health point

staying healthy the natural way

2010-02-15T04:42:00.000-08:00

staying healthy the natural way
lots of Americans today have tied their lives to one pill or the other.for instance,acute-headaches could simply be treated drinking lots of water that your body can contian or oranges which is rich in vitamin-c.Sadly the relex
had being towards pills/pain relievers....what happend to natural-medication?
Have you thought about what will happen when you have chemical accumilations?

Dicipline and exercise

exercising your system/body puts check on the aging humones;they by slowing down the
the aging process.basic work-outs to flush out metabolic wastes will definately give you the desired results for a healthy body.hey guys have you also thought about eating-right?(what the hell is that) the truth is you wanna stay healthy then eat natural food.....this is a few of them:unchemically-processed rice,cut down on can foods,eat more of natural vegitables,less of soda drinks.....if you can eat more of stuffs from your local garden.....OOOhh i almost forgot,while eating if you can avoid taking water! except you feel a little beat choaky then you can have some to ease yourself,,,when you are done eating you can now take enogh waterto enable propper digestion(got the logic) its an acient secret keep it safe in your heart.

How to check for sickness

2010-01-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

To find out the needs of a sick person, first you must ask important questions and
then examine him carefully. You should look for signs and symptoms that help you tell
how ill the person is and what kind of sickness he may have.
Always examine the person where there is good light, preferably in the sunlight—
never in a dark room.
There are certain basic things to ask and to look for in anyone who is sick. These
include things the sick person feels or reports (symptoms), as well as things you
notice on examining him (signs). These signs can be especially important in babies
and persons unable to talk. In this book the word ‘signs’ is used for both symptoms
and signs.
When you examine a sick person, write down your findings and keep them
for the health worker in case he is needed (see p. 44).
QUESTIONS
Start by asking the person about her
sickness. Be sure to ask the following:
What bothers you most right now?
What makes you feel better or
worse?
How and when did your
sickness begin?
Have you had this same
trouble before, or has
anyone else in your family or
neighborhood had it?
Continue with other questions in order to learn the details of the illness.
For example, if the sick person has a pain, ask her:
Where does it hurt? (Ask her to point to the exact place with one finger.)
Does it hurt all the time, or off and on?
What is the pain like? (sharp? dull? burning?)
Can you sleep with the pain?
If the sick person is a baby who still does not talk, look for signs of pain. Notice
his movements and how he cries. (For example, a child with an earache sometimes
rubs the side of his head or pulls at his ear.)GENERAL CONDITION OF HEALTH
Before touching the sick person, look at him carefully. Observe how ill or weak he
looks, the way he moves, how he breathes, and how clear his mind seems. Look for
signs of dehydration (see p. 151) and of shock (p. 77).
Notice whether the person looks well nourished or poorly nourished. Has he been
losing weight? When a person has lost weight slowly over a long period of time, he may
have a chronic illness (one that lasts a long time).
Also note the color of the skin and eyes. These sometimes change when a person
is sick. (Dark skin can hide color changes. So look at parts of the body where the skin
is pale, such as palms of the hands or soles of the feet, the fingernails, or the insides of
the lips and eyelids.)
• Paleness, especially of the lips and inside the eyelids, is a sign of anemia (p. 124).
Skin may also go lighter as a result of tuberculosis (p. 179), or kwashiorkor (p. 113).
• Darkening of the skin may be a sign of starvation (see p. 112).
• Bluish skin, especially blueness or darkness of the lips and fingernails, may mean
serious problems with breathing (p. 79, 167, and 313) or with the heart (p. 325).
Blue-gray color in an unconscious child may be a sign of cerebral malaria (p. 186).
• A gray-white coloring, with cool moist skin, often means a person is in shock (p. 77).
• Yellow color (jaundice) of the skin and eyes may result from disease in the liver
(hepatitis, p. 172, cirrhosis, p. 328, or amebic abscess, p. 145) or gallbladder
(p. 329). It may also occur in newborn babies (p. 274), and in children born with
sickle cell disease (p. 321).
Look also at the skin when a light is shining across it from one side. This can show
the earliest sign of measles rash on the face of a feverish child (p. 311).
TEMPERATURE
It is often wise to take a sick person’s temperature, even if he
does not seem to have a fever. If the person is very sick, take the
temperature at least 4 times each day and write it down.
If there is no thermometer, you can get an idea of the
temperature by putting the back of one hand on the
sick person’s forehead and the other on your own or
that of another healthy person. If the sick person has
a fever, you should feel the difference.
It is important to find out when and how the fever comes, how long it lasts, and how
it goes away. This may help you identify the disease. Not every fever is malaria, though
in some countries it is often treated as such. Remember other possible causes. For
example:
• Common cold, and other virus infections (p. 163). The fever is usually mild.
• Typhoid causes a fever that goes on rising for 5 days. Malaria medicine does not help.
• Tuberculosis sometimes causes a mild fever in the afternoon. At night the person
often sweats, and the fever goes down.

simple steps to avoid obesity

2010-01-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

There is a great deal of nonsense spoken on the subject of obesity. There are numerous facts, figures and statistics in general as to the reasons why people are becoming more and more obese. Many of these facts are complicated - to many they are over-complicated. However, it is true that a 2006/07-health survey found that:

· one in three adults were overweight (36.3%) and one in four obese (26.5%).

· one in five children aged 2 to 14 years were overweight (20.9%) and one in twelve was obese (8.3%).

The World Health Organization now describes the prevalence of obesity as an epidemic. There has been a rise in obesity even in healthy and 'Green' New Zealand in recent decades - from 9% (males) and 11% (females) in 1977 to 20% and 22% respectively in 2003.

The fact that obesity is an expanding problem globally should make us sit up straight and take notice. But of what do we take notice? Some agencies claim that obesity is down to eating too much fast food. Others say that it is largely genetic, and that, if your parents and their parents were 'fat' then you will be too! To a limited extent some of this is accurate. What these 'schools of thought' forget, though, is that YOU are an individual, and if YOU follow a few simple and common sense rules YOU will be precisely the weight you want to be.

WATCH

1. Examine your eating habits and analyse what you are eating. This is number one on the list of tips because, if you are eating haphazardly (the wrong food), the chances are you DON NOT STAND A CHANCE of getting slim. Eat the right things for health. Salads, fruit, vegetables, fresh fruit and vegetable drinks - not fizzy, sugar-filled pop drinks. Eat honey if you must have sweet things. Reduce creamy, rich and deep-fried foods unless you know that they are cooked with healthy oils and not fat.

HABIT

2. If you are eating merely as a matter of habit you are probably not thinking at all about the things you are consuming. This will cause you to put on weight due simply to the fact that you are more than likely stuffing things into your mouth that have little or no nutrient value for your body's health and well-being.

EXERCISE

3. Monitor also your daily exercise habit. If you don not have one already, get one! You will find it easier to lose weight and keep it off if you have at least a walking or jogging routine three or more times each week. The body's metabolism needs exercise in order to utilise the nutrients and minerals you put into it. Good food is absolutely no use to you if your metabolism is hindered in this way.

WHAT IS OBESITY?

4. Obesity is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat (adipose tissue) in relation to lean body mass. Overweight is excess weight for height so, if you are a man six feet (1.8m) tall and you weigh 150 lbs (68kg) that is fine. By contrast, if you are a woman five feet tall and weigh the same, that is overweight. This is all pretty obvious, but what we need to be able to do as individuals is to objectively look at ourselves in the mirror and ask the question "am I overweight for my height and how can I remedy that"? The answer is in tips one, two and three.

5. Finally, once you can see that your excess flab is beginning to be shed, you will then realise just how simple it is to GET YOURSELF to a comfortable size and weight that you (and everyone else) can handle.

It is interesting to note that we generally eat as our parents eat. This is simply because it was our parents who first cooked for us and they were in the 'habit' of preparing the type of food their parents made for them. You can see that any hereditary connection to the weight we put on is almost certainly down to the food we are in the 'habit' of eating - because our parents put it on our plates, and their parents before them and....so on!

Remember, you will not show signs of weight loss until you make those all important decisions on what you can eat that will help you lose that unwanted weight. The day that someone says to you "Goodness you have lost weight" is the day you will skip with delight - literally

Diabetes nutrition that is best for you

2010-01-08T04:55:00.000-08:00

Adhering to a proper diabetes diet is not as complicated as it may seem. In fact, the foods that you should be incorporating and avoiding are also the ones that are healthy for most anyone. Therefore, any changes that you may be making will not only be good for your condition, but for the overall well being of both you and your family. If you are just starting out with these dietary alterations, it is important to keep in mind that you are doing something very helpful for the future of your health.

The main difference between a diabetes diet and a normal healthy diet is that the specific amounts of carbohydrates eaten will need to be regulated more strictly. Although the right balance and amounts of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates are important, the latter category is, by far, the most important to which you should pay close attention. The reason for this is that, more than any other type of food, they have a much larger effect on blood sugar levels. When dealing with diabetes type 2, your primary focus should always be on keeping these levels as stable as possible. Eating the right foods in the right quantities makes a big difference when it comes to keeping them even.

To determine a food's effect on blood sugar, you should take note of its glycemic index. This system ranks a variety of foods based on how quickly they are digested and, thus, how much effect they have on one's blood sugar. A higher number indicates that the specific food will have a larger impact. However, many high glycemic foods are typically foods that are not the healthiest for us anyway and, therefore, should always be consumed in moderation by anyone. This, once again, shows us that a diabetes diet is one that is universally healthy for the majority of people

One very important part of a nutrition program for diabetes type 2 is making sure that you eat small to moderate amounts of good for you foods on a regular basis. Skipping meals or waiting long periods of time between eating can cause your blood sugar levels to go up and down much more than they would if you, instead, stick to a set schedule of meals and snacks. The amounts and times that you eat do not have to be overly strict. However, following this tip, along with other guidelines for a diabetes diet, will help you manage your condition and keep you and those around you healthy

Good night sleep

2009-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

With all of the problems we are facing today as a country, one of our biggest problems is getting a good nights sleep. Each night Millions of Americans are kept awake due to fear of job loss, too many bills and personal problems resulting from all of these problems. Too many individuals suffering from insomnia think taking sleeping pills is the only answer. Just remember when you take sleeping pills you are putting chemicals in your body that are made up of many synthetic ingredients that can cause you to become ill.

Another goods reason not to take sleeping pills is that they are very addictive if taken over a long period of time. Then if you choose to try and sleep without pills you may find it impossible. What most people don't realize is that food is one of the best drugs you can use to get a good nights sleep. What you eat and when you eat can definitely effect your sleeping patterns. In this article I will you some tips about what to eat for a great nights sleep.

First, it is recommended that you eat a fair amount of dairy products, beans, fish, poultry and other high protein foods.

Secondly, if you are eating the right amount of these high protein foods your body will get a substance tryptophan which causes the body to produce a substance called L-Tryptophan an amino acid that is used in producing Serotonin and Melatonin two substances that help the body relax and eventually helps with sleep.

Third, the time you eat can effect how well you sleep. You do not want to eat too much food to close to the time you will be going to bed. It can interfere with how you sleep.

Fourth, you also do not want to do too much exercise too close to bed time. If you over stimulate your body it can result in sleep loss.

Lastly, warm decaffeinated drinks can help you relax. You want to go to bed in a relaxed frame of mind.

