What Are the Specific Benefits of Exercise?
Longevity and Aging
Exercise, even after age 50, can add healthy and active years to one’s life. Studies continue to show that it is never too late to start exercising and that even small improvements in physical fitness can significantly lower the risk of death. Simply walking regularly can prolong life in the elderly. Moderately fit people, even if they smoke or have high blood pressure, have a lower mortality rate than the least fit. Resistance training is important for the elderly, because it is the only form of exercise that can slow and even reverse the decline in muscle mass, bone density, and strength. Adding workouts that focus on speed and agility may be even more protective for older people. Flexibility exercises help reduce the stiffness and loss of balance that accompanies aging.
Cardiovascular Health (Heart Disease and Stroke)
General Guidelines. Inactivity is one of the four major risk factors for heart disease, on par with smoking, unhealthy cholesterol, and even high blood pressure. Like all muscles, the heart becomes stronger and larger as a result of exercise so it can pump more blood through the body with every beat. Exercise does not increase the maximum heart rate, but a fit heart can pump more blood at this maximum level and can sustain it longer with less strain. The resting heart rate of those who exercise is also slower, because less effort is needed to pump blood. For preventing heart disease frequency of exercises may be more important than duration. Exercise even helps reverse some of the effects of smoking. Children should be especially encouraged to exercise every day to prevent heart disease later in life.
Effect on Coronary Artery Disease and Cholesterol Levels. People who maintain an active lifestyle have a 45% lower risk of developing coronary heart disease than do sedentary people. A recent study reported that moderate dietary changes improve cholesterol levels and so lower the risk for coronary artery disease only when an aerobic exercise program is also followed. Regular aerobic exercises — brisk walking, jogging, swimming, biking, aerobic dance, and racquet sports — are the best forms of exercise for lowering LDL and raising HDL cholesterol levels. It may take up to a year of sustained exercise for HDL levels to show significant improvement. Burning at least 250 calories a day (the equivalent of about 45 minutes of brisk walking or 25 minutes of jogging) seems to confer the greatest protection against coronary artery disease. Even moderate exercise, however, reduces the risk of heart attack, but in terms of raising HDL levels, more is better. Resistance (weight) training offers a complementary benefit by reducing LDL levels. Triglycerides, which rise after a high-fat meal, can be lowered either with a single, prolonged (about 90 minutes) aerobic session or by several shorter sessions during the day. One study indicates, however, that short-bursts of exercise actually increase LDL oxidation — the process that makes LDL dangerous to the heart — so individuals should always aim for a consistency in their exercise program. Before engaging in any strenuous exercise, it is advisable to consult a physician.
High Blood Pressure. Studies indicate that regular exercise helps keep arteries elastic, even in older people, which in turn keeps blood flowing and blood pressure low. Sedentary people have a 35% greater risk of developing hypertension than athletes do. No person with high blood pressure should start an exercise program without consulting a physician. Studies have shown that high-intensity exercise may not lower blood pressure as effectively as moderate intensity exercise. In one study, for example, moderate exercise (jogging two miles a day) controlled hypertension so well that more than half the patients who had been taking drugs for high blood pressure were able to discontinue their medication. Studies have indicated that T’ai Chi, an ancient Chinese exercise involving slow, relaxing movements may lower blood pressure almost as well as moderate-intensity aerobic exercises. Before exercising, people with hypertension should avoid caffeinated beverages, which increase heart rate, the workload of the heart, and blood pressure during physical activity.
Stroke. The benefits of exercise on stroke are uncertain. According to one analysis, a group of 11,000 men, men who burned between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a week (about an hour of brisk walking five days a week) cut their risk of stroke in half. Groups who burned between 1,000 and 2,000 calories or more than 3,000 calories per week also gained some protection against stroke but to a lesser degree. In the same study, exercise that involved recreation was more protective than exercise routines consisting simply of walking or climbing.
Heart Failure. Traditionally, heart failure patients have been discouraged from exercising. Now, exercise is proving to be helpful for many of these patients and, when performed under medical supervision, does not pose a risk for a heart attack. In one study, patients between the ages of 61 and 91 increased their oxygen consumption by 20% after six months by engaging in supervised treadmill and stationary bicycle exercises. Performing daily hand grip exercises may improve blood flow through the arteries of patients with heart failure.
Diabetes
Diabetes, particularly type 2, is reaching epidemic proportions throughout the world as more and more cultures adopt Western dietary habits. Aerobic exercise is proving to have significant and particular benefits for people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes; it increases sensitivity to insulin, lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels, and decreases body fat. Regular exercise, even of moderate intensity, improves insulin sensitivity. In fact, studies of older people who engage in regular, moderate, aerobic exercise (e.g., brisk walking, biking) lower their risk for diabetes even if they don’t lose weight. Anyone on insulin or who has complications from diabetes must take special precautions before embarking on a workout program (see, What Are the Hazards of Exercise?, below).
Effects on Bones and Joints
Osteoarthritis. Exercise helps to reduce pain and stiffness, and increases flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, and well being. Exercising also helps people reduce their weight and maintain weight loss. Osteoarthritis patients should avoid high-impact sports such as jogging, tennis, and racquetball. The three types of exercise that are best for people with arthritis are range of motion, strengthening (or resistance), and aerobic exercises. Strengthening exercises include isometric exercises (pushing or pulling against static resistance) and stretching exercises to build strength and flexibility without unduly stressing the joints. These exercises may be particularly important if leg muscle weakness turns out to be a cause of osteoarthritis, as some research suggests. Low-impact aerobics also help stabilize and support the joints and may even reduce inflammation in some joints. Cycling and walking are beneficial, and swimming or exercising in water is highly recommended for people with arthritis.
One study compared a group of patients who embarked on an aerobic and resistance exercise program with a group that received patient education; the exercising group developed less disability and pain and showed a better ability to perform physical tasks. Patients should strive for short but frequent exercise sessions guided by physical therapists or certified instructors.
Osteoporosis. Exercise is very important for slowing the progression of osteoporosis. Women should begin exercising before adolescence, since bone mass increases during puberty and reaches its peak between ages 20 and 30. Weight bearing exercise, which applies tension to muscle and bone, encourages the body to compensate for the added stress by increasing bone density by as much as 2% to 8% a year. High-impact weight-bearing exercises, such as step aerobics, are very protective for premenopausal women. These exercises, however, increase the risk for osteoporotic fractures in elderly patients, who would benefit most from regular, brisk, long walks. Even moderate exercise (as little as an hour a week) helps reduce the risk for fracture, but everyone who is in good health should aim for more. Careful weight training is beneficial as well for older women. Low-impact exercises that improve balance and strength, particularly yoga and T’ai Chi, have been found to decrease the risk of falling; in one study, T’ai Chi reduced the risk by almost half.
Back Problems. One of the most common complaints of modern men and women, lower-back pain, afflicts up to 80% of all Americans. Sedentary living, obesity, poor posture, badly designed furniture, and stress all contribute to back pain. An appropriate exercise program focusing on flexibility and strengthening the muscles in the abdomen may help prevent back problems. Yoga stretching is beneficial and can be incorporated into the warm-up and cool-down periods. The best exercises for athletes with bad backs include swimming, walking, and cross-country skiing. High-impact sports, including aerobic dance and downhill skiing, should be avoided. Exercises that strengthen the abdominal muscles such as partial sit-ups, which maintain the back’s normal curve and help support the body’s weight, can alleviate stress on the lower back. However, the classic full sit-up (raising your head and shoulders off the floor up to your knees) may aggravate back pain and should be avoided by anyone at risk for lower back problems.
Lung Disease
Although exercise does not improve lung function (except for intense, regular aerobic exercise), training helps some patients with chronic lung disease by strengthening their limb muscles, thus improving endurance and reducing breathlessness.
Cancer
A number of studies have indicated that regular, even moderate, exercise reduces the risk of colon cancer. Strenuous activity, in fact, adds only slight or no additional benefit. Moderate exercise may also help reduce the risk for prostate cancer and possibly for breast cancer. A recent study of 100,000 nurses, however, suggested that the benefits of exercise on breast health may be greater or lesser at different times in a woman’s life, depending on her menstrual status and estrogen levels. For example, the study found no added protection against from exercise in young adulthood (when the disease is uncommon in any case).
Effects on Colds and Flu
Although offering no evidence of improved immunity from exercise, one study reported that people who exercised as little as once a week in employee fitness programs averaged nearly five fewer sick days annually than those who did not participate in such programs. The immediate effect of exercise on the immune system is uncertain. High-intensity or endurance exercises might actually suppress the immune system while they are performed. Some highly trained athletes, for instance, report being susceptible to colds after strenuous events. A recent study suggested that in people who already have colds, exercise has no effect on the illness — severity or duration of the infection. People should avoid strenuous physical activity when they have high fevers or widespread viral illnesses, however.
Central Nervous System Diseases
People with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease should be encouraged to exercise. Specialized exercise programs that improve mobility are particularly valuable for Parkinson’s patients. Patients with neurological disorders who exercise experience less spasticity as well as reduction in — and even reversal of — muscle atrophy. In addition, the psychological benefits of exercise are extremely important in managing these disorders. Exercise machines, aquatic exercises, and walking are particularly useful.
Pregnancy
Healthy women with normal pregnancies should exercise at least three times a week, being careful to warm up, cool down, and drink plenty of liquids. Many prenatal calisthenics programs are available. Experts advise, in general, that when exercising, the expectant mother’s pulse rate should not exceed 70% to 75% of the maximum heart rate or more than 150 beats per minute. Fit women who have exercised regularly before pregnancy, however, may work out more intensively as long as no discomfort occurs.
According to a new study, vigorous exercise may improve the chances for a timely delivery. Overly strenuous exercise during pregnancy is not advocated, however, for women who did not exercise intensely before becoming pregnant. And all pregnant women should avoid high-impact, jerky, and jarring exercises, such as aerobic dancing, which can weaken the pelvic floor muscles that support the uterus. During exercise, women should monitor their temperature to avoid overheating — a side effect that can damage the fetus. (No pregnant women should use hot tubs or steam baths, which can cause fetal damage and miscarriage.)
Swimming may be the best option for most pregnant women. It involves no impact, overheating is unlikely, and swimming face down promotes optimum blood flow to the uterus. Walking is also highly beneficial. To strengthen pelvic muscles, women should perform Kegel exercises at least 6 times a day, which involve contracting the muscles around the vagina and urethra for 3 seconds 12 to 15 times in a row.
Gastrointestinal Problems
Older people who exercise moderately may have a lower risk for severe gastrointestinal bleeding. Experts suggest that moderate exercise might even reduce the risk for some intestinal disorders, including ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, and diverticulosis.
