Health Ideaz

Eye Problem

2008-05-26T02:23:00.001-07:00

Be very careful when u get caught with dust.

The effects of bad dust to a person. While he was talking he felt an eye

Irritation, thinking that it was just regular dust, he started to rub his Eye, in an effort to remove the dust.... then his eyes got really red, and

He went and bought some eye drops from a pharmacy....few days passed and His eyes were still red and seem a little swollen.

Again he dismissed it as the constant rubbing and that it will go away. The Days go by the swelling of his eye got worse, redder and bigger....till he Decided to go and see a doctor for a check up. The doctor immediately Wanted an operation, being afraid of a tumor growth or cyst.

At the Operation, what was thought to be a growth or cyst, actually turned out to Be a LIVE WORM.....

 What was thought initially to be just mere dust Actually was an insect's egg. If u do get caught dust, and the pain

Persists, pls go, see a doctor immediately........

Acne : 8 Simple Tips To follow

2008-05-26T00:16:00.001-07:00

Commonly affecting the skin condition of people between ages 12 to 24 is a disease called acne. The cause of acne is hard to determine. However, over secretion of the sebaceous glands is pointed as the cause to trigger most acne outbreaks.

Acne can strike at any skin type. An oily skin type is most subseptible to acne. Dry skin on the other hand, may not be as susceptible but serious outbreaks may occur during winter. Normal skin is equally susceptible to acne but the level of severity may not be as high.

Presently, acne is not yet totally curable but can be remedied with several acne skin care methods. Many seek the help of topical medications, which are applied on the surface of the skin. However, employing the use of acne skin care products like "pore strip pads" may remove whiteheads and blackheads but they would not have any effect on the excess sebum produced.

Nevertheless, for remedy and prevention, it is best to employ the following 8 simple tips:

1. A healthy, well-balanced diet must be observed. Therefore, your food intake must incorporate all the essential nutrients the body needs for efficient functioning.

2. Drink plenty of fluids like water, juices. Minimize the intake of carbonated drinks.

3. No make up is recommended.

4. Wash your face with mild soap and water. The logic is to not remove the dirt (as the majority of acne-inflicted person perceive) but to remove the plugs on the skin pores, which may be a combination of dead skin cells, bacteria and hardened sebum. Although dirt is not truly the cause of acne, it may contribute to further infection through its interaction with skin debris and particles and extra oil in the skin.

5. Use topical cleansing pads that may contain one or the combination of the following: salicylic acid, sulfur and benzoyl peroxide to remove excess oil. Another way to minimize the presence of extra oil in the skin is to wash the face with the hottest water you can withstand.

6. Minimize the use of harsh cleansers and use acne skin care items that exfoliate mildly. Do not scrub vigorously to the affected areas.

7. If your hands are dirty, refrain from touching your face.

8. If you have long hair, tie up your hair so that it is kept away from the face. This is especially so if the weather is hot and you have been perspiring.

Preventative acne skin care steps are just as important as the treatment of acne itself. With prevention, at least, you know how to ensure that your acne problem does not escalate and spread to a bigger infected area.

How to Improve Your Memory & Exercise Your Brain

2008-05-26T00:13:00.001-07:00

Everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started. Scientists believe that exercising your brain can create a 'cognitive reserve' that will help you stay sharp as you age.

1. Convince yourself that you do have a good memory that will improve. Too many people get stuck here and convince themselves that their memory is bad, that they are just not good with names, that numbers just slip out of their minds for some reason. Erase those thoughts and vow to improve your memory. Commit yourself to the task and bask in your achievements — it's hard to keep motivated if you beat yourself down every time you make a little bit of progress.

2. Keep your brain active. The brain is not a muscle, but regularly "exercising" the brain actually does keep it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills—especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument—and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.

3. Exercise daily. Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental "pictures."

4. Reduce stress. Chronic stress, although it does not physically damage the brain, can make remembering much more difficult. Even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.

5. Eat well and eat right. There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine). A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, blueberries, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Feed your brain with such supplements as Thiamine, Vitamin E, Niacin and Vitamin B-6. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.

6. Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don't really learn people's names at first because we aren't really concentrating on remembering them. You'll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you'll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you're able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.

7. Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you're trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.

8. Create vivid, memorable images. You remember information more easily if you can visualize it. If you want to associate a child with a book, try not to visualize the child reading the book – that's too simple and forgettable. Instead, come up with something more jarring, something that sticks, like the book chasing the child, or the child eating the book. It's your mind – make the images as shocking and emotional as possible to keep the associations strong.

9. Repeat things you need to learn. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you'll remember it, right? It's a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker's name or your best friend's birthday, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.
10. Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you'll find it easier to remember all four.

11. Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn't improve your memory, you'll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won't have to search for your keys anymore).

12. Try meditation. Research now suggests that people who regularly practice "mindfulness" meditation are able to focus better and may have better memories. Mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight meditation) is the type commonly practiced in Western countries and is easy to learn. Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital show that regular meditation thickens the cerebral cortex in the brain by increasing the blood flow to that region. Some researchers believe this can enhance attention span, focus, and memory.

13. Sleep well. The amount of sleep we get affects the brain's ability to recall recently learned information. Getting a good night's sleep – a minimum of seven hours a night – may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.

14. Build your memorization arsenal. Learn pegs, memory palaces, and the Dominic System. These techniques form the foundation for mnemonic techniques, and will visibly improve your memory.

15. Venture out and learn from your mistakes. Go ahead and take a stab at memorizing the first one hundred digits of pi, or, if you've done that already, the first one thousand. Memorize the monarchs of England through your memory palaces, or your grocery list through visualization. Through diligent effort you will eventually master the art of memorization.

Doctor Fish

2008-05-26T00:11:00.001-07:00

SOME people squirm wildly and cry out as they thrash in a treatment pool. Other alarmed types thump the walls. Strong men, meanwhile, have been known to giggle.

These reactions are from Singaporeans being eaten alive by fish.

No, it's not some sort of bizarre Jaws experience involving sharks and hot tubs. It's a new craze catching on in a big way - fish therapy.

Tiny toothless Turkish spa fish, of the Garra rufa species, nibble off the dead skin on your hands and feet, leaving healthy skin to grow.

The feeling? Something between hundreds of tweezers and tiny suction cups gently pecking at your feet.

According to enthusiasts, the feeding sessions by these 9cm- to 12cm-long fish can leave you feeling massaged, glowing and with improved skin.

Many people also believe that the Doctor Fish therapy can cure problems like psoriasis, a disease that causes red, scaly patches to appear on the skin.

It's become popular in Japan, South Korea, China and Europe, and three places offering this service have sprung up in Singapore over the past year.

The latest outlet, Kampong Fish Therapy, opened last month in Thomson Road. It is owned by actress Yeo Yann Yann and make-up artist Dollei Seah.

The other two fish flesh-spots are Qian Hu Fish Farm in Lim Chu Kang and Underwater World in Sentosa.

People pay anything from $10 to $38 a session to be fish food - by immersing their hands or feet in a pool of water where thousands of freshwater Garra rufa fish chomp away on crusty skin to reveal new, smooth skin.

Hot spring spas in Turkey with such fish have been running for more than 100 years and some people with skin problems swear by the treatment.

For example, with psoriasis, the fish lick away the plaque which causes red patches and release a small quantity of dithranol, an enzyme which results in skin rejuvenation.

