep there is not additional hassle involved and you could really help the environment in the long term.

4. Make sure that you use the right recycle bins for the right products. It can be encouraging to also use the recycle bins in public areas, as this will encourage others to do the same if they see you and others recycling their waste. However, do make sure that you use the recycle bins appropriately and don’t just stick all of your items into one recycle bin, as they are separate depending on the type of product that you are recycling.

5. Save on fuel and emissions. Wherever possible, if you have to drive to take your recycled waste to a public recycle bin area try and drop your recycling whilst on your way somewhere rather than making a special trip. This will save any additional pollution from driving and will save you petrol. Better still, if the recycling area is not far then take a stroll up there!

Lose Weight with Subliminal Messages

2008-08-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

Lose Weight with Subliminal Messages
by: Greg Frost

Ever found yourself looking at the weighing scales and wishing you could lose weight? And yet, you scoff at diet pills and weight loss programs that have not worked for you. This is your conscious mind at work. Your conscious mind tells you that it is not possible to lose those pounds, and that subliminal CDs to lose weight are a hoax. However, this is not true.....

All your previous weight loss attempts have failed because your conscious mind has already decided that they will fail. Hence, subliminal CDs provide you with the key to losing weight, by bypassing the conscious mind that forms judgments and negative thoughts. The subconscious mind is uncritical, and accepts the opinions and ideas that you embed into it, helping to dispel these negative thoughts. With the help of subliminal CDs to inject positive affirmations into your subconscious mind, you will be able to lose weight now.

That is not to say that just by listening to a subliminal CD over and over you will lose weight! The magic behind subliminal CDs goes beyond that. The message that the CD sends out to your subconscious consists of a few different but simple principles which you will find yourself practicing slowly as you listen to the CD as per the instructions on the packaging. This is how it works.

1) Confidence

The subliminal CDs will give you the confidence in yourself to lose weight. By going straight to your subconscious, you are able to eliminate the root of the weight loss problem: your conscious mind. The conscious mind tells you that it is impossible and that you will never lose weight, and hence you never lose those pounds.

2) Eat Right, Exercise More

The subliminal CD will encourage you to exercise more, and eat right. You will find yourself more motivated to visit the gym, instead of merely thinking about it. In other words, the subliminal CD contains positive messages that help you transform your ideas into actions. You will feel your subconscious telling you to get busy and cut down on snacking, and to eat right. All these are knowledge that you already have, but just never put into practice!

3) Drink Water

It is important to drink a lot of water when you’re trying to lose weight. Water acts as a natural cleansing and detox routine, as it flushes out the toxics, fats and calories in your body. This is also a part of the magic of the subliminal CD, which encourages you to drink a healthy amount of water everyday.

Before you know it, you will find yourself avoiding snacks and unhealthy food as your body adjusts to take in only the amount of food that is necessary. This is not magic, it is simply the power of your subconscious mind being harnessed to overcome the negative thoughts that your conscious mind produces!

Tips to Burning Fat Nutritional

2008-08-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

Tips to Burning fat Nutritional
by: Ben Greenfield

This article will give you 5 more tips to turn your body into a lean muscle-building, fat-burning machine. In case you didn't read the last 5 tips, the basic overview was to increase fiber intake, frequently drink water, eat a complex and healthy breakfast, increase calcium intake, and eat several small meals per day (as high as 8-10). Ready for more? Good! Keep reading...

#6: Eat carbs early in the day

Meals that contain larger amounts of carbohydrates should be eaten earlier in the day. This means that much of your whole grain and fruit consumption should occur before noon. The body's metabolism is highest earlier in the day, so this is a great time to be supplying your muscles with energy in the form of glycogen (carbohydrates), while also ensuring that many of the carbohydrates you consume will be burned for fuel, rather than deposited as fat stores. Many families tend to have the biggest meal of the day in the evening, ironically at the time when the body is least in need of energy and the metabolism is lowest. The practical application would be to make breakfast bigger and dinner smaller. So try it out - prioritize eating carbohydrates early in the day, and focus on decreasing carbohydrate portion size as afternoon and evening approaches.