Natural Remedies To Stop Snoring

2009-11-22T06:46:00.000-08:00

As long as it works, it is worth the trouble, the time, and certainly the money, even if it does not stem from a clinical source. There are a lot of people who come up with ways to stop snoring all the time, and many of these snoring cessation efforts really have no medical basis. But people do them all the time; sometimes they work for some people, and sometimes they don’t. That does not change the fact that herbal and natural remedies to stop snoring are for real; it only shows that there are people they work for, and there are snoring patients that are not helped by them.Natural stop snoring cures are all over the nation today, and they continue to gain popularity as more and more people are grossed out by the mechanical responses of medical science to the noisy sleep disorder. I mean, I don’t snore, but if I did, and had to put some mechanical mask on my face all night so as not to snore, I’d freak out too. One of the reasons why I need to stop snoring so badly is because I am hurting the person I love with all that racket I am making in my sleep, and the masks don’t make that better, they make it worse – they still would rather spend the night in another room!

Ok, so there are suggested over the counter solutions for snoring that people subscribe to that will make them snore less. True; but these pills and medications are actually made from the natural sources too, so you may as well settle for the natural. And although surgery to stop snoring has yielded some impressive results in time, you will agree with me that it does not work that well all the time. Certainly before you opt for surgery, you want to try other less risky and less expensive solutions to snoring first.If you can lay your hands on the herbal remedies to stop snoring for so much less money than you will spend on conventional snoring remedies, you are that much better off. They are made from all natural products, and so they do not have any significant side effects on your sleep or on your person, save that they help you sleep better. Basically, what you need to do is to clear the congestion in your throat and breathing passages that cause the snoring, especially if you have some kind of sinus infection. What you need in this instance is herbal tea, most of which are processed without the use of chemical additives, and are mainly confined to plant products. One type that readily comes to mind is the lemongrass which when inhaled and drank in its herbal form can clear your throat congestion instantly.

Other aromatic plants work perfectly as natural herbal cures for snoring, and they basically don’t cost so much. The eucalyptus is perhaps the most popular of these herbs for curing snoring, and the plants of the mint family with dark green downy leaves. Specifically, essential oils made from these fragrant sages gulped from a steam inhaler, can relieve your congestion and free of your air passages to prevent snoring. As a matter of fact, several healthcare professionals actually prescribe Marjoram oil for many snorers because it is already known to help.

Other herbal remedies for snoring that fall in the same category are the Goldenrod, the Goldseal, and ginger. In conjunction with natural honey they can cure common cold and certainly help you breathe easier, better, and a lot less noisier because they act as natural decongestants.

Healthy weight loss,dont complecate things!

2009-04-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

Healthy weight loss

Maybe it sounds too good to be true but all you have to do to reach your ideal weight is eat as much fruit as you can every day! If you don't believe it or just want to know more you definitely have to read further but you might want to calculate your ideal weight first.
-ideal weight calculator-

Lose the weight with fruit
First we think it's best to focus on feeling good. Secondly to remind that in order to live a healthy and energetic life in a body that is fit to do that job, attempting to lose weight only will not be the key. There are some other changes you might want to bring into your life. In order to have the cells of your body function properly they have to receive the right nutritious elements and toxins must be kept away from them as much as possible and should be disposed of properly. In order to reach that goal we have the following recommendations for you:
1) Consume as much as you can of the 'right nutrition';
2) Avoid as much as you can of the 'wrong nutrition';
3) Exercise moderately;
4) Be happy with every small change you've been able to make permanently;
5) Don't make weight loss more complicated as it is.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]
1) Consume as much as you can of the 'right nutrition'
After many research a great deal of scientists agree that:
raw fruits and (cooked) vegetables are the only right nutrition for human beings.
If you want to succeed in living a truly healthy life the best thing to do is to consume as much of the 'right nutrition' as possible each day. The more raw fruits and (cooked) vegetables you eat, the more your appetite for them increases and you might end up feeding your body with nothing but the right nutrition!

If you don't consume five pieces of fresh fruit a day yet (raw or squeezed) and you want to lose some weight permanently in a period of, say, six weeks (this period depends on your current eating pattern) the best thing to do is eat (or squeeze) those five fruits every day. If you haven’t consumed that much healthy food for a long time, it is most likely that your body starts to detoxify. You could even get sick!

More about detoxification.

If you have realized a consumption of five fruits a day you are ready to take the next step by consuming even more of the 'right nutrition'. To help you with this we have put together a 'right nutrition' list and a 'wrong nutrition' list. You can print the lists and put them on your kitchen wall. Every time you eat something check if it is included in the 'right nutrition' list or the 'wrong nutrition' list. If it is from the 'wrong nutrition' list try to replace it by something from the right list. If you can't replace the 'wrong nutrition' for some kind of reason enjoy it and don’t feel guilty about it!

Right Nutrition List

In other words: to lose weight it is important to live a healthier life, a healthy life starts with healthy food and raw fruits and vegetables are the healthiest food. We recommend you start your weight loss program by having five fruits a day and focusing on feeling good.

2) Avoid as much as you can of the 'wrong nutrition';

If you want to lose weight quickly just eating or squeezing five pieces of fresh fruit a day will not be enough. We have put together a list of foods to avoid if you want to speed up the burning process. In this way you'll start burning fat faster. You'll have to avoid as much food from the 'wrong nutrition' list as you can. In fact it’s a simple list to remember, only two food groups are mentioned: stimulants and animal food. Now this list might seem simple enough but it is actually quite difficult to find out which products in the supermarket do or don't contain one of the products mentioned on the list. If you check out the labels you'll notice that almost every product contains a stimulant, mostly white refined sugar or some kind of animal based product, often stock.

So, the foods you have to stay away from as much as possible if you want to help your body function properly and thus lose the excess weight are stimulants and animal based food.

Wrong nutrition list

3) Exercise moderately
Just a bit of exercise will do. It is important though to get some exercise every day especially if you are in a job where you sit down all day. A half-an-hour walk a day will do. Of course more exercise is always better but never feel bad if you can't get yourself to do it. If you just take that walk for at least half an hour each day you'll be fine. Stretching your muscles is also good, it makes you more conscious of your body.

4) Be happy with every small change you've been able to make permanently.
Your body reacts like an oil tanker so if you want to change course it will take some time. Every structural change in the right direction is one to be proud of as long as it is permanent. After making a change it will take about six weeks before a change becomes permanent and part of your daily life.

Be smart
If you want to be slim you have to be smart: change your eating pattern permanently. In this way you'll lose those pounds forever! Remember this: after eating (five to) nine pieces of fruit a day for a few months you'll notice that your appetite for fruit has increased structurally and moreover your appetite for stimulants will certainly have decreased! Try it out, it really is magic!

In other words: the more fruit you eat, the more fruit you eat.. it's as simple as that.

5) Don't make losing weight more complicated as it is
Step five: Just follow the four steps mentioned before and don't complicate things when doing so. Be easy on yourself as long as you are working on it. Just follow the simple steps we give you on this page and eating healthy won't be a punishment anymore. It just will become a whole lot of fun!

Additional tips

See replacing foods from the 'wrong nutrition' list by foods from the 'right nutrition' list as a game;
Try to feel what consumption of the 'wrong nutrition' list does to your body: are you more sleepy, feel like you've lost energy, are you constipated or the opposite, are you noticing a loss of memory, do you have headaches, are you thirsty;
Don't feel guilty if you consume food from the 'wrong nutrition' list. Just enjoy it as much as you can and feel carefully what it does with your body the day after;
Read the other diet articles about fruit.

Ways of Dealing With Sexual Problems

2009-04-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ways of Dealing With Sexual Problems

What to expect

When you first think of restarting sexual activity, you may be afraid it will be painful, or that you will never reach orgasm again. Your first sessions of lovemaking may not be what you expected. But just as you learned to enjoy sex when you started having sex, you can relearn how to feel pleasure after cancer treatment. Often people realize that their sex life was less than ideal before cancer and make changes in their sexual practices. Use this opportunity to look at your sex life in a new way.

The areas of your genitals most sensitive to touch may be a little different, or perhaps touch that felt exciting before cancer treatment is now painful. You might find your favorite position for intercourse has changed. If your vagina or vulva has been affected by surgery, you will need time to get used to the new feelings you have during intercourse.

Vaginal dryness

Cancer treatments often reduce the amount of moisture that your vagina produces when you are excited. You may need extra lubrication to make intercourse comfortable. If you use a vaginal lubricant, choose a water-based gel that has no perfumes, coloring, spermicide, or flavors added, as these chemicals can irritate your delicate genital tissues. Lubricants can usually be found near the birth control or feminine hygiene products in drug stores or grocery stores. Common brands include K-Y Jelly and Astroglide®. Be aware that some of the newer lubricant products include herbal extracts (such as aloe or lavender), which may cause irritation or allergic reactions in a few people. Also, warming gels can cause burning in some people. Be sure to read the labels and talk with a nurse, doctor, or pharmacist if you have questions.

Replens® and K-Y Liquibeads® are vaginal moisturizers that you can use 2 or 3 times a week to help keep your vagina moist and at a more normal acid balance (pH). The effects of these products last longer than those of lubricants, and you can buy them without a prescription. Lubrin® and Astroglide Silken Secret® are other moisturizers that are marketed as longer lasting than typical lubricants. Vitamin E gel caps can also be used as a vaginal moisturizer. Use a clean needle to make a small hole in the gel cap and either place the entire capsule within the vagina or squeeze some of the gel onto your fingers and insert them into the vagina. Vitamin E may stain undergarments.

Some women do well with local vaginal hormones to help vaginal dryness. These hormones are applied to and absorbed into the genital area, rather than taken by mouth. They come in gel, cream, ring, and tablet forms. Most are put into the vagina, although some creams can be applied to the vulva. Local vaginal hormones must be prescribed by a doctor.

Petroleum jelly (Vaseline®), skin lotions, and other oil-based lubricants are not good choices for vaginal lubrication. In some women, they may raise the risk of an itchy yeast infection. If latex condoms are used, they can also be damaged by petroleum products and lotions. Also, watch out for condoms or gels that contain nonoxynol-9 (N-9). N-9 is a birth control agent that kills sperm, but it can irritate the vagina, especially if the tissues are already dry or fragile.

Before intercourse, put some lubricant around and inside the entrance of your vagina. Then spread some of it on your partner's penis, fingers, or other insert. This helps get the lubricant inside your vagina. Many couples treat this as a part of foreplay. If intercourse lasts more than a few minutes, you may need to stop briefly and smooth on some extra lubricant. Even if you use vaginal moisturizers every few days, you can still use gel lubricant before and during sex if needed.

Premature menopause

If you have gone through premature (early) menopause because of cancer treatment, you may be bothered by frequent hot flashes, especially at night. Some women also feel grumpy and less interested in sex, though these symptoms may be linked more to stress and poor sleep than to a shortage of hormones. Pre-menopausal women who have had surgery to remove their ovaries are more likely to report problems with low sexual desire. If you think this has happened to you, talk with your doctor about whether you may be helped by small doses of androgens. (See the section "How the female body works sexually" for more on androgens.)

Replacement female hormones in a pill or patch can help with vaginal dryness and hot flashes (see "Vaginal dryness," discussed previously). But because estrogens can promote cancers of the breast, uterus, and ovaries and cause other health problems, doctors are less likely to prescribe them than they once were. Women who have vaginal dryness can now use tiny doses of estrogen in gels, creams, rings, or tablets by putting them right into their vagina. The gel, cream, ring, or tablet slowly releases small amounts of hormones to the vagina and nearby tissues, so that very little enters the bloodstream.