Dermatologists think that the fish therapy can provide only a short-term solution to some skin conditions.

Dr Chris Foo, consultant dermatologist at Raffles Hospital, said: 'There is currently no 'cure' for psoriasis. Fish treatment may give short-term relief to some patients but not all patients will improve, depending on the severity of their conditions.

'For all we know, the patients who have improved with fishy treatment may just as well have improved with creams from a dermatologist.'

But isn't there a risk of infection when people of varying degrees of skin problems share a pool?

All three outlets claim this would not happen as they do not allow people with open wounds in the pool, to prevent infected blood from coming into contact with others.

They also have an ultra-violet disinfecting system for the water, which kills germs.

Also, those with severe skin problems get their own tub at Kampong Fish Therapy.

Dr Foo thinks it is a hygienic move. 'Although diseases like psoriasis are not contagious, other bacteria infections can be transmitted through water.'

Ms Cecilia Koh, 27, who suffers from dry and rough skin, swears by the treatment. Said the assistant director: 'After two visits, my skin is smoother. It's something you get addicted to, the feeling of pins and needles outside your skin.'

The two pools in Kampong Fish Therapy have proved so popular - up to 70 customers on weekdays and 100 on weekends - that a tub is being introduced for those brave enough to immerse their entire body. A second outlet is also in the works.

The two owners declined to say how much they have sunk into the venture, but it wouldn't be small fry - a fish costs about $10 from a fish distributor, and they have bought some 6,000 fish.

The outlet's two pools can take up to eight people each and are a great ice-breaker, said Ms Seah, 34. 'In a regular spa, everyone is isolated. Here, families and friends can do it together, chit-chat and relax.'

Co-owner Yeo, 30, who suffered from calluses after months in heels filming 881, said her skin was visibly smoother and softer after repeated fish treatments.

She joked: 'My family runs a fish distributing business in Kukup. I left Malaysia 10 years ago to come here, and now I'm back in the fish business. It's karma. We used to feed fish to people, now I feed people to fish.'

Fish Reflexology at Underwater World is also doing a brisk business. Since it opened last December, it sees up to 60 people on weekdays and 100 people on weekends.

Besides a pool with Garra rufa, there is one with Oreochromis, a larger fish from Africa which also feeds on dead or diseased skin.

Its retail manager Tan Lay Hong, 52, said: 'We target tourists and families, and are not aimed at the beauty or medical market.'

At Qian Hu's Fish Spa, launched in September last year, some customers even buy the critters to re-create the spa at home. A small Garra rufa costs $10 and a larger one is $20.

Business development manager Jimmy Yap said customers usually buy one or two, but a Batam couple once bought 200 fish.

When LifeStyle visited the spa last Thursday, it was packed with more than 30 people of all ages soaking up the fish therapy in a large communal pool.

It was so crowded that some complained the 3,000 fish in the pool weren't enough to go around. But most were smiling.

Said manager Yvonne Lau, 27, who was there with her family: 'The whole family can come. There is no age limit. As long as you have feet, you can join in.'

Hair Recepies

2008-05-24T01:05:00.000-07:00

Dandruff Control Rinse Recipe

1 cup apple cider vinegar
6 aspirins, crushed
1/4 cup witch hazel

Combine all ingredients and store in a tightly capped jar or bottle. After shampooing, gently massage rinse into your hair, leave it on for 10 minutes, then rinse again with warm water.

Baking Soda Rinse Recipe

1/2 cup baking soda
1 cup warm water

Dissolve baking soda in warm water. Pour over hair after shampooing. Massage into the hair and scalp for several minutes, then rinse. This will efficiently clean and shine the hair.

Cherry-Almond Hair Mist Shine Recipe

2 cups warm water
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon cherry extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix and put into a spray bottle.

Coffee Rinse Recipe

For brunettes and redheads.

8 cups warm brewed coffee

After shampooing rinse hair with coffee. Do not rinse it out. Your hair will be rich and shiny.

Dry End Treatment Recipe

8 ounces safflower or vegetable oil
2 ounces beeswax
22 ounces distilled water
1/2 ounce Triethanolamine

Mix safflower oil, beeswax and stearic acid. Heat to boiling. At the same time, in another pot, heat distilled water and Triethanolamine. After heating, add the distilled water solution to the oil mixture and stir continuously until the solution has cooled.

To use the emulsion, put a small amount on palms, rub hands together, and apply to dry ends, massaging in gently.

NOTE: Triethanolamine is a liquid available at drugstores.

Dry, Flaking Scalp Remedy Recipe

2 ounces glycerin
1/2 ounce apple cider vinegar

Mix. Section hair and apply the mixture with cotton balls. Leave it on for 15 minutes, then rinse.

Flour Paste Recipe

For frizzy hair.

Flouring is an ancient recipe that smoothes the scales of the hair shaft, making it more manageable.

1 cup flour
2/3 cup cold water

Mix until lumps disappear. Apply to dry, unwashed hair, smoothing the mixture and your hair straight back. Leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse thoroughly about five minutes. Shampoo with one lathering of mild shampoo. Rinse with cool water.

Lemon Hair Spray Recipe

This is simple, but it works well. It also adds body to fine, limp hair, and it gives light hair added shine.

2 lemons, sliced
2 cups hot water

Place lemon slices and water in a glass or enamel pan and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the water is reduced to 1 cup - about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

Line a strainer with cheesecloth and strain the mixture. Squeeze the cloth out thoroughly to get all the juice. Pour the strained mixture into a pump-type container. Mixture will keep for 1 to 2 months in the refrigerator.

Lemon Rinse Recipe

For light hair.

2 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup chamomile flowers

Combine ingredients in a glass or enamel pan and boil for 15 minutes. Strain, cool and store in a tightly capped bottle.

After shampooing, pour 1/2 cup over the hair, then rinse.

Protein Hair Treatment Recipe

1 ounce soy sauce
1 cup warm water

After shampooing, pour this over hair. Leave in for 10 minutes, then rinse out.

Rosemary-Sage Natural Hair Dye Recipe

For covering gray hair.

1/2 cup dried sage
1/2 cup dried rosemary
2 cups hot water

Combine all ingredients in a nonreactive saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes, then steep for several hours. Strain, and then use the resulting liquid for the colorant.

Apply to hair and leave on until dried. Rinse and dry. Repeat weekly until you obtain the desired shade, then monthly to maintain color.

Russian Hair Treatment Pack Recipe

This is better than a simple hot oil treatment. It leaves the hair looking stunningly-thick, luxuriant, and shiny. The effects last a long time, even the light scent of the essential oil will linger through several shampoos.

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon oil (safflower, almond, coconut, or walnut
1 drop essential oil (lemon, tangerine, jasmine, rose,
sandalwood, rosemary)

Before applying, moisten the hair very slightly by running wet fingers through it, then massage the egg mixture into hair and scalp. Wrap head in a towel (and plastic if desired) and sit back in a sauna, take a long hot bath, or relax in a warm place. (The heat of a sauna is the best environment for this treatment.) Leave the pack on for one hour, if possible, even two or three!

To cleanse, rinse hair in warm water, then apply a lot of shampoo directly to the hair, wash well, and rinse. If you've used enough shampoo, only one wash is needed.