#7: Eat the right kind of carbs

While carbohydrates are important for providing energy and giving your body the ability to burn fat, you must choose the right carbs. Simple carbs like sugar and processed flour tend to be rapidly absorbed by the digestive system, which causes a release of the hormone that encourages fat deposit - insulin. Furthermore, the quick energy release that is followed by a rapid decrease in sugar levels will cause you to crave more food, which is why many people on a typical American diet are *always* hungry! So no matter what percentage of your diet is made up of carbohydrates, you must choose complex carbs that are slowly absorbed and digested, thus producing a long term source of energy that keeps you fuller for a longer period of time. Whole grain flours, vegetables, oats, and unprocessed grains, such as brown or wild rice are great choices, and also include many other compounds important in maintaining a high metabolism and proper digestive function.

#8 Eat fat

For the past several decades, mainstream Americans have been shifting to low or no fat diets, with the general result being an *increase* in obesity and chronic disease, and a decrease in health and fitness. In the meantime, world populations such as Eskimos, that consume as much as 70% of their diet from fat calories in whale blubber and fish, have one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world. While this may seem ironic, there are some very good reasons. Typically, to replace calories that are not provided by dietary fat, carbohydrate consumption increases. Increased carb consumption leads to a faster burning energy source, which tends to contribute to cycling blood sugar levels, use of muscle tissue as fuel, low energy, and decreased metabolism and hormone production. In addition, many Americans will replace saturated fat, such as butter, with a trans fat, such as margarine. Trans fats are *much* worse for the body than saturated fat. So it is important to choose the right kinds of fat. Most animal fats, and many vegetable oils, are high in cholesterol, which contributes to heart disease. However, mono-unsaturated fats, such as those found in olive oil, nuts, fish oil, and various seed oils, can help lower cholesterol, reduce risk of heart disease, and enhance your body's ability to burn fat as a fuel source. So try to eat fish several times a week (or supplement with fish oil), cook with olive oil, and try to eat at least a handful of a healthy nut (like almonds or walnuts) once per day.

#9 Avoid sugar substitutes

Artifical sweeteners, such as Aspartame, still taste sweet (that's why they're sugar replacements!). When the taste receptors on your tongue taste this sweet substance, your digestive systems begins to produce compounds that prepare your body to use the "food" that your brain thinks you are consuming. The hormones produced in the digestive process are still present once this fake food enters your small intestine, but no actual energy release or satiety occurs, which leaves you with a gut full of digestive hormones that need food to break down and make the brain crave even more food, this time the real stuff. This is why studies have shown that consumption of diet soda products are associated with obesity! If you're really serious about burning fat, ditch any sugar substitute foods or diet drinks that you currently consume. I guarantee that once you overcome the initial addiction withdrawal, you'll feel a hundred times better.

#10 Eat like a car

Your body runs on fuel. If you put too much fuel into the gas tank, an overflow occurs, and in the body's case, this means fat deposition. I realize that the idea of limiting calories is very simple, but sometimes the approach is wrong. Never give yourself a certain "number" of calories per day. You'd never take your car to the gas station and fill up if you didn't plan on driving it, and the same goes for your body. If you have a light day of activity ("low mileage") or a sedentary day (sitting in the garage), you should sometimes not even be consuming 50% of the calories you'd normally consume, because your body doesn't need them. For instance, on a typical day, I consume 5000-6000 calories (based on my metabolism and amount of activity), but on a weekend of travel, where I am either sitting in a car or airplane, I often consume as little as 1000 calories per day! If your body doesn't need the fuel, there's not a necessity to put it in your mouth. On the other hand, there will be some days where I consume up to 8000 calories, simply because that is how many I actually burn through with my activities! So if you're on a set diet of, say, 2000 calories per day, don't be afraid to vary as needed.

I'd like to finish by encouraging you to keep at it. Switching to a healthy diet can be unbearable at times, but the longer you stick with it, the easier it gets. It's just like exercise - you can bring yourself to a maintenance phase where moderate to high physical activity becomes easier, but the initial work is pretty difficult. If you'd like to more information about diet and nutrition, or exercise, you can e-mail me at elite@pacificfit.net to ask questions.

