I didn’t really like smoking but one of the reason I had so many cigarettes is that I had the idea that smoking made me look cool. When I’d get a cigarette, I’d take a big drag or two, cough like crazy for several minutes and then I’d pass it to my friend. He’d do the same thing – inhale once or twice and practically hack up a lung as he waited to be able to breathe again. By the time we had two or three big drags each, the cigarette was gone. But by the end of the evening we were puffing away just like regular smokers. We thought we were the coolest. Of course, at the time I didn’t give any thought about how hard it could be to stop smoking cigarettes when I got older.

I smoked cigarettes all through high school and while I was in the Navy, along with other things. It was the 60’s and 70’s after all. It just seemed to make every event better, make me mellower and feel cooler. I used to love to go down to the pool hall, put some quarters in the jukebox, and shoot with a cigarette hanging from the side of my mouth. After all everyone smoked. No one even thought about it. In the Navy it was another reason to take a break. It was something to fiddle with in your hands when you were feeling socially awkward and an excuse to go outside and take a smoke break with your buddies or just stretch your legs. And it made it so much easier to make new friends and acquaintances. (more…)

When I was a kid I definitely wasn’t overweight but my dad was really overweight for a long time. I remember him telling my mom one time he weighed over 220 pounds and he was only 5’7’ tall. Even if you have otherwise healthy eating habits, all those sweets can add up after a while. And, for my dad, add up they did!

When I moved out on my own I wanted to get into shape. My solution was to quit eating sweets entirely. I must admit that at first I hated not having something sweet after dinner, but I didn’t see any other way to do it. I would eat no sweets for weeks or months until my willpower gave out, then I’d binge on chocolates and ice cream. Then I’d feel guilty and beat myself up about it. Sound familiar?

I don’t know why fresh fruit didn’t occur to me as an option earlier, but it didn’t. Once it did, however, it revolutionized my eating habits. Eating fresh fruit is one of the easiest natural health secrets to use on a regular basis.

My parents would sometimes cook with fresh fruits, but they would rarely, if ever use them for dessert when I was growing up. Then one day, I received a fresh fruit basket from a friend. It was filled with fresh citrus fruit from Florida: oranges, lemons, and pomegranates. A lot of people ridicule the idea of getting a fresh fruit basket. They consider them to be a mediocre and uninspired gift. My reaction was much different. I was so happy to be getting all those fresh fruits that I nearly ate myself sick!

A lot of people talk about problems with eating too much fresh fruit. They say that raw sugars are not much better for you than processed ones, and that you can gain weight from eating fresh fruit almost as easily as from eating chocolate cake. Well that’s just bull and I don’t mean steak. When you eat fruit fresh you get fiber, vitamins, and minerals that are all part of these natural foods. You get all this without the fats and carbohydrates that typical sugary deserts are filled with. Sure, it is possible to eat too much fresh fruit, but you can eat too much of anything! The bottom line is that fresh fruits are a great healthy eating habit to get into and a great way to enjoy a little taste of something sweet without having to compromise your healthy diet.

If you are struggling with your weight try giving eating more fresh fruits a try. Not only will you start feeling more healthy, once eating fresh fruit becomes a habit you’ll begin to feel more in control. That’s one of the best natural health secrets of all.

The power of suggestion may be part of why some can use hypnosis for smoking cessation. They believe it is going to work so it does. Also, studies have shown that there is really something to this type of method to quit smoking. Your subconscious mind is very powerful. It is where all your habits and addictions are stored. While some people have subconscious brains that resist addictions, others are not so inclined. For example, there is evidence that shows that alcoholism might not run in a family but rather addiction does. That is important to keep in mind. (more…)

Now like I said, nearly all of us are aware of the hazards of smoking. When I started smoking, packs of cigarettes had just began to have the warning “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health” printed on their side. This was the first government effort to inform people that smoking was bad for you. Since then, fighting the battle against cigarettes has been a case of the tobacco industry versus common sense.

Unfortunately common sense does not prevail and our government continues to rather ineffectually attempt to legislate our behavior. At the same time the tobacco industry continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars fighting the legislation and promoting their products of death.