Scalp Treatment Recipe

Normal Scalp
1/2 rose water
1/2 mineral water
1 teaspoon cologne

Oily Scalp
3 ounces witch hazel
3 ounces mineral water
Pulp of 1 lemon

Dry, Tight Scalp
2 ounces warm olive oil
1 teaspoon wheat germ oil
1/2 teaspoon oil of rosemary
3 drops lavender oil

Section hair in 1-inch widths and dampen the scalp at each parting with a saturated cotton ball. Rewet your fingers in the solution as necessary.

Sesame-Coconut Protein Conditioner Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons light sesame oil
2 whole eggs
2 tablespoons coconut milk
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon coconut oil

Sunstreaking Recipe

This is a rich hair dressing which provides sheen and elegance to frazzled hair. It can also be used as a pressing oil for hair straightening.

Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons chamomile tea

Mix lemon juice and tea. Using an inexpensive straw hat with lots of holes in it, pull strands of hair you would like to lighten through the holes with a crochet hook or pencil. Sit in the sun for 1 1/2 hours. You will achieve natural-looking streaking.

Vinegar Rinse Recipe

This will remove the last traces of shampoo and give the hair extra shine and a soft, smooth, texture. Vinegar restores the proper acidic pH balance to hair.

Add a few tablespoons of a pleasant-scented vinegar, such as raspberry or plum, to your rinse water. You can use this rinse after every shampoo, if desired.

Maggots and leeches: Good medicine

2008-05-24T01:02:00.001-07:00

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Two medical devices recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration seem more likely to appear on Fear Factor than ER

Calling them "devices" is a stretch. But just like stimulators and stents, prostheses and pacemakers, leeches and maggots are now classified as FDA-approved medical devices — the first live animals to earn that distinction.

No question, the thought of getting up close and personal with leeches or maggots is enough to make most healthy people feel ill. But patients who have been treated with these "devices," as well as their doctors, credit them with restoring health to tissue when high-tech medicine could not.

Although a French firm's leeches were approved only last week and a California doctor's maggots were cleared in January, the creatures have long medical track records.

Companies that were already selling leeches before the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act became law in 1976 were grandfathered in and did not need FDA approval. The FDA only recently decided to regulate maggots, says internist Ronald Sherman, who earned the agency's permission in January to continue supplying the caterpillar-like fly larvae.

Leeches through history

Medicinal leeches are bloodsucking, aquatic cousins of the earthworm that hail from Europe. Doctors used leeches for bloodletting — thought to be good for whatever ailed patients — from Hippocrates' time through the mid-19th century. Leeches fell out of favor when doctors finally recognized that patients they bled fared no better, and often worse, than other patients

It's often trickier to connect veins, which carry blood back to the heart, than arteries, which carry blood from the heart. So before grafted tissue gets new vein growth, it can become congested with blood. Sometimes surgery can fix the problem, but if it can't, the graft might fail.

Enter the leech. Not only does it suck out excess blood, but its saliva contains a powerful blood thinner. So even after it fills up and drops off, bleeding continues.

Douglas Chepeha, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at the University of Michigan, treats two or three patients a year with leeches after rebuilding faces or mouths decimated by cancer.

Typically, leeches are used one at a time and replaced as they drop off — usually every 20 minutes — for 24 to 48 hours, then intermittently for a few days afterward, Chepeha says.

"I've never had anybody refuse," Chepeha says. "They've come in with a serious cancer, they've had part of a critical organ removed, they want to get better. You say to them: 'I think this could help.' People have been amazingly stoic about it."

Normally pretty squeamish, Alyssa Kieff, 22, of Marrero, La., tolerated five days of leech therapy in April. Kieff's beagle had snapped at her and tore off her right upper eyelid, which was reattached microsurgically by Kamran Khoobehi, a Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center plastic surgeon.

Kieff, who returned to her receptionist job a month after surgery, wasn't quite as enthusiastic. Still, she says, "I knew it had to be done to help the eyelid survive. I didn't think about it."

Two U.S. companies sell medicinal leeches for about $7.50 apiece. They're usually on call in hospital pharmacy refrigerators.

Compared with leeches, maggots are tiny things. But their association with rotting flesh may make them even more off-putting than leeches — until you talk to someone who's been treated with them.

Maggots to the rescue

Three years ago, a small cut on the bottom of Pam Mitchell's foot became seriously infected as a result of diabetes. After surgery to remove diseased tissue, Mitchell, who had worked as a waitress for 20 years, was left with a hole in her foot that was 1 inch deep and 2 inches across. And still, the infection raged. Antibiotics were powerless against it.

"They were telling me I should think about amputation," says Mitchell, who is from Akron, Ohio.

But then a co-worker told Mitchell of a TV show she had seen about using maggots to heal wounds. Desperate to save her foot, Mitchell found a dermatologist, Eliot Mostow, who thought maggot therapy was worth a try. Luckily, her insurance covered the $75-a-session treatments.

Mostow applied disinfected maggots to her wound and covered them with a cagelike dressing. The maggots liquefied dead tissue, killed harmful bacteria and stimulated healing. After 48 hours, Mitchell's orthopedist removed the maggot dressing. After 10 treatments, her foot was well on its way to being healed. "It's amazing," she says. "There's hardly even a scar there."

Today, Mitchell serves on the board of the non-profit Biotherapeutics Education and Research Foundation, which promotes the medical use of maggots and leeches and provides them to patients who lack insurance coverage. Sherman, an Irvine, Calif., internist, is the group's CEO and only U.S. maggot supplier.

To say Sherman is mad about maggots is like saying Spider-Man 2 is doing OK at the box office. "He really is Dr. Maggot in my mind," Mostow says. "He knows more about this than anybody else."

Through the years, Sherman says, military surgeons noticed that soldiers with maggot-infested wounds did better than similarly wounded soldiers without the infestation.

Sherman began treating patients with maggots in 1990. By 1993, as word got out about his success in saving limbs scheduled for amputation, other hospitals began asking him for maggots. By 1994 or 1995, Sherman says, he was getting so many requests that he began charging a nominal fee to cover the materials and his time.

Today, Sherman says, he supplies blow fly maggots to 300 sites around the country, including Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., which used them to treat victims of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. "They're lifesaving," says James Jeng, a burn specialist at the hospital.

Sherman says relatively few of his customers are willing to go public. "Some administrators," he says, "have expressed the view that the public will think the hospital is old-fashioned or, worse, unhygienic."

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Honey Mint Glazed Chicken Recipe

2008-05-24T00:59:00.001-07:00

Can you tell we are gearing up for grilling season? This has to be one of the simplest chicken recipes for the taste, grilled or otherwise. It's just basic grilled (or oven broiled) chicken with a fresh mint and honey glaze. Nothing to it really, but it tastes fabulous. This recipe is set up for whole chicken parts, but you could easily use boneless, skinless breasts or thighs; just reduce the cooking time.

When we grill meat, we like to marinate the meat first in an acidic marinade. Even half an hour of an acid-based marinade (vinegar or lemon juice) help mitigate carcinogenic effects of grilling. The simple marinade in this recipe will do the trick, will not interfere with the honey mint taste, and will help keep the chicken pieces from sticking to the grill.

Honey Mint Glazed Chicken Recipe
Ingredients:-

1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 4-5 pound chicken, cut into parts
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup honey
2-3 Tbsp water
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint (or 2 Tbsp dried mint)

Method

1. Place chicken pieces in a bowl. Mix vinegar with olive oil and pour over chicken pieces. Turn chicken pieces so that all are coated with the simple marinade. Let marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.