When you sign-up for personal training with Pacific Elite Fitness, you can receive a complete dietary analysis, complete with grocery list and food substitution suggestions, and monthly tools to track your progress, caloric intake, and macronutrient percentage. You have access to your own personal fitness coach to guide you through your workout routine, using the latest fitness research and breakthrough techniques. You are guaranteed to get fitter faster on a Pacific Elite Fitness program.

Until next time, train smart,

Ben Greenfield

The important Of Vitamin and Mineral Supplement

2008-08-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

The important Of Vitamin and Mineral Supplement
by: Mary Watson

When many of us grew up, our parents taught us the importance of consuming the right vitamins and minerals, but they also taught us we could get all we needed if we just ate the good food they prepared. Of course, that was when most mothers stayed at home and prepared three meals a day for their families...

and snacks consisted of fresh fruit with occasional sweets. With the fast-paced lifestyles we live today, do our children get all the nutrition they need from food alone?

Eating Nutritious Foods

It seems easy enough to say we can get all the vitamins and minerals we need by eating nutritious foods, but the problem is that most of us don’t eat food that is good for us. With the fast paced lifestyles we lead today, we are eating fast food and processed foods instead of home-cooked meals like our mothers used to prepare. There is little to no nutritional value in fast food, and because of the amount of fast food children consume today, it’s essential to make sure they receive vitamin and mineral supplements to make up for the lack of nutritional foods.

Unfortunately children are not the only members of our modern society who lack proper nutrition. As they hurriedly rush out the door in the morning with no breakfast and rush through their days often with no lunch, dinner consists of a trip to the local fast food restaurant or a bag of chips to stop the hunger pangs. It isn’t exactly the kind of diet that one considers healthy by any means. The parents must set the example for the child, but too many times parents feed the children and don’t eat themselves because they “don’t have time.”

Are Dietary Supplements a Good Substitute?

Although they are not the best answer, using dietary supplements, vitamins, and minerals to obtain the necessary nutrients is better than not having them at all. Natural sources of vitamins and minerals are certain preferred to that of supplements, but if supplements are necessary in order to give the body everything it needs, then they become necessary parts of our daily routines. The body requires specific nutrients in order to perform its essential functions, and if it doesn’t get these nutrients from food, you must provide it in the form of nutritional supplements.

Failure to provide the body with the nutrients it needs will lead to malnutrition and a host of other ailments up to and including the break down of the body’s natural disease fighting mechanism, the immune system. Choosing the right vitamin and mineral supplements is important to your good health. Do not assume you need to take every supplement on the shelf in order to make up for the foods you are not eating. Most of what you need is available in multi-vitamin form, but you may want to choose others based upon your lifestyle and the condition of your health.

Are Dietary Supplements as Effective as Natural Nutrients?

One thing of which you must be aware is that some nutrients are more effective in their natural state. This is especially true of some of the herbs that have cancer-fighting agents as part of their components. Before you choose any nutritional supplement, make sure you know whether the supplement is going to provide the same benefits you will derive from the natural product. Although in many cases you will find the same nutritional value, that is not always the case. You do not want to spend your money on supplements only to find they do not work as well as the natural form of the nutrients.

Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Health

2008-08-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Health
by: Mary Watson

The choices you make are important to healthy living. If you are one of the many people who has begun to think about what lies ahead for you, it’s time to begin to look toward doing something about it. The choices you make now and in the future will determine how well you will stand up to the perils of life as you approach your senior years. By taking the time to learn some ways you can improve your life now can help you live longer and healthier......

Eating a Healthier Diet

Most of us are guilty of not eating foods that are good for our health. We develop poor eating habits at an early age, and we tend to put off making changes that will improve our well being. We may make small changes when the need for losing weight is important or during a time when certain foods may take a tool on the way we feel, but it takes something major for us to really make a change in the way we eat. The problem is that quite often by the time we make the decision to make changes, it’s too late for them to make a difference. We must begin early in life to develop healthy eating habits, and we must continue those habits through out our lives.

Develop an Exercise Routine

Exercise is an important part of remaining healthy. If you don’t have an exercise routine already, you should develop one based on your own abilities. Even if you are only able to walk around the block a few times a day, you will be doing something that is good for your body. No matter what the condition of your health may be it’s important to exercise on a regular basis. Aerobic exercises such as walking, swimming, skiing, and bicycling are best, and you want to perform your routine long enough to increase your heart rate.

