Archive for September, 2008
A few extra pounds don’t matter
Posted by
admin 30 September, 2008
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A few extra pounds hardly seem worth worrying about. Gaining a little is better than gaining a lot. Being a little overweight but not obese may be a cosmetic issue, but it is not a health issue.
Weight gain is just part of getting older. In fact, it is a natural part of the aging process. The body’s metabolism slows over time, so it burns fewer calories. We’re not as active as we were in our younger years. Who has the time or energy to play and run around the way we did when we were children?
As the body ages, it doesn’t function as efficiently. It is very common for blood pressure to go up and for blood cholesterol to rise. People who are prone to getting diabetes have problems with high blood sugar. Cars often don’t work as well when they get older. It’s no surprise that the human body doesn’t work as well either.
For most of us, fighting off weight gain is not worth the time or effort it takes. Given the health risks of yo-yo dieting, it is smarter to live with a few extra pounds than lose and gain over and over again.
Categories : Dieting, Tips and Advices
Tips to be Successful on your Weight Loss Method
Posted by
admin 30 September, 2008
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The path to sustainable weight loss needs a beginning. As you put your new knowledge to work and embark on a comprehensive weight-loss method, there are several things you can do. The goal is to maximize your knowledge so that you are prepared to make informed decisions for your best approach.
- Consult with your doctor before starting any weight management program. It is a good idea to get a complete physical before beginning a diet and/or exercise program to rule out medical limitations.
- Ask your doctor or pharmacist if any of the medications that you’re taking might affect your weight-loss success by increasing your appetite or slowing your metabolism. The good news is that in almost all cases other drugs are available that treat the same condition but do not affect weight. It is worth finding out whether a simple change in your medication can remove this potential obstacle.
- Think about weight-loss methods that you have used in the past. How many of the factors that predict successful weight loss and sustained weight loss were part of these methods? Are there things that you could have done differently to include more factors?
- What do you see as your “happy” weight and when do you see yourself achieving it? If your answer is a weight that is less than 90% of your current body weight and your time frame for reaching that weight is in less than six months, rethink your expectations. A reasonable goal is a loss of 10% of your current weight over six months. Start with that goal—you may very well surprise yourself by exceeding it!
- Identify at least three people you know who have successfully lost weight and are keeping it off. Find out about their experience what method they used, what strategies and approaches they took to make it work for them, and what they are doing to sustain the weight loss. Compare what they tell you about the factors of successful weight loss, the factors for sustained weight loss, and the basic components of a weight-loss program.
- Remind yourself often and with confidence that sustained weight loss is possible.Your body will not undermine your achievements by slowing metabolism so that you gain the weight back.
Categories : Dieting, Tips and Advices
Make Wise Food Choices
Posted by
admin 30 September, 2008
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Our food world is complicated.We are surrounded by tasty, affordable food choices.We are constantly reminded of food by the media, much benefit from regular physical activity that they wouldn’t dream of a day without it.
Regular physical activity has three important elements. The first is that the activity has to fit into your life, whether in a set block of time or in little nooks and crannies throughout the day.You can squeeze in a bit of activity by taking the stairs at work, parking farther away from the store on errands, taking a ten-minute walk at lunchtime, or walking the dog at the end of the day.
These activities may sound too small to make a difference. But if you take a daily ten-minute walk at lunchtime for a year and change nothing else about your eating or activity, you can lose more than five pounds! Imagine the result if you incorporated a number of these simple activities into your daily routine.
The second element of regular physical activity may seem obvious. Find physical activities that you enjoy. If you like an activity, you’re more likely to stick with it. What is right for you might be different from what works for your family members or friends.That is okay.The key is to find something that you look forward to and enjoy such as walking outdoors or doing more structured activities like swimming, bicycling, or aerobics with a favorite exercise tape. Don’t turn your life upside down—your chances of success are greater if you create a plan that is livable for you.
The third element is to look for activities that you can do almost every day. Consistent exercisers get the most benefit, and once you incorporate exercise into your daily life, it becomes second nature.