2. In a small bowl mix honey, mint, and just enough water for a good basting consistency. Set aside for glazing the chicken.

3. Prepare grill for medium high heat. Remove chicken pieces from marinade. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place chicken pieces on the hot grill, skin side up. Cook for approximately 30-40 minutes, covered, turning every 7 or 8 minutes. For the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, baste all sides with the honey mint mixture. The chicken is done when the juices run clear (not pink) when a knife tip is inserted into both the chicken breast and thigh, about 165°F for the breast and 180°F for the thigh. Note that although the breast pieces are bigger, they may finish cooking earlier than the thighs.

Serves 6.

Menstruation cycle and Ovulation

2008-05-24T00:57:00.001-07:00

Menstruation cycle and Ovulation
The menstrual (monthly) cycle - the periodic uterine bleeding is one of the key physiological functions of the female body.Ovulation is release of a matured egg from the ovary. During ovulation if the egg does not get fertilized (does not meet the sperm), it disintegrates and is released along with the inner lining of the Uterus, (endometrium) causing bleeding. This process is known as menses or menstrual period.

(Time between two periods) usually averages 28 days in length with normal variation ranging from 21 to 35 days. The day a period starts is counted as day 1 of the menstrual cycle. When the two -seven days of your period are over, the ovary begins ripening another egg ready for release during the next ovulation. Meanwhile the uterus begins to build up another inner lining ready to receive the fertilized egg.

Ovulation normally occurs fourteen days before beginning the next period, regardless of the length of the cycle. So a woman with a 28 day cycle would tend to ovulate on day 14. The woman with a 32 day cycle would tend to ovulate on day 18 (32-14). The life time of the egg is brief -only 24 hours. So to get pregnant the sperm should reach the egg during this fertility period.

How TO Get Rid Of Pimples

2008-05-19T22:17:00.001-07:00

Most of the pimple products on the market are just there to rip you off. There is no guaranteed cure for pimples, and there probably never will be. Keeping your face clean and moisturized is about the most important thing you can do.

Drink 8 or more glasses of water a day.

Sleep more. Your body will be more prepared to deal with problems.

Avoid touching your face, as this just spreads bacteria.

Only use oil-free products on your face.

Always use toner and moisturizer.

Wash your hands often to rid them of oils.

Vinegar works well, too.

Try Off EZY Wart Remover with 17% salicylic acid medication to each pimple individually. Do not use it everywhere, as it will sting. Apply calamine lotion around the area.

See a doctor about serious acne.

Try not to wear makeup. It clogs pores and can lead to breakouts.

Eat foods high in protein, iron, fiber, and zinc.

Give the treatments time. An acne treatment is not going to work "just like that."

Avoid the use of products with 10% or greater concentration of Benzoyl Peroxide. BP is known to cause dryness,itchyness, and burning sensation of the skin. Consult a medical professional if you experience any of these symptoms.

Accutane is a wonder drug for severe acne. Can almost wipe out breakouts with a 3-6 month treatment and can last anywhere from 1 year to a lifetime!

Wash your face and put baby powder on the area. It's the fastest way to dry those pimples out and get rid of them. Baby powder works like a charm.

If you have pimples that you want to get rid of fast, put ice on them for 30-60 seconds every 30 minutes. And then apply rubbing alcohol.

Warnings

Toothpaste doesn't really work. It's supposed to but doesn't make a noticeable difference.

Don't scratch or pick at your pimples. It will only make the situation worse. Only pop pimple if they are very white and fixing to explode; even then one should wash their hands and avoid having to apply too much pressure.

Don't wash your face too often--it can dry out your skin and cause irritation.

10 Tips for Healthy and Shining Hair.

2008-05-19T22:15:00.001-07:00

Your hair enhances your overall personality and also reflects your health. But, healthy hair and scalp needs proper care right from the beginning. If you neglect your hair for long, it might turn brittle with split-ends and also cause dandruff. You may even experience untimely hair loss if you don't take timely precautions.

Studies indicate that in 95 percent cases, hair loss is genetic, but many other factors such as diet, general health, vitamin and hormonal deficiencies, overuse of hair dye, physical and emotional stress also lead to uncontrolled hair loss. However, it is possible to control most of these factors that lead to untimely hair fall among individuals.
Though hair loss is not a life-threatening situation, but it may imply internal health
problems. Besides, it may also spoil the level of self-confidence in the long run. As there is no permanent cure for hair loss, but it is possible to take some preventive measures to ensure healthy and shining hair. Some of these tips are listed below:

1Role of Diet

A nutritious diet, which contains all essential vitamins and minerals, helps in minimizing the hair loss. Therefore, you must include green, leafy vegetables, raw oats, and whole grain cereals, eggs, dates, and raisins in your daily food regime. As the hair is made of protein, you are advised to stick to protein-rich diet, such as calves liver, brewer's yeast, and wheat germ. These foods also contain Vitamin B, which is an important nutrient for hair. Outer coverings of
potatoes, cucumbers, and green and red peppers are high in silica, which is essential to
maintain the beauty and strength of your hair. Vitamin E also promotes hair growth and reduces hair fall. A person may experience hair fall due to thyroid dysfunction also. Therefore, you must include foods, which are good sources of vitamin A and iodine.

2Washing routine

Your hair cleansing routine largely depends on your hair-type. People having oily hair may need to wash their hair regularly, while people having dry hair can wash it twice a week. Never use too hot or too cold water to wash your hair. While cleaning or massaging your hair, you should always use your fingertips and not your nails to gently clean your scalp

3Proper combing

You should use a wide-tooth comb to untangle your hair and comb in downward direction. Using a wooden or tortoise shell comb is a better idea than using a rubber comb. Avoid combing wet hair, as wet hair can easily break

4Drying your hair

If possible, allow your hair to dry naturally. Avoid using blow dryer as its heat can damage your hair, and also make it look coarse and lifeless.

5Using proper conditioner

Protect your hair from sudden environmental changes, while going out to a beach or a pool.
You must use an effective conditioner as it protects your hair from the sun, chlorine, and sea water. You should also wear a protective hat or a cap to avoid overexposing your hair to the sun, salt or chlorinated water and pollution.

6Use of shampoo and conditioner

Always choose a simple formula shampoo, which costs you less money. Remember, the basic
purpose of a shampoo is to wash away the dirt and the oil. Therefore, use a milder shampoo,
which is less expensive and more beneficial for your hair. Apply a good quality conditioner once you clean your hair with the shampoo, but do not over-condition your hair.

7Choose a comfortable hair style

Choose a hair style that truly reflects your style and taste while significantly enhances your personality. Often traditional hair styling products are rich of alcohol and other arsh chemicals, which may again harm your hair.

8Knowing your sleeping pattern helps control

Hair loss Comb your hair gently while going to bed. You should also gently remove all bands or clips used during the day. Do you know that your sleeping pattern also affects the life and
health of your hair? People who are restless even while they are sleeping may actually end
up breaking their hair. So, if you belong to the restless community of sleepers, you should
use s satin pillowcase, which allows your hair to move smoothly and thus cause less breakage.

9Limit the use of alcohol and smoking

products Reduce alcohol consumption and also avoid using it on your hair. Avoid using hair care products that contain alcohol. This is because alcohol can make your hair look dry, brittle
and prone to breakage.

10Avoid using harsh chemicals

Certain harsh chemicals such as permanent hair color and perms can also affect the health and growth of your hair. Therefore, you must avoid coloring your hair more than once every
2-4 months.