Reduce Stress

Stress is always an important issue, but as we get older, it begins to take a greater toll on our health. It’s important to learn to reduce stress levels before they cause severe health problems, and the best time to do that is when you are still young enough to fight the impulse to allow stress to consume you. Even every day conditions such as asthma, allergies, and even colds and hay fever can be caused by stress. Stress can cause the immune system to break down, and when that happens, it is ripe for many different conditions and illnesses.

Maintain a Proper Weight

In order to stay healthy, you need to keep your weight within normal range. If you are overweight, you will have less energy and thus be unable to exercise or even do household chores. Excess weight also puts a strain on your heart and makes you more likely to have a heart attack. Of course, maintaining a proper weight falls in directly with the other methods of developing a healthy lifestyle since you need to exercise and eat healthy foods in order to maintain a proper weight. Since many people have a tendency to overeat when they are under stress, keeping that in control can also help you keep your weight within normal range. Although some recent evidence suggests that being up to 10% overweight is healthier than being 10% underweight, it is healthier to be as close to a normal range as possible.

Making the choice to change your lifestyle is essential if you want to live a healthy and pain free lifestyle. There is no substitute for healthy living, and healthy living comes from making lifestyle changes that affect your complete body and mind. Only by making those important changes can you expect to live a normal, healthy life into your golden years.

The Importance of a Heart Healthy Lifestyle

2008-08-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Importance of a Heart Healthy Lifestyle
by: Mary Watson

Does it really make a difference to your heart?
In today’s world there is a great deal of talk about eating heart healthy foods and living a lifestyle that promotes a healthy heart. Although this doesn’t tend to be problem for the older generation who understands the importance of keeping their hearts healthy, questions regarding the importance of the under 40s worrying about the health of their hearts tends to bring some controversy to the table.....

It raises the question about why someone in their 20s and 30s should have to concern themselves with something that will not affect them for ten or twenty years if at all.

Heart Problems Are Not Just for Those Over 40

One misconception many people have is that they don’t really have to worry about the health of their hearts until they reach middle age. Unfortunately this misconception is what causes many people to neglect their heart’s health and increase the chances of a heart attack early in life. This is especially true if you are in the high risk category for heart disease such as having high cholesterol, a history of heart disease, or suffer from obesity. All of these factors tie into the health of your heart, and in order to prevent heart disease, you need to take care of your heart regardless of your age.

Factors that Contribute to Heart Problems

Many factors in our lives can cause early onset heart disease, but the most common factors are diet, lack of exercise, and weight. For those who are genetically prone to early onset heart disease, lifestyle is even more important. It’s important to make lifestyle changes in order to prevent heart disease no matter how old or young you are. However, you do not want to wait until you are a high risk candidate for heart disease because by then it may be too late to undo any damage you have already done to your heart. Let me address these issues briefly one at a time.

Diet

One of the major contributors to heart disease is diet food we eat. High fat foods cause high cholesterol which in turn blocks the arteries to the heart. Although this problem doesn’t usually cause problems until we are older, by then it is very difficult to change our eating habits. After you have eaten greasy, high fat foods for many years, the adjustment to healthier eating is more difficult.

Lack of Exercise

Leading a sedentary lifestyle is another cause of heart disease. Over the years there has been an increase in the number of reported cases of early onset heart disease, and cardiologists tie this into the sedentary lifestyle that many of us lead today. There is a need to increase the heart rate in order to stay healthy, and we cannot do this sitting in front of the television or the computer. Most of us won’t even walk to the corner store for a loaf of bread let alone perform any heart healthy exercises. Sadly for many, exercise is limited to pushing buttons on the remote control.

Weight

The problem of obesity in both North America and Europe is on the rise, and as a result heart disease is on the rise as well. Nutritionists believe the problem lies in the fast food industry with the problem beginning in childhood. With two income families a necessity today, fewer children are eating healthy meals at home. The sad part is that quick meals can be healthy meals if you choose carefully. The choices you make early in life will affect you later in life. Prevent obesity from the start by making healthy eating choices, and you have battled one of factors that will affect the health of your heart.

Diet and Exercise

2008-08-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

Diet and Exercise
by: Mary Watson

Diet and exercise are the perfect combination for consistent weight loss.