Legislation passed on April 1, 2009 nearly doubled the price of tobacco. I believe that the rationale was that, by making tobacco products so expensive, especially in the economy we are now experiencing, this would be great method to help smokers quit smoking, simply because of the cost. (more…)

1. Smoking Causes Poor Circulation and Heart Disease

Smoking can kill you a number of ways. The most prominent is heart disease. There were 831,272 deaths due to heart disease in 2006. It continues to be the number one cause of death in the United States. Smoking is responsible for 30 percent of all heart attacks and cardiovascular deaths. Nicotine, the main ingredient in cigarettes, raises your blood pressure and makes your blood clot more easily. When your blood clots more easily it gets stuck in your veins causing poor circulation and heart attacks. (more…)

To many people these types of changes can seem overwhelming. One of the world’s greatest health secrets is deciding is where to begin. So you have to determine what’s in it for you, why you want to make these healthy habit changes. It’s going to take time and energy so you need to understand what will be the return on your investment. That way you’ll stick with your plan.

I want to give you some quick tips on how to make having a healthy a lifetime habit. Let’s take a look at some of the top natural health and happiness secrets:

1. Make a list of things you need to do. To improve performance in any area of your life you need to do some goal setting. That’s especially true when your goal is developing a healthy lifestyle. But before you set your goals you need to prioritize the things you want to change. You do this by making a list of what you want to accomplish. Look at what is most affecting your health right now that needs to change. This is your first step.

2. Have patience. Worthwhile changes don’t come overnight. It took a lifetime to develop those habits that led to where you are now. So take it slow. It won’t take a lifetime to sort it out but it will take some time. Staying healthy comes about one step at a time. Understand that you will have setbacks, but that doesn’t mean that you have failed and should give up. Be patient with yourself and when you eat too much or don’t exercise for a couple of days. Just pick yourself up and get moving again.

3. Give it 30 days. If you read about any self help book it will tell you that it takes between 21 to 30 days to change a habit. For the first couple of weeks your healthy eating and exercise habits will seem difficult. But stick with it because in 30 days or so, your new health habits will be the ones you’ll have to break. A month gives you enough time to develop the changes that are right for you.

4. Create healthy eating habits. For many people, one of the great pleasures in life is eating food. So why not eat foods that are good and good for you? Eating good foods will strengthen your body and your mind. It is one if the world’s greatest natural health secrets and will give you a better outlook on life. Staying healthy involves weaning yourself off of unhealthy foods and replacing them with a healthier diet or at least just eating the unhealthy ones in moderation once in a while.

5. Begin and maintain a regular exercise program. Exercise not only helps you look better but also increases concentration and a sense of wellbeing. It is one of the worst kept of the all the world’s greatest natural health and happiness secrets. When you exercise endorphins are released. These natural mood enhancers elevate your mood and are a great pick-me-up just when you need it. Start off with a simple exercise like walking and then add in strength training to tone muscles and prevent bone loss.

6. Develop a daily regimen. Most people lack order in their lives. If you get up at different times and go to sleep whenever you fall into bed your regular sleep cycles get disrupted. Sleep is the restorative phase of your life. Your body has time to process what has happened during the day and also repair your body. When you don’t get enough sleep, stress begins to affect you – and not in a good way. No matter whatever else is going on, decide to get up and go to bed at the same time as a routine. You will learn to prioritize your day while getting the rest and relaxation that you need.

These are but a few of the natural health and happiness secrets you can use for getting and staying healthy. Give it time and soon, staying healthy will be your lifestyle of choice.

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and has a FREE Weight Loss e-Course that you can find athttp://yournewbodycourse.com/.

HBP or hypertension affects one in three adults in the United States of America. While everyone has blood pressure, higher than normal (or in some cases, lower than normal) blood pressure can be a health risk.

