Many of us “celebrate” every new spring with new health problems and ailments like frequent colds, depressions, mood swings and weakened immunity. Fortunately, we have a great help given to us by our Mother Nature: essential oils. Therapeutic properties of these natural remedies are known since the times of Ancient Egypt, and the queens of Far East and India used aromatherapy approaches which could help them to renew and refresh the body, especially in spring time.

In our epoch, high therapeutic and medicinal value of essential oils is scientifically proven by many experts, that is why modern doctors and health care specialists recommend aromatherapy for improving our immunity and preventing such common diseases as bronchitis, cold, flu, rhinitis and others.  In spring, we all suffer from lack of vitamins, excessive sleepiness, weakened hair and dull skin. The following essential oils can help you to combat the above mentioned symptoms.

• Lemon essential oil. It is a very powerful antiseptic which stimulates the function of our immunity system and can assist in treating migraines. It can be used for preventing respiratory system disorders.
• Sage oil. It can be used to prevent whooping cough, colds, bronchitis, and it is also a strong natural painkiller.
• Jasmin oil. Can be used to treat colds.
• Eucalyptus essential oil. This powerful natural antiseptic is used to treat rhinitis and cough.
• Anis oil. It is one of the softest natural oils which can alleviate the symptoms of headaches.
• Peppermint essential oil. Improves blood circulation and can be used to treat respiratory system diseases.
• Sandalwood essential oil. This natural remedy and antiseptic can improve our immunity, as well as improve te function of our urinary and respiratory systems.

All these essential oils and blends can be used in the framework of aromatherapy in your home. You can use special candles or drop one or two drops of the blend on your aroma lamp, in your aroma diffuser or just in a bowl of warm water. Besides, you can use the oils for massage or steambath.

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Who would want to have a boring job? It’s … um, boring, but not only. Martin Shipley and Annie Britton, the specialists of University College London, are convinced that those people who have boring job are under much higher risks of depressions and psychological disorders, drinking, smoking, drug abuse, as well as developing cardio-vascular problems and even suffering premature death.

This study started in 1985 and for three years about 7,500 British people (mostly civil servants) were questioned about their work and possible work boredom. Years later, in 2009, Brittin and Shipley checked out current situation of all the participants. It turned out that those officials who reported about being bored at work were 2,5 times more likely to die of a cardio-vascular disease than those people who reported feeling challenged and motivated with their job. The specialists tried to adjust the other potential risk factors, like unhealthy eating habits, etc. After that, the effect was reduced, but it was still significant.

Actually, there’s nothing strange in the fact that boring job is linked to depressions and other negative consequences. Dr. C. Cannon, Professor of medicine and spokesman for the American College of Cardiology comments on these finding as the following: “Someone who is bored may not be motivated to eat well, exercise, and have a heart-healthy lifestyle. That may make them more likely to have a cardiovascular event“. Therefore, if your job is too monotonous and boring, maybe it is time to change it? Read more reviews and comments on this interesting study in the coming issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology.

It is a known fact that fruit and veggies play one of the main roles in everyone’s diet. Those, who consume good amounts of fruit and veggies every day receive all necessary vitamins and nutrients, and have lower chances to have such diseases as stroke, cancer and other health problems. But it is not always possible to deliver fresh gifts of nature right to our tables, and that is the time when we pick up some frozen fruit or vegetables to get them in our diet. But what is the best option? Fresh veggies vs frozen veggies, who wins?

12 years ago the FDA confirmed that frozen veggies and fruit have not less of nutritional properties than fresh ones. However, recently a group of scientists from the Institute of Food Research came to a conclusion that frozen veggies actually have GREATER amounts of useful elements and nutrients than fresh ones. The specialists point on the fact that sometimes it takes up to 2 weeks till so called “fresh” fruit and veggies are consumed. At the same time, frozen fruit and veggies are processed shortly after being picked, thus they have more of useful elements preserved.

“The nutritional content of fresh vegetables begins to deteriorate from the minute they are picked. This means that by the time they end up on our plate, although we may think we’re reaping the vegetable’s full nutritional benefits, this is often not the case,” Dr. S. Schenker, an experienced nutritionist, comments. The study showed that so called “fresh” veggies we can buy in a grocery shop or a  market lose up to 45% of their nutritional value by the time we consume them. In particular, after 16 days of being stored in good conditions, green beans lose up to 45% of their nutritional value, cauliflower and broccoli – about 25%, and carrots – up to 10%.