If you have questions or concerns about hormone replacement therapy, talk with your doctor or health care provider about its risks and benefits as they apply to you. If you and your doctor decide that hormone therapy is the best treatment for you, it is usually best to use it at the lowest dose that works for you and for the shortest possible time. It is important that any woman taking hormone therapy be checked each year by her doctor for any signs of cancer.

If your doctor does not advise hormones for you, hot flashes can also be treated in other ways, such as by taking medicines that control the nervous system's reaction to a lack of estrogen. Some drugs that are commonly used this way are the anti-depressants called serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as venlafaxine (Effexor fluoxetine (Prozac , paroxetine (Paxil), and others. Many women with milder hot flashes may do well with exercise and relaxation techniques alone. There are many ways to treat hot flashes--both with medicines and with minor changes in your environment. Ask your doctor or nurse about ways to help reduce your hot flashes.

Coping with the loss of a body part

Women who lose a part of their body to cancer, especially if it is a breast or an area of the sexual organs, sometimes miss the pleasure they felt from having that area stroked during sex. If you are in this situation, ask your partner to stroke your whole body. You may find new places to replace the pleasure you used to feel. Women often are embarrassed to look at or touch their own private parts. Becoming more familiar with your genitals can be important in restoring your sexual pleasure after cancer treatment.

You can feel more comfortable about your genitals by taking some time to look at them and touch them. Have you ever looked at your own genitals in the mirror? Many women have not, or at least have never located the different parts. Take a few minutes to study your own body. Take a hand mirror and hold it so that you can see your genitals. Find the different parts: outer lips, inner lips, clitoris, urethra (urinary) opening, entrance to the vagina, and anus. Take a finger and lightly touch each part, touching the anus last to avoid spreading germs to the urethra. Which areas are most sensitive to touch?

If you feel embarrassed or find your genitals ugly, try looking at them again in a day or so. Are your negative feelings as strong? Some artists have compared the shape of a woman's genitals to a flower or a seashell. Can you see your genitals as having their own beauty? Has your cancer treatment changed the look of your outer genitals in any way? If so, make it a goal to get used to the changes and explore them with touch to see if any areas are still sore or tender.

Reaching orgasm after cancer treatment

Almost all women who could reach orgasm before cancer treatment can do so after treatment. Most will have orgasms just as easily before. But for some it may take practice. Many books or videos for women contain detailed steps on how to reach orgasm.

"I'm having trouble reaching orgasm. What can I do?"

If you enjoy being touched but still have trouble reaching orgasm, you may need to try something new to push yourself toward more excitement. Here are a few ideas that might help a woman reach orgasm.

Have a sexual fantasy during lovemaking. A fantasy can be a memory of a past experience or a daydream about something you have never tried. A strongly sexual thought can distract you from negative thoughts and fears about performing.
Use a hand-held vibrator to give extra stimulation during your lovemaking. Hold it yourself or ask your partner to caress your genitals with it. You can steer your partner to the areas that respond best and away from those that are tender or uncomfortable.
Change the position of your legs during sexual activity. Some women reach orgasm more easily with legs open and thigh muscles tense. Others prefer to press their thighs together.
Tighten and relax your vaginal muscles in rhythm during intercourse or while your clitoris is being stroked. Or, tighten and relax the muscles in time with your breathing. This helps you focus on what you're feeling. Contract your vaginal muscles and pull them inward as you inhale, and let them relax loosely as you exhale. Pretend you are breathing through your vagina.
Ask your partner to gently touch your breasts and genital area. Experiment with your partner to find the type of touch that most excites you.
If a sexual problem has not cleared up after you have worked on it for many weeks or months, try some of the ideas in the section, "Professional help." If your partner does not want to go with you to counseling, the health care specialist you see may be able to help you involve your partner.

Preventing pain during sex

Pain during intercourse is one of the most common sexual problems for women. This can be pain in a non-sexual area of the body or pain in the genitals. Even if your pain is in a non-genital part of the body, it can keep you from feeling pleasure during sex. This type of pain might be soreness in one arm after a radical mastectomy or tingling and numbness in your hands and feet after some types of chemotherapy. Pain may even make it hard for you to use intercourse positions that worked well in the past.

Non-genital pain

If you are having pain not related to your genital area, these suggestions may help lessen it during sexual activity.

Plan sexual activity for the time of day when you feel the least pain. If you are using pain medicine, take it an hour before planned sexual activity so it will be in full effect during sex. Try to find doses of medicine that offer pain relief without drowsiness.
Find a position for touching or intercourse that puts as little pressure as possible on the sore areas of your body. If it helps, support the sore area and limit its movement with pillows. If a certain motion is painful, choose a position that doesn't require it or ask your partner to take over the hip movements during intercourse. You can guide your partner on what you would like.
Focus on your feelings of pleasure and excitement. With this focus, sometimes the pain fades into the background.
Genital pain

Another side effect of some cancer treatments is genital pain. Sexual activity may cause pain in the vagina itself or in the delicate tissues around it. Some women's vaginas are shorter and narrower after surgery or radiation. If you don't produce enough natural moisture to make your vagina slippery, intercourse can be dry and painful. It can leave a burning feeling or soreness. The risk of repeated urinary tract infections or irritation also goes up.

If you have genital pain during sexual activity:

Always let your doctor know about the pain. A number of common problems can cause pain on the vulva or deep in the vagina. Medical treatments can often help. Genital pain is sometimes a sign of cancer. Do not let embarrassment get in the way of seeking medical care.
Make sure you feel very aroused before you start intercourse. Your vagina expands to its fullest length and width only when you are highly excited. Also, the walls of your vagina then produce lubricating fluid. As women go through menopause, whether because of aging or because of cancer treatment, it may take a longer time and more touching to get fully aroused.
Spread a large amount of water-based lubricating gel around and in your vagina before having intercourse. You can also use lubrication suppositories (pellets) that melt during foreplay. Vaginal moisturizers should be used regularly, whether or not you have intercourse.
Let your partner know if any types of touching cause pain. Show your partner ways to caress you or positions that aren't painful. Usually, light touching around the clitoris and the entrance to the vagina won't hurt, especially if the area is well lubricated.
For intercourse, try a position that lets you control the movement. Then if deep penetration hurts, you can make the thrusts less deep. You can also control the speed.
One position that often works well is for you to kneel over your partner with your legs on either side of his body. Either sit up or lean forward and support yourself with your arms. An advantage of this position is that your partner can easily caress your breasts or clitoris. This may add more pleasure to intercourse.

Another good position is for partners to lie on their sides, either with your partner behind you, like spoons, or face to face.

Using Kegel exercises to learn to relax the vaginal muscles

Once a woman has felt pain during intercourse, she often becomes tense in sexual situations. Without knowing it, she may tighten the muscles just inside the entrance of the vagina. This makes intercourse even more painful. Sometimes she clenches her muscles so tightly that her partner cannot even enter her vagina.

You can become aware of your vaginal muscles and learn to relax them during intercourse. Exercises that teach control of the vaginal muscles are called Kegels, named for the gynecologist, Dr. Arnold Kegel, who came up with them. Practicing Kegels can help you decrease pain during intercourse.

The first step is to find your vaginal muscles. The muscles around the entrance to the vagina are the same ones that you use to stop the flow of urine. The next time you urinate, try stopping the flow for a few seconds. Notice how you do this. When you relax your muscles, the urine flows again. You can make the same motion when you are not urinating. You don't need to tighten your stomach muscles, leg muscles, or hold your breath. Just tighten the muscles in the genital area. To check whether you have found the muscles, try slipping a finger about 2 inches into your vagina. When you contract your vaginal muscles, you should be able to feel at least a slight twitch of the vaginal walls around your finger.

Once you have located the muscle, practice gaining control over it. The basic Kegel exercise is to tighten your vaginal muscle while you count to 3, and then release the tension. Repeat this movement 10 times, once or twice a day. People around you can't tell that you are doing Kegels, so you can practice wherever you wish -- while reading, watching TV, or working at your computer.

Kegels can add to a couple's pleasure during sex. If a woman tightens and relaxes her vaginal muscles during sexual activity, she may focus more on the feelings that are building. Her partner can feel the movement of her vagina. This movement may add to their excitement.

The most important benefit of Kegel exercises is to help you relax your vagina during entry and intercourse. Begin by making sure your vagina is wet when you and your partner are both aroused. Take a few seconds to tighten your vaginal muscles. Then let them relax as much as possible before your partner enters. Agree ahead of time that if you feel any pain, your partner will stop until you stretch your vaginal muscles again.

If intercourse is painful and difficult, you or your partner can stretch your vagina with a finger before you try penetration. Lubricate a finger and slowly slip it inside your vagina. Use the Kegel movements to tighten and release your vaginal muscles as you slowly move it deeper in. When one finger is no longer painful, try using 2 fingers, and then 3, before you try your partner's penis. Remember to use plenty of gel, and go slowly.

If you try most of these ideas but are still having genital pain, you may need some help from a gynecologist or sex therapist. Some women need to stretch their vaginas after cancer treatment by using a series of vaginal dilators in different sizes.

Using a vaginal dilator

A vaginal dilator is a tube, most often made of plastic or rubber, used to enlarge, or stretch out (dilate), the vagina. Dilators also help women learn to relax the vaginal muscles. Dilators come in many forms.

Vaginal dilators are often used after radiation to the pelvis, cervix, or vagina. Using the dilator several times a week (3 times is recommended) keeps your vagina from getting tight when scar tissue develops after radiation treatment. An alternative to using a vaginal dilator is to have intercourse a few times a week.

Since scarring in the pelvis after radiation can develop over many years, you should follow this schedule for the rest of your life. After surgery that rebuilds the vagina with skin grafts, you may need to keep a special type of dilator in your vagina all day or night for a while.

Your doctor may suggest a certain way to use the dilator. The points below describe a typical way to use a vaginal dilator:

Lubricate the dilator with a water-based gel.
Lie down on your bed at a time when you know you will have at least 15 minutes of privacy. Gently and slowly slip the dilator into your vagina. If your vagina feels tight, hold the dilator still while you contract and relax your vaginal muscles.
When your vagina feels looser, push the dilator farther in. You may need to repeat the squeezing and relaxing a few times before the dilator is fully inserted. Some women also find it helpful to bear down, pushing their vaginal muscles outward as if having a bowel movement.
When the dilator is in as far as possible, leave it in your vagina for about 15 minutes. You can pass the time by reading, watching TV, listening to music, or even talking on the phone. If the dilator slips out, gently push it more deeply into your vagina.
When you remove it, wash it with a mild soap and water. Be sure to rinse all the soap off so no film is left to irritate your vagina the next time you use it.
A woman is often given one dilator in the size needed to fit her vagina. But if she is trying to overcome pain or needs to stretch out a vagina that is too small, she may use a series of dilators. She can start with one about the size of a finger and slowly go to larger models until she feels her vagina is large enough to allow penetration.

Try to find a private, uninterrupted time to do your dilator exercises. Many women find it easier to do these exercises early in the day. Often, with work and family obligations, evening exercises may be difficult.

Dilators work best when used early after radiation or surgery to prevent vaginal shrinkage. Don't wait until you have an overly tight vagina. The dilator will not work nearly as well. If you go for many months without a sexual relationship, it is very important to use your dilator to keep your vagina in shape.