Regular or normal blood pressure is the force that is exerted on your arteries, blood vessels and heart by the flowing motion of your blood. Your blood pressure consists of two basic components. The first is your systolic pressure. This is the maximum pressure in the arteries when your heart is actively pumping blood. The second is your diastolic pressure, which is the minimum pressure when the heart is resting between beats. An adult’s normal blood pressure is considered to be 120 over 80 millimeters of mercury. Anything above this is considered to be a clinical case of high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is considered to be a health hazard for a number of reasons. For one thing, a person, like my dad, with high blood pressure is considered to be at an increased risk for heart diseases, strokes and even heart failure. Even though my father recovered fairly well from his stroke, he was in constant pain for the last 10 years of his life. At times, he also found it difficult to find even the simplest words needed to describe something, which frustrated him immensely. Although my father didn’t experience them, other problems associated with high blood pressure are renal diseases and kidney failure.

Studies reveal that more than 32% of or about 73.6 million people in the United States age 20 and older have high blood pressure.  While there may be no obvious symptoms of high blood pressure, indications like breathlessness, unexplained weakness, obesity, quick temper, slurring of speech, excessive sweating, etc. are common signs.

High blood pressure is known as a silent killer because most of the symptoms are often passed off for general ailments. Because the symptoms of hypertension are so common, nobody is likely to attribute them to high blood pressure. This results in many people discovering that they are in suffering from HBP at a much later stage.

If you lead a sedentary lifestyle, as you grow older your risk of developing high blood pressure only increases. Unhealthy lifestyle issues such as being overweight, smoking as well as excessive alcohol or drug consumption also figure prominently in the list of usual suspects that produce and sustain high blood pressure.

There are some fairly simple high blood pressure cures. First and foremost, get a check up at least once a year by a physician in order to determine if you indeed have HBP. Based on the results of the test, if you do have HBP, your physician will tell you what you need to do. However, there are some natural cures for high blood pressure that everyone can use.

If you are overweight or obese, one of the best high blood pressure remedies is to start off on a weight loss program. First you need to regularly engage in some kind of exercise program. Combine this with one of the diets you that can be use for reducing your high blood pressure and this can quickly get your blood pressure into the normal range.

Next and most importantly, is that sufferers of HBP need to reduce their salt intake. If you add salt to your food – stop! It is one of the best natural cures for high blood pressure. For most people the foods you eat come with enough salt to meet your daily requirement.

If you drink alcohol stop, or at least moderate it to no more than one drink a day.

Finally, smoking and high blood pressure nearly always go hand in hand so if you smoke – quit. It is not only one of the best natural cures for high blood pressure it is also one of the best things you can do for your overall health.

In addition to these natural high blood pressure cures there are a number of high blood pressure drugs that your doctor may prescribe to keep your hypertension under control. If you use them along with working the natural cures for high blood pressure we’ve discussed, you can have your blood pressure back in the normal range in no time.

Remember, by itself, high blood pressure is not a fatal illness. It’s when you don’t know you have it, or you don’t control it that it can lead to other fatal complications. So go get a checkup and, if you have hypertension start to use some of these high blood pressure cures now before it is too late! Don’t wait to have a heart attack or stroke. Use these simple natural cures for high blood pressure and get your body back into the healthy shape it was made to be in.

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and has a FREE Weight Loss e-Course that you can find athttp://yournewbodycourse.com/.

A few years ago I found out that even though I regularly exercised, it wasn’t enough to maintain optimum health. I felt good but I knew I could feel better and I was a few pound overweight so I started looking for something that could help me look and feel better. Of course I wanted to do something natural and what I found was that one of the biggest secrets to great energy is to include a healthy eating regimen, based on your exercise level, into your daily habits. This one secret can make a huge difference in how you look and feel. Xxx Eating correctly gives your body the energy it needs to exercise at the level you want it to. Healthy eating also maintains your energy level for the everyday tasks of life. So if you want to make the most of your exercise habits, eating the right foods both before and after you workout is extremely important. Let’s take a look at some healthy eating habits you can adapt for optimum energy and health.

First, eat a balance of protein and carbohydrates. It doesn’t matter whether you are going to be doing a cardio workout or a resistance workout, when it comes to optimum health your nutrition should include a balanced mix of protein and carbohydrates. The two determining factors for deciding the percentage of carbs and protein you consume is first, whether or not you are doing cardio or resistance exercise, and second, the intensity level that you plan to work at.