That is why many nutritionists recommend using more of frozen fruit and vegetables in our daily diet. As a rule, veggies and fruit “…are frozen at their peak ripeness,” says Keri Gans, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “With fresh, you don’t know how long it has been since it was picked. Also, frozen vegetables will keep in the freezer without going bad. Since they are already cut up, it makes it easy for the cook.” However, it is not worth giving up on fresh veggies and fruit, because the process of freezing and storing frozen foods is still damaging to the nutritional content.

Recently, Forbes magazine published an overview of the world’s healthiest traditional cuisines. The study was carried out by Harley Pasternak, a nutritionist and healthy lifestyle promoter. He based his research on his own observations while traveling around the world, as well as on some statistics: namely, life expectancy and obesity index, which reflect the effects of good eating habits the best. The specialist came to very interesting conclusions and he strongly recommends borrowing certain dietary tips from the mentioned cultures. Below, you can see the list of the world’s most healthiest diets, according to Pasternak.

1. Japan (life expectancy 82 years, obesity rate 1.5 %). The Japanese have extremely low obesity rate not only because it is very common for them to eat small amounts of foods, but also since their cuisine is focused on very healthy foods, like fish, soy products, broccoli and others. Buckwheat noodles, one of the most popular Japanese foods, is rich in complex carbohydrates and is very nourishing, but very healthy.

2. Singapore (life expectancy 82 years, obesity rate 1.8 %). Though this cuisine is based on increased rise consumption, the Singaporeans compensate their carbohydrate consumption by eating very small amounts of meat (they prefer fish and vegetables) and choosing fresh tropical fruit and low calorie treats for desert.

3. China (life expectancy 73 years, obesity rate 1.8 %). According to Pasternak, about 65% of meals in Chinese cuisine are made of fruit and vegetables, grains and beans. Also, Chinese cuisine should be preferred for the abundance of specific healthy foods like ginger, soy beans, garlic, etc. The disadvantage of this cuisine is using too much of fried foods.

4. Sweden (life expectancy 81 years, obesity rate 11 %). Despite of obvious shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables, the cuisine of this northern country is based on dairy products and fish. However, it is necessary to remember that the tradition of leading a healthy lifestyle is strongly embedded in Swedish social life.

5. France (life expectancy 81 years, obesity rate 6.6 %). French people usually are keen lovers of good foods and wine, but they have one of the lowest obesity rate in Europe. Why? Because traditionally they tend to prepare meals in ovens, this way avoiding frying. Also, the French have no tendency to overeat.

6. Italy (life expectancy 80 years, obesity rate 13 %). No way, you can say! Wine, cheesy pasta and pizza lovers eat one of the world’s healthiest diets? Ha ha! Healthy way of preparing meals and using only healthy fats can also play a role, guys!

7. Spain (life expectancy 80 years, obesity rate 16 %). Pasternak is convinced that the Spaniards eat lots of dietary fiber, fruit and fish. Also, healthy cooking is practiced widely.

8. South Korea (life expectancy 79 years, obesity rate 10 %). The scientist attributes good overall health of modern South Koreans to their low-fat diet. Also, this country has one of the lowest rate of red meat consumption per capita.

9. Israel (life expectancy 81 years, obesity rate 24 %). This cuisine is focused on using lots of specific spices and herbs, as well as olive oil, which are rich in nutrients and useful elements. That is why Israel’s cuisine is linked to better health.

It is reported that single and unhappy men have more chances to suffer a stroke. Recently, Israeli specialists completed their long term study which started years ago in 1963, and in the framework of this research, the scientists tracked the life changes of more than 10,000 men, officials and military servants. Everything they recorded and observed made them come to a conclusion that if other risk factors for stroke (diabetes, overweight, smoking, etc.) are equal, happily married men have 64% lower risks of fatal stroke.

Uri Goldbourt, a professor at Tel Aviv University and one of the leaders of the study says that the group of scientists were actually surprised with the conclusions they had to come to after completing their experiments and observations.”I had not expected that unsuccessful marriage would be of this statistical importance,” he comments. Another specialist Daniel Lackland, a spokesman for the American Stroke Association and DrPH of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston says that the findings of the study could be explained by a tendency for taking more effective preventing measures against stroke and other diseases in terms of happy relationships.

“Weight loss is so much better when two people are involved,” Lackland says, “and if you look at something like cigarette smoking, there is better support in quitting.” Also, the specialist says that a life partner can much faster and more effectively provide with medical help, that can also contribute to lower risks of fatal stroke. Lackland is certain that the findings and mentioned statistical estimations can be applied on European and American societies as well. The results of the study are “very consistent with what we’re seeing in the U.S.,”  he says

But what about women, we all wonder? According to Lackland, this tendency should definitely be valid for women as well. “If you are in happy relationships, it goes both ways. Social support is better in a good relationship,” the specialist is convinced. The findings of this very interesting research were presented in the end of the last week at the American Stroke Association’s annual  conference in San Antonio.

The importance of a proper function of digestive system for effective weight management and good overall health is indisputable. However, very frequently our life-style, bad habits, food preferences and unhealthy nutrition harm our digestive system to a great extent. This can be very dangerous and can jeopardize our chances to achieve a healthy weight. That is why prior to starting any weight management program, it is essential to get rid of bad habits and eliminate all the factors that affect our digestion. Below, you can see a list of the most powerful enemies of your digestive system.

1. Tobacco smoking. This is the main negative factor since smoking affects not only oral mucus membrane, but also irritates those membranes in your stomach causing gastritis and other digestive system disorders. Also, smoking is linked to increased risks of having colon and stomach cancer.

2. Great amounts of coffee. As a matter of fact, consuming small doses of coffee is considered to be useful for digestion as coffee stimulates gastric juice production. However, drinking more than 3 cups of strong coffee a day can cause bacterial imbalances in the stomach and lead to various diseases of the digestive system.

3. Carbonated drinks. It is strongly recommended to avoid consuming carbonated drinks for the people who have sensitive stomach and to those who already suffer from various ailments connected with poor function of digestive system.

4. Alcohol abuse. Those people who drink too much of alcoholic beverages usually have problems with liver, pancreas and digestive system. Alcohol affects bacterial balance in our bowels and causes colon cancer, it is high in calories and slows down metabolism, that is why it is impossible to use alcoholic drinks in the framework of any weight management program.

5. Too spicy foods. Most of spices are irritants and can cause stomach burning and even ulcers. However, such spices as anise and dill are quite useful for our digestion: they stimulate and improve our digestion function.

6. Medications. Most of the medications are irritants and are harmful to our digestion. That is why it is vital to consult a medical specialist before using any medications, even the ones that you have already used earlier.

7. Sedentary lifestyle. An excellent digestion function needs motion, and sedentary lifestyle causes stagnation of bowel activities, as well as strictly linked to constipation and flatulence. Therefore, to help your digestion, be active and keep your muscles in tone.

Not everyone understands that it is better to begin a new weight loss program with consulting a nutritionist or a weight management specialist. Usually, we tend to decide ourselves, what foods are healthy and what foods cause weight gain. However, very few people achieve success from the very first attempt, and sooner or later many of us decide to visit a nutritionist for some professional advice on weight management. Starting your weight management program without consulting a specialist is one of the most common weight loss mistakes. What are other weight loss mistakes?

1. You have no list of the foods and meals to avoid in the framework of your diet plan. We can frequently hear people saying “I can not eat that, I am on diet”. However, it turns out more important to know well what you HAVE TO eat in terms of your diet plan. If you think only about restrictions, you tend to be left hungry and with no necessary nutrients and vitamins, that can be more harmful than having some extra kilos.

2. You have no any thoroughly planned nutrition strategy. Ok, you know so well, what you can and what you can not eat. You know what you can eat for breakfast, for lunch and dinner. But did you give it a thought, what will you eat at work, in the office or somewhere else? If you do not have a well-planned strategy, your desires will win and you’ll be back to your usual nutrition routine.

3. Eating too much of low calorie foods. You made up your mind to eat only fruit and veggies, but since they are low calorie and easily digested, very soon you will start eating pounds of vegetable or fruit salads. Your stomach will grow and your digestion system will ask for more and more of the salads. Remember that if 100 g of vegetable salad has 50 calories, then 7 pounds of the salad has about 1500 calories.

4. Your diet is imbalanced. There’s nothing much to add here. Your daily diet should include certain amounts of carbs, proteins, fats and microelements, otherwise, if your diet plan exceeds the period of 3-4 weeks, your body can be harmed by the absence of one or another necessary nutrient.

5. Abrupt changes in your nutrition plan. How many times after a heavy partying and eating lots of unhealthy foods and snacks have you made a hysteric decision to follow a strict diet? What would be the reaction of your body and digestion, one day overfilled and the next day left emptied out? Avoid such sudden changes and give your body some time to get used to a new nutrition strategy and plan.

6. Irregular nutrition. Many nutritionists confirm that hunger is not a good helper for weight loss and irregular nutrition can be very harmful. Remaining hungry for a half-day can give some temporary positive results, but then your body will get adopted to the situation and your metabolism will slow down a lot. That is why the best way to lose weight is eating small portions of low calorie foods every 3-4 hours

This week, one of the world’s leading hair loss and hair transplant specialists Dr. Larry Shapiro reported that after studying a problem of hair thinning and loss for many years, he found one more common cause of this curse of many modern men and women. According to Shapiro, hair loss is caused by regular using products and pills for weight gain or loss, which contain a chemical compound known as whey protein isolate.