If you feel hesitant about using a dilator, you may need some practice getting more relaxed. The exercises on looking at and touching your genitals, described earlier in this section, may help you. Use a mirror to locate your vaginal opening the first time you insert the dilator.

Some women wonder if using a vaginal dilator is the same as masturbating. The answer is no. The section "Keeping your sex life going" may help you clarify your feelings about self-stimulation. Even if you do not feel comfortable masturbating, you can use a vaginal dilator without creating strong sexual sensations, just as you use a tampon.

A dilator is not the same thing as a dildo or a vibrator. A dildo is an object shaped like a penis. Its purpose is to stimulate a woman's vagina in masturbation. Although you can move your dilator inside your vagina to give yourself sexual pleasure, it is not a dildo. Sexual pleasure is not its purpose.

A vibrator is a small appliance that may also be shaped like a penis. Other types look more like a handle that comes with attachments. A vibrator provides strong stimulation when touched to the genital area. It is designed to add pleasure and variety to your sex life. If you have a vibrator that fits comfortably inside your vagina, you can use it instead of a vaginal dilator to stretch your vagina.

If you feel comfortable with self-stimulation, you may sometimes choose to combine sexual pleasure with stretching your vagina. No matter how you decide to use your dilator, the key is to use it as often as prescribed. You should feel relaxed about making dilation a lifelong habit.

causes of low sex drive in women

2009-04-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Definition
A woman's sexual desires naturally fluctuate over the years. Highs and lows commonly coincide with the beginning or end of a relationship or with major life changes, such as pregnancy, menopause or illness. However, if you are bothered by a low sex drive or decreased sex drive, there are lifestyle changes and sex techniques that may put you in the mood more often. Some medications offer promise as well.

Even researchers disagree about the best measure of low sex drive in women. After all, perfectly normal women vary greatly in their desire for sex and their views about the optimal amount of sex. Besides, the number of times you have sex each week isn't necessarily a good measure of your libido; women skip sex for many reasons that have nothing to do with desire, including fatigue, stress, poor body image or lack of emotional intimacy.

So, what exactly is low sex drive in women? In medical terms, you have hypoactive sexual desire disorder if you have a persistent or recurrent lack of interest in sex that causes you personal distress. But you don't have to meet this medical definition to seek help. If you aren't as interested in sex as you'd like to be, talk to your doctor.

Symptoms
Obviously, the major symptom of low sex drive in women is a low or absent desire for sex. According to some studies, more than 40 percent of women complain of low sexual desire at some point. The percentage is smaller — 5 percent to 15 percent — if you only count women with ongoing problems.

Still, researchers acknowledge that it's difficult to measure what's normal and what's not. If you want to have sex less often than your partner does, neither one of you is necessarily outside the norm for people at your stage in life — although your differences may cause distress. Similarly, even if your sex drive is weaker than it once was, your relationship may be stronger than ever. Bottom line: There is no magic number to define low sex drive. It varies from woman to woman.

Causes
A woman's desire for sex is based on a complex interaction of many components affecting intimacy, including physical well-being, emotional well-being, experiences, beliefs, lifestyle and current relationship. If you're experiencing problems in any of these areas, it can affect your sexual desire. In other words, there are dozens of reasons you may not be interested in sex:

Physical causes
A wide range of illnesses, physical changes and medications can cause a low sex drive, including:

Sexual problems. If you experience pain during sex (dyspareunia) or inability to orgasm (anorgasmia), it can hamper your desire for sex.
Medical diseases. Numerous nonsexual diseases can also affect desire for sex, including arthritis, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and neurological diseases. Infertility also can contribute to low sex drive, even after infertility treatments are over.
Medications. Many prescription medications — including antidepressants, blood pressure medications and chemotherapy drugs — are notorious libido killers. Antihistamines also can zap your sex drive.
Alcohol and drugs. A glass of wine may make you feel amorous, but too much alcohol can spoil your sex drive; the same is true of street drugs.
Surgery. Any surgery related to your breasts or your genital tract can affect your body image, function and desire for sex.
Fatigue. The exhaustion of caring for aging parents or young children can contribute to low sex drive.
Hormone changes
Changes in your hormone levels may change your desire for sex:

Menopause. Estrogen helps maintain the health of your vaginal tissues and your interest in sex. But estrogen levels drop during the transition to menopause, which can cause a double whammy — decreased interest in sex and dryer vaginal tissues, resulting in painful or uncomfortable sex. At the same time, women may also experience a decrease in the hormone testosterone, which boosts sex drive in men and women alike. Although many women continue to have satisfying sex during menopause and beyond, some women experience a lagging libido during this hormonal change.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding. Hormone changes during pregnancy, just after having a baby and during breast-feeding can put a damper on sex drive. Of course, hormones aren't the only factor affecting intimacy during these times. Fatigue, changes in body image and the pressures of carrying — or caring for — a new baby can all contribute to changes in your sexual desire.
Psychological causes
Your problems don't have to be physical or biological to be real. There are many psychological causes of low sex drive, including:

Mental health problems, such as anxiety or depression
Stress, such as financial stress or work stress
Poor body image
Low self-esteem
History of physical or sexual abuse
Relationship issues
For many women, emotional closeness is an essential prelude to sexual intimacy. So problems in your relationship can be a major factor in low sex drive. Decreased interest in sex is often a result of ongoing issues, such as:

Lack of connection with your partner
Unresolved conflicts or fights
Poor communication of sexual needs and preferences
Infidelity or breach of trust
When to seek medical advice
Talk to your doctor if you are bothered by your level of desire for sex — whether you're actually having sex just once in a while or several times a week.

Tests and diagnosis
Primary care doctors and gynecologists often ask about sex and intimacy as part of a routine medical visit. Take this opportunity to be candid about your sexual concerns. If your doctor doesn't broach the subject, bring it up. You may feel embarrassed to talk about sex with your doctor, but this topic is perfectly appropriate. In fact, your sexual satisfaction is a vital part of your overall health and well-being.

Once you bring up your concerns about low sex drive, your doctor will probably look for a physical cause of the problem, such as a prescription or over-the-counter medication you're taking. Undiagnosed medical conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure can also reduce your libido. During a pelvic exam, your doctor can check for signs of physical changes contributing to low sexual desire, such as thinning of your genital tissues, vaginal dryness or pain-triggering spots. He or she may also recommend additional screening tests, thyroid studies and questionnaires to help pinpoint your level of desire and find a reason for low desire. In addition, you may be referred to a specialized counselor or sex therapist to evaluate emotional and relationship factors that can cause low sex drive.

By definition, you may be diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder if screening tests reveal a persistent or recurrent lack of sexual thoughts or receptivity to sexual activity, which causes you personal distress. Whether you fit this medical diagnosis or not, your doctor can look for reasons that your sex drive isn't as high as you'd like and find ways to help.

Treatments and drugs
There is no simple pill or potion to increase sex drive in women. In fact, most women benefit from a multifaceted treatment approach aimed at the many causes behind this condition. This may include sex education, counseling, lifestyle changes and sometimes medication.

Lifestyle changes you can make
Healthy lifestyle changes can make a big difference in your desire for sex:

Exercise. Regular aerobic exercise and strength training can increase your stamina, improve your body image, elevate your mood and enhance your libido.
Stress less. Finding a better way to cope with work stress, financial stress and daily hassles can enhance your sex drive.
Be happier. A sense of personal well-being and happiness are important to sexual interest. So find ways to bring a little extra joy to your world.
Strengthen your pelvic muscles. Pelvic floor exercises (Kegel exercises) can improve your awareness of the muscles involved in pleasurable sexual sensations and increase your libido. To perform these exercises, tighten your pelvic muscles as if you're stopping a stream of urine. Hold for a count of five, relax and repeat. Do these exercises several times a day.
Relationship changes you and your partner can make
For women, better emotional intimacy often leads to better sexual intimacy:

Communicate with your partner. Conflicts and disagreements are a natural part of any relationship. Couples who learn to fight fair and communicate in an open, honest way usually maintain a stronger emotional connection, which can lead to better sex. Communicating about sex also is important. Talking about your likes and dislikes can set the stage for greater sexual intimacy.
Seek counseling. Talking with a sex therapist or counselor skilled in addressing sexual concerns can help with low sex drive. Therapy often includes education about sexual response and techniques and recommendations for reading materials or couples' exercises.
Set aside time for intimacy. Scheduling sex into your calendar may seem contrived and boring. But making intimacy a priority can help put your sex drive back on track.
Add a little spice to your sex life. Try a different sexual position, a different time of day or a different location for sex. If you and your partner are open to experimentation, sex toys and fantasy can help rekindle your sexual sizzle.
Medical treatments for low sex drive
Medications aren't always necessary to treat low sex drive. But they can help.

Treating underlying causes of low sex drive. The first medical intervention for low sex drive is usually addressing an underlying medical condition or medication that's known to have sexual side effects. This may include adjusting or changing your current medications or starting treatment for previously undetected conditions.
Estrogen therapy. Systemic estrogen therapy — by pill, patch or gel — can have a positive effect on brain function and mood factors that affect sexual response. Local estrogen therapy — in the form of a vaginal cream or a slow-releasing suppository or ring that you place in your vagina — can increase blood flow to the vagina and help improve desire. In some cases, your doctor may prescribe a combination of estrogen and progesterone.
Testosterone therapy. Male hormones, such as testosterone, play an important role in female sexual function, even though testosterone occurs in much lower amounts in women. However, replacing testosterone in women is controversial and it's not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sexual dysfunction in women. Plus, it can cause negative side effects, including acne, excess body hair (hirsutism), and mood or personality changes. Testosterone seems most effective for women with low testosterone levels as a result of surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy). If you choose to use this therapy, your doctor will closely monitor your symptoms and blood levels to make sure you're not experiencing negative side effects.
Coping and support
Low sex drive can be very difficult for you and your partner. It's natural to feel frustrated or sad if you aren't able to be as sexy and romantic as you want — or you used to be. At the same time, low sex drive can make your partner feel rejected, which can lead to conflicts and strife. And this type of relationship turmoil can actually add to your lack of desire for sex.

It may help to remember that fluctuations in your sex drive are a normal part of every relationship and every stage of life. Try not to focus all of your attention on sex. Instead, spend some time nurturing yourself and your relationship. Go for a long walk. Get a little extra sleep. Kiss your partner goodbye before you head out the door. Make a date night at your favorite restaurant. Feeling good about yourself and your partner can actually be the best foreplay.

Kidney problems and diet

2009-04-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Step 1: Understanding the relationship between kidney problems and food
Patients with various degrees of kidney disease and hypertension (high blood pressure) may need to restrict both their protein and sodium intakes. With impaired kidney function, the kidneys are not able to metabolise proteins as they should, and even intake of normal amounts of protein can “overload” the kidneys to such an extent that it can lead to kidney failure.

Advertisement
The kidneys regulate the body’s sodium-potassium balance. In people with hypertension or acute or chronic kidney disease, this regulation is crucial and impaired kidney function can lead to a Na-K imbalance. Kidney problems can lead to hypertension and vice versa.

Patients with hypertension may be advised to reduce their protein and sodium intakes.

Step 2: Adopting healthy habits
You can do something to help control your kidney problems better.