Leg Cramps
Exercise can even improve pain from clogged arteries in the legs, a condition called intermittent claudication. The best approach in such cases is to walk until pain develops; then rest until pain resolves before resuming walking. In six-month studies, people had tripled the amount of time they could walk before the onset of pain.
Weight Loss
Exercise burns calories and can help individuals fight obesity. If caloric intake remains constant, regular workouts lead to weight loss. Be forewarned, however, that the pounds won’t melt off magically. It takes 35 miles of walking or jogging to consume the calories in one pound of fat. Effective weight loss means a long-term commitment to a regular program of vigorous exercise. One recent study indicated that for obese patients, a few daily sessions for as short as 10 minutes each was effective in helping the patients adhere to an exercise program. Abdominal crunches may help replace abdominal fat with muscle. To perform this exercise, the individual lies on the back with the head and shoulders raised; he or she contracts the stomach muscles, curling the torso slightly forward. Abdominal fat is a particular danger to the heart, although it is unknown whether doing crunches will specifically protect against heart disease. Swimming is less effective than walking or cycling in reducing body fat, but overall regular aerobic exercise is a good way to shed pounds. Contrary to popular belief, exercise does not increase appetite in people who want to lose weight; oddly enough, however, exercise improves appetite in people who are already lean.
People should be warned that without dieting, weight loss may be minimal with exercise alone, because dense muscle mass replaces fat as the body gets more fit. Nonetheless, a fit body will look more toned and be healthier.
Psychological and Emotional Benefits
Aerobic exercise is linked with improved mental vigor, including reaction time, acuity, and math skills. Exercising may even enhance creativity and imagination. According to one study, older people who are physically fit respond to mental challenges just as quickly as unfit young adults. (Stretching and weight training appear to have no such effects.) Both aerobic and nonaerobic workouts have been shown to reduce depression. According to one study, exercise was as effective for improving mood in people with clinical depression as some common forms of psychotherapy. Either brief periods of intense training or prolonged aerobic workouts can raise levels of important chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine, that produce feelings of pleasure, causing the so-called runner’s high. One study found that teenagers who were active in sports have a much better sense of well being than their sedentary peers; the more vigorously they exercised, the better was their emotional health. In one study, regular brisk walking cut in half the incidence of sleep disturbances in people who suffer from them. It should be noted that exercise in the evening, however, can cause sleep disturbances. Rhythmic aerobic and yoga exercises may be particularly helpful for combating stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
UTTHAN PADA ASANA
Yoga utthan pada asanaIn Utthan Pada Asana, both the legs are lifted upwards. This asana gives excessive strain to the spine. In case of any spinal injury this asana can be practiced by lifting one leg at a time.
How to do :
1. Lie on the floor with your body straight. Heels should be together. Look towards the ceiling.
2. Slowly inhale and take in as much as air you can.
3. Holding your breathe lift both the legs up about 10 inches high from the floor. Legs should be held together straight and toes stretch forward. Retain for about 5 seconds.
4. Exhale slowly and begin lowering the legs simultaneously. Complete exhaling by the time your legs are brought back to the floor.
Restrictions :
Start with three rounds on the first day. Relax for about 5 seconds after each round. Do not practice more than four rounds a day.
People who have had spinal injury can do the asana by lifting each leg alternatively. Do two rounds with each leg.
Benefits :
Strengthens the spinal code and corrects disorders of the back. Reduces paunch and removes constipation, indigestion and gas trouble.
What Is Reiki?
Reiki practitioners channel energy in a particular pattern to heal and harmonize. Unlike other healing therapies based on the premise of a human energy field, Reiki seeks to restore order to the body whose vital energy has become unbalanced.
Reiki energy has several basic effects: it brings about deep relaxation, destroys energy blockages, detoxifies the system, provides new vitality in the form of healing universal life energy, and increases the vibrational frequency of the body.
The laying of hands is used in Reiki therapy also as in spiritual healing. There is a difference though. In spiritual healing, a person with a strong energy field places his or her hands above a particular part of the recipient’s body in order to release energy into it. So, here the healer is the one who is sending out the energy. In Reiki, however, the healer places the hands above the recipient; however, it is the recipient that draws the energy as needed. Thus, in this case, the individual being healed takes an active part in the healing process as opposed to having a passive part in spiritual healing. The individual takes responsibility for his or her healing. The recipient identifies the needs and cater to them by drawing energy as needed.
Although there are a few positions in which the practitioner is in contact with the patient (such as cradling the head), most Reiki treatments do not involve actual touching. The practitioner holds his or her hands a few inches or farther away from the patient’s body and manipulates the energy field from there
Reiki energy has several basic effects: it brings about deep relaxation, destroys energy blockages, detoxifies the system, provides new vitality in the form of healing universal life energy, and increases the vibrational frequency of the body.
The laying of hands is used in Reiki therapy also as in spiritual healing. There is a difference though. In spiritual healing, a person with a strong energy field places his or her hands above a particular part of the recipient’s body in order to release energy into it. So, here the healer is the one who is sending out the energy. In Reiki, however, the healer places the hands above the recipient; however, it is the recipient that draws the energy as needed. Thus, in this case, the individual being healed takes an active part in the healing process as opposed to having a passive part in spiritual healing. The individual takes responsibility for his or her healing. The recipient identifies the needs and cater to them by drawing energy as needed.
Although there are a few positions in which the practitioner is in contact with the patient (such as cradling the head), most Reiki treatments do not involve actual touching. The practitioner holds his or her hands a few inches or farther away from the patient’s body and manipulates the energy field from there
Depression and Women
Depression does not Cure by Itself! Attend To It
Depression in women occurs twice as often than in men and can appear at any stage of life. Women from all socio-economic, racial, and educational backgrounds may be affected. As researchers gather more data concerning women and depression and come to better understand its role in their lives, the root causes seems to be an interplay of genetic factors, hormonal fluctuations, and life events.
What are the Symptoms of Depression?
Women who are experiencing depression don’t just feel sad, they feel miserable. Most report extreme fatigue and a total absence of energy. The smallest tasks seem impossibly daunting. Anxiety attacks are common with depression and women as is reclusive, anti-social behavior.
Women in depression have trouble concentrating and feel they are failures and a burden to others. These feelings in turn lead to a sense of guilt and an inability to see a future. The depressed person may exhibit anger or irritability, often expressing a sense that life is unfair and passing them by. Insomnia is a common symptom and physical aches and pains for no apparent reason are also common.
What are some of the Causes and Risk Factors for Depression in Women?
Certain events in a woman’s life put her at special risk for depression including puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, substance abuse, relationship disruptions, and trauma. The presence of depression puts these women at further risk for suicide and death from illnesses caused by poor self-care and reduced attention to medical regimens.
Recent research indicates that major depressive episodes cluster in families. If you have a parent or sibling who has battled the disorder, you too are at increased risk. With the onset of puberty, the normal monthly cycle, pregnancy, and menopause a women experiences hormonal surges and disruptions that effect neuromodulators like serotonin. Depression and anxiety can result.
More than 80 percent of documented cases of depression in women are preceded by some adverse event ranging from childhood sexual abuse to spousal abuse. Early trauma, which is often suppressed for long periods of time, can actually have a more pronounced depressive effect than more recent events.
Statistics of depression in women have also revealed that women are more prone to ruminative thinking, a mental pattern which repetitively and passively focuses on symptoms, causes, and consequences. With relationships more central to a woman’s sense of self than a male’s, the combination of this emphasis and the ruminative thought pattern often leads to extended periods of depression focused on interpersonal relationships.
Don’t Antidepressants have Side Effects?
Approximately 30 to 35 percent of individuals who take antidepressants are not helped by the medications. Although the drug companies assert that SSRIs like Prozac are not addictive, anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. Many women report significant weight gain while taking SSRIs and Prozac has been found to actually cause suicidal behavior in some individuals.
You should never take an SSRI without fully understanding its range of potential side effects and potential interactions. If you are taking an SSRI do not go “cold turkey” off the drug. Gradually discontinue the use of the medication under the supervision of a doctor to avoid withdrawal symptoms, a sudden onset of depression, and even nerve damage. (There are also numerous natural and alternative remedies for depression that do not carry the same risk factors and side effects.)
Depression in women occurs twice as often than in men and can appear at any stage of life. Women from all socio-economic, racial, and educational backgrounds may be affected. As researchers gather more data concerning women and depression and come to better understand its role in their lives, the root causes seems to be an interplay of genetic factors, hormonal fluctuations, and life events.
What are the Symptoms of Depression?
Women who are experiencing depression don’t just feel sad, they feel miserable. Most report extreme fatigue and a total absence of energy. The smallest tasks seem impossibly daunting. Anxiety attacks are common with depression and women as is reclusive, anti-social behavior.
Women in depression have trouble concentrating and feel they are failures and a burden to others. These feelings in turn lead to a sense of guilt and an inability to see a future. The depressed person may exhibit anger or irritability, often expressing a sense that life is unfair and passing them by. Insomnia is a common symptom and physical aches and pains for no apparent reason are also common.
What are some of the Causes and Risk Factors for Depression in Women?
Certain events in a woman’s life put her at special risk for depression including puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, substance abuse, relationship disruptions, and trauma. The presence of depression puts these women at further risk for suicide and death from illnesses caused by poor self-care and reduced attention to medical regimens.
Recent research indicates that major depressive episodes cluster in families. If you have a parent or sibling who has battled the disorder, you too are at increased risk. With the onset of puberty, the normal monthly cycle, pregnancy, and menopause a women experiences hormonal surges and disruptions that effect neuromodulators like serotonin. Depression and anxiety can result.
More than 80 percent of documented cases of depression in women are preceded by some adverse event ranging from childhood sexual abuse to spousal abuse. Early trauma, which is often suppressed for long periods of time, can actually have a more pronounced depressive effect than more recent events.
Statistics of depression in women have also revealed that women are more prone to ruminative thinking, a mental pattern which repetitively and passively focuses on symptoms, causes, and consequences. With relationships more central to a woman’s sense of self than a male’s, the combination of this emphasis and the ruminative thought pattern often leads to extended periods of depression focused on interpersonal relationships.
Don’t Antidepressants have Side Effects?
Approximately 30 to 35 percent of individuals who take antidepressants are not helped by the medications. Although the drug companies assert that SSRIs like Prozac are not addictive, anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise. Many women report significant weight gain while taking SSRIs and Prozac has been found to actually cause suicidal behavior in some individuals.
You should never take an SSRI without fully understanding its range of potential side effects and potential interactions. If you are taking an SSRI do not go “cold turkey” off the drug. Gradually discontinue the use of the medication under the supervision of a doctor to avoid withdrawal symptoms, a sudden onset of depression, and even nerve damage. (There are also numerous natural and alternative remedies for depression that do not carry the same risk factors and side effects.)
Teen girls exercise healthy eating
Waking up early to get breakfast is hard enough, especially one without bright packaging screaming with sugar.