Ideally you want to eat your pre-workout meal an hour or so before you start. If you plan to work at a low intensity level, keep your pre-workout meal down to 200 calories or less. If you plan to exercise at a high level of intensity, you will probably need to eat between 400 and 500 calories.

If your session concentrates on cardio exercises you will need to consume a mixture of about 2/3 carbs and 1/3 protein. The carbs will give you longer sustained energy while the protein will keep your muscles from breaking down while you exercise.

If you are doing resistance exercises the opposite is true. You’ll need to eat a mix of 1/3 carbs and 2/3 protein. You’ll get plenty of energy from the carbs to perform the resistance exercises while the extra protein will help keep your muscle breakdown to a minimum.

The second thing to remember is that, since anytime you exercise, whether its cardio or resistance, you deplete energy in the form of glycogen, eating after you exercise is just as important as your pre- workout meal. Your brain and central nervous system rely on glycogen as their main source of fuel, so for optimum health, your nutrition needs to include a source of this energy. if you don’t replace it after you exercise, your body will begin to break down muscle tissue into amino acids, and then convert them into usable fuel for the brain and the central nervous system. So if you don’t eat, you’ll actually deplete your energy as you simultaneously wear your body down.

A key point to remember is that during resistance exercise you break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears. What this means, is that after a workout, your muscles will instantly go into repair mode. Since protein is the essential element for muscle repair, eating protein after you eat will keep your muscles from breaking down even further.

After a cardio session the best strategy is to eat high fiber carbohydrates. These are things like brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and northern fruits like apples, peaches, pears and cherries. Also, try to consume 30 – 50 grams of these types of carbs anytime after you exercise. And don’t worry about waiting. After a cardio workout it is fine to eat within 5 to 10 minutes after you finish.

Once you’ve finished a resistance workout, you will need to consume a combination of carbs and protein. Like I mentioned before, unlike cardio workouts, resistance workouts will break down muscle tissue by creating micro tears. As a result, in order to maintain optimum health, your nutrition needs to include protein to build up and repair these tears so your muscles can increase in both size and strength. The carbs will not only replace the lost glycogen, but will also help the protein get into muscle cells so it can synthesize into structural protein, or into the muscle itself.

After your resistance exercise wait about 30 minutes before you eat. This way you won’t take blood away from your muscles and down to your stomach too fast. By allowing the blood to remain in your muscles you are helping the repair process by remove metabolic waste products.

So there you have one of the greatest health secrets, developing optimum health though proper nutrition. When you follow these healthy eating habits you’ll get the most of your exercise program and feel great while you’re doing it.

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and has a FREE Weight Loss e-Course that you can find athttp://yournewbodycourse.com/.

Simply put, these people have cholesterol ratios that are too high for good health. This is, in large part, due to diets high in fat, sugar and simple carbohydrates. Your liver is the organ that bears the brunt of these dietary indiscretions.

Simply aging causes your cholesterol level to jump. If your doctor has tested you and found your cholesterol ratios to be rising to an unhealthy level, you may be prescribed one of the statin drugs, which causes your liver to stop producing cholesterol. This is one method of cholesterol control, but perhaps not the best solution. There are ways of lowering cholesterol naturally simply by changing your diet. “How?” you ask. Reduce cholesterol rich foods while eating more cholesterol reducing foods.

When it comes to diets to lower your cholesterol there are a few foods you’ll want to avoid. These are saturated fats, such as those found in butter and milk proteins. These foods contribute to the synthesis of cholesterol in your liver. In order to reduce the foods you eat with high cholesterol, read your food labels carefully for the saturated fat content. In this case, since you’re looking for ways to reduce your cholesterol readings, eating less is more.

Another key factor in your diet to reduce your cholesterol is to limit your consumption of sugar and simple carbs. As you digest these substances, your body experiences a rise in serum insulin, which increases your lipid production. Increasing your lipid production increases your HDL cholesterol ratio. Your HDL cholesterol ratio measures your ‘bad’ cholesterol (think “H” for “high”).

Now, let’s get to the good guys, the foods which can help lower cholesterol naturally. These foods, which are easy to integrate into your daily menus, can help you to reduce your high cholesterol to a healthy level.