Lose weight if you’re overweight
Lower intake of proteins
Eat a low-fat, high-fruit and -vegetable diet to increase your intake of potassium
Limit your salt intake to no more than 2,4 g per day – about 1 teaspoon of salt
Step 3: Basic dietary guidelines for treating kidney problems

Do’s

1. Eat four to five fresh fruits daily
2. Eat two ladles of vegetables per day
Don’ts
1. Limit your intake of high-protein foods, including:

Meat - beef, pork, lamb, organ meats, chicken and poultry
Fish - all types, including shell fish
Cheese - all types
Milk and diary products including yoghurt
Legumes - dry beans, peas, lentils, soya and products made with textured vegetable protein
2. Limit your salt intake
Eat less of the following foods:

Ham, cold meat cuts, bacon, pickled or smoked meat, biltong, sausages
Fish - salted, dried or smoked fish, canned fish with added salt
Cheese - most types
All products made with baking powder - cakes, biscuits, rusks, cookies
All canned products - check the labels for added salt or monosodium glutamate (MSG)
All frozen products - check labels for added salt or brine
All soup or gravy powders
All meat extracts
All pickles and condiments such as garlic salt, Aromat
Any patient with kidney problems needs to have his or her diet worked out by a clinical dietician who will take all the patient’s individual factors into consideration. Such factors may include: the type and severity of the kidney problem, other medical conditions, age, gender, activity level, type of medical treatment the patient is receiving (medications, dialysis), blood test results, and urine output.

Failure to seek the assistance of medical and dietetic experts in this field, may be fatal

Depression and diet

2009-04-12T09:44:00.001-07:00

Step 1: Understanding the relationship between depression and diet
You feel down and depressed. Does diet play any role in your depression?

Studies have shown that brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) play a mediating role in the development of depression. When the functioning of brain chemicals is disturbed, depression can occur (e.g. following the use of recreational drugs such as Ecstasy). Several different neurotransmitter systems may be involved but the two that have been more frequently implicated are serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE). Certain foods boost neurotransmitter levels and can help to combat depression
It is also important for people to maintain constant blood sugar levels and here diet plays a significant role.

Appetite is commonly affected in depressed individuals, resulting in weight gain or weight loss. This can have a further negative impact on mood. Once again, correct diet can help to combat weight problems.

Step 2: Adopting healthy habits
Self-help is not a treatment for a depressive illness on it’s own, but it can contribute towards accelerating recovery and it can help to maintain the benefits of treatment.

Self-help includes:

Reading books/acquiring information. This helps to provide an understanding of the illness which can be important for both the sufferer and the family.
Eating an adequate diet so as to maintain blood sugar levels. Foods, which promote serotonin production, can be increased e.g. bananas, pumpkin pips and Horlicks. Stimulants which increase anxiety should be avoided e.g. coffee, colas and chocolate. Vitamin supplements/tonics may be useful if you are very run down or if life is normally lived in the “fast lane”.
Sleeping sufficiently – but not too much.
Exercise – begin gradually and slowly increase the intensity and amount of time spent exercising. Exercise promotes the release of the body’s natural opiates (endorphins) which improve mood. Being out in the fresh air helps to put a different perspective on problems.
Relaxation – to decrease tension and anxiety and to improve sleep. E.g. meditation, yoga, aromatherapy and massage.
Hobbies/interests – which help to occupy the mind and decrease pre-occupation with negative thoughts.
Regular breaks/holidays
Life-style changes – expecting less of oneself; maybe lowering standards a little; delegating; asking for assistance.
Avoid alcohol/recreation drugs and cigarettes – these often worsen depression and anxiety.
Step 3: Understanding the basic dietary principles
There are a number of dietary factors that can help with depression. Eating a high carbohydrate diet (wholewheat bread, unsifted maize meal, brown rice) boosts the production of serotonin in the brain which makes you feel more positive. Eating plenty of protein (meat, fish, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, milk) to increase amino acid intake has the same effect.

In addition, B vitamins, especially B12, B6 and folic acid, can help combat psychological disturbances, so take a complete vitamin and mineral supplement like Supradyn. Omega-3 may also help, and the best source is Salmon oil capsules. Eating a balanced diet and doing regular exercise (which increases the level of endorphins in the brain) can make a difference.

Depression can cause pronounced loss of weight or weight gain, so if you are underweight make an effort to eat more high-fibre foods, fruit and vegetables. Go to the Weight Loss centre to find an example of a low-fat, high-fibre diet for slimming.

Alcohol and some drugs (recreational and prescription) can cause or exacerbate depression. This is possibly because it alters the balance of brain chemicals or the physical structure of the brain (excessive alcohol and sleeping tablets cause shrinkage of the brain).

Too many fluctuations in your insulin levels can lead to mood swings and fatigue. To combat these fluctuations:

Rather eat five to six smaller meals per day than two to three big ones.
Rather eat carbohydrates with a low glycaemic index (GI) than with a high GI. Rather eat whole wheat pasta than white or wholewheat bread, rather Basmati rice or couscous than white or brown rice, rather fruit than sweets, rather oats porridge or bran cereals than other cereals.

Anaemia and diet

2009-04-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

Step 1: Understanding the relationship between anaemia and food

Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anaemia.

The most common cause of iron deficiency is chronic blood loss, usually due to excessive menstruation, or due to bleeding into or from the gut as a result of a peptic ulcer, gastritis, haemorrhoids or in children, worm infestation.

Increased demand for iron such as foetal growth in pregnancy, and children undergoing rapid growth spurts in infancy and adolescence, can also cause iron deficiency anaemia.

The symptoms of chronic iron deficiency anaemia include:

Tiredness
Weakness
Shortness of breath and sometimes a fast heartbeat
Step 2: Adopting new healthy habits

Identify the underlying cause of iron deficiency anaemia, and treat the cause if possible
Treat the iron deficiency by eating iron rich foods and iron supplementation
Eat a well balanced diet
Step 3: Basic dietary guidelines for an iron rich diet and iron supplementation

The do’s
1. Eat more iron rich foods. The very best sources of iron that is easily absorbed by the human body are:

Meat (especially organ meats like liver and kidneys)
Fish
Eggs (especially the yolk)
Cheese
Commercial breakfast cereals are fortified with easily absorbable iron so they can also make a good contribution.
2. Vitamin C improves iron absorption. Have a glass of fresh orange juice with your breakfast which could contain egg, the breakfast cereals, or a bit of fried liver.

3. You also need folic acid to assist in preventing anaemia. Folic acid is mainly found in green leafy vegetables, and you can also obtain a supplement if necessary.

4. Iron supplementation may help a lot. Iron sulphate tablets such as ferrous sulphate, taken in a dose of 300mg three times a day, are recommended. A dose of 300mg once or twice a day may be effective for prophylaxis of mild iron deficiency. The tablets should be taken between meals as iron is absorbed better on an empty stomach. However, this form of iron has side effects such as bloating, fullness and sometimes stomach pain and taking the tablets with meals may help to alleviate these side effects. Ferrous gluconate or ferrous lactate may have fewer side effects.

The don’ts:
1. Don’t go on a vegetarian diet without consulting your doctor and dietician.

2. Avoid iron-containing cocktails of vitamins since these generally do not contain enough iron and are expensive.

3. Drugs that reduce acid production by the stomach such as Cimetidine (Tagamet) may inhibit iron absorption and these tablets should not be taken simultaneously.

4. There are no quick fixes. It is necessary to continue iron therapy for four to six months to correct the anaemia and replenish stores.

Menopause and diet

2009-04-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

step1: Understanding the relationship between menopause and food
Before menopause, women are protected against a number of diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer and osteoporosis. Once their bodies stop producing oestrogen, the incidence of these diseases in older women increases alarmin
Lack of oestrogen also slows down the metabolism, often resulting in weight gain. Other factors that contribute to weight gain are the use of hormone replacement therapy, slowing down of the basic metabolism with increasing age, lack of exercise and increased food intake due to emotional problems such as depression.

By eating healthily, these health risks can be reduced.

Step 2: Adopting new healthy habits
Prevent diseases of lifestyle:

1. Don’t smoke
2. Lower high blood cholesterol levels
3. Reduce obesity
4. Control diabetes
5. Control high blood pressure
6. Increase physical activity
7. Make dietary changes
Step 3: Understanding the basic principles to prevent postmenopausal health problems

reduce the total amount of fat you eat, especially of saturated fat and cholesterol which is mainly found in meat, eggs, and full cream dairy products
replace saturated fats with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and oils (canola, avocado, sunflower, olive oil, and soft or tub margarines with a high polyunsaturated/ mono-unsaturated fatty acid content)
avoid foods containing trans-fatty acids (hard or block margarine, commercial cakes, biscuits and pies)
eat plenty of fish two to three times a week to increase your Omega-3 fatty acid intake
eat Omega-3 enriched eggs (four times a week)
eat foods rich in protective antioxidants (fresh fruit and vegetables)
eat foods rich in dietary fibre (fresh, raw fruits and vegetables and unprocessed grains and cereals)
take a vitamin E supplement
make sure you are getting sufficient B vitamins, especially folate, B6 and B12 which protect against heart disease - take a B complex supplement if necessary
eating foods high in plant oestrogens (phytoestrogens) may alleviate menopausal symptoms. Good sources include lima beans, soybeans and soy products (such as soymilk, roasted soy nuts, soy burgers and tofu), nuts, seeds, fennel, celery, parsley and flaxseed oil. Soy products also contain isoflavones which lower blood cholesterol levels
WARNING: The use of dietary soy supplements by women who suffer from breast cancer, or are taking tamoxifen, is not recommended by the American Dietetic Association
cut down on sodium intake by using less table salt and processed foods (check sodium content on labels)
to protect against osteoporosis, eat low-fat or skimmed milk and dairy products to boost calcium intake or take a calcium supplement so your daily intake is 1 000 milligrams per day before menopause and 1 500 milligrams per day after menopause
WARNING: According to the latest research, calcium supplements should contain vitamin D and vitamin K2 to prevent the calcium you take from being deposited in your arteries where it can cause problems like heart attacks, strokes and sudden death. Calcium supplements which also contain vitamins D and K2 will ensure that the calcium you take goes into your bones and not into your arteries.
cut down on alcohol intake – excessive alcohol consumption is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer

is all stress bad for you?

2009-04-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

Not at all. We need stress to thrive, excel and enjoy life. This is called positive stress. But even positive stress can become negative if not balanced and managed correctly. Our goal is to aim for a positive-stress phase.
Signs of positive stress
Increased creativity - not only in making or creating things, but also in developing new ways to solve problems or finding better ways of doing things.
Increased productivity at work and on a personal level.
A general feeling of wellbeing, happiness and joy - which is how we should feel. It is our birthright to lead happy, fulfilled lives during our physical sojourn on earth.
An immune system that functions optimally, with an increased resistance to infections and cancer. Even if you're surrounded by people with all kinds of germs, you simply don't become ill. People in remission from cancer come to realise what is important to them in life and experience an inner growth and development, which often leads to physical healing. Even people who eventually die of cancer or other diseases, gain an awareness of the temporary nature of the physical body as opposed to the soul that lives forever. This realisation that the spirit lives on leads to a feeling of inner peace, happiness and well being, which signifies health.

A mild degree of stress and tension is good for us. Feeling stressed and pressurised when completing an assignment, often motivates us to do a good job. Moderate exercising can produce temporary stress on some body systems, but its health benefits are indisputable. It is only when stress is overwhelming, or poorly managed, that its negative effects will manifest.
The goal of dealing with stress is not at all to eliminate it or even reduce it. Stress management and relaxation techniques help you to manage and control your daily stress, to ensure mental, physical and emotional well being.

Understanding stress

2009-04-10T06:46:00.000-07:00

Stress is a term we use to explain the experience felt in mind and body when we encounter, respond or react to challenging life stressors.
The scale of the reaction known as the ‘stress response’ is determined primarily by how we perceive the stressful event, our ability to cope with the stressor, and by the scale of the event. How an individual perceives and handles stress therefore plays a major role in determining their well being.
Life stressors can be physical, mental or emotional stimuli, and include both imaginary or real events. The ‘stress response’ has a very physical component that is mediated via complex interactions between the nervous, hormonal and immune systems.
Perception/paradigm
A paradigm is a frame through which we view things. It is the subjective perception we have about something that allows us to label it a threat or safe, bad or good, out of our control or a challenge we can work through. Changing your paradigm alone can change your stress levels.
When talking about stress, we have to consider common stressors, the perceptions of the individual to the stressor, and the coping ability that allow the impact of stress to be significant.
The cognitive interpretation or perception of an event/experience as 'stressful' is thought to vary from person to person. Individuals differ in their interpretation of what is stressful and their perception of a stressful event as being a threat (a negative perception) or a challenge (a positive perception).
These initial cognitive interpretations both directly and indirectly (via various coping methods) influence psychological and physical health-related outcomes. Recent empirical research shows a strong link between individuals' perceptions of stressors, coping methods, and psychological/physical health.
An individual's cognitive interpretation of a stressor will lead them to processes (e.g. coping methods) that directly enable or disable an individual to deal with stress.
Common life stressors
What are the most common life stressors?
Major life events such as loss of a loved one, retrenchment or divorce.
Trauma such as sexual abuse, earthquakes and military combat.
Socio-economic stressors such as malnutrition, poverty and bureaucracy.
Social stressors such as relationship issues, family changes, sexuality, loneliness and social phobia.
Occupational stress such as work overload, deadlines and lack of employment.
Nutritional factors such as poor eating habits, poor nutritional intake and dieting.
Substance abuse such as caffeine, alcohol, medications, smoking and drugs.
Financial stress.
Physical inactivity.
Chronic disease and pain.

The stress response
The ‘stress response’ is naturally inherent in all living things; it is directly connected to the instinct for survival. In humans it is what alerts us to danger, and is often called the ‘fight or flight response’.
The body’s resources are mobilised for a primarily immediate physical response. This process of stimulus and response has a training effect that allows adaptation over time.
However, when we perceive that the life stressors increase beyond our control, and/or our ability to cope diminishes, the stress response starts to negatively impact on health and well being.
It is these two differing factors (perception of stressful event and coping mechanism) that determines why similar stressors affect people differently, and why stressors of seemingly differing magnitude can evoke high levels of stress.
Stress has become the defining feature of the modern western world as the pace of life increases while the innate abilities of humans have remained relatively the same. Stress is on a continuum. At a positive level it is known as ‘eustress’. At an excessive or negative level it is known as ‘distress’.
The relaxation response
Dr Herbert Benson in the 1970s used this term to describe a response that is opposite to the stress response. The stress response is regulated by the sympathetic nervous system, whereas the relaxation response is regulated by the parasympathetic nervous system, and can be conditioned by the individual.
It is a response that is designed for repair and maintenance of the body and so is vital to well being. The involuntary stress response can be changed to a relaxation response by the use of voluntary deep breathing. In this way the stress response can be reconditioned through various techniques such as meditation, progressive relaxation, self-hypnosis, biofeedback and prayer.
This conditioned ability for us to actively relax can bring a measure of control over the way stress affects us.
Stress conditioning
The nature and type of stress has changed over the last few hundred years. Life stressors are more long term and imaginary today. Most of the things that stress people out in modern life, never happen; it is more related to ‘what if that happens’. The subconscious mind cannot discern the difference between this real stressful event or a mental preoccupation of a stressful event, and so the physical body reacts in a manner as if it is real.
An imaginary stressor repeated long enough can filter through and alter perception of the event, thereby creating a form of conditioned response. Stress conditioning will eventually lead to a negative hyper-response in the face of minimal stressors. This is often what triggers anxiety, insomnia, and other symptoms of chronic stress. This is also the reason that many people have to relearn the ‘relaxation response’.
Stress resilience/ stress competency
Stress resilience is our ‘fitness’ to cope with stress. It is largely dictated by our physical, mental and emotional state of well being, by our perception/paradigm of the stressful event, the environment and support structure, and by the healthiness of our stress-coping habits. Effective stress competency can be developed, and will increase stress resilience.
Positive coping mechanisms
Certain stress-coping habits allow for positive coping of stress without negative consequences, providing they are done at a safe and effective level for the individual. These include:
A positive mindset
Rest and relaxation
Regular exercise
Adequate and balanced nutrition
Good communication
Emotional support
Physical contact
Humour
Time planning
Financial planning

Negative coping mechanisms
People also use certain habitual ways to cope with distress. These habits, while dealing with the immediate stress, will of themselves over time create more stress and negatively affect health.
Examples of negative coping mechanisms include:
Chemical dependence in the form of illicit drugs, medications, alcohol, caffeine and smoking
Overeating
Too much television
Emotional outbursts
Victim behaviour
Overspending
Manic behaviour

why easter eggs are good for you

2009-04-08T10:19:00.000-07:00

Why Easter eggs are good for you
Being an adult doesn't mean you're too old to enjoy Easter.
I, for one, still make a point of visiting Mom over Easter weekend. I'm certain, you see, that I'll wake up to a basket filled with chocolate eggs on Easter Monday.

AdvertisementI've always felt that Easter is the one weekend of the year when it's okay to go on a chocolate binge. So, to justify the indulgence that no doubt lies ahead, I went in search of good reasons why it's okay to throw all caution to the wind and enjoy every chocolate treat that comes my way:
A boon to the heartDark-chocolate eggs are the way to go. According to research, this type of chocolate contains more cocoa, which is rich in flavonoids – antioxidants believed to improve heart health.
Cocoa seems to exert its positive effect on the heart mainly in three ways: firstly, by keeping the layer of cells that lines the heart and blood vessels healthy; secondly, by lowering blood pressure; and thirdly, by modulating blood-platelet function in a similar way aspirin does.
In one study, participants with hypertension experienced a significant drop in blood pressure after seven days of eating flavonoid-rich chocolate every day compared with seven days of eating flavanoid-poor chocolate. Another study revealed that 90g of dark chocolate per day over several weeks helped lower hypertensive participants' blood pressure by an average of 10%.
Other studies have compared the effects of flavonoid-rich cocoa and chocolate on blood-platelet reactivity to that of 81mg aspirin, and found that the positive effects were more or less similar.
Unfortunately, however, milk chocolate and white chocolate didn't deliver the same benefits.
Other benefitsAt this stage we know the most about dark chocolate's positive effect on the heart, but researchers are also investigating other possible benefits. Here are some interesting findings:
A role in beating chronic fatigue. Adults who ate 45g of dark chocolate containing 85% cocoa every day for eight weeks as part of a study on chocolate and chronic fatigue syndrome reported feeling less fatigued after eating chocolate. It's believed that the sweet treat enhances the action of neurotransmitters such as serotonin in the brain, which might explain the positive effect.
A weapon against type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that 90g of dark chocolate per day over several weeks improved the body's sensitivity to insulin. This has clear benefits for people who are insulin resistant or diabetic. On the other hand, 90g of chocolate can lead to weight gain, and excess weight can in itself be a risk factor for diabetes.
A good mood food. Chocolate contains the amino acid tryptophan, which is used by the brain to produce mood-enhancing serotonin. In fact, the BBC reports that high levels of the amino acid can produce feelings of elation, and even ecstasy. Research also shows that another chemical in chocolate, called phenylethylamine, stimulates the brain's pleasure centres. But as chocolate contains only small quantities of these chemicals, researchers aren't certain whether it has a significant effect.
Not an everyday thingWell, these findings are good enough for me.
Sadly, I still have to watch my chocolate intake during the rest of the year. At about 19g of fat per 100g, more than 10g of chocolate per day (that's only about two blocks) isn't great for the waistline.
Some researchers also found that chocolate's beneficial effects only become significant at levels of about 90g per day. This translates to almost a full slab of chocolate. So, sadly, until the scientists have found a way to get the benefits without the bulge, I'll just have to pull my sweet tooth until next year's Easter weekend.

Insect bites and stings

2008-09-04T02:01:00.000-07:00

Insect bites and stings

Insect bites and stings are common and, although bothersome, seldom have serious consequences. The severity of an insect bite varies from person to person. The type of reaction which occurs after an insect bite depends on the species of insect, the age of the person and whether or not the person has been exposed to the insect before. Insects not only bite, but also cause irritation to the skin. Most reactions to insect bites depend on a reaction to the saliva or venom. Insect bites can be single or multiple, depending on the feeding habits of the insect concerned. For example, fleas may produce multiple bites while a mosquito bite may only bite once.
Most reactions cause a stinging sensation, redness, mild swelling, and some annoying itching confined to the sting site that disappear within a day or so. For some, especially in children, the swelling and redness may extend beyond the sting site, be more pronounced, and last two to three days.
A few people are allergic to insect bites and will experience itchy bumps, itching and swelling in other areas of the body. There might be tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing and swelling of the face and tongue. Only a small percentage of people develop an anaphylactic reaction which may be life-threatening.
Mosquito, bedbugs and flea bites are the most common insect bites. In certain areas, some mosquitoes can transmit malaria. Bee and wasp stings are common during summer but not usually dangerous unless the person is allergic to these insects or if they are stung in the mouth or throat. These stings cause a painful red bump or swelling.
Ticks are parasites that embed their heads in the skin to feed on the blood of mammals. They range in colour from brown to grey and are usually found in the veld and on domestic animals. Tick bites are more common during spring and summer. They seldom lead to serious problems but some ticks may transmit organisms which could lead to illnesses, such as tick bite fever.
Home treatment
Insect bites and stings are common and, although bothersome, seldom have serious consequences. The severity of an insect bite varies from person to person. The type of reaction which occurs after an insect bite depends on the species of insect, the age of the person and whether or not the person has been exposed to the insect before.
Insects not only bite, but also cause irritation to the skin. Most reactions to insect bites depend on a reaction to the saliva or venom. Insect bites can be single or multiple, depending on the feeding habits of the insect concerned. For example, fleas may produce multiple bites while a mosquito bite may only bite once.
Most reactions cause a stinging sensation, redness, mild swelling, and some annoying itching confined to the sting site that disappear within a day or so. For some, especially in children, the swelling and redness may extend beyond the sting site, be more pronounced, and last two to three days.
A few people are allergic to insect bites and will experience itchy bumps, itching and swelling in other areas of the body. There might be tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing and swelling of the face and tongue. Only a small percentage of people develop an anaphylactic reaction which may be life-threatening.
Mosquito, bedbugs and flea bites are the most common insect bites. In certain areas, some mosquitoes can transmit malaria. Bee and wasp stings are common during summer but not usually dangerous unless the person is allergic to these insects or if they are stung in the mouth or throat. These stings cause a painful red bump or swelling.
Ticks are parasites that embed their heads in the skin to feed on the blood of mammals. They range in colour from brown to grey and are usually found in the veld and on domestic animals. Tick bites are more common during spring and summer. They seldom lead to serious problems but some ticks may transmit organisms which could lead to illnesses, such as tick bite fever.