Menstrual blood can repair hearts

2008-05-19T22:13:00.001-07:00

The monthly discomfort many women see as a curse could pay off some day as Japanese researchers say menstrual blood can be used to repair heart damage.

Scientists obtained menstrual blood from nine women and cultivated it for about a month, focusing on a kind of cell that can act like stem cells.

Some 20% of the cells began beating spontaneously about three days after being put together in vitro with cells from the hearts of rats. The cells from menstrual blood eventually formed sheet-like heart-muscle tissue.

The success rate is 100 times higher than the 0.2-0.3% for stem cells taken from human bone marrow, according to Shunichiro Miyoshi, a cardiologist at Keio University's school of medicine, who is involved in the research.

Separate in-vivo experiments showed that the condition of rats who had suffered heart attacks improved after they received the cells derived from menstrual blood.

Miyoshi said women may eventually be able to use their own menstrual blood.

"There may be a system in the near future that allows women to use it for their own treatment," Miyoshi said. Using one's own blood could solve a major problem in the use of cells - a patient's immune system rejecting them.

Miyoshi said menstrual blood could be used to build stockpiles of cells which have a variety of matching HLAs, or human leukocyte antigens, a key part of the human immune system.

The cells can be stored for a long time in a tube the size of a finger and cultivated when necessary, he said.

"In proper storage, we would be able to stock up a tremendous count of cells in a small space. If they are not used for 100 years, they could stay there for 200 years or 300 years" waiting for a perfect match, he said.

In a strict sense, the connective cells from menstrual blood cannot be called stem cells, which can turn into any type of cell in the body, Miyoshi said. But they also have high potential to develop into muscle cells, suggesting the blood could in time be used to treat muscular dystrophy, he said.

The study has been conducted by researchers from private Keio University and the National Institute for Child Health and Development.

Beauty By Honey

2008-05-19T22:12:00.001-07:00

Here are some home-made beauty recipes made with honey.

Facial Toner
Ingredients

1 Tablespoon honey
1 apple, peeled and cored

Directions

In blender, puree honey with a peeled, cored apple. Smooth over face; leave on 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water.

Firming Face Mask
Ingredients

1 Tablespoon honey
1 egg white
1 teaspoon glycerin (available at drug and beauty stores)
approx. 1/4 cup flour

Directions

Whisk together all ingredients and enough flour to form a paste (approximately 1/4 cup). Smooth over face and throat. Leave on 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.

Gentle Honey Cleanser
Ingredients

1/4 cup honey
1 Tablespoon liquid soap
1/2 cup glycerin (available at drug and beauty stores)

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until they are fully blended. Pour into a clean plastic bottle.Pour onto clean face sponge or soft cloth and gently rub onto face, wash away with warm water and pat face dry. Enjoy fresh radiant skin.
Tips

This cleanser is simple and effective. The soap gently cleans, the glycerin prevents drying and the honey not only softens the skin, but its antimicrobial properties can help ward off breakouts. A touch of honey is all you need for healthy, glowing skin.

Honey Cleansing Scrub
Ingredients

1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons finely ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions
Mix all ingredients. Rub gently onto face. Rinse off with warm water.

Moisture Mask
Ingredients

2 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons milk

Directions
Mix honey with milk. Smooth over face and throat. Leave 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.

Hair Conditioner
Ingredients

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil, use 2 Tbsp. for normal hair

Directions
Mix honey and olive oil. Work a small amount at a time through hair until coated. Cover hair with shower cap; leave on 30 minutes. remove shower cap; shampoo well and rinse. Dry as normal.

Hair Shine
Ingredients

1 teaspoon honey
4 cups warm water
Lemon (for blondes)

Directions
Stir honey into warm water. Blondes may wish to add a squeeze of lemon. After shampooing pour mixture through hair. Do not rinse out. Dry as normal.

Walking Tips

2008-05-19T22:11:00.001-07:00

These tips apply whether you are walking for ten minutes, 30 minutes or an hour or more and if you are an experienced walker or a novice walker - you need to take care of yourself.

Before you set off

Remember if you are going walking alone it makes sense to tell someone when and where you are going.
It could be a phone call to your mum/neighbour/friend/daughter.
Whether you are walking in a city or park or in the countryside .

Leave all your valuables at home, not in the car or on you.

Very important! Wear comfortable shoes or boots.
New boots or shoes should be worn in gradually otherwise you run the risk of blisters.

Wear coloured clothing - the brighter the better so you can be seen clearly.

Layer your clothing so you can take off or add layers according to the outside temperature so your body stays at the right temperature.

What to take with you

Don't forget to take some sunscreen and/or sunhat plus sunglasses if you know the weather will be warm.

Take a small bag with your water, sunscreen and keys - to protect the items line it with a plastic bag so contents will keep dry if it rains.

Take some dried or fresh fruit if you are going on a longer walk to help you keep up those energy levels.
It is surprising how quickly you can get hungry out in the fresh air.Children always enjoy an outdoor snack.

Carry some personal identification in case of accident.

Mobile phones are useful should an emergency arise but keep them out of sight and switched off.

If you are walking alone it is a good idea to carry a whistle or personal alarm - somewhere where it would be instantly accessible.

When you are out walking

Be on the lookout for hazards such as broken pavement that could trip you up.
Tree branches that could catch your eyes.
Or suspicious characters.

Never walk the same route at the same time each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for example. Vary your walking routes and times if you can.

Be extra careful when using headphones/walkmans – you can't hear potential hazards such as cars etc.

Always walk facing in the direction of the oncoming traffic if you have to walk on a road with no pavement/sidewalk.

Plan to walk at a steady pace and don't forget to take rest breaks if you need them.

Allow yourself plenty of time, whether you are walking in urban or rural areas.
Remember that what took 20 minutes going downhill can take twice as long coming back up.

With children - never let them run ahead, but explain to them why they should stay with you e.g. I'm worried in case you get lost, get run over, fall over etc.

Lastly if you are worried about walking alone
Then join a club or go on led walks
Even better get the family or friends to join you.

Have a good walk!!