“Think fruits or bagels,” said 15-year-old Shayla Foster, who said she avoids sugary cereals and Pop-Tarts.
Shayla used to avoid breakfast entirely, so simply eating breakfast was a goal she developed at BodyWorks, a federally funded program trying to help preteen and teenage girls and their families create healthier lifestyles.
Dr. Monica Richter, a pediatrician at Valley Children’s Clinic in Renton and a BodyWorks trainer, just finished leading her first 10-week session. Although already in a position to caution young adults about the dangers of obesity, Richter said that a program such as BodyWorks is necessary to catalyze a healthy lifestyle change.
Dr. Wanda Jones, the deputy assistant secretary for the federal Office on Women’s Health, said the office — part of the Department of Health and Human Services — started working on the program about six years ago, before “the obesity epidemic had grabbed the headlines.” Still in its pilot phase, it has been under way less than a year.
“Parents need to be role models for eating habits and exercise,” Richter said, noting that high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes are riding the coattails of obesity.
According to the Office on Women’s Health, many girls skip breakfast, have non-nutritious lunches and do not eat dinner with their families. The office, which routinely funds health-related programs, is formatting a class for boys that will debut before the end of the year.
Richter wants to reach girls before they fall into the overweight category.
Several of the free, once-a-week sessions are designed for parents only, while others include daughters. Each class has a different focus but leaves time for members to share their goals and tips about healthy living.
“My goal was that we would learn to eat better as a family,” said Lorraine Koepsell, a mother and a nurse at Valley Children’s Clinic Pediatrics who is a trainer and went through the class with her daughter. “I’m not saying that we don’t go to fast food once in a while, but now we have kids go to the grocery store with us. If they’re included in the planning, they’re more likely to eat it.”
Each BodyWorks participant receives a kit containing a video on healthy shopping and cooking strategies, a recipe book, food and fitness journals and a weekly meal planner, among other healthy planning goodies. Information is included about serving size: for vegetables it’s a half-cup. Trivia about nutrition (How much sugar is in a can of cola? Nine teaspoons) peppers the reading pamphlets.
“We initially produced almost 2,000 of these tool kits, and they are virtually all gone in less than a year’s time,” Jones said.
“I like the program because it focuses on living healthier, which focuses on eating healthier and being active,” said Alethia Rodriguez, a weight management consultant at Healthy Habits Healthy You. “It’s not for someone ‘overweight or obese.’ ”
A new trainer who plans to teach a BodyWorks class on Mercer Island, she channeled her newfound knowledge about healthy eating into helping others eat more nutritious food and exercise regularly.
Each BodyWorks program includes about nine people.
“In a group program you feed off of a lot of ideas,” Rodriguez said. “For the parents to hear how other busy and single parents are doing it, it gives them a level of support and encouragement.”
Dr. Donna Johnson, associate director of the University of Washington’s Center for Public Health Nutrition and a registered dietitian, commended the program for encouraging journaling and a positive group environment, but she doubts that BodyWorks is committed to helping parents find time to create healthier lifestyles.
“Pretty much every parent in America is feeling stressed,” she said. “It’s not that they don’t want to provide these wonderful foods and recipes. When you get caught up being a parent, sometimes you resort to unhealthy choices.”
About 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese and 9 million are severely obese, according to 2000 data from the American Obesity Association.
“We’ve got such a rapid increase in childhood obesity, if we add that to the traditional weight gain that we gain in our 40s, 50s and 60s, 75 percent of us will have diabetes,” Johnson said.
Compared with other Western societies, the U.S. is gaining weight faster, Johnson said.
“Everybody is going up, but places like Denmark where people don’t drive their cars (as often), their slope is much less steep than ours,” she said.
BodyWorks participants examine how their appetites correspond with their moods. The program helped Shayla’s mother, Corrine Foster, replace her soda addiction with water.
“We did some role-playing with why are we eating,” Foster said. “Are we stressed eaters or upset eaters? You learn more about yourself.”
The mother and daughter team have started to use BodyWorks tactics.
“We started a family planning chart so we could plan our meals and activities so the family would not be just sedentary in front of the TV,” Corrine said, referring to the family walks and Frisbee games they enjoy.
The duo also learned how to belly dance, played the video game “Dance Dance Revolution” and practiced Scottish dancing during intermissions of the weekly 90-minute sessions, a time in which group members demonstrated ways they could all exercise together.
“I really push with kids that they should start living and eating healthier, because one, it will help them make those choices early on, and two, it will be easier later on,” Rodriguez said.
“Think fruits or bagels,” said 15-year-old Shayla Foster, who said she avoids sugary cereals and Pop-Tarts.
Shayla used to avoid breakfast entirely, so simply eating breakfast was a goal she developed at BodyWorks, a federally funded program trying to help preteen and teenage girls and their families create healthier lifestyles.
Dr. Monica Richter, a pediatrician at Valley Children’s Clinic in Renton and a BodyWorks trainer, just finished leading her first 10-week session. Although already in a position to caution young adults about the dangers of obesity, Richter said that a program such as BodyWorks is necessary to catalyze a healthy lifestyle change.
Dr. Wanda Jones, the deputy assistant secretary for the federal Office on Women’s Health, said the office — part of the Department of Health and Human Services — started working on the program about six years ago, before “the obesity epidemic had grabbed the headlines.” Still in its pilot phase, it has been under way less than a year.
“Parents need to be role models for eating habits and exercise,” Richter said, noting that high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes are riding the coattails of obesity.
According to the Office on Women’s Health, many girls skip breakfast, have non-nutritious lunches and do not eat dinner with their families. The office, which routinely funds health-related programs, is formatting a class for boys that will debut before the end of the year.
Richter wants to reach girls before they fall into the overweight category.
Several of the free, once-a-week sessions are designed for parents only, while others include daughters. Each class has a different focus but leaves time for members to share their goals and tips about healthy living.
“My goal was that we would learn to eat better as a family,” said Lorraine Koepsell, a mother and a nurse at Valley Children’s Clinic Pediatrics who is a trainer and went through the class with her daughter. “I’m not saying that we don’t go to fast food once in a while, but now we have kids go to the grocery store with us. If they’re included in the planning, they’re more likely to eat it.”
Each BodyWorks participant receives a kit containing a video on healthy shopping and cooking strategies, a recipe book, food and fitness journals and a weekly meal planner, among other healthy planning goodies. Information is included about serving size: for vegetables it’s a half-cup. Trivia about nutrition (How much sugar is in a can of cola? Nine teaspoons) peppers the reading pamphlets.
“We initially produced almost 2,000 of these tool kits, and they are virtually all gone in less than a year’s time,” Jones said.
“I like the program because it focuses on living healthier, which focuses on eating healthier and being active,” said Alethia Rodriguez, a weight management consultant at Healthy Habits Healthy You. “It’s not for someone ‘overweight or obese.’ ”
A new trainer who plans to teach a BodyWorks class on Mercer Island, she channeled her newfound knowledge about healthy eating into helping others eat more nutritious food and exercise regularly.
Each BodyWorks program includes about nine people.
“In a group program you feed off of a lot of ideas,” Rodriguez said. “For the parents to hear how other busy and single parents are doing it, it gives them a level of support and encouragement.”
Dr. Donna Johnson, associate director of the University of Washington’s Center for Public Health Nutrition and a registered dietitian, commended the program for encouraging journaling and a positive group environment, but she doubts that BodyWorks is committed to helping parents find time to create healthier lifestyles.
“Pretty much every parent in America is feeling stressed,” she said. “It’s not that they don’t want to provide these wonderful foods and recipes. When you get caught up being a parent, sometimes you resort to unhealthy choices.”
About 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese and 9 million are severely obese, according to 2000 data from the American Obesity Association.
“We’ve got such a rapid increase in childhood obesity, if we add that to the traditional weight gain that we gain in our 40s, 50s and 60s, 75 percent of us will have diabetes,” Johnson said.
Compared with other Western societies, the U.S. is gaining weight faster, Johnson said.
“Everybody is going up, but places like Denmark where people don’t drive their cars (as often), their slope is much less steep than ours,” she said.
BodyWorks participants examine how their appetites correspond with their moods. The program helped Shayla’s mother, Corrine Foster, replace her soda addiction with water.
“We did some role-playing with why are we eating,” Foster said. “Are we stressed eaters or upset eaters? You learn more about yourself.”
The mother and daughter team have started to use BodyWorks tactics.
“We started a family planning chart so we could plan our meals and activities so the family would not be just sedentary in front of the TV,” Corrine said, referring to the family walks and Frisbee games they enjoy.
The duo also learned how to belly dance, played the video game “Dance Dance Revolution” and practiced Scottish dancing during intermissions of the weekly 90-minute sessions, a time in which group members demonstrated ways they could all exercise together.
“I really push with kids that they should start living and eating healthier, because one, it will help them make those choices early on, and two, it will be easier later on,” Rodriguez said.
Sleeplessness
10 Killer Tips To Overcome Sleeplessness Without Addictive Drugs
by Bill Urell
We have all suffered from bouts of sleeplessness at one time in our lives but for many people, sleeplessness has become the norm more than the exception. Sleeplessness causes unnecessary exhaustion and has some serious implications to our health that are hard to ignore.
If you’ve been trying to overcome sleeplessness and haven’t had much success, don’t give up yet. Other than forcing the little sheep to jump over the fence and popping that sleeping pill into your mouth, there are other ways you can use to overcome sleeplessness and take a trip to dreamland.
Just follow these simple steps:
1. Regularize your sleeping habit. Your body is more prone to following a certain pattern if you set a regular rhythm. Try to establish a certain time for sleep and then go to bed on the same time each night. Set your alarm on the same time everyday, too, regardless of whether its a weekday, a weekend or a holiday. Once your body recognizes a given pattern, it will follow your initiative and give in. .
2. Avoid alcohol before bedtime. Its best to develop a sleeping habit without resorting to outside triggers. Let sleep come from within and not as a result alcohol or pills. The increase in the number of people becoming addicted to sleeping pills is alarming. They are very addictive.
3. Keep away from stimulants. Coffee is great for breakfast but its a bad idea to drink a cup a few hours before you go to sleep. Coffee and other stimulants like tea, nicotine or chocolates can keep your body feeling active and wide awake, so best to take them early in the day and avoid taking them before bedtime. Take warm milk instead.
4. Exercise early. If you’re getting regular exercise, its best to do it in the morning or at lunch time, not just before going to bed. Exercise helps stimulate the body, keeping you feeling refreshed and active long into the night. If you must perform a few exercises, keep to breathing and stretching routines that are slow and rhythmic.
5. Don’t force it. Thinking about sleep will only make you lose sleep. If you’re having trouble with sleeplessness one night, don’t try to push yourself into falling asleep because you’ll only end up upset and anxious. If your mind refuses to rest, get up and do some light chores, read a boring novel or practice light tai-chi. Avoid stimulating yourself too much and perform the activity until you feel tired and sleepy.
6. Keep daytime snoozing to a minimum. Studies have shown that 15 minutes of light naps are as restful as one-hour naps. If you must rest during the day, try to keep sleeping time short and don’t do it just a few hours before your actual bedtime. When your body has had enough rest, it is energized enough to go on for longer hours, sometimes for the rest of the night, depriving you of much-needed regular sleep.
7. Keep your bedroom as a place for sleeping. Try to minimize putting in stuff that relates to work or other activities in your bedroom. Keep your files, documents, sports equipment and other work/play implements in places other than your bedroom so that you’ll learn to recognize it as a place to rest and sleep, not a place to work in to finish that yearly report, send e-mails, correct presentations or fix the racket.
8. Keep distractions away from the bedroom. Try to keep your bedroom nice and quiet. Block out the noise by using thick curtains or carpeting. You could buy earplugs or an electronic device that produces white noise or other pleasant sounds that block away the sounds of traffic, outside music or voices. Keep lights from disturbing your sleep by keeping curtains, blinds or shutters closed.
9. Keep your bedroom clean and your bed comfortable. Nothing spells utter sleeplessness better than a cluttered, dirty bedroom. Keep it tidy and well-ventilated, making it conducive to good nights sleep. If you cant sleep without extra pillows, it cant hurt to have three or four in bed with you. If you have a preferred mattress firmness, then by all means buy the one that helps you sleep better. You can only overcome sleeplessness if you’re comfortable in bed.
10. Induce sleep through relaxation techniques. This is the same method that hypnotists and meditation specialists use. Use self-hypnosis or progressive muscular relaxation techniques. You can either do this while in bed or sitting on a chair in your bedroom. When your mind is relaxed and peaceful, its much easier for your body to give in and fall asleep.
Though not all these methods work for every one, we hope you have picked one out that will work for you. Please, for your own health, avoid addictive sleeping medications.
Good Foot Massage
Give your feet a break with a good foot massage. You can do it with a partner or try the massage on your own.
* Wash the feet thoroughly and adopt a comfortable position that allows you to reach all parts of your foot.
* Anoint the feet with a skin lotion for lubrication when carrying out the massage.
* Massage the area between your toes using your fingers and your thumb. Wiggle and wriggle the toes and pull each one gently. Then move to the four metatarsal bones that run along the top and middle of the foot. Moving from the base of your toes to just above your ankle, slowly massage one area at a time.
* The soles. When you are working on yourself, this is easiest with your foot propped on the opposite knee, with a towel underneath to protect your clothing from cream. Using your thumbs, make small, circular motions that cover the entire surface of the bottom of your foot, moving from the base of your toes toward your heel. Keep the pressure of the circles steady and even. Use a bit more firmness on your heels as the skin there is tougher.
* Still working the sole, use your pointer and middle fingers to make crosswise movements, back and forth, from the heel to the ball of your foot.
* Taking a firm hold of the foot, raising it, and massaging the back of the calf with the free hand is effective in relieving muscle stress in that leg.
* With one hand holding the heel and the other enfolding the toes, rotate the foot, without causing pain, to gain an overall sense of relaxation, ease and well-being.
After the massage, wipe the soles of your feet with a towel to prevent your feet from being slippery. Slip into some wonderful heavy cotton socks or favorite (clean) slippers.
* Wash the feet thoroughly and adopt a comfortable position that allows you to reach all parts of your foot.
* Anoint the feet with a skin lotion for lubrication when carrying out the massage.
* Massage the area between your toes using your fingers and your thumb. Wiggle and wriggle the toes and pull each one gently. Then move to the four metatarsal bones that run along the top and middle of the foot. Moving from the base of your toes to just above your ankle, slowly massage one area at a time.
* The soles. When you are working on yourself, this is easiest with your foot propped on the opposite knee, with a towel underneath to protect your clothing from cream. Using your thumbs, make small, circular motions that cover the entire surface of the bottom of your foot, moving from the base of your toes toward your heel. Keep the pressure of the circles steady and even. Use a bit more firmness on your heels as the skin there is tougher.
* Still working the sole, use your pointer and middle fingers to make crosswise movements, back and forth, from the heel to the ball of your foot.
* Taking a firm hold of the foot, raising it, and massaging the back of the calf with the free hand is effective in relieving muscle stress in that leg.
* With one hand holding the heel and the other enfolding the toes, rotate the foot, without causing pain, to gain an overall sense of relaxation, ease and well-being.
After the massage, wipe the soles of your feet with a towel to prevent your feet from being slippery. Slip into some wonderful heavy cotton socks or favorite (clean) slippers.
Top 10 health tips
1. Shake your Body!
Every day find new ways to move your body. Use the stairs rather than an escalator or elevator. Walk your dog (or a neighbours’ dog if you don’t have one!) , chase your kids, play ball with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it’s a stress buster. Think ‘move’ in small increments of time. It doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute cardiovascular class or body pump or kickboxing. Move more and feel better!
2. Cut the Fat
Don’t eat the obvious fat in your diet such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats. Eat dairy products like cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts and even then in their low fat verions. Most are available in lower fat versions.
3. Reduce Stress
Stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e., go back to number one above!, exercise is a great stress reducer, Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible.
4. Stop Smoking
All the experts agree on this one. Ever since 1960 when it was announced that smoking was harmful to your health, people have been reducing their use of tobacco products. Just recently, we’ve seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Warn your children of the false romance or ‘tough guy’ image of smokers. Find ways to quit smoking hypnosis, support groups and even prescription medicine such as Zyban is available to help you..
5. Reduce your exposure to Pollution
Not everyone can live in a smog-free environment, but we can all avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning where air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It’s a good pollution deterrent. If you ride a bicycle in traffic, where a small pollution mask over your mouth and nose.
6. Clunk Click every Trip
Statistics show that the wearing of seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes.
7. Don’t Drink too Much Alcohol
Whilst it is true that a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more alcohol than that, or binge drinking on a night out, can cause other serious health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer.
8. Floss Your Teeth
Harvard Medical School studied longevity and found one of the most important contributing factors was daily flossing! Flossing and brushing your teeth daily can make your Real Age as much as 6.4 years younger. These studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it’s because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don’t?
9. Maintain a Positive Mental Outlook
There’s a definitive connection between living well and healthily and having a cheerful outlook on life. Yes, keep on smiling and laughing!
10. Pick Your Parents Well !
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. You can’t pick your parents, but just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn’t mean you can’t counteract the genetic pool handed you. So follow the first 9 tips above.
Every day find new ways to move your body. Use the stairs rather than an escalator or elevator. Walk your dog (or a neighbours’ dog if you don’t have one!) , chase your kids, play ball with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it’s a stress buster. Think ‘move’ in small increments of time. It doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute cardiovascular class or body pump or kickboxing. Move more and feel better!
2. Cut the Fat
Don’t eat the obvious fat in your diet such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats. Eat dairy products like cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts and even then in their low fat verions. Most are available in lower fat versions.
3. Reduce Stress
Stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e., go back to number one above!, exercise is a great stress reducer, Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible.
4. Stop Smoking
All the experts agree on this one. Ever since 1960 when it was announced that smoking was harmful to your health, people have been reducing their use of tobacco products. Just recently, we’ve seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Warn your children of the false romance or ‘tough guy’ image of smokers. Find ways to quit smoking hypnosis, support groups and even prescription medicine such as Zyban is available to help you..
5. Reduce your exposure to Pollution
Not everyone can live in a smog-free environment, but we can all avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning where air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It’s a good pollution deterrent. If you ride a bicycle in traffic, where a small pollution mask over your mouth and nose.
6. Clunk Click every Trip
Statistics show that the wearing of seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes.
7. Don’t Drink too Much Alcohol
Whilst it is true that a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more alcohol than that, or binge drinking on a night out, can cause other serious health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer.
8. Floss Your Teeth
Harvard Medical School studied longevity and found one of the most important contributing factors was daily flossing! Flossing and brushing your teeth daily can make your Real Age as much as 6.4 years younger. These studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it’s because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don’t?
9. Maintain a Positive Mental Outlook
There’s a definitive connection between living well and healthily and having a cheerful outlook on life. Yes, keep on smiling and laughing!
10. Pick Your Parents Well !
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. You can’t pick your parents, but just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn’t mean you can’t counteract the genetic pool handed you. So follow the first 9 tips above.
Sneaky ways to slim down
neaky ways to slim down
All you need is a minute to start shedding pounds! Here are dozens of successful strategies to cut calories and burn more fat that take 60 seconds or less. With about 1,000 waking minutes in every day, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to slip these tips into your routine — and watch the scale go down. If you’ve already begun losing weight, these can maximize your efforts and speed results!
1. Mix a juice spritzer
Combine your favorite juice (half of your usual amount) with plain or sparkling water. You can cut up to 85 calories per glass — and lose 5 pounds or more a advertisement year.
2. Pick up the cordless
Burn calories while you talk: Do the laundry (68 calories), set the table (85 calories) or water plants (102 calories). (Values based on a 150-pound person and half an hour of activity.)
3. Pop a piece of gum
Researchers recently discovered that chewing sugar-free gum all day increases your metabolic rate by about 20%. That could burn off more than 10 pounds a year.
4. Pay cash for treats
Anytime someone offers you goodies and you accept, put $1.00 aside. Then give the money to your kids. When you literally pay for treats, you’re more likely to say, “No thanks.”
5. Study the wrapper
At a quick glance, that candy bar appears to contain 220 calories. But a closer look may reveal that it (or a bottle of juice, bag of crackers or bag of nuts) provides two or more servings — which more than doubles those calories.
6. Sip green tea before you walk
The caffeine frees fatty acids so that you burn fat more easily. And the polyphenols (antioxidant compounds) in green tea appear to work with caffeine to increase calorie burn. (If you have high blood pressure, skip this tip.)
7. Ditch diet shakes
The calorie savings are only temporary; you just eat more later.
8. Pack a lunch
Dining out more than five times a week may make you eat nearly 300 calories more a day than if you dine out less frequently.
9. Dip your bread
Use olive oil in place of butter; it’s healthier and may also help you eat less. In a recent study, dippers ate a total of 52 fewer calories on average than those who used butter.
10. Sprinkle flax on your cereal
High-fiber, ground flaxseed can help curb your appetite and eliminate calories. Add it to yogurt or muffin and bread mixes. Available in health food stores.
11. Dress with this
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp horseradish
Mix together. It makes for a tasty salad dressing with only 20 calories and 1.5 grams of fat.
12. Schedule a blood test
About 1 in every 12 women (most of whom don’t know it) has an under- active thyroid, which can slow down her metabolism.