Categories : Dieting, Tips and Advices
You can’t lose weight and keep it off
Posted by
admin 30 September, 2008
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The sad reality is that you have about as great a chance of losing weight and keeping it off as you do of winning the lottery. This is just a simple fact of life. Everybody knows it. Every magazine article and television show on the topic gives the same facts: 95% of diets fail, and for those who do lose weight, it’s just about guaranteed that they’ll gain it all back. When the media interviews experts who study weight loss for a living, they all say this is true.
The results of weight-loss failure surround us. Everybody has coworkers, neighbors, friends, and family who have lost weight—lots of it—only to gain it back within a relatively short period of time.
There are many reasons why sustained weight loss is impossible. For some people, it is because they have a medical condition like a slow thyroid or a naturally slow metabolism. Another reason is that losing weight slows down the metabolism, forcing your body to regain the weight even though you’re eating less.
Losing weight and keeping it off ? It’s just not possible!
Categories : Tips and Advices
Four Tips for Faster Walking Technique
Posted by
admin 29 September, 2008
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1. Stand tall. Pull the top of your head toward the sky. No slouch in your shoulders, forward lean from the waist, or excess sway in your back. Keep your eyes on the horizon, don’t let your chin drop.
2. Focus on quicker, not longer steps. Yes, your stride gets longer as you walk faster. But that shouldn’t be your goal; let it happen naturally. Instead concentrate on taking faster steps. Count how many steps you take in 20 seconds: 40 for a health pace; 45 for weight loss; 50 to build aerobic fitness.
3. Bend your arms. Hold your elbows at a right angle so your arms can swing more quickly; target a quick, compact arm swing. Your hands should trace an arc from alongside your waistband on the back swing, to chest height (but no higher) in the front.
4. Push off of your toes. Consciously push off of your toes and generate as much boost as possible to the end of each step. Feel like you’re showing someone behind you the bottom of your shoe on every stride.
Categories : Tips and Advices
FDA warned people about instant coffee in U.S. from China
Posted by
admin 28 September, 2008
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The public was warned by the U.S. regulators not to consume seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and mil tea products that were made in China because they may be contaminated with melamine.
The Food and Drug Administration said the products were recalled by King Car Food Industrial Co Ltd “due to possible contamination with melamine.”
Thousands of Chinese babies with painful kidney stones were hospitalized because they consumed infant formula tainted with the industrial chemical and four have already died.
Melamine, which can be used to cheat quality checks by mimicking food protein, also has been found in candy, buns and carton milk sold to other countries and regions, unleashing fear in markets already shaken by a string of “made-in-China” scandals last year.
As of the moment, the FDA had not found any melamine contamination after testing the milk-based products imported into the United States from China.
The coffee and tea products being recalled are:
• Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
• Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)
The products were manufactured by China’s Shandong Duqing Inc, the FDA said.
The agency also warned consumers not to eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy after New Zealand authorities reported melamine contamination “at high levels.” The maker has recalled its exports of the candies to more than 50 countries and stopped domestic sales in China.
Categories : Health News
Urine Therapy
Posted by
admin 23 September, 2008
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What is urine therapy?
The basic definition of “urine therapy” is using (your own) urine internally or externally as a way to aid or sustain your heath. Urine therapy, which includes drinking, injecting, massaging with-, and/or bathing in- urine, is an ancient practice that is used today, not only in times of sickness, but also in times of good health for preventive health maintenance. It has been claimed to have proven helpful in a great number of varying illnesses, ranging from a simple cold and a throat-ache, to tuberculosis and asthma, from minor skin problems such as itching to major skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis and even skin cancer. But you probably ask, “How can your own urine benefit your health? Besides, isn’t it toxic?”
Urine as a lifesaver
During the NBC Nightly News on October 16, 1992, Tom Brokaw reported that, “In Egypt, rescue workers found a 37-year old man alive in earthquake rubble. He survived almost 82 hours by drinking his own urine. His wife, daughter and mother would not and they died”. We’ve all heard stories of individuals who have either lived or died by being trapped in places without food or water for days. In those stories, the survivors were always the ones that drank their own urine. The ones that died probably could not overcome the misguided thoughts that urine is an unhealthy waste product of the body. But it’s not; urine is simply a substance that the body does not need at the time, and a substance that the body secretes. And sometimes, it’s a lifesaver.
What’s in urine?
Urine, 95% of which is water, 2.5% of which is urea, and 2.5% of which is a mixture of minerals, salts, hormones, and enzymes, is not a toxic waste product. Urine is a blood byproduct and though it contains some body waste, it is non-toxic.
What happens when you consume your own urine?
The small amount of toxins that are found in urine are not abundant enough to be toxic to the body. When you drink your own urine, it does not go directly to the blood stream. First it goes into the digestive system where its ingredients are sorted out. Then, the useful ingredients are recycled while the toxins are rejected. When the level of toxins becomes too high, the toxins stimulate the intestines into flushing themselves out to eliminate any stagnated excrements accumulated in the colon. Although we could probably filter out the toxins before drinking the urine, the toxins are needed because they stimulate a cleansing reaction in the body. Urine, which remember, is a byproduct of our blood, becomes more purified the more it is recycled. Thus, the cleaner the blood is, the cleaner the urine is, and vice-versa. And this is how urine therapy advocates conclude that urine therapy has a cleansing effect on the blood.
A closer look at the details
The toxins of urine are also necessary to vaccinate and protect the body from future illnesses. The main theory behind urine therapy after all, isn’t that it straight out cures diseases, but instead, it is geared more towards building immunity to diseases, much like vaccinations. The small amounts of possibly toxic substances which can be found in urine largely seem to have a positive effect on the immune system. An important task of the immune system is to rid the human body of diseased or unusable substances that have developed during the course of an illness, and when these substances reach healthy tissue, the blood becomes stronger, the activity of leukocytes (white blood cells) increases, and the patient probably recovers. This phenomenon is known as auto-inoculation or self-vaccination and can be seen as mother nature’s method of healing an illness without external intervention. Urine therapy, therefore, can be seen as a form of self-vaccination: certain bodily substances which have been removed from the body, some of which may have been produced as a result of illness, are re-introduced into the body in small amounts. These substances are re-absorbed into the blood through either the intestines or the skin, and the immune system is then given the chance to react appropriately.
How to use urine therapy?
Basic rules:
- Midstream urine should be used, the exception being in a fast where urine is being passed every ten to fifteen minutes. The first flow should always be midstream.
- Urine should be sipped like tea and not drunk like water. This will prevent excessive problems in the form of loose stools and other eliminative processes.
- The first flow of the day is the most important and the best time of the day to drink it is between three and four a.m..
- Drink at least one liter of water per day.
- Pungent and salty food as well as excessive protein should be avoided.
- Urine passed during the night before three a.m. should not be used.
- The quantity used is left up to the individual.
Initial adjustment phase:
- Prepare the mind by making a resolve to at lease attempt the process and examine your reactions, thoughts and feelings.
- When you feel mentally prepared to attempt the actual practice, collect some fresh urine and start by rubbing your hands with it. Feel its texture, smell it, and see whether it can actually clean your skin as well as some people claim. After about five minutes wash it off with cold water and feel the skin to see whether the urine has had an effect. Do not use soap after rubbing.
- The next phase of adjusting the body and mind is to put one drop onto the tongue. Taste and smell play an important part in assessing its nature.
- Eventually you should build up the quantity you take in until you can drink a full glass of midstream urine and feel neutral in body and mind. Then you will be ready to start more advanced curriculums.
What are the claims by urine therapy advocates?
So what does all of this information mean? According to urine therapy supporters, it means that urine is not only non-toxic, but it is also anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. Supposedly, a renowned heart specialist of Bombay, India, once issued an appeal through a newspaper to members of the city, inviting them to write to him about their experience of urine therapy and especially about any cases of detrimental effects. The man’s purpose was to demonstrate that drinking urine is harmful to one’s body and ineffective medically. Shortly after, the man received hundreds of letters in response to his appeal; however, not a single letter of those hundreds reported negative effects.
Urine therapy advocates claim that to this day, despite the countless number of experiments performed using urine therapy, not a single case has been recorded finding unfavorable effects. In fact, they say that urine therapy might be a remedy for polio, rabies, and tuberculosis, AIDS, growths and cancers, fatigue, anemia, all sorts of urinary diseases, for weight-loss, colds and flu, candida, diabetes, heart disease, digestive problems, prostate trouble, arthritis, glaucoma, rheumatism, cataract, venereal disease, leukemia, malaria, diphtheria, chickenpox, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, bronchial asthma, orchitis, bright’s disease, jaundice, scurvy, dropsy, burns, rashes, warts, bed-wetting, menstruation trouble, kidney disease, mucus colitis, pyorrhea, gangrene, etc.. In fact, the list of diseases for which urine therapy is said to be effective is around 175 known diseases; an extraordinary amount for any type of medical practice.
Categories : Tips and Advices
Preparing for labor
Posted by
admin 21 September, 2008
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You’re probably thinking a lot this month about when labor will start and how your childbirth experience will go. A growing sense of tension during this time is understandable, as are worries and fears about whether your baby will be healthy.
You may also be spending some time contemplating the coming pain of childbirth. How bad will it be, really? How long will it last? How will I cope? These questions may be particularly persistent if this is your first baby.
It’s natural to feel a bit anxious about labor and childbirth. After all, there isn’t any way of knowing in advance just how your labor will go. But realize that women go through labor and give birth every day. It’s a natural process.
You can do things now that can help you prepare for labor.
- Educate yourself. Knowing what’s going to happen to your body when you give birth will likely make you less tense and fearful as it actually happens. With less fear and tension, your pain may be less, too. Childbirth classes are an excellent place to meet other moms-to-be and learn about the changes your body goes through in labor and childbirth.
- Talk with women who have had positive birth experiences. Learn what techniques worked for them during the labor and childbirth process.
- Tell yourself that you’ll just do the best you can, given your circumstances and strengths. There’s no right or wrong way to have a baby.
- Familiarize yourself with the various pain-relief options that will be available to you during labor. Try not to develop fixed ideas about what you’ll use and what you won’t. Until you’re actually in the moment, you won’t know what your needs will be.
Categories : Pregnancy
Perineal massage (Preparing your body for labor)
Posted by
admin 21 September, 2008
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Why do it?
Massaging the area between your vaginal opening and anus (perineum) in the last weeks before labor may help to stretch these tissues in preparation for childbirth. This may help minimize stinging when your baby’s head emerges from your vaginal opening. It may even help you avoid the need for an incision in your perineum that enlarges your vaginal opening (episiotomy) as the baby’s head is emerging. Midwives have long recommended perineal massage. There isn’t yet definitive evidence that it prevents trauma to the perineum, but some studies have shown promising results.
How to do it
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water and make sure your nails are trimmed. Then put K-Y jelly or some other mild lubricant on your thumbs and insert them inside your vagina. Press downward toward the rectum, stretching the tissues. Repeat daily for about eight to 10 minutes. Your partner can help with this process, if you wish. You may experience a little burning or other discomfort as you massage your perineum. This is normal. However, stop if you feel sharp pain.
A couple of additional points: You don’t have to practice perineal massage if the idea of it makes you feel uncomfortable. And if you do it, it’s no guarantee that you won’t have an episiotomy. Certain birth situations, such as those involving a large baby or a baby in an abnormal position, require an episiotomy for the safety of the baby. You’ll just have to wait and see what your experience of labor and childbirth brings.
Categories : Pregnancy
Pelvic tilt (Preparing your body for labor)
Posted by
admin 21 September, 2008
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Why do it?
This exercise strengthens the muscles in your abdomen, helps relieve backache during pregnancy and labor, and may help make for an easier delivery. Pelvic tilts can also improve the flexibility of your back and help prevent back pain.
How to do it
Get down on your hands and knees with your head in line with your back. Tilt your hips forward and pull in your abdomen, rounding your back slightly. Hold the position for several seconds, then relax your abdomen and back, keeping your back relatively flat. Don’t let your back sag. Repeat three to five times, working up to 10 repetitions.
You can also do pelvic tilts while standing up. Stand up straight with your back against a wall and push the small of your back against the wall. Or simply stand up straight and rock your pelvis back and forth.
Categories : Pregnancy