Home treatment

* Itching can be relieved with an ice cube or cool compresses, a baking soda paste or bath, a meat tenderiser-water solution or soothing lotions such as calamine, Prep or witch hazel. 1% hydrocortisone cream is also effective.
* Take an oral antihistamine, such as Phenergan, to reduce severe itching. Give paracetamol for pain.
* Remove a bee stinger by gently scraping the skin with the blunt edge of a knife, a credit card or with your fingernail. Try to do so within 30 seconds to avoid receiving more venom. Do not grasp the stinger as this could release more venom. If the stinger is below the skin surface, leave it alone and see a doctor. Do not rub the skin
* Wash the bite area with soap and water.
*If you are severely allergic to bee or wasp stings, ask your doctor about an
emergency kit containing an adrenaline syringe (Epipen), and try to avoid being outdoors. Wear a Medic Alert tag. An ice cube will also reduce blood flow.
*If you’ve been outdoors, check your whole body for ticks, especially hairy areas, skin clefts and crevices. If a tick is found, remove it immediately. Don't use bare fingers to remove the tick, but clutch it with fine-tipped tweezers as close to the skin as possible and pull it out in a straight line - don't jerk or twist it. Make sure that the head is also removed. If the head remains behind, it could cause a small necrotic ulcer ("veld sore"). Do not squeeze or crush the tick. Save the tick in a container in case you develop a tick-borne illness and tests need to be done. Wash your hands and the bite site. Apply an antiseptic cream.Get help immediately if:
you have a severe allergic reaction to an insect bite. Follow steps for allergic reactions on this site while you wait for help. Don’t wait for the reaction to occur if you have a history of previous severe reaction to the insect’s bite. Get to a hospital. you’ve been stung on your face or neck. It may cause rapid swelling which could obstruct the airway.Call your doctor if:
*There are signs of infection *There are multiple bites causing swelling around the eyes
*You develop urticaria (hives) *If you have developed an allergy to an insect bite. Allergy desensitation treatment is highly effective. *The whole tick could not be removed.
*You develop flu-like symptoms. See malaria and tick bite fever.Prevention
Use insect repellants, such as coils and sprays, containing 10% DEET to prevent mosquito and flea bites. They do not work against stinging insects. Ensure that there is no stagnant water on your property. Sleep under a mosquito net with a fan next to you and wear protective clothing after dusk. Make sure that the household pets are free of fleas by regular use of anti-flea preparations. If fleas are obviously infesting the house then fumigation may be needed. Stay out of the “territory” of stinging insects’nests. If you encounter any flying stinging insects, stay calm and move away from them slowly. Do not swat at it; rather, gently brush it aside. Many insects are attracted by flower smells, so avoid perfume when outdoors. Wear white clothing if you are visiting an area where bees are common. Wear closed-toe shoes outdoors and don’t go barefoot. Keep food covered when eating or drinking outdoors. Remember that stinging insects crawl into open cool drink cans Itching can be relieved with an ice cube or cool compresses, a baking soda paste or bath, a meat tenderiser-water solution or soothing lotions such as calamine, Prep or witch hazel. 1% hydrocortisone cream is also effective. Take an oral antihistamine, such as Phenergan, to reduce severe itching. Give paracetamol for pain. Remove a bee stinger by gently scraping the skin with the blunt edge of a knife, a credit card or with your fingernail. Try to do so within 30 seconds to avoid receiving more venom. Do not grasp the stinger as this could release more venom. If the stinger is below the skin surface, leave it alone and see a doctor. Do not rub the skin. Wash the bite area with soap and water. If you are severely allergic to bee or wasp stings, ask your doctor about an emergency kit containing an adrenaline syringe (Epipen), and try to avoid being outdoors. Wear a Medic Alert tag. An ice cube will also reduce blood flow. If you’ve been outdoors, check your whole body for ticks, especially hairy areas, skin clefts and crevices. If a tick is found, remove it immediately. Don't use bare fingers to remove the tick, but clutch it with fine-tipped tweezers as close to the skin as possible and pull it out in a straight line - don't jerk or twist it. Make sure that the head is also removed. If the head remains behind, it could cause a small necrotic ulcer ("veld sore"). Do not squeeze or crush the tick. Save the tick in a container in case you develop a tick-borne illness and tests need to be done. Wash your hands and the bite site. Apply an antiseptic cream.Get help immediately if:
you have a severe allergic reaction to an insect bite. Follow steps for allergic reactions on this site while you wait for help. Don’t wait for the reaction to occur if you have a history of previous severe reaction to the insect’s bite. Get to a hospital. you’ve been stung on your face or neck. It may cause rapid swelling which could obstruct the airway.Call your doctor if:
There are signs of infection There are multiple bites causing swelling around the eyes You develop urticaria (hives) If you have developed an allergy to an insect bite. Allergy desensitation treatment is highly effective. The whole tick could not be removed. You develop flu-like symptoms. See malaria and tick bite fever.

Prevention
Use insect repellants, such as coils and sprays, containing 10% DEET to prevent mosquito and flea bites. They do not work against stinging insects. Ensure that there is no stagnant water on your property. Sleep under a mosquito net with a fan next to you and wear protective clothing after dusk. Make sure that the household pets are free of fleas by regular use of anti-flea preparations. If fleas are obviously infesting the house then fumigation may be needed. Stay out of the “territory” of stinging insects’nests. If you encounter any flying stinging insects, stay calm and move away from them slowly. Do not swat at it; rather, gently brush it aside. Many insects are attracted by flower smells, so avoid perfume when outdoors. Wear white clothing if you are visiting an area where bees are common. Wear closed-toe shoes outdoors and don’t go barefoot. Keep food covered when eating or drinking outdoors. Remember that stinging insects crawl into open cool drink cans

Memory Enhancement - A Scientific Approach With Herbal Alternative Medicine

2008-09-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

It is true that "intellectual strength is more important than just physical strength". This is an all time correct statement. For significant achievement in any field, intellectual performance is the most important tool and there could be hardly anybody who will disagree to this. Every parent dreams about their child scoring best in academics in all fields.
There are endless numbers of products available in the market today claiming such therapeutic benefits and also new products are coming up every other day. It creates confusion amongst consumers as to which products are genuine and which are not. The advertisements are also rivalling and hence it is essential to identify the appropriate one. Besides this, what are the other treatments, what are the correct doses, how these formulations work, how is the knowledge stored, how does the recall process works, what diet is good for nourishing the activity of brain, importance of diet, importance of prayers, significance of exercise and rest? Here you will find answers to all such questions and their scientific basis.
First Step: For acquiring the knowledge, the body uses 5 sense organs. Ears, Skin, Eyes, Tongue and nose are collectively called sense organs. The sensations experienced by these sense organs are transmitted to the brain. The sensory nerves conduct chemical messages via the nerves and then they are stored in the brain. Hence the precondition for uninterrupted transmission of these senses is to have the healthy state of the nerves and also they should be properly lubricated. While during common cold, blockage of olfactory nerve there is a total loss of sensation of smell. This is very common example experienced by most of the people. Similarly, if there is any kind of blockage in the optic nerve, the sensation of visual experience will be blocked; auditory nerve will result in impaired listening etc. Proper lubrication to the sense organs help to improve the oxygenated blood supply and thereby help to establish the physiological functioning of specific sense organ.
Applying a drop of oil or any other lubricant to finger facilitates inserting the odd-sized ring easily. This is an easy example to understand the importance in relation to the grasping ability of the sense organs. Oil and ghee are the main natural lubricants available since time immemorial. Ayurveda has described the properties of cow-ghee as follows: "68M$ '@ 8M.C$? .G'>=M(? ,2>/A 6AM0 M7A7>.M ...." It means that cow ghee improves grasping, storing and recall, the three aspects of brain. It also stimulates appetite, improves quality of life, physical endurance, vigour and eyesight. Nose is the gateway of brain and any product introduced through the nostril has immediate access to the brain tissue. Even modern medicine has identified the potential of this path which bypasses the blood brain barrier and without much efforts, the valuable drug can be made bio-available in plasma and CSF in just 1.5 minutes. Use of nasal insulin is a well-known example to understand this phenomenon. Here is the first step towards improving the grasping capacity of the brain which mentions administration of ghee based product through nostrils. Ayurveda has described this mode of administration 5000 years ago by the name of 'Nasya' treatment.
Besides cow-ghee, some valuable herbs like saffron help to impart phenomenal antioxidant effects on brain cells. It is scientifically proved and possesses a strong supporting reference. Nose is directly connected to the brain through olfactory apparatus; it is connected to ears through Eustachian tube, to eyes through lacrimal ducts. Therefore nasal treatment helps to restore the physiological functions of all these organs and nourish the brain's grasping capacity. Ayurveda recommends 4-4 drops in each nostril daily to achieve the said therapeutic benefit. Despite improvement in intellectual competence, unknowingly this treatment imparts lots of other advantages like prevention of recurrent attacks of common cold, arrests hair fall, overcomes fatigue of eyes due to excess-reading, combats burning of eyes, protects occasional blocking of ears, protects vision defects etc.
The ideal time to administer these nasal drops is early morning or after sun-set. One should lie-down for 5 minutes afterwards. Rarely the feeling of the drops coming into throat is noticed which may be ignored or one can have a sip of warm water. This nasal medication helps to speed up the grasping process of knowledge without any difficulty.
Second Step: After grasping, the second step of improving the intellectual process is of increasing the storage capacity. The knowledge acquired has to be stored properly which can be utilised later as and when required. It is scientifically proved that the active constituents from herbs like Brahmi, Shankhapushpi, Shatavari, Ashwagandha helps in improving the intellectual performance by different mode of action. Some help by way of enhancement of protein kinase activity, Increase in protein in hippocampus, alleviate stress and help to minimize the release of stress hormone, some have neuro-regenerative activity, some help by improving the oxygenated blood supply to the brain and some prevent oxidative damage by imparting anti-oxidant activity. In short these herbs play a major role to improve the storage capacity of the brain. It is as simple to understand that if more books are ordered in the library, it becomes essential to make additional arrangement of accommodating them by adding number of cupboards.
Most of the marketed Ayurvedic and herbal formulations work on this principle. The activity starts in about 2 weeks. Nobody can deny the fact that memory related functions can't be measured like body temperature. Even then their efficacy remains unquestionable as huge amount of data is available across the world and also the safety parameters are well established. The important aspect is to know the quantity of each item in the formulation. If inadequate quantities are consumed, one can not expect the therapeutic benefits in desired time. Besides improvement in intellectual abilities, these herbs also possess several other benefits like improvement in physical endurance, keeps hemoglobin, RBC, WBC in right shape, improves the immunity, hair melanin, prevent calcium depletion, and delay ageing process. Besides dosage, it is also important to check the taste of the product as children are very fussy about taste. The herbs are basically bitter in taste but many brands are available which mask the bitterness perfectly and make the product not only palatable but worth loving.
The third step: The 3rd and most important step of memory enhancement is the "recall process". Many factors are responsible for affecting this process. Stress, fear, loud noise, lack of interest, inadequate exercise, wrong diet, weak concentration etc. are some major factors, which should be taken care of during the course of studies. Recently German researchers found they could use specific perfume at night to re-activate new memories in the brains of students during sleep and the volunteers remembered better on the next day. The test conducted showed the 97 % result and the control group performed only 84 %. During the studies, fMRI scan showed that the activity of Hippocampus was stimulated during inhalation of particular odour. Based on this research, a novel product in the form of agarbatti is prepared. This Agarbatti does not contain strong perfumes but it is composed by Ayurvedic aromatic herbs like Tulsi, Jatamansi etc. which improve the recall function of the brain. Students should light this Agarbatti in the bed room where he intends to sleep. It is also good to light this while studying to improve the consolidation of memory.
Prayers have scientific base: Prayers towards God and offering respect to seniors helps to strengthen the brain's overall performance. This statement can be scientifically proved here. To understand this, we must match up few things together. It is an established fact that cortisol hormone is released due to stress or fear. This is therefore called stress hormone. Cortisol affects the brain function seriously. Hence in acute and serious situations an individual becomes insane. He or she could not make any logical decision. Second situation when a child is thrown up, he laughs as he enjoys it. The confidence level of the child is to the extent that he is 100% sure about his security. Therefore in a situation where he should be afraid, he rather takes pleasure out of it. The hormone cortisol is not released and the brain remains away from its ill effects. A prayer towards God and offering respect to the seniors gradually builds the confidence level that a person feels enormous support. In olden days, it was a tradition but has a scientific base to offer respect to seniors and pray God before leaving for long journey. As there were no vehicles and even roads, people used to travel in either bullock-cart or ride on horses. Getting food during travel, climatic conditions, and possibility of attack from wild animals were major hurdles and only blessings used to be the moral support. The customs were simply followed but the hidden treasure is now understood by the modern world.
Importance of regular exercise: How much exercise you do is not important but how regular you perform it is rather more important. A 76 years old man reached the wedding hall slightly late for his own wedding is a fact known to the author. This was because he did not want to compromise with his exercise schedule. No doubt those taking rigorous exercise look well-built but, most of the times, their immunity is not up to mark. Their bones are also brittle and get fracture even with a small trauma. It is also found that such well-built individuals do not have an issue. This is because the optimum nutrition is utilized by the muscular portion and other systems remain under-nourished. Therefore is good to perform little but regular exercise. Apparently such people would not look as attractive in physical built, but their overall physical and intellectual will be far better than a robust individual.
Intellectual exercise: As regular exercise can build good muscle power, same is the case with brain tissue. The more you keep them functioning, their performance will improve to the top. In the course of exercise, the muscular action is repeated in the same sequence many times which tones-up the muscle fibers. The brain also achieves improved ability by repetitively doing the same task. Forgetting is a natural process in living creatures. Man forgets more because his mind is diverted to too many subjects throughout the day. Intellectual performance can be further improved by meditation as it tones up the brain to stick to one subject and not to get diverted. Very few people remember the dreams on the next day. The only reason for this is the moment you get up, you see the watch, then think of the studies, then think of the bank balance, then the medicine to be consumed on empty stomach and so on. There are hundreds of such things that vanish off the experience of dream. Same is the case with studies. Try to focus more and more on the task and nothing other than your commitments. This itself is an intellectual exercise.
Some important things about diet: Human digestive system is fabricated by the creator of the universe for consuming vegetables only. If non-veg diet is cherished; make sure that it should not be more than once a week. There is a special recipe described in Ayurveda by the name "Pancha Khadya" which contains following 5 items. Dry dates, Raw dates, Coconut, Poppy seeds and cane sugar. This recipe helps to improve various brain functions and is extremely delicious too. Instead of fast-food, wafers, wada-pav, biscuits etc, this can be a best alternative to schooling children as recess time breakfast