13. Supersize your H2O
Buy the big bottle when it comes to good-for-you stuff such as water.
14. Trick your tastebuds
Sucking on a menthol/eucalyptus cough drop can stop cravings instantly.
15. Spice up your meals
Adding hot chile pepper (or capsaicin) to food may help you stop eating sooner.
16. Pour a white cocktail
Like water, low-fat milk’s volume fills your stomach, but it also contains carbohydrates, so you eat less.
17. Chunk your salad
Chop carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, zucchini or other veggies instead of shredding or slicing. It takes more effort to munch bigger pieces, so you’ll do more chewing and eat less during the main course.
18. Call a friend
Fill loneliness with talk — not cookies.
19. Log your food
Writing down what you eat can help you stay in control because you’re more accountable. No need to record it perfectly or review what you wrote: The benefit is in the writing itself.
20. Fidget
You can burn up to 700 calories a day!
21. Retire the remotes
You could easily burn 200 extra calories a day if you stop using the TV/VCR remote, garage door opener, electric can opener, riding mower and other laborsaving devices.
22. Spray — don’t drizzle
Use an olive oil sprayer such as MISTO to add flavor to salads, chicken, fish, or pasta, without all the calories. A 2-second spray evenly distributes about 1/2 teaspoon of oil, compared to the 2 or 3 teaspoons you might get when pouring. That’ll save you up to 100 calories per use.
23. Buy small
The bigger the package, the more you’re likely to eat — up to 44% more, according to one study.
24. Break into a jog
If you already jog, speed up to a sprint. These brief intervals allow you to cover more distance and burn more calories — without lengthening your workout. The increased impact will also help make your bones stronger.
25. Measure before cooking
It’s easy to overeat pasta, but not if you cook the right amount at the start. For a perfect portion, keep a quarter near your spaghetti. Its diameter is exactly the size of the 2-ounce stack (about 200 calories) that you should serve per person. Or buy a dry-pasta measurer sold in gourmet cooking stores.
26. Rent a spooky movie
You’re less likely to eat when you’re fearful, but more likely when you’re angry or happy.
27. Reflect on your choices
Looking at yourself in a mirror while you eat may help you consume 22 to 32% less.
28. Drop and do 10
Before you pry open that tub of ice cream, do 10 situps or pushups. Doing something physical can put you back in touch with your body and your goals.
29. Take a whiff
When you really want those fresh-baked cookies, try this: Indulge in the smell for 30 seconds. Then place a small piece on the tip of your tongue for another 30 seconds. Savoring the smell and taste can help you stop at just one cookie.
30. Have chunky soup
People who ate soup containing large vegetable pieces reported feeling fuller and ate 20% less during lunch than those who had a pureed soup made of the same ingredients.
31. Blot the fat
You can dab off about a teaspoon of oil — or 40 calories and 4.5 grams of fat — from two slices of pizza.
32. Skip “light” foods
The weight of food — not just the fat and calories — is what fills you up. Eat less and still feel satisfied with low-calorie heavyweights such as oranges, strawberries, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cooked spinach, collard greens, and broccoli.
33. Order fish
Varieties rich in omega-3 fatty acids– tuna, mackerel, cod, and salmon — may help you drop pounds by improving fat metabolism. Overweight people who ate a reduced-calorie diet that included fish every day lost about 20% more weight than those on a fish-free diet.
34. Post inspiration
To keep yourself on track, place quotes in strategic spots where you might need some motivation: on the fridge, TV, dashboard, or computer. Some suggestions: “You’ve come too far to take orders from a cookie.” “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.”
35. Drink, drink, drink
Dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3%. At a weight of 150 pounds, that would be about 45 fewer calories burned a day — which could mean 5 extra pounds a year.
10 Essential Health Tips
Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it’s a stress buster. Think ‘move’ in small increments of time. It doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that’s great when you’re up to it. Meanwhile, move more.
2. Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine….
3. Quit Smoking
The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we’ve seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or ‘tough guy’ stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one.
4 . Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.
5 . Protect Yourself from Pollution
If you can’t live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It’s a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: ‘Smoke gets in your eyes’…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily.
6. Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.
7. Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it’s because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don’t? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body’s boss.
8. Avoid Excessive Drinking
While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.
9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There’s a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can’t be unhappy when you’re smiling or singing.
10. Choose Your Parents Well
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn’t mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.
10 Ways to Make Staying Healthy Easier
10 Ways to Make Staying Healthy Easier
In our busy lives, the quest to stay healthy can all too easily fall to the bottom of the to-do list. To help, we’ve compiled 10 simple tips experts say can make getting and staying in good health easier to achieve.
1. Believe you can be healthy
While this tip may sound deceptively simple, studies have found that doing so can pay off in a longer, healthier life, says Karen DeSalvo, MD, professor and chief of general internal medicine at Tulane University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. While researchers don’t completely understand why, DeSalvo speculates that those who believe they can be healthy are more likely to take the steps necessary to make it happen — and less likely to leave their health up to chance or fate.
2. Manage your medications
Do you take more than one medication on a daily basis? If so, an old-fashioned pillbox with compartments separated by day and time is still the best way to make sure you’re taking your medicines as directed, says Deborah Sturpe, PharmD, assistant professor at University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore. “It’s impossible to line up 10 bottles on your dresser and remember what you’ve taken and when,” she says. With a pillbox, you’ll know if you’ve taken your medications at a glance.
3. Speak the same language
If your doctor speaks in medical jargon you don’t comprehend, don’t hesitate to ask for clarification, says David Baker, MD, chief of general internal medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Studies show patients who understand their ailment and their treatment plan not only do better, they’re also more satisfied with their care. If your doctor won’t translate, consider switching to another provider who will.
4. Keep a health journal
While many patients believe their doctor will remind them when it is time for an important test or exam, the reality is that most doctors don’t have the time to extensively track each patient, says DeSalvo. You can help by buying a notebook to record the results from tests and exams you’ve had — and note those you still need. Charts listing what tests you should have depending on your age are available on the Internet and in medical reference books. Your health journal is also a handy place to keep track of your symptoms between doctors’ appointments, as well as to list the names and contact numbers of all your health care professionals, she says.
5. Take advantage of automation
Thanks to new technologies, patients can get medication refill reminders by email, order prescriptions on their pharmacy’s website or by phone, or have them sent automatically by mail. Such tools help prevent lapses in doses caused by forgetting to refill a prescription on time, says Sturpe. “Each pharmacy offers different services,” she says. “Call around and find out what’s available in your area.” Don’t have access to the Internet? Get the same effect by marking refill dates on your calendar three days before you’ll need them in case of a glitch, she adds.
6. Do everything in moderation
When it comes to staying healthy, excess in either direction can be bad, says DeSalvo. “Whether it’s alcohol or vitamins, fast food or soy, watching TV or working out, too much of anything can be bad for your health,” she says. An all-or-nothing approach often leads to frustration and failure, studies show. She recommends shooting for the middle road instead. For example, if your goal is to start running again, start out with a brisk walk and gradually up the pace over a period of several weeks, rather than force yourself to run to the point of exhaustion on the first day and possibly end up with an injury.
7. Put a stop to negative thoughts
When you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, negative thought patterns can creep in, says Reg Williams, PhD, RN, a professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Nursing in Ann Arbor. The resulting emotions then set off physical reactions that can weaken your immune system and open the door to illness. Try this instead, he recommends: Close your eyes and visualize a big red stop sign. Replace negative thoughts like, “I’ll never finish this project,” with a positive one such as, “I can handle this challenge,” and put a stop to the unhealthy downward spiral.
8. Know what pills you take — and why
When patients understand why they are taking a certain medication, studies show they are much more likely to take it as directed and reap the therapeutic benefits, says Sturpe. Patients should also bring their prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin and herbal supplements with them to their doctors’ appointments, says DeSalvo. The move can help their doctor be sure new medications won’t cause dangerous interactions.
9. Build a support system
Whether you’re trying to quit smoking, get active, lose weight or manage a chronic health condition, tapping into the support of family and friends makes success more likely than going it solo, says Sturpe. Meet a friend for a walk.
10. Enjoy yourself!
It may sound too good to be true, but that’s exactly what research has found can help ward off sickness, says Carl Charnetski, PhD, professor of psychology at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA. “Behaviors that are pleasurable, as a rule, tend to be associated with boosts in immune function,” Charnetski says. Whatever your interest — from painting to music to gardening to travel — making fun time a mandatory part of life can pay off big in health benefits, he adds.
Cholesterol Levels in Women
Cholesterol Levels in Women
What are HDL and LDL?
HDL and LDL are two different kinds of cholesterol that are measured as an index of a patient’s risk for cardiovascular disease. HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein and LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein. Total cholesterol measures the combination of HDL and LDL, along with several other factors. The levels of “fats” in the blood-total cholesterol, HDL (a subset called “good cholesterol”) and LDL (“bad cholesterol”) and triglycerides have been used for years to predict the risk of heart disease in men. Higher cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, and/or low HDL all are associated with increased risk of heart diseases in men.
What do the numbers mean?
Many studies found that women with higher total cholesterol levels also had higher rates of a form of heart disease called coronary artery disease. That is where the arteries to the heart become clogged. This leads to heart attacks. For cholesterol, levels of about 200 or less are generally not associated with much increased heart disease. Women with total cholesterol levels of 265 or more have been found to have this disease two or three times as often as women with levels of about 200. Even mildly elevated levels, of about 235, had about 70% higher rates, than normal.
Men in the same situation are put on a diet and drugs to lower their cholesterol. The goal was to increase HDL, and lower LDL and total cholesterol. Little was done to lower elevated triglyceride levels. The men’s rates of disease dropped. A closer look at the problem in women found something different. Low HDL (“good cholesterol”) levels were the strongest predictor of heart disease in women. These are generally levels less than 50 (mg/dL). Low HDL and high cholesterol go hand in hand for many, which led to the confusion about what was important. Women with total cholesterol levels as low as 200 who also had low HDL levels still had high risks of heart disease. In fact, the best predictor for women, according to one study, was the ratio of cholesterol to HDL. If a woman’s total cholesterol is about 4 times or so of her HDL level, her risk of heart disease skyrockets to up to five times that of her normal counterpart. If her triglycerides are high, her risk goes up, too. Again, that happens even if she has a low total cholesterol level.
Unlike men, a high LDL (“bad cholesterol”) level is not as strong a predictor of future trouble, although there is still considerable debate on this. Some experts believe LDL is not to be worried about for most women, except for particular sub-groups of women who are affected. As one might expect, until we clarify the importance of LDL for women and factor in the additional significance HDL has for women, the HDL/LDL ratio’s significance is muddied.