If you have ever tried to lose weight and couldn’t understand why it was so difficult, you may have been neglecting to combine diet with exercise. No matter how little you eat,...

there is no substitute for exercise. If you wish to achieve consistent weight loss, you have to understand how weight loss and exercise tie in together.

Losing Weight without Exercise

Some of the fad diets in existence today promise that you can lose weight without exercise, and though you may experience some small amount of loss, it will not be consistent nor have any great impact. Any weight you may lose will be short-lived if you are not exercising in order to build lean muscle mass and boost the rate at which your body burns calories.

The Impact of Exercise on Weight Loss

In spite of what some diet programs may tell you, there is a definite connection between weight loss and exercise. In order to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. Although normal daily activities such as walking, cleaning house, and even sleeping burn some calories, these activities do not burn enough to make any impact on weight loss. It is necessary to perform aerobic exercise such as walking, bicycling, swimming, and skiing in order to boost the rate your metabolism burns calories in order to experience faster and more consistent weight loss. The addition of resistance exercises such as weight lifting will build lean muscle mass which burns calories at a faster rate. Thus, the perfect exercise routine for weight loss is a combination of both types of exercise.

Choosing the Right Foods

In addition to exercise, you must choose foods that will stimulate weight loss. In order to do this it’s necessary to consume low fat proteins and minimize the simple carbohydrates you eat. Simple carbohydrates include almost everything in the starchy category and not just sweets. That doesn’t mean you cannot eat carbohydrates at all because you need the energy. Contrary to what we were taught during instruction in food groups, there is no difference between eating a candy bar or a piece of white bread—both will turn to sugar when consumed. The difference lies in eating whole grains such as wheat bread, wheat flour, brown rice, and whole grain cereals such as oats, barley, and wheat.

Not only are whole grain starches in the low-glycemic index category, they provide the fibre that is necessary for a healthy colon. By consuming lean meats such as poultry, veal and fish instead of beef and pork, we limit the amount of fats that are entering our bodies. This not only helps with weight loss but also has a positive impact on the heart as well. By concentrating on eating healthy foods and snacks we give our body the opportunity to undo any damage we have done with our poor eating and lack of exercise.

Lifestyle Changes

Although diets are intended as a means to lose weight, the best diets incorporate weight loss into lifestyle changes. No matter how well you do on your weight loss program, if you don’t change the way you eat and live, your weight loss will not be permanent. You must learn how to eat healthy and exercise all the time and not just when you are attempting to lose weight. You also need to substitute soft drinks and sugary fruit juices for water and natural fruit juices containing no additional sugar. That doesn’t mean you cannot have some of those sweets, but you must learn how to limit them in order to prevent gaining all the weight back that you lost.

Learning to Eat Healthy

2008-08-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Learning to Eat Healthy
by: Mary Watson

Many people have weight problems not because they don’t understand how to eat or prepare healthy food. There is some tendency to think that because a food is healthy, it must not be tasty. Avoiding these misconceptions is one of the first steps toward learning to eat and prepare healthy foods.....

Choose Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Instead of buying canned fruits and vegetables, choose fresh ones when they are in season. Fruits fresh from the produce department of your market are better for you than canned fruits that have added sugar or are packaged in high calorie syrup. If you must buy canned fruit, choose those with no added sugar that are packed in natural fruit juices. Vegetables from the can tend to have extra salt and other ingredients that are not essential for the flavour.

Instead of cooking vegetables in butter or margarine, steam them and add spices or lemon juice for flavour. With so many different spices available for purchase at the market, there is no need to use excess butter or salt. You can even blend some of your spices to create a unique flavour of your own.

Choose Lean Meats and Restrict Red Meat

Instead of going for the high fat and high cholesterol red meats, try to stay with poultry and fish instead. In addition, do not fry your meats but bake, roast, or broil them. Avoid cooking in vegetable oil and choose olive oil instead for a healthier choice. For foods such as steak or hamburger, grill rather than fry them. The market is prime today for people trying to cut their fat content, and products such as the ever-popular George Foreman grill are invading more homes than in the past.