TRYING TO PROVE A POINT

2008-09-02T05:41:00.000-07:00

trying to prove a pointA man drinks a shot of whiskey

every night before bed. After years of this, the wife

wants him to quit; she gets two shot glasses, filling one

with water and the other with whiskey.After getting

him to the table that had the glasses, she brings his

bait box. She says "I want you to see this." She puts a

worm in the water, and it swims around.She puts a

worm in the whiskey, and the worm dies immediately.

She then says, feeling that she has made her point

clear, "what do you have to say about this

experiment?"He responds by saying: "If I drink

whiskey, I won't get worms!

MY 25 STEPS FOR DEVELOPING SELF-ESTEEM

2008-09-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Tools to Develop Self-esteem
Here are 25 steps for developing self-esteem:
1
Figure out what your problem is. Realize your problem isn’t who you are, it’s what you have used to protect your physical and emotional well being. It’s hiding who you are: a beautiful human being, a wonderful source of awareness, knowledge, creativity, love and joy. If you practice self-esteem based on the faith that this is who you really are, then your problem will dissolve.
2
Figure out who you are. Take self-evaluation quizzes. Learn as much as you can about who you are and why you think and feel the way you do. Self-knowledge is a key to success.

3 Decide what you can and can’t control. Change and act on the things that are in your control and release the things that are out of your control.

4 Accept responsibility. Finding self-confidence requires accepting responsibility for your own happiness, and recognizing that you are a product not only of your genetic code and your environment, but of the choices you make. Begin your day with the words "I am responsible."

5 make anxiety your ally. Write down your worries for 30 days. Nagging concerns that loom so large in your imagination lose their power on paper. Amazingly, after writing them down the anxieties begin to fade.

6 Recognize that mistakes are opportunities. Keep the setback in perspective. Most mistakes are not personal tragedies; rather they are problems you now have the opportunity to solve. "Success," is often a string of failed attempts to get it right.
7 Compete to improve yourself not to beat someone else.

8 Be ambitious. When setting goals, remember that you are distinct from what you have and what you seem to be. If you let others define who you are, you may not find happiness. Pursue your own dreams -- not your parent’s, mate’s, or your best friend’s.

9 Be brave and take risks. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Risk-taking builds confidence. When considering any risk: define a clear goal. Review the positive, practical and potential losses. Determine whether the risk is one of trust, identity or something larger. When you focus on risks that have a larger purpose, you can’t go wrong. Even if the risk doesn’t turn out as you hoped it would, you will gain from it. Act. Take a risk. Be confident -- you have earned it.
10 Think and speak positively. If you hear a compliment or positive statement about someone

you know pass that compliment on to them. An Arabian proverb puts it neatly: Blessed is he who speaks a kindness; thrice blessed he who repeats it.
11 Learn something new. Create a new hobby. Increase your vocabulary one word a week. Take on a new physical challenge or activity.

12 Spend time investing in your personal growth. This enables joy to flourish amid the fears and difficulties of life. Read self-help books and act on the knowledge.
Decisions: the next time you ponder a decision, think of everything that could go right and say to yourself, "What do I have to lose, really?

13 Smile and be courteous. Use the words please and thank you consistently.
14 Be aware of media’s messages. Their goal is to make you feel bad about yourself so you will buy what they are selling.

15 Keep good company. Positive feeds positive and negative breeds negative. If you choose to be around positive people you in turn will become more positive.

16 Reward yourself. Give yourself and others positive rewards for being and doing well.

17 Don’t accept messages that damage your own self-esteem. It is much easier to improve or change your behavior when you believe you are lovable and capable.

18 Be aware of the different messages that you hear in your head and remember to turn up the volume on the messages that contribute to your positive self-esteem and to turn down the
volume on any message that encourages you to think negatively about your worth or ability.

19 You can improve the quality of messages you have in your head about being lovable and capable. Use "how to" statements in your head and take action on the answers you receive. Repeat positive affirmations to yourself & out loud as much as possible. 20 Negative messages can build esteem as long a they are not attacking your self worth or defining yourself as incapable. Properly delivered negative messages say "I care about myself. I am a worthwhile person and I can learn how to do things better."

21 Any thoughts that take us away from a positive feeling are not worth having or defending.
If you want to be happy, follow your happy feelings, not your unhappy ones.

22 The moment you hear a critical remark, ask yourself, "What’s on this person’s screen?" Assume that all critical remarks arise from some shortcoming. Remember that people can only criticize what’s on their screen and that their screens are not reliable. It’s very unlikely that any criticism is based on an accurate perception of you. It’s much more likely that the critic is reacting to emotions, memories, and behavior patterns that have almost nothing to do with you. Thinking poorly about yourself because of such critics is a mistake. When someone criticizes you do and say the following: Smile and say to yourself, "Boy, I wonder what’s on their screen to make them so critical of me?" Remember it’s about them not about you.

23 Remember that all criticism shares one characteristic: it is unwelcome. You didn’t invite people to dump the distorted contents of their screen on you. You may feel that you owe some critics a response, but you never owe a critic your self-esteem.

24 A small success can bring big feeling of competence. Small steps lead to more steps. Pat your self on the back every time you make a small success. Every step counts .

25 take one step at a time in a positive direction, this is the practice of self-esteem.

MY HEALTH COMMANMENTS

2008-09-01T11:19:00.001-07:00

1.
Move MoreMake 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. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!
2.
Cut FatAvoid 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…. Then be one!

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 BeltStatistics 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 TeethRecent 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. congratulations you are now healthier than before

2008-09-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

1.
Move MoreMake 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. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!
2.

Cut FatAvoid 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…. Then be one!
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 BeltStatistics 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 TeethRecent 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.

healthy life tips

2008-09-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

1.

Move MoreMake 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. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!
2.

Cut FatAvoid 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…. Then be one!
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 BeltStatistics 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 TeethRecent 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.

right facial treatment

2008-08-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't have facial cleansers? In particular, what self-respecting woman doesn't have a multitasking cleanser? Women, in particular, require facial cleanser cream to wash makeup down the bathroom drain. Facial cleansers have become a staple in the American medicine cabinet.
If you were to take a trip to the drugstore around the corner, face cleansers and acne washes and apricot exfoliators would take up a whole aisle. Unfortunately, most facial cleansers have a god awful habit of making your skin dry and itchy. If you want all the benefits of a cleanser, but none of that moisture-sucking action, follow these steps:
STEP ONE: Read the ingredient lists of the facial cleaner creams you tend to purchase. Most ingredients aren't all that kosher nor are they conducive to healthy living. Take a good hard look, and if you see alcohols or dyes, rethink your favorite products of all time. In actuality, if the components of your facial cream aren't kosher, their overall effect on your skin is going to be negative.
Say you take a moment to explore your local drugstore's facial cleanser cream collection. Let's go a step farther and say you flip over a few bottles to see the small print of an ingredients list; the odds are that each and every one of those products you investigate will have chemicals that are detrimental to the epidermis. If you see natural components like aloe vera leaf, and then see alcohol, those facial cleanser creams are a dud. The alcohols in a cleanser are the most likely culprit behind dry skin. In addition, dyes and petroleum are literally getting under your skin and destroying the skin's natural defenses against environmental influences.
STEP TWO: Go natural. Look for natural cleanser at your drugstore or health market that will aid the skin in all the ways that count. Organic components in a natural product will be kind to your skin and nurture its normal defense processes. In addition, you'll be visually surprised by the benefits of an organic product:
• Organic cleansers use functional keratin, in contrast to the synthetic keratin in chemical cleansers, to give skin elasticity. Quality facial cleansers and moisturizers work magic with functional keratin. • Organic cleansers with manuka honey are capable of revolutionizing your skin health. Manuka honey is a highly efficient antioxidant that will stop oxidative stress in its tracks. This ingredient combats free radicals that are harmful to the body. In addition, manuka honey can boost immune health!
In your pursuit for the perfect facial cleanser cream, take care to avoid chemical products; settle for organic facial cleansers.
Mark is a researcher dedicated to skin care and health products.