The Bottom Line
Total cholesterol in and of itself does not matter so much. Look at the other factors and ratios: especially HDL, triglycerides, and the cholesterol to HDL ratio. The significance of LDL and ratios with it are uncertain. Most of all, keep checking for new research. This area is rapidly changing for women.
Women With Undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder
Women With Undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder
Until recently, ADD or ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) was thought to be a boy’s disease. The stereotype of someone with ADD was a grade-school aged boy, flying around the classroom, knocking things over. Girls tend to have attention deficit without hyperactivity. Even those with hyperactivity have their symptoms overlooked or misattributed. And many women came of age before it was recognized that ADD could continue into adulthood.
Girls with ADD without hyperactivity may be able to compensate during childhood. Structure imposed by school and parents can help her organize when she cannot do so by herself. Girls may be more taken care of and their lack of accomplishments not as much a concern to the adults around her.
Problems may begin at turning points in her life, where responsibilities increase. This can be as early as junior high. Graduating college, first job, marriage, or having children are others. This is partially due to increases in responsibility that both genders face. But women in our societies are expected to organize for the men and kids around them. A man with ADD often replaces his parents and teachers with secretaries and wives. Women are still expected to be those organizing secretaries and wives. Even on a professional or managerial level, women are often assigned and openly praised for doing the “grunt work” of organizing and paying attention to the details.
Even so, some women’s ADD problems do not emerge at adulthood. They have had problems all their lives. They weren’t diagnosed as girls. And, they simply don’t notice anything as being wrong, because things have always been so chaotic.
How Women With Undiagnosed ADD Feel
Not Good.
1. They feel depressed. Their ADD causes chaos in many aspects of their lives. They loose heart with failure after failure.
2. Some feel like they are capable of so much more. Even though their disorganization causes many failures, they still maintain a sense of what could be. They are often creative and intelligent. But, they are unable to harness those qualities and focus them on goals, and they are frustrated.
3. Others feel incompetent. They internalize their chronic disorganization and resulting failures.
4. Still others feel like fakes. Some are able to compensate and have good professional lives. But they break down at home. They are unable to take care of basic things like errands and bills. Still others have to spend inordinate amounts of extra time and effort and end up feeling like they don’t meaure up to co-workers.
5. They feel immature. They are not able to reach the normal goals of adulthood due to their disorganization.
6. They feel overwhelmed.
How Women With Undiagnosed ADD Think
1. Women with undiagnosed ADD may feel assaulted by everyday enviroment. Noises, sights, even her own thoughts can make her loose focus.
2. They are easily distracted and move from one unfinished activity to another.
3. They have trouble planning, organizing, and prioritizing. They often miss deadlines or have trouble gaging their time.
4. While they generate a flurry of ideas internally, they process information from the outside more slowly.
4. They spend a lot of time thinking about and trying new systems to get organized.
How Women With Undiagnosed ADD Act
1.As mentioned, college may be a breaking point for women with undiagnosed ADD. She may drop out of college, or change schools and majors several times.
2. She may abuse drugs or alcohol. This due to their impulsivity and also as a way of coping with the problems of ADD.
3. In general, they may not act much at all. Women with Attention Deficit Disorder have trouble initiating activities. They may waste hours and hours simply because they can’t focus enough to get started on any one thing. Or they feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start– so they don’t.
4. They may cut back on fun, friends, and sleep. Some women compensate in their professional lives, by spending more time on tasks.
5. Piles. They have piles everywhere. Unpaid bills, unorganized papers, laundry, objects. At work, at home, in the car.
6. They may express impulsivity by compulsive shopping or eating.
7. The “High Maintainence” look is not for her. She has too much trouble keeping track of jewelry, make-up, and all the parts of the outfit. Organizing hair, nail, facial appointments–too much!
Women With Undiagnosed ADD — How They Are Seen By Others
1. They are often diagnosed as depressed, narcissitic personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. They can be genuinely depressed from dealing with undiagnosed ADD. Or the indecison, lack of activity and concentration of ADD is confused with depression. They are misdiagnosed as narcisstic because being totally focused is a way to survive, not a lack of regard for others. They are misdiagnosed as Borderline Personality disorder because it too is characterized by a chaotic life.
3. People are often angry with them because they forget things. They miss or are late for appointments with others. They forget birthdays. They don’t write thank yous.
4. And those are their friends. Less charitable people call them lazy, stupid, slackers, or space cadets.
5. They form relationships with people who will organize and take care of them. Sometimes this is good, but other times they stay in abusive or dominating relationships because they feel unable to function on their own.
6. They avoid people. They are embarrassed because their homes are such a mess and they want no visitors. Or they don’t have time for friends because of all the extra time they spend keeping their basic lives together. Or they have trouble with small talk or they can’t stop talking.
Is She ADD Or Just The Average Woman With Too Much To Do?
Feeling overwhelmed, too many responsibilities, distracted, stressed, no time for sleep or friends? The symptoms and signs of ADD are very common in women without it too. ADD in general, in adults and in females are all subject that have gained more attention in recent years, leading many more people to wonder “is this me?” A website can make a woman aware that there is a possibility of a treatable condition underlying all this. But only a woman’s doctor can say more definitively. Starting with her family doctor is a good option. A family doctor can make the initial assessment and referral to psychologists or others. Community mental health organizations can be found in the yellow pages and are another good starting point. For a more in depth picture or adult female ADD before consulting a health professional, get the book in the references to this article.
Until recently, ADD or ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) was thought to be a boy’s disease. The stereotype of someone with ADD was a grade-school aged boy, flying around the classroom, knocking things over. Girls tend to have attention deficit without hyperactivity. Even those with hyperactivity have their symptoms overlooked or misattributed. And many women came of age before it was recognized that ADD could continue into adulthood.
Girls with ADD without hyperactivity may be able to compensate during childhood. Structure imposed by school and parents can help her organize when she cannot do so by herself. Girls may be more taken care of and their lack of accomplishments not as much a concern to the adults around her.
Problems may begin at turning points in her life, where responsibilities increase. This can be as early as junior high. Graduating college, first job, marriage, or having children are others. This is partially due to increases in responsibility that both genders face. But women in our societies are expected to organize for the men and kids around them. A man with ADD often replaces his parents and teachers with secretaries and wives. Women are still expected to be those organizing secretaries and wives. Even on a professional or managerial level, women are often assigned and openly praised for doing the “grunt work” of organizing and paying attention to the details.
Even so, some women’s ADD problems do not emerge at adulthood. They have had problems all their lives. They weren’t diagnosed as girls. And, they simply don’t notice anything as being wrong, because things have always been so chaotic.
How Women With Undiagnosed ADD Feel
Not Good.
1. They feel depressed. Their ADD causes chaos in many aspects of their lives. They loose heart with failure after failure.
2. Some feel like they are capable of so much more. Even though their disorganization causes many failures, they still maintain a sense of what could be. They are often creative and intelligent. But, they are unable to harness those qualities and focus them on goals, and they are frustrated.
3. Others feel incompetent. They internalize their chronic disorganization and resulting failures.
4. Still others feel like fakes. Some are able to compensate and have good professional lives. But they break down at home. They are unable to take care of basic things like errands and bills. Still others have to spend inordinate amounts of extra time and effort and end up feeling like they don’t meaure up to co-workers.
5. They feel immature. They are not able to reach the normal goals of adulthood due to their disorganization.
6. They feel overwhelmed.
How Women With Undiagnosed ADD Think
1. Women with undiagnosed ADD may feel assaulted by everyday enviroment. Noises, sights, even her own thoughts can make her loose focus.
2. They are easily distracted and move from one unfinished activity to another.
3. They have trouble planning, organizing, and prioritizing. They often miss deadlines or have trouble gaging their time.
4. While they generate a flurry of ideas internally, they process information from the outside more slowly.
4. They spend a lot of time thinking about and trying new systems to get organized.
How Women With Undiagnosed ADD Act
1.As mentioned, college may be a breaking point for women with undiagnosed ADD. She may drop out of college, or change schools and majors several times.
2. She may abuse drugs or alcohol. This due to their impulsivity and also as a way of coping with the problems of ADD.
3. In general, they may not act much at all. Women with Attention Deficit Disorder have trouble initiating activities. They may waste hours and hours simply because they can’t focus enough to get started on any one thing. Or they feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start– so they don’t.
4. They may cut back on fun, friends, and sleep. Some women compensate in their professional lives, by spending more time on tasks.
5. Piles. They have piles everywhere. Unpaid bills, unorganized papers, laundry, objects. At work, at home, in the car.
6. They may express impulsivity by compulsive shopping or eating.
7. The “High Maintainence” look is not for her. She has too much trouble keeping track of jewelry, make-up, and all the parts of the outfit. Organizing hair, nail, facial appointments–too much!
Women With Undiagnosed ADD — How They Are Seen By Others
1. They are often diagnosed as depressed, narcissitic personality disorder or borderline personality disorder. They can be genuinely depressed from dealing with undiagnosed ADD. Or the indecison, lack of activity and concentration of ADD is confused with depression. They are misdiagnosed as narcisstic because being totally focused is a way to survive, not a lack of regard for others. They are misdiagnosed as Borderline Personality disorder because it too is characterized by a chaotic life.
3. People are often angry with them because they forget things. They miss or are late for appointments with others. They forget birthdays. They don’t write thank yous.
4. And those are their friends. Less charitable people call them lazy, stupid, slackers, or space cadets.
5. They form relationships with people who will organize and take care of them. Sometimes this is good, but other times they stay in abusive or dominating relationships because they feel unable to function on their own.
6. They avoid people. They are embarrassed because their homes are such a mess and they want no visitors. Or they don’t have time for friends because of all the extra time they spend keeping their basic lives together. Or they have trouble with small talk or they can’t stop talking.
Is She ADD Or Just The Average Woman With Too Much To Do?
Feeling overwhelmed, too many responsibilities, distracted, stressed, no time for sleep or friends? The symptoms and signs of ADD are very common in women without it too. ADD in general, in adults and in females are all subject that have gained more attention in recent years, leading many more people to wonder “is this me?” A website can make a woman aware that there is a possibility of a treatable condition underlying all this. But only a woman’s doctor can say more definitively. Starting with her family doctor is a good option. A family doctor can make the initial assessment and referral to psychologists or others. Community mental health organizations can be found in the yellow pages and are another good starting point. For a more in depth picture or adult female ADD before consulting a health professional, get the book in the references to this article.
Healthy And Beautiful Hair
Many misapprehensions are there about our hair and its care and concerns. Once we know the truth, the solution for hair dispute becomes rational and commonsensical and we can well be familiar with it to give real good care. The most extensively held false impression relating to hair is that it is live organic material, and everyone thinks that newly discovered commercial medicine/any hair related product would solve the condition. This is a wrong notion that people have in their mind but the truth is that hair is only living matter at its base below the surface of the scalp and not on it’s tip. Like the tip of one’s fingernail, hair is non-living matter, and can be clipped shorter and discarded. This fact alone brings us to two important finales about how one may preserve stronger and better looking with shiny hair.
Remarks about hair breakage and hair loss
Many people are perplexed that it is safer to comb the hair while it is dry. One must understand that the hair can widen up to fifty percentage of its length while wet without breakage, however, while dry, hair will break before it widen twenty-five percentage of its length. It is best to keep a wide-toothed comb within your shower to fasten split-ends.
Lot many of us feel scared upon seeing our hairbrush/comb and wash drain filled with an excessive quantity of their hair. It’s a fact that that each strand of our hair has a lifespan of 2 to 7 years before a new hair begins to grow in its position, pushing it out to end up in one’s brush or shower drain. This means each person discards about 60 hairs from their head everyday. If one has longer hair it may give the fake looks that they are shedding more hair daily than the average amount. One should only be alarmed if the hair being shed daily is not being replaced by new hair growth.
Hair and Healthy appearance
Our hair is the first feature that acts as a mirror to show your overall healthiness and hence to pay attention to your diet and daily exercise is as significant as you dress up. Give your scalp a boost by brushing dry hair daily starting at the roots. Use a natural boar bristle brush, with a wooden base. This will stimulate the roots of the hair and massage the muscles of the scalp.
Your shampooing process should be gentle, and not overloaded with conditioners that prevent proper cleansing. Rotate conditioning with moisturizers and deep protein treatments. A Cream wash should be used after every shampoo, because it’s not the same as your conditioner. It will spoil your hair at no time.
Discover steps to Enjoy Hair Care
Long or short your hair offers many different looks. It is truly enjoyable to make different hairstyles. Ask your stylist for a lesson on quick changes using clips and hair sticks. There are many books and videos to help you learn basic or advanced braiding. When you learn to easily handle your length, you’ll find you enjoy it so much more.
Look after your hair loss problem very seriously with the tips that actually give you remedy. Different people have different diverse problems. There are remedies to take care of your hair problems such as dandruff, baldness etc. Follow helpful tips and advices for your hair loss problems, hair implant procedures, general hair care tips, hair coloring, hair styling and braids, hair cut by age and Ayurvedic treatment of your affective hair.
HAIR CARE
HAIR CARE
HAIR CARE
Haircare should be considered when you are coloring your hair using hair color products that won’t harm your scalp or damage your hair. Haircare coloring is not only quick and easy but the chemicals in products are much less caustic to the hair than they were years ago. Beautiful and natural looking hair color is as saught after as ever and with the the proper haircare and color, you can bring out your eyes and make your skin glow. There are several different types of hair color. Some simply lay color on top of the hair and others require a chemical reaction that takes place inside the hair shaft.
When it comes to normal haircare coloring, permanent color is the most popular choice because it lasts the longest and gives the most dramatic change of tone. Hair care products are available in permanent hair colors that will last until you cut your hair and/or your roots grow out. Demipermanent color is the technique known as “tone on tone” and is gentler than permanent color because it doesn’t contain ammonia. The downside is it only lasts around six weeks before it fades. Temporary color is great if you don’t want to make a full committment to change your hair color from blonde to black. Temporary colors can last for up to eight shampoos.
Facial Skin Care
To figure out what you need, consult a skin care expert on what treatment is to be done. Your dermatologist will be asking you several questions pertaining to the condition of your facial skin as well do some physical checkup. If an expert is not available, some salons ask you to fill out a questionnaire regarding your skin condition and what you want to do about it. The questionnaire will be their guide as to what procedure and treatment they will recommend.
Most of the facial treatments are based on just a few specific processes and principles, which will always lead to a better skin condition and appearance, when used properly. Those functions are:
Facials generally moisturize and hydrate the skin by using steam, masks, humectants and hydrating creams.
To cleanse, facials employ the extraction of blackheads, pimples and whiteheads using a facial clay mask.
For deeper cleansing, extractions are done using a needle and lens. The skin of the face is first relaxed and softened in preparation for extraction. Skin care technicians are learned in doing these procedures hygienically and accurately so there is no danger of complications.
Peeling methods use the help of enzymes, chemicals like glycolic acid, lactic acid and salicylic acid, scrubs and sometimes electric brushes.
Microdermabrasion is a machine is used for procedures that removes dead skin cells using mineral crystals and a vacuum type wand.
Facial masks can also firm the skin, which is usually used for aging skin.
Sometimes, vitamins and antioxidants are added on to the mask mixture to be used for the skin’s nourishment.
Skin lighteners such as licorice or hydroquinone are also placed in the mixture to give the face a lighter look.
To complete the whole facial spa treatment, a facial massage may be incorporated into the procedure, with hand and shoulder massages as bonus.
Salon and spa facials can include everything except medical treatments, botox, heavy phenol peels, and collagen injections. Those are done only in medical offices, and with the supervision of a doctor
Medicinal Herbs have been used to treat various illnesses for centuries.
The use of Medicinal Herbs to treat illnesses is not a new idea. People have used herbs to fight against diseases for thousands of years with great effectiveness. Several hundred herbs have been found to have medicinal properties. There are plants that help boost your immune system, herbs that aid in fending off infections, and still others that come in handy when allergy season hits. If you count yourself among the millions of people who suffer during cold and flu season, there’s help for you too.
Consumer-Driven Health Plans Prevent Prevention
The biggest threat to the nation’s health is not avian flu, AIDS, or bioterrorism. It is preventable, chronic disease. Roughly 70 percent of health costs and deaths are attributable to smoking, obesity, and health problems that could be prevented.
Most Americans do not know about or value prevention. One out of five diabetics and one out of three hypertensives are unaware of their condition. Those that do know what they should do often skip treatments or steps to improved health. Prevention’s perceived value is low since its potential benefits are distant.
The answer, according to conservatives, is increased individual “ownership” of health care dollars. Our failure to promote prevention, they reason, lies in government mandates and over-insurance that de-emphasize personal responsibility. Why diet when insurance pays for gastric bypass surgery? Why exercise when you can take a pill to lower your blood pressure? When people can be treated for any problem with first-dollar coverage, goes the reasoning, they may not prevent those problems in the first place. As one conservative says, the incentives are upside down. Therefore, if individuals reap the financial as well as the health rewards of prevention, they may be motivated to action. In policy terms, this means replacing traditional insurance with health savings accounts linked to high-deductible health plans.
Problem is, this “solution” has not seemed to work in reality. Information provided to enrollees in these consumer-driven health plans is infrequent and inadequate to help consumers make smart decisions.
Even Americans who know about preventive medicine tend to use it less when it costs them money. One study showed that even $10 co-pays caused a significant reduction in the use of mammograms among seniors. This is why effective health insurance plans often make prevention free or linked with some monetary benefit.
High deductibles also appear to harm efforts designed to forestall or prevent complications of an established disease as well: People with arthritis, heart disease, high cholesterol, and asthma were two to three times as likely to not fill a prescription due to cost when enrolled in a high-deductible plan versus a traditional insurance plan.
Even the insurance industry doesn’t stand behind the belief that consumer-driven health plans drive improved prevention. It recently issued a report focusing entirely on how high-deductible health plans are increasingly waiving deductibles for preventive care. This is more than an exception to the rule: It repudiates the theory behind these plans.
There is a better way. Prioritizing prevention means paying for services wherever, whenever, and for whoever needs it. It means investing in communities, schools, and workplace wellness efforts. And it means moving beyond private insurance as the sole solution: those companies simply have no incentive to invest in prevention today that benefits others later.
For additional reading:
Elise Gould, “Consumer-Driven Health Care is a False Promise,” Economic Policy Institute, October 11, 2006.
Marjorie Ginsberg, “Rearranging The Deck Chairs: Consumer-directed health care confronts the problems of health insurance,” Health Affairs- Web Exclusive, October 24, 2006.
James C. Robinson, Ph.D., “Health Savings Accounts — The Ownership Society in Health Care,” New England Journal of Medicine, September 22, 2005.
Jeanne Lambrew and John Podesta, “Commentary: The Wellness Trust,” Forbes.com, September 4, 2007.
Background Basics on Prevention
What is Prevention? In the United States, more than 125 million people suffer from a chronic disease such as hypertension, heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Many people also suffer from acute diseases that can be prevented through vaccination or other means (e.g., daily aspirin use to prevent heart attacks). Preventive medicine attempts to reach these individuals before they become patients or develop disease complications. There are three levels of preventive medicine:
* Primary prevention is focused on preventing the actual occurrence of a disease or injury (immunization against measles or influenza, for example)
* Secondary prevention identifies those with significant risk factors for particular diseases, such as cancer, hypertension, or diabetes, and helps them manage their future health
* Tertiary prevention provides care for those with an established disease to prevent or forestall progression and complications (treating high blood pressure before it leads to stroke, or diabetes before someone develops cardiovascular or kidney disease, for example).
Prevention measures can be performed in a clinical setting or undertaken by the larger community. Clinical prevention includes services performed by medical professionals—mammograms, colonoscopies, and cholesterol screenings, to name a few. Community prevention extends to population-based services to limit disease, injury, or disability—measures such as efforts to build playgrounds and bike paths to promote physical activity, and tobacco taxes and use restrictions to reduce smoking.
The National Commission on Prevention Priorities ranks clinical prevention services based on cost and health effectiveness. Their results have led to a core list of recommended preventive services (see Table).
Most Americans do not know about or value prevention. One out of five diabetics and one out of three hypertensives are unaware of their condition. Those that do know what they should do often skip treatments or steps to improved health. Prevention’s perceived value is low since its potential benefits are distant.
The answer, according to conservatives, is increased individual “ownership” of health care dollars. Our failure to promote prevention, they reason, lies in government mandates and over-insurance that de-emphasize personal responsibility. Why diet when insurance pays for gastric bypass surgery? Why exercise when you can take a pill to lower your blood pressure? When people can be treated for any problem with first-dollar coverage, goes the reasoning, they may not prevent those problems in the first place. As one conservative says, the incentives are upside down. Therefore, if individuals reap the financial as well as the health rewards of prevention, they may be motivated to action. In policy terms, this means replacing traditional insurance with health savings accounts linked to high-deductible health plans.
Problem is, this “solution” has not seemed to work in reality. Information provided to enrollees in these consumer-driven health plans is infrequent and inadequate to help consumers make smart decisions.
Even Americans who know about preventive medicine tend to use it less when it costs them money. One study showed that even $10 co-pays caused a significant reduction in the use of mammograms among seniors. This is why effective health insurance plans often make prevention free or linked with some monetary benefit.
High deductibles also appear to harm efforts designed to forestall or prevent complications of an established disease as well: People with arthritis, heart disease, high cholesterol, and asthma were two to three times as likely to not fill a prescription due to cost when enrolled in a high-deductible plan versus a traditional insurance plan.
Even the insurance industry doesn’t stand behind the belief that consumer-driven health plans drive improved prevention. It recently issued a report focusing entirely on how high-deductible health plans are increasingly waiving deductibles for preventive care. This is more than an exception to the rule: It repudiates the theory behind these plans.
There is a better way. Prioritizing prevention means paying for services wherever, whenever, and for whoever needs it. It means investing in communities, schools, and workplace wellness efforts. And it means moving beyond private insurance as the sole solution: those companies simply have no incentive to invest in prevention today that benefits others later.
For additional reading:
Elise Gould, “Consumer-Driven Health Care is a False Promise,” Economic Policy Institute, October 11, 2006.
Marjorie Ginsberg, “Rearranging The Deck Chairs: Consumer-directed health care confronts the problems of health insurance,” Health Affairs- Web Exclusive, October 24, 2006.
James C. Robinson, Ph.D., “Health Savings Accounts — The Ownership Society in Health Care,” New England Journal of Medicine, September 22, 2005.
Jeanne Lambrew and John Podesta, “Commentary: The Wellness Trust,” Forbes.com, September 4, 2007.
Background Basics on Prevention
What is Prevention? In the United States, more than 125 million people suffer from a chronic disease such as hypertension, heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Many people also suffer from acute diseases that can be prevented through vaccination or other means (e.g., daily aspirin use to prevent heart attacks). Preventive medicine attempts to reach these individuals before they become patients or develop disease complications. There are three levels of preventive medicine:
* Primary prevention is focused on preventing the actual occurrence of a disease or injury (immunization against measles or influenza, for example)
* Secondary prevention identifies those with significant risk factors for particular diseases, such as cancer, hypertension, or diabetes, and helps them manage their future health
* Tertiary prevention provides care for those with an established disease to prevent or forestall progression and complications (treating high blood pressure before it leads to stroke, or diabetes before someone develops cardiovascular or kidney disease, for example).
Prevention measures can be performed in a clinical setting or undertaken by the larger community. Clinical prevention includes services performed by medical professionals—mammograms, colonoscopies, and cholesterol screenings, to name a few. Community prevention extends to population-based services to limit disease, injury, or disability—measures such as efforts to build playgrounds and bike paths to promote physical activity, and tobacco taxes and use restrictions to reduce smoking.
The National Commission on Prevention Priorities ranks clinical prevention services based on cost and health effectiveness. Their results have led to a core list of recommended preventive services (see Table).
“How to Lose Weight and Be In The Best Shape of Your Life!”
While many of these options are good and healthy, others you should stay as far away from as possible. Recently, a professional baseball player died at the age of 23. In his locker, a bottle was discovered containing Ephedrine. Consequently, the FDA just issued a warning that people need to heed.
Now that you have made a commitment to take care of your body, both internal and external, it is critical to your overall health that you do it the right way. Here are some tips for diet, health, and fitness that will help you lose weight, discover ways to maintain a better healthy lifestyle, and be in the best shape of your life – all the smart way!
For sake of clarity, we have broken this down into two categories. One for diet and health, which focuses on herbal supplements, weight loss, dieting, rest, and everything you need to know about taking care of your body on the inside.
The other section is health and fitness, which has both internal and external benefits. On the outside, fitness includes weight lifting, running, sports, walking, things you can do to enhance, tone, and build muscle. However, fitness also has benefits for the inside such as great cardiovascular benefits among others.
Hair and Nail Care
Beer and Dandruff
If you use beer as a hair rinse and styling lotion, it could be causing your dandruff. The alcohol dries your scalp.
Cold Weather Hair and Nail Care
The hair and nails need as much hydration as the rest of you. Cold weather can turn both brittle. It’s very important to condition the hair and scalp at least two or three times a week to prevent hair breakage.
Alcohol will dry your skin and nails. Use hand lotion for your hands and cuticle oil to keep nails healthy. Dandruff Shampoo Tip
You can improve the effectiveness of your dandruff shampoo by lathering your hair, then putting on a shower cap for 15-20 minutes. Remove it and rinse as usual. Ease Mild Dandruff
Wash hair daily with a mild shampoo. Lather your hair as soon as you get into the shower, leave it on until you’re nearly finished with your shower. Then rinse, follow with a light second lather and rinse thoroughly. Hair and Scalp Care
Add a bit of baking soda to your favorite shampoo to help remove residue left from other hair care products. In your hand, mix hair shampoo with a small amount of baking soda and shampoo as usual.
If your hair turns green from chlorine in swimming pools, wash it with 1/4 cup baking soda added to your shampoo. Sun Away Your Dandruff
Ultraviolet rays help ease dandruff. Expose your scalp to the sun for about 30 minutes per day. Thyme-ly Treatment for Dandruff
A thyme rinse can help alleviate dandruff. Boil 4 heaping tablespoons of dried thyme in 2 cups of boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain and allow to cool.
Pour half of the mixture over clean damp hair and massage into scalp. Do not rinse. Refrigerate what’s left to use with your next shampoo.
Eating out – choosing healthier options
Your weight
health
health
Expert advice to help you maintain a healthy weight
Dissatisfied with your weight?
We’re bombarded with scare stories about weight, from size zero to the obesity ‘epidemic’. But a healthy weight is determined by different factors for each of us. Our expert advice is designed to help you achieve and maintain a healthy, life-enhancing weight.
Overweight or underweight?
Being the right weight has a positive effect on wellbeing but also on our health, as being the wrong weight can cause a range of medical problems.More and more of us are eating out on a regular basis, whether it’s for a business lunch, a girls’ get together, or for a family meal.
The 2006 Family Food Survey found that households where the head of the household was under 30 years old were spending more than 40 per cent of their food budget on eating out.
Eating out usually means that we have little control over how the food is prepared or how large the portion is. Foods eaten out tend to be higher in fat and research has shown that those who eat out regularly generally have higher intakes of fat, salt and calories. Studies have also shown that eating with friends can tempt us to overeat. Meals with multiple courses eaten over longer periods and with alcohol are all associated with overindulgence. Large serving bowls and spoons increase the likelihood of piling more food on your plate than you usually eat.
Unlike packaged food, foods bought from cafes, restaurants etc don’t have to carry nutritional information and so opting for the healthiest option might not always be obvious, or easy. However, with some knowledge and thought, eating out can be enjoyable and healthy!
General tips
If you’re unsure as to what something is, or what it contains – ask! If the waiter/waitress doesn’t know, then the chef will.
Think ahead, if you know you’re eating out later and it could be a lavish affair, choose wisely earlier in the day to keep calories, fat, sugar and salt intakes under control.
Don’t eat an extra course just to be polite.
Only order a sweet after the main course, and only if still hungry. Opt for sorbets, or fruit dishes to balance out a heavy main course.
Think about sharing a course with a companion if the portions look large.
Speak up about how you’d like a dish prepared eg ask for no mayonnaise, dressing on the side.
You’re more likely to overeat at an ‘all you can eat’ style buffet.
Choose side orders of salad or vegetables to fill up on.
Cut off any visible fat from meat to keep saturated fat intake down.
Look out for smaller portions ie a main meal option as a starter size.
Opt for dishes which are grilled, baked, steamed, poached or cooked in own juice rather than fried.
Check the menu for dressings on salads and ask for it to be served separately. An otherwise healthy and nutritious salad could be drowned in a high fat sauce, bumping up its calorie content.
Avoid cheese, cream or butter-based sauces
If you’re a cheese lover, think about sharing the cheese board option to keep saturated fat, salt and calorie intakes in check.
Heavy rainfall can be linked to autism, say researchers
Children who live in areas with higher annual rainfall levels could be more likely to develop autism – a brain development disorder that is characterized by impaired social interaction and restricted behavior – claims a new study.
The results raise the possibility that an environmental trigger for autism may be associated with precipitation and may affect genetically vulnerable children.
According to the study, in the past thirty years autism rates have increased from one in 2500 children to one in 150, and the higher rate of precipitation affecting genetically vulnerable children can be held responsible for the growing rate.
The authors behind the study say that precipitation may be allied with disorder, as more indoor activities, such as television and video viewing, affect behavioral and cognitive development.
The greater amount of time spent indoors may also expose children to more harmful chemicals, such as those in cleaning products, or decrease their exposure to sunshine, which helps the body produce vitamin D, which is vital for proper growth.
“Finally, there is also the possibility that precipitation itself is more directly involved. For example, there may be a chemical or chemicals in the upper atmosphere that are transported to the surface by precipitation,” the author said.
Michael Waldman, Ph. D., of Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., and colleagues obtained autism prevalence rates from state and county agencies for children born in California, Oregon and Washington between 1987 and 1999. The daily precipitation reports from the National Climatic Data Center, they calculated average annual rainfall by county from 1987 through 2001—which spans the dates when the children were school-aged.
The calculation indicated that Autism prevalence rates for school-aged children in California, Oregon and Washington in 2005 were positively related to the amount of precipitation these counties received from 1987 through 2001.
“Similarly, focusing on Oregon and California counties with a regional center, autism prevalence was higher for birth cohorts that experienced relatively heavy precipitation when they were younger than 3 years. This corresponds to the time at which autism symptoms usually appear and when any post-natal environmental factors would be present,” the author said.
Thus the study indicated that precipitation or its consequences like increased television watching, reduced vitamin D levels and enhanced exposure to indoor chemicals might increase the rate of autism.
The study has been published in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Anti-Frailty Pill Boosts Natural Growth Hormone In Older Adults
A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia Health System revealed that intake of an investigational drug, MK-677, on a daily basis increased muscle mass in the arms and legs of healthy older adults.
The study discovered that MK-677 increases the levels of growth hormone (GH) and of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in aged, to the levels found in healthy youngsters.
Michael O. Thorner, professor of internal medicine and neurosurgery at University of Virginia (UVA), explained, “Our study opens the door to the possibility of developing treatments that avert the frailty of ageing.”
“The search for anti-frailty medications has become increasingly important because the average American is expected to live into his or her 80s, and most seniors want to stay strong enough to remain independent as they age,” Prof. Thorner added.
The two-year study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, involved 65 men and women aged between 60 to 81.
As a part of the study, half the volunteers were administered an oral dose of MK-677, while half were given a placebo for a period of one year.
At the end of a year in a reversal of roles the participants on placebo were given MK-677, and those on the drug given the placebo randomly.
The study results disclosed that MK-677 stimulates appetite and hormone growth, restoring 20 percent 20% of muscle mass loss linked with ageing.
The so called ‘anti-frailty’ drug could also prove positive to fight metabolic disorders such as those related to body weight and body composition.
The study researchers said that MK-677 was effectual for those who received it for full two years, but the benefits wore off once the medicine was stopped.
The findings of the study were published in Tuesday’s issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.
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