How to Give yourself a padicure at home

2008-05-19T02:24:00.001-07:00

How to Give yourself a padicure at home
Giving yourself a professional pedicure is an 8-step process. The first step is
to remove the old polish from your nails
Step #2 — Cut & File Nails
It's best to use high quality clippers made for clipping toenails such as Tweezerman Deluxe ($10). To avoid ingrown nails, cut nail straight across to just above the skin. Make sure your nail doesn't extend over the tip of your toe.
To get a soft square shape, file nails in one direction until they are even & slightly rounded at the corners. (Hint: Don't use metal files, they'll rip your nails). Basic emory boards like the ones from Revlon work great, but if you want to go truly pro, try the Mehaz ingrown toenail file which allows you to easily lift nail corners for shaping. Don't clip the sides of nails, that can cause ingrowns.
Step #3 — Soak Your Feet
Fill a large flat-bottom bowl with warm water. Throw in bath salts, your favorite aromatherapy oils or Epsom salt & let your feet soak 10 minutes. The more cracked & calloused your feet, the longer they need to stay in.
Trick only the pros know: Add a quarter cup of milk to your bath along with the essential oils & salts. The lactic acid in the milk loosens dead skin.
#4 — Trim Cuticles
Apply cuticle remover to the base of each nail & rub it in. Sally Hansenis a basic remover & works great. Leave on for a minute, then use an orangewood stick (Tweezerman works great) to gently push with a circular motion everywhere where skin meets the nail (including the sides). Be careful to remove skin only on top of the nail, don't touch the toe flesh.
Use cuticle nippers (Mehaz nippers work best) to trim any loose skin. Be careful not to nip your toe flesh.
#5 — Scrub Your Feet
Apply an exfoliating body or foot scrub to a foot file or wet pumice stone to slough away the dead skin on the balls & heels of your feet. You'll want to scrub the balls, bottoms & sides of your heels & around the toes. To get the most leverage, sit on the side of a bathtub, facing inward. Remember the pedicure motto we read about once, "smooth, don't remove." You'll want to stop if your foot turns bright red (this means you've scrubbed too hard). Remember, that tough skin is there for a reason.
Step #6 — Moisturize
Dry feet thoroughly including between the toes & rub in a thick foot cream . Rub the feet & the calves. Rehydrate cuticles by rubbing in a dab of cuticle oil.
Step #7 — Polish Your Toes
Use acetone remover to get rid of any excess oils on the nails (including the cuticle oil you just applied). Apply a thin base coat using 3 strokes, one down the middle, then one on each side. Don't paint the cuticle. Wait a minute before adding two coats of your favorite polish, then finish with a thin top coat . Clean up any errors with an orangewood stick wrapped in cotton & dipped in acetone remover.
Let nails dry for at least 40 minutes.
Step #8 — Finish
After nails have dried, spritz with a moisturizing oil like SolarSpeed spray. This sets your polish & moisturizes your cuticles. Then voila! You're done!.

Benefits of being a vegetarian

2008-05-19T02:21:00.001-07:00

Did you know these facts?

Vegetarian foods are a major source of nutrition for most people in the world.

Vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease and some forms of cancer than non-vegetarians.

Vegetarian diets can be simple and easy to prepare.

What is a vegetarian?
Broadly defined, a vegetarian is a person who does not eat meat, poultry, and fish. Vegetarians eat mainly fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, seeds, and nuts. Many vegetarians eat eggs and/or dairy products but avoid hidden animal products such as beef and chicken stocks, lard, and gelatin.

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) classifies vegetarians more specifically in the following ways:
Vegans or strict vegetarians exclude all animal products (e.g. meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, and other dairy products). Many vegans also do not eat honey.
Lactovegetarians exclude meat, poultry, fish, and eggs but include dairy products.
Lacto-ovovegetarian s exclude meat, poultry, and fish but include dairy products and eggs. Most vegetarians in the US are lacto-ovovegetarian s.

Why are people vegetarians?
People are vegetarians for many reasons, including concern for personal health and the environment, economic and world hunger concerns, compassion for animals, belief in nonviolence, food preferences, or spiritual reasons. People may become vegetarians for one reason, and then later on adopt some of the other reasons as well.

What are the health benefits of a vegetarian diet?
According to the ADA, vegetarians are at lower risk for developing:
Heart disease

Colorectal, ovarian, and breast cancers

Diabetes

Obesity

Hypertension (high blood pressure)

This is because a healthy vegetarian diet is typically low in fat and high in fiber. However, even a vegetarian diet can be high in fat if it includes excessive amounts of fatty snack foods, fried foods, whole milk dairy products, and eggs. Therefore, a vegetarian diet, like any healthy diet, must be well planned in order to help prevent and treat certain diseases.
Are there any health risks in becoming a vegetarian?
Though being a vegetarian can be a healthy lifestyle, care needs to be taken that this is not a step towards a generally more restrictive, disordered eating pattern. Be sure you fully understand why you are choosing vegetarianism.

Do vegetarians get proper nutrition?
The key to any healthy diet is to choose a wide variety of foods, and to consume enough calories to meet your energy needs. It is important for vegetarians to pay attention to these five categories in particular.

Protein
Protein is found in both plant foods and animal foods. The ADA has said that it is NOT necessary to combine specific foods within a meal in order to "complete" the amino acids profile of the proteins found in plant foods. Eating a wide variety of foods and enough calories during the day will fulfill your protein needs. Good sources of protein include whole grains, lentils, beans, tofu, low-fat dairy products, nuts, seeds, tempeh, eggs, and peas.

Calcium
The ADA recommends consuming at least 1300 mg of calcium per day - the equivalent of over 4 cups of milk or yogurt! Vegetarians can meet their calcium needs if they consume adequate amounts of low-fat and fat-free dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese. Calcium is also found in many plant foods including dark, leafy greens (e.g. spinach, kale, mustard, collard and turnip greens, and bok choy), broccoli, beans, dried figs, and sunflower seeds, as well as in calcium-fortified cereals, cereal bars and some juices.
Vegans (people who don't eat any animal products) must strive to meet their daily calcium requirements by regularly including these plant sources of calcium in their diets. Many soy milk products are fortified with calcium, but be sure to check the label for this. You can also include a calcium supplement in your diet, which is available at the pharmacy in Health Services.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps your body absorb and use calcium. There are few foods that are naturally high in vitamin D, though. Therefore, dairy products in the US are fortified with vitamin D. Many soy milk products are also fortified with vitamin D. Your body can make its own vitamin D, but only when the skin is exposed to adequate sunlight (but that can have its own risks). People who do not consume dairy products and who do not receive direct exposure to sunlight regularly should consider taking supplemental vitamin D. This supplement should contain no more than 100% of the Recommended Daily Value, however, because larger doses can be dangerous. Both multivitamin supplements and calcium supplements with vitamin D are available at the pharmacy in Health Services

Iron
Iron-fortified breads and cereals, dark green vegetables (e.g. spinach and broccoli), dried fruits, prune juice, blackstrap molasses, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and soybean nuts are good plant sources of iron. Consuming foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits or juices, tomatoes, and green peppers helps your body absorb iron from these plant sources. Cooking food in iron pots and pans will also add to your iron intake.

Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12 is produced in animals and by bacteria in the soil. Vegetarians who consume dairy products and/or eggs usually get enough B-12 since it is found in these foods. Vegans, however, should add vitamin B-12 fortified soy milk to their diets. Regularly taking a broad-spectrum multivitamin and mineral supplement (available at the pharmacy in Health Services) will also supply the necessary amount of B-12.

What about athletes?
Being both an athlete and a vegetarian can be challenging, especially for vegans. It can be difficult to eat a volume of food high enough to meet an athlete's high caloric needs. Vegetarians who participate in sports should be aware of their increased energy needs, and should make a concerted effort to consume sufficient calories. Click for info on sports nutrition.

How do I become a vegetarian?
Some people stop eating meat "cold turkey." Others may prefer to make dietary changes more gradually. However you choose to make the change, you can begin to achieve the health benefits of vegetarianism by significantly cutting down on the amount of meats consumed, and making vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains the focus of your meals. The ADA suggests the following tips for following a vegetarian diet:
Choose whole-grain products (e.g. whole wheat bread, brown rice, or whole-grain cereals instead of refined or white grains.

Eat a wide variety of foods.

If you eat dairy products, choose non-fat or low-fat varieties.

Limit intake of eggs to 3-4 yolks/week.

Limit intake of sweets and high fat foods.

When shopping for food, plan ahead, shop with a list and read food labels.

Many vegetarian foods can be found in any grocery store. Specialty food stores may carry some of the more uncommon items, as well as many vegetarian convenience foods.