Hair loss is among the most topical problems of modern heath care, and a great number of men and women have to struggle against hair thinning and loss. The experts name the following factors among the leading reasons of hair loss: genetic predisposition, poor nutrition, incorrect hair care, negative effects of stresses and nervous tension, hormonal shifts and increased levels of male hormones, and so on.  For 20 years of studying the problem, Dr. Shapiro interviewed about 11,000 of his patients and noticed that those individuals who take medications for more effective weight management experience more intense hair loss and thinning.

“Men and women who take growth hormones and testosterone for weight training and weight reduction programs frequently come into my office complaining of hair loss.  I have to explain to them that the growth hormones they’re taking to strengthen their bodies are actually causing their hair to fall out,” Dr. Shapiro says. The expert is convinced that not only nutrition supplements, but also anabolic steroids and other work out products promote hair thinning and loss as they increase the level of male hormones.

At the same time, Shapiro underlines that only the supplements and products with high content of whey protein isolates are bad for our hair. Inspired by his new findings, Dr. Larry Shapiro created a new unique formula for hair growth and reconstruction. This formula was named Help Hair and it includes such valuable nutrients and elements as niacin, vitamins of B group, amino acids, extracts of Chinese herbs and other natural ingredients.  In the nearest future, Shapiro plans to publish scientific evidence of the effectiveness of his formula.

According to a new scientific research of medical specialists from the Oriental Hospital at Kyung Hee University Medical Center in South Korea, acupuncture can be an effective therapeutic technique to alleviate menstrual cramps. This study included also the efforts on summarizing the findings of 27 previous researches which involved about 3,000 women. As a result, the scientists proposed a theory that acupuncture can be used to ease menstrual pains and cramps more effectively than medicines and herbal remedies.

It is reported that more than 50% of modern women suffer from regular menstrual cramps and pains, which are frequently accompanied with bloating, diarrhea, headaches, nausea and vomiting. At that, menstrual pains tend to increase and last for longer periods of time as the woman gets older. The causes of menstrual cramps and pains are not fully explained, and traditional treatment of this problem includes taking painkillers, doing physical exercises and special thermotherapy. Now, the U.S. National Institutes of Health included acupuncture, which has been practiced in China for about 26 centuries, as an alternative effective technique to treat menstrual cramps.

South Korean specialists supposed that such compounds as serotonin and endorphins,  which are produced in our body when we are overfilled with positive emotions or when we are doing physical exercises, contribute to relieving pains and cramps linked to menstruation. “There is convincing evidence on the effectiveness of using acupuncture to treat pain as it stimulates the production of endorphins and serotonin in the central nervous system,” the scientists state. They are convinced that their findings will help millions of women who have to look for ways to cope with menstrual cramps every month. The results of this study were recently published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Arugula (Eruca sativa), which is also called rocket seed, rocket salad, rukola and rucketta, is famous for its powerful aphrodisiac qualities. Centuries ago, those were ancient Romans, who discovered such properties of this leafy green with rich and strong peppery taste. They used to mix green leaves of arugula with other natural aphrodisiacs and spices (like lavender, lettuce, dill and chicory) and add these mixtures to their special sauces or salads to increase potency.

The plant originates from the Mediterranean region and grows throughout the area from Lebanon to Morocco. It is very easy to grow arugula: it can be cultivated even in a small pot in front of your window giving you an opportunity to enjoy fresh leaves every day. In addition to its excellent love-inspiring properties and aphrodisiac powers, arugula is also considered one of the most useful and healthiest natural superfoods. It is very low in calories (20 g of arugula have only 5 cal) and can be a great source of dietary fiber, vitamins C, A, K and P, iron, potassium and other nutrients and minerals we all need. Experts say that one of the most significant health benefits of arugula is improve our blood quality.

Arugula is a very effective stimulant, it gives power and energy, and can stop cough. Vitamins P and K in this plant are reported to have positive effects on liver function. Arugula leaves and seeds are widely used in modern culinary, and potatoes with arugula is one of the most popular ways to consume this natural aphrodisiac. As a matter of fact, arugula can be added to any sort of meals and dishes. It is especially good with fish and red meat. Also, you can combine arugula with such spices as parsnips, pine nuts and pistachio for dressing your favorite vegetable salads and pasta. Enjoy aphrodisiac properties and health benefits of arugula year round!