1- Vegetables. The proteins in vegetables help reduce your high blood cholesterol levels. Make sure you eat plenty of these, particularly legumes. Go ahead and make your portions generous! Beets, carrots, yams, artichokes and bitter greens provide support for your liver and are a great addition in your diet to reduce your cholesterol.

2 – Fruits – Eat more fruits that contain pectin. These are fruits like apples, peaches, plums and berries. These foods are also high in water soluble fiber and are one of the best ways of lowering cholesterol naturally. Lemons play a highly supportive role in the health of your liver. Gooseberries help reduce blood serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels by promoting metabolism of fats in your liver. Research suggests this is due to the rich trace mineral content of the fruit. When serving goose, turkey, lamb, duck, beef or pork, all which contains a high level of cholesterol, a side of gooseberry jam or jelly reduces your cholesterol uptake.

3 – Omega-3 oils – Cold water fish, such as salmon, halibut, sea bass and sardines are packed with Omega-3 oils, and are proven to help reduce high cholesterol. Alternatively, you may achieve similar results with 1000-1500 mg of fish oil capsules daily. Omega-3 oils decrease the synthesis of cholesterol and increase the breakdown of triglycerides. Nuts and seeds are also rich sources of the Omega-3 oils. For example, walnuts, eaten in moderate amounts on a regular basis, decreases serum cholesterol levels, while favorably modifying the LDL or good cholesterol (thin L for Low). In a California study of men and women with an average cholesterol reading of 240, daily consumption of just 3 ½ ounces of almonds over a two month period reduced their cholesterol by 10-15% as compared to the group who consumed equal amounts of fat from cheese.

4 – Seasonings – One of the most flavorful things you can put in your diet to reduce your cholesterol are seasonings! Use garlic liberally, in salads, soups, on breads and in meat dishes. Garlic has been amply demonstrated to reduce high cholesterol. Ginger is another seasoning to help you in lowering your cholesterol naturally. Make a pot of fresh ginger tea, or try adding some finely minced fresh ginger and a bit of orange juice, cooked into a syrup in a saucepan of carrots. Crushed cardamom seeds, added to stews and soups, both improves the flavor and holds high cholesterol content of fatty meats in check, once they are completely digested.

Each of these suggestions is excellent for lowering your cholesterol naturally and easily. When you add these foods to your diet you’ll not only feel better, you’ll enjoy the taste of your food more. These foods are nutritious and delicious and can help you reduce your high cholesterol once and for all. So get started, because now is the time to begin your diet to reduce your high cholesterol!

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and has a FREE Weight Loss e-Course that you can find at http://yournewbodycourse.com/.

There are a couple of types of blood pressure monitors. The more traditional blood pressure monitors that you usually see your doctor use are called sphygmomanometers. This is the typical cuff thing that they Velcro onto your arm, and then pump up by hand. It has a pressure gauge attached, and requires careful watching to accurately determine your blood pressure.  These traditional blood pressure monitors are usually used in conjunction with a stethoscope to give a reading of your heart rate as well. That means taking vitals the old school way is a very active process and requires some amount of training. 

Fortunately, there are newer and easier to use blood pressure monitors available today. Today you can purchase electronic sphygmomanometers that are programmed to basically do everything for you. All you need to learn how to do is properly attach the cuff to your arm, which is easier than tying your shoes.  With the push of a button, the blood pressure machine does the rest.  It even records your heart rate, and displays it along with your blood pressure in a little LCD display.  All you have to do is wait for it to finish.

Automatic blood pressure monitors make it a lot easier to read blood pressure.  Anyone that works in a medical environment that doesn’t have the training nurses and doctors have gotten in the use of a regular sphygmomanometer certainly appreciates having an automatic blood pressure monitor on hand. 

If you have symptoms of hypertension or have any other need to monitor your blood pressure it would be a good idea to purchase your own electronic blood pressure monitor.  It’s a nice tool if you have to accurately gauge or treat your high blood pressure. It’s also great to have on hand to monitor any stress your heart may be under.

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and has a FREE Weight Loss e-Course that you can find at http://yournewbodycourse.com/.