What are some options for a tasty vegetarian meal?
Becoming a vegetarian can be as easy as you choose to make it. Whether you enjoy preparing elaborate meals or choose quick and easy ones, vegetarian meals can be very satisfying. In order to make meal preparation easier, the ADA suggests having the following foods on hand:
Ready-to-eat, whole-grain breakfast cereals, and quick-cooking whole-grain cereals such as oatmeal

Whole-grain breads and crackers, such as rye, whole wheat, and mixed grain

Other grains such as barley and bulgur wheat

Canned beans, such as pinto, black beans, and garbanzo beans

Rice (including brown, wild, etc.)

Pasta (now available in whole wheat, spinach, and other flavors) with tomato sauce and canned beans and/or chopped veggies

Corn or flour tortillas

Vegetarian soups like lentil or minestrone

Plain frozen vegetables

Frozen fruit juice concentrate

Nut spreads (e.g. peanut or almond butter)

Canned and frozen fruit

Important Article - Brain - Blood clot - Please read

2008-05-19T02:20:00.001-07:00

You could save a life.

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters... S.T.R .
My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a party, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. (they offered to call ambulance)

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.)
She had suffered a stroke at the party. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today.

Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this...

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster.
The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions :

S * Ask the individual to SMILE .
T * = TALK. Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (eg "It is sunny out today").
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS .

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the ambulance and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

NOTE : Another 'sign' of a stroke is
1. Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue.

2. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.

A prominent cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

….and it could be your own…..

Beauty Receipies

2008-05-17T02:53:00.001-07:00

Body care

*
Mix six-teaspoon petroleum jelly, two-teaspoon glycerin and two-teaspoon lemon juice. Apply this moisturizing lotion at least twice a week if you have dry and flaky, arms and legs
*
Peel and grate a cucumber. Squeeze the juice to this, mix half-a-teaspoon glycerin and half-a-teaspoon rose water. Apply this on sunburns, leave it for some time.
*
If you have cracked heels, melt paraffin wax; mix it with little mustard oil and apply on the affected area. Leave it overnight. After 10 or 15 days, your heels will become smooth.
*
Massage your body with a mixture of coconut oil and any of your favourite scented oils like lavender or rosemary.
*
For rough palms, use a mixture of glycerin and limejuice in equal proportion.
*
For cracked heals, massage the foot with coconut oil and keep the foot in warm water for some time. Wipe the water off the feet and apply a mixture of hibiscus flower(10), Henna (1 handful) and juice of half a lemon. when dry wash it off.
*
Remove scars on your hands and feet by rubbing them with lemon peel.

Eye care

*
Dip wads of cotton in a chilled mixture of cucumber and potato juice. Keep this on your eyelids for 15 to 20 minutes and gently wash it off. Apply a little baby oil.
*
For long eyelashes.., apply a thin coat of castor oil every night. It strengthens lashes and cools your eyes.
*
Massage a few drops of coconut oil around the eyes to get rid off dark circles.
*
To reduce puffiness of your eyes, grate a potato; tie in a cloth and place the cloth over your eyes for about 15 minutes.
*
Add a small pinch of salt in water and wash for bright and sparkling eyes.
*
Mix tomato juice and lemon juice in equal quantity and apply around the eyes. After 30 minutes wash it off with cold and hot water alternatively.
*
Make a paste of sandal wood and nutmeg. Apply the paste around the eyes before sleeping and wash it off in the morning.
*
Crush a cucumber and take the juice. Add a little rose water and apply around the eyes and wash it after 30 minutes.
*
Place cotton wool swabs dipped in cold milk on closed eyes for removing dark circles.

Lip Care

*
You can mix one-tablespoon cranberry sauce juice with two tablespoons Vaseline for a delicious home made lip balm.
*
Apply the juice of lemon skin for avoiding black colour of lips
*
Massage your lips with coriander leaf juice for soft and rosy lips.

HIV, AIDS & Discrimination and Stigma

2008-05-17T02:51:00.001-07:00

Aids is def an epidemic tat the human race is facing today, main reason why aids is spreading so fast in many parts of the world:
Ppl Talking about HIV/AIDS can be very difficult, but it can also be a matter of life and death. Ppl don't feel comfortable talking about HIV/AIDS. Keeping quiet about it makes it even more difficult to prevent HIV from spreading further. Many young people don't believe HIV is a threat to them, and many others don't know how to protect themselves from HIV.

We can all help to reduce the spread of the disease and its impact on everyday life, and remove the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS by spreading & raising awareness

Heres the Alarming Statistics
# 33 million people in the world live with HIV/AIDS and the vast majority are unaware of their HIV status
# About 12 million young people between 15 to 24 live with HIV/AIDS
# 6,800 more people are infected with HIV every day! Almost half of them are under 25!
# Young women are about three times more vulnerable to HIV infection that their male peers

First What is Difference Between HIV & AIDS

By:
Harold Oster
Question :

What is the difference between HIV and AIDS? My friend is HIV-positive. Someone made the remark that my friend had AIDS, and he seem rather bothered by this and stated that he did not have AIDS, that he had HIV. It was then said that they are both the same -- there is no difference. My friend again stated that there is a difference and was bothered by the reference. Is there a difference? Is there a psychological need for a person who is HIV-positive to separate the two?

T. C.
Answer :

You have touched on some excellent points. As I have said before on this site, HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is the name given for a variety of disease manifestations caused by HIV infection.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga., has compiled a list of all the infections and tumors that doctors use to define AIDS. For example, if a person with HIV develops tuberculosis, he or she is then said to have developed AIDS. The same is true for pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), cryptococcal meningitis and a CD4 (T-cell) count below 200. This list and the official definition of AIDS are simply standard ways of describing patients with various HIV-related illnesses. (The definition of AIDS is also used by some insurance companies and health programs to define who is disabled and who is not.) To simplify the matter even further, we can say that AIDS is the disease and HIV is the cause of the disease.

Personally, I rarely use the term "AIDS" in my practice. It is frightening to think of oneself as having AIDS. Since it usually takes several years to become ill (develop AIDS) after infection with HIV, most of my patients would rather think of themselves as being infected with a virus than having AIDS, a life-threatening illness. As an analogy, think of the new findings of genes that predispose a person to develop breast cancer. If a woman finds out that she has such a gene, she certainly does not yet have breast cancer. If you told her that she has breast cancer, she would likely correct you, saying, "I probably will develop breast cancer in the future, but for now, I only have the gene." Many of my patients would say, "I probably will develop AIDS in the future, but for now, I only have HIV." It seems a subtle difference to those who are not infected, but -- trust me -- it is an important distinction, and it is one to which I pay close attention in my practice.

Discrimination & Stigma tat ppl with Aids & HIV face

From the moment scientists identified HIV and AIDS, social responses of fear, denial, stigma and discrimination have accompanied the epidemic. Discrimination has spread rapidly, fuelling anxiety and prejudice against the groups most affected, as well as those living with HIV or AIDS. It goes without saying that HIV and AIDS are as much about social phenomena as they are about biological and medical concerns. Across the world the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS has shown itself capable of triggering responses of compassion, solidarity and support, bringing out the best in people, their families and communities. But the disease is also associated with stigma, repression and discrimination, as individuals affected (or believed to be affected) by HIV have been rejected by their families, their loved ones and their communities. This rejection holds as true in the rich countries of the north as it does in the poorer countries of the south.