One way to enjoy ground beef without the fat and calories is to substitute ground chicken or ground turkey. With the proper seasoning the flavour is pleasing, and when used for cooking things such as meatballs or chilli, the additional ingredients make the flavour undetectable. When trying to lose weight or stay healthy, many of us are guilty of deciding we don’t like something before we try it. In that way we restrict foods that we may potentially like and complain that dieting has too many restrictions.

Choose Carbohydrates with a Low Glycemic Index

One of the biggest contributors to weight gain and failure to lose weight is too many simple carbohydrates. The old adage that only candy and other sweets make up the simple carbohydrates is false. Any starchy food has the potential to turn to sugar, so it’s essential to learn to eat healthier carbohydrates, namely those made of whole grains such as wheat bread, wheat flour, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and even whole grain cereals such as those made with oats, wheat, and barley. These whole grains do not turn to sugar when they are consumed and yet provide us the energy we need to attend to our daily activities.

Avoid Diets that Eliminate Food Groups

Most of us learned in school the importance of consuming food for each of the basic food groups daily. However, in today’s market many diets are geared toward eliminating or greatly reducing the amount of food we consume from some of the food groups. This may not be on a regular basis, but nonetheless these diets are not the healthiest nor will they help you achieve permanent weight loss. The key to permanent weight loss is changing your lifestyle such as the way you eat, adding exercise to your daily routine, and drinking eight to ten ounces of water every day. Eliminating entire food groups is not only unhealthy, but it also increases your feelings of deprivation.

Achieving Your Weight Loss Goal

2008-08-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Achieving Your Weight Loss Goal
by: Mary Watson

Staying on target is one of the most difficult parts of dieting. This is especially difficult during the holidays and when there is a special occasion. How can you stay on target with your weight loss without missing parties and other events? There are ways to lose weight and still not deprive yourself of having fun....

Setting Short Term Goals

One of the first things you want to do in order to assure weight loss is set some short-term goals for yourself. That mans don’t focus on losing fifty pounds, but focus on losing something more realistic such as five pounds within the next two weeks. By setting more realistic goals for losing weight, there is less of a chance you will become frustrated and stop your dieting efforts. In order to stay on target, you must be able to see some accomplishments.

Have a Reward System

Another way to remain on target is to treat yourself when you meet your weight loss goals. That doesn’t mean you go out and have ice cream or another high calorie food, but treat yourself to something tangible like a new piece of jewellery, bottle of perfume, or extra time at the spa. These are things that allow you the opportunity to reach for goals but do not encourage eating in order to achieve them. Many of us have become used to using food as a reward because our parents did it to us as a way to encourage us to do well in school, go to bed on time, or behave as we should. This early conditioning is one of the easiest ways to gain weight and develop poor eating habits.

Eat Healthy Snacks

When you are attempting to lose weight, it’s important to learn to eat healthy snacks instead of sweets. That doesn’t mean you will never be able to eat ice cream or cake again, but if you develop the habit of choosing snacks such as fresh fruit, raw vegetables, and other healthy snacks, you will seldom have a craving for those high calorie carbohydrates and sugars.

Instead of depriving yourself of the things you love, enjoy the occasional sweet in small amounts when you have reached or exceeded one of your weight loss goals. Anyone who has ever dieted can attest to the fact that derivation is not the way to stay on target with your weight loss. Knowing that if you lose ten pounds in a month you can enjoy a small dish of ice cream or a small slice or cake or pie gives you something to work toward. If that sounds contradictory to what I stated above that is because we are not talking about something you do all of the time. However, you do need to become accustomed to eating less sweets and more healthy snacks in order to lose weight and stay fit.

Enjoy Your Favourite Foods in Smaller Portions

Unless you eat a great deal of high calorie, high carbohydrate foods, there is no need to give up your favourite foods. The key is learning to eat smaller portions rather than depriving yourself of everything. Certainly for some people it may be necessary to completely eliminate some foods but if you are one of those people who are overweight because of eating too much, you need to cut your portions.

Many of us are pre-conditioned to think that we need to eat until we are stuffed. In order to remain healthy, we need only eat until we are satisfied. Taking longer to eat is one of the best ways to satisfy hunger without eating more than the body requires. Learning to eat less will put you on the track to permanent weight loss and help you stay on target while you are losing weight.