September 04 2008

No Excuses Exercises

It’s old news that exercising is the single best way to spark up your weight loss efforts. The activity perks up your metabolism, and eats up more calories. In addition, the more you exercise, the better the effect. Exercising builds muscle mass, which is denser and more compact than fat. That means your body has to expend more effort to pump blood through it, and it requires more nutrients to keep it healthy. The end result? Even at rest, your body naturally burns more calories.

Unfortunately, the prospect of exercising tends to elicit groans from most people. There’s all the logistics to work out - the time, equipment, expense and the sheer, utter boringness of it all. Negative thinking about exercise can sabotage all your good intentions. Here’s a list of answers for some of the most commonly used excuses not to exercise.

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September 04 2008

Don’t Obsess About Food

One of the dangers of dieting is the ‘diet mentality’. The constant need to weigh, measure, count and account for food that most dieters feel can become an obsession with food that comes close to that experienced by someone with an eating disorder. Is it possible to lose weight without becoming obsessed with food?

Dr. David Katz, author of “The Way to Eat”, suggests a better way.
While it’s important to balance the calories you eat with the calories you burn, he says, it’s not necessary to obsess about food by counting every calorie. Instead, he suggests, focus on eating well for your health and permanent weight loss will follow.

Dr. Katz’s suggestions include replacing highly processed foods which contain added sugar, fat, starch and salt with more wholesome foods with short ingredient lists. Avoid foods with added ‘flavor enhancers’ like monosodium glutamate and high fructose corn syrup which tend to stimulate the appetite and make you want to eat even more.

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September 04 2008

Natural Pain Management

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Life in today’s hectic society is going more and more in the direction of fast food restaurants, sugar in foods you would never think should be there, trans fatty acids, preservatives and pesticides which we consume in large amounts every year. We even go so far as to invent foods, such as artificial sugars, which your body (in my opinion) does not recognize as actual food. We are bombarded with hormones in most of our meats and dairy products. Girls are maturing physically at a much younger age because of this. With all this going on, it’s no wonder that our immune systems are on overload and physical ailments are growing in leaps and bounds. Pain in some cases, is what some people’s lives revolve around.

Lets look at pain. It is your signal that injury, disease or too much strain has occurred on the body. Without it you wouldn’t know that something needs to be addressed. Even mild pain can limit your activities, which in turn can lead to a loss of strength, endurance and flexibility.

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September 04 2008

Detox Diet: 8 Benefits To Juice Fasting

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There are many benefits to juicing, especially if you prepare them yourself:

1. If drank fresh, the juice is full of live enzymes, which is helpful the body.

2. Unlike coming out from a packet, the juice is fresh and not pasteurized. Pasteurization many have its conveniences but it has resulted in nutritionally dead foods. During pasteurization, high heat is used and this destroys the vital nutrients within the juice.

3. You consume more vegetables by drinking than by eating. As you probably have experienced, it’s not always possible to eat as many vegetables as you would like. Drinking fresh vegetable juice helps take care of this problem.

4. Digestion and assimilation of the vegetable nutrients is much easier. Your body is in fact, like a juicer. When you eat a celery, your body will digest the celery by extracting the juice to get the nutrition. The fiber is eliminated via the colon and bowel movements. However, if you juice, you have already extracted the juice for the body thus making it easier for your assimilation. Nevertheless, it’s still important to eat whole vegetables and fruits because you need some amount of fiber as well.

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September 04 2008

The Health Benefits Of Massage Therapy

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Massage is all a matter of touch. We are all sensual beings and as a result our bodies respond well to massage and human contact. When there is touch, more healing takes place.

These are some of known health benefits of Massage Therapy:

Improves blood circulation, thus allowing increased oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to treated areas including areas that have been injured or have experienced overexertion.

  • Helps to lower blood pressure. 
  • Aids in detoxification by propelling toxic waste products through the lymphatic system. 
  • Relieves stress and promote sense of well being. 
  • Relaxes injured muscles, reducing cramps, and muscle spasms 
  • Stimulates the release of the bodies’ natural endorphins which may aid in pain control. 
  • Provides increased exercise stretching for atrophied muscles. 

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September 04 2008

Asbestos Symptoms: Late Indicators

Asbestos symptoms refer to the changes in the body that indicate some type of serious diseases caused by exposure to asbestos particles.

Awareness about asbestos symptoms is important because danger of asbestos exposure affects about 1.3 million people every year. Individuals employed in the railroad, factory, shipyard, automobile, construction and building industries in last six decades are at the risk of developing asbestos symptoms.

Most unfortunate aspect of the asbestos related diseases is that the asbestos symptoms may lie dormant in the body for decades. This long latency period does not let the victim or his family knows about the existence of the disease. Asbestos symptoms might appear after 20-50 years of exposure.

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September 04 2008

Help With Hemorrhoids

Most of us over the age of 30 have at some point in time suffered from hemorrhoids. They are one of the most common medical ailments suffered by both men and women. Generally 80% of those who suffer with hemorrhoids are able to treat them with over the counter preparations and a few lifestyle changes. For others who suffer with external hemorrhoids surgery may be needed.

Internal hemorrhoids are generally symptom free. The most common symptom is blood seen covering the stool or on toilet paper. It is when these internal hemorrhoids prolapse to the outside of the anus that they become extremely painful and troublesome.

Depending on the severity of your hemorrhoids you may be able to obtain relief with the following methods: A sitz bath. Sit in a few inches of warm water for fifteen minutes two to three times a day. When you wipe do not use toilet paper, use a pad or cotton ball moistened with witch hazel. You can purchase pre moistened pads in the drug store. You can use an over the counter cream to help lessen the burning and itching. Do not use it over the time specified by the manufacturer.

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September 04 2008

Hemorrhoid Facts And Treatments

In the medical world a hemorrhoid is described as an enlarged or swollen vein. Hemorrhoids are somewhat similar to varicose veins that develop in the legs, except that hemorrhoids are veins located in the anus. These veins cushion and protect the anal canal. Pain and problems occur when these veins are stretched and tear under pressure.

Hemorrhoids are a very common medical problem seen in both men and women, usually over the age of 30, with most suffering from hemorrhoids between the ages of 45 and 65 years old. It is estimated that more than a half million people seek treatment for symptomatic hemorrhoids each year in the United States. Of this half million hemorrhoid suffers, 10 to 20 percent will need surgical treatment.

Most medical professionals blame the formation of hemorrhoids on prolonged sitting on the toilet and chronic straining due to constipation. Hemorrhoids are also very common during pregnancy, due to the strain from carrying the excess weight of the baby.

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September 04 2008

Weight Loss And Exercise Myths — Test Your Fitness Iq

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You’ve tried virtually every “diet” you can think of and still haven’t lost weight. Or, perhaps you’ve lost weight only to quickly gain it back. You feel like you are in a never-ending battle that you just can’t win. Does this sound familiar? Stop beating yourself over the head in frustration!

More than likely you just aren’t armed with the right information to help you be successful in reaching your weight loss goals. There are so many diet misnomers floating about that it’s easy to feel like your drowning. The first step toward success is distinguishing fact from myth and using the power of knowledge.

To help you get started on the path to permanent weight loss and healthy living, read below to learn what’s true and what’s false in the world of diet and fitness. Take the quiz below to test your knowledge and you’ll learn what it really takes to beat the scale. Read each question and answer true or false. Then read below to find out whether or not you guessed right.

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September 04 2008

Depression And Celiac Disease

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Depression is a condition which affects about 15% of the population. Women are more likely to be affected than men.

It is quite common for people who have been diagnosed as having Coeliac Disease to find themselves feeling depressed and anxious. For many there is a link between food and a sense of control over their lives. Celiacs are faced with something over which they feel no control.

A diagnosis of celiac disease, the restriction the new diet places upon you, and a sense of isolation created because you feel you are not able to join in with everyone else can bring on symptoms of depression.

You Are What You Eat
Poor absorption of vitamins and minerals can make the celiac sufferer feel unwell, feeling depressed can be a side effect of not having the correct balance of foods which affect your mood and have a significant impact on how you are feeling emotionally. For some of you simply sticking to a strict gluten-free diet will be enough.

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