Why is there stigma related to HIV and AIDS

HIV/AIDS is often seen to bring shame upon the person infected, their family and/or the wider community. It is often associated with minority groups or behaviours such as homosexuality, drug addiction or promiscuity and can be seen as the result of personal irresponsibility. Unfortunately negative responses to HIV/AIDS widely exist and often feed upon and reinforce dominant ideas of good and bad with respect to sex and illness, and proper and improper behaviours.

Factors which contribute to HIV/AIDS-related stigma:

* HIV/AIDS is a life-threatening disease
* People are scared of contracting HIV
* The disease is associated with behaviours (such as sex between men and injecting drug-use) that are already stigmatised in many societies
* People living with HIV/AIDS are often thought of as being responsible for becoming infected
* Religious or moral beliefs lead some people to believe that having HIV/AIDS is the result of moral fault (such as promiscuity or 'deviant sex') that deserves to be punished.

Discrimination At Workplace

Although there is little evidence of HIV being transmitted in the workplace, the supposed risk of transmission has been used by numerous employers to terminate or refuse employment. There is also evidence that if people living with HIV/AIDS are open about their infection status at work, they may well experience stigmatisation and discrimination by others.

" Nobody will come near me, eat with me in the canteen, nobody will want to work with me, I am an outcast here. " - HIV positive man, aged 27, India

Pre-employment screening takes place in many industries, particularly in countries where the means for testing are easily available and affordable.

In poorer countries screening has also been reported as taking place, especially in industries where health benefits are available to employees. Employer-sponsored insurance schemes providing medical care and pensions for their workers have come under increasing pressure in countries that have been seriously affected by HIV and AIDS. Some employers have used this pressure to deny employment to people with HIV or AIDS.

" Though we do not have a policy so far, I can say that if at the time of recruitment there is a person with HIV, I will not take him. I' ll certainly not buy a problem for the company. I see recruitment as a buying-selling relationship. If I don't find the product attractive, I'll not buy it." - A Head of Human Resource Development, India

Signs Of A Boy Or Girl in pregnancy

2008-05-17T02:50:00.001-07:00

One of the happiest occasions in your life is when you get to know that are going to become a parent (mom/dad). In fact, it is said that a child not only makes a woman feel whole, but also completes a family. Since the time the news of pregnancy is confirmed, everyone, right from the would-be parents to the would-be grandparents, uncles and aunts, start making guesses about the sex of the baby. Though scientific methods like amniocentesis and ultrasound are available for the same, the age-old methods are much more fun for guessing whether it is a boy or a girl. If you want to enjoy guessing the sex of your baby, make use of the tipd given below.

Signs of a Boy

* As you hang your wedding ring, with a thread, over your belly, it moves in circles
* Baby's heart rate less than 140 beats per minute
* Belly looking like a basketball
* Better looks of mommy than before (pregnancy)
* Craving for meats and cheese (protein-rich food)
* Craving for salty or sour foods
* Dry hands
* Feet colder than before (pregnancy)
* Hair on legs growing faster than before (pregnancy)
* Husband gaining weight, along with you
* More weight gain in the front
* No morning sickness in early pregnancy
* Pillow facing north, while sleeping
* Regular headaches
* Significantly dark areolas
* Spreading nose
* The result of the addition of your age (at the time of conception) and the number of the month in which you conceived is even
* Urine bright yellow in color

Signs of a Girl

* As you hang your wedding ring, with a thread, over your belly, it moves side to side
* Baby's heart rate more than 140 beats per minute
* Belly looking like a watermelon
* Breasts have blossomed
* Craving for fruits and orange juice
* Craving for sweets
* Face breaks out more than before (pregnancy)
* Hair develops red highlights
* Husband's weight the same as before (pregnancy)
* Left breast looking larger than the right one
* More weight gain around hips and rear
* Morning sickness in early pregnancy
* No headaches
* Pillow facing south, while sleeping
* Refusal to eat the heel of bread loaf
* The result of the addition of your age (at the time of conception) and the number of the month in which you conceived is odd
* Too many mood swings
* Urine dull yellow in color
* Worse looks of mommy than before (pregnancy)

Crash diets can reduce lifespan: Study

2008-05-17T02:47:00.001-07:00

Crash dieting doesn't reduce your waistline alone; it significantly reduces your life expectancy too.

Researchers at Glasgow University observed that fish given a "binge then diet" food regime had a reduced lifespan of up to 25%.

Their study compared the growth rate, success of reproduction and lifespan of stickleback fish. They believe the findings could have implications for teenagers and children who follow extreme patterns of dieting. This is because they are still growing.

The study was conducted by researchers in the University of Glasgow's faculty of biomedical and life sciences, reports BBC News portal.

The findings are published in the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Professor Neil Metcalfe said: "The fish on the fluctuating diet put just as much effort into breeding -the males became brightly coloured as usual and the females produced the normal number of eggs.

"However, on average their lifespan was three-quarters that of animals eating a constant amount every day." The research found that the difference in lifespan was not a consequence of more rapid aging but an increase in the risk of sudden death.

Metcalfe added: "It seems that uneven growth, due to the fluctuation in the amount eaten per day, is responsible for the increase in the risk of sudden death.

"This is possibly because the body tissues are more likely to have imperfections due to growth spurts."

Similar results would most likely be seen in other animals with short lifespans that grow throughout their lives, said Metcalfe.

But it could also be applied to humans who follow extreme patterns of dieting, he went on, and could be seen in teenagers and children who are still growing.

Metcalfe said: "Applying this to humans, it would only occur in children and teenagers.

"But it would be for extreme switches in diet. Just skipping lunches would not have any effect, but if they had several weeks of one diet followed by several weeks of the extreme opposite, then there could be an effect."

The world has already seen the deaths of models aspiring to be "size zero" by crash dieting.

Crash diets
Shocking your body with a sudden low-energy food regime often appears to be working after just a few days. There's a rapid weight loss, making it look like the plan is working. At this point, you haven't actually lost any fat; all that's happened is that you've used up the body's limited store of glycogen, a form of carbohydrate. As you use up the glycogen, your body loses water with it, so you appear to be losing weight very quickly.

Don't deprive yourself

Crash dieting tends to make dieters tired, irritable, and lethargic, and brings on food cravings.

There are no 'special combinations' of certain foods (e.g. cabbage and watercress soup) that will boost your metabolism enough to help you lose weight. If you're a large overweight person, you'll actually have a higher metabolism than a smaller person anyway, simply because you have a heavier mass of body tissues.

Health risks

You are at risk of not getting enough vitamins and minerals to stay healthy if you severely restrict your food intake.

After using up your glycogen, you will start losing weight from your body's tissues, as your body frees up energy to keep you going. Crash diets do this too quickly to be healthy.

What many diet plans do not tell you is that you are using up protein (e.g. from your muscles) as much as you are using up fat.

Even if you don't give a monkey's about being healthy, and just want results for vanity purposes, it's important to realise fast weight lost can just as easily be put back on.

The yo-yo effect

Weight often goes back on as fat, leaving you with more fat and less protein than you started off with, which leaves you feeling even more out of shape than before, and can start off a vicious circle of yo-yo dieting.

Yo-yo dieting messes up your metabolism, and may even raise the levels of harmful cholesterol in the blood, increasing your risk of arterial disease and heart problems.

Fad diets

It seems as though there's a new miracle diet book published every week. We all know someone who is doing one. It's big business, with everybody looking for the magic answer that will make them slim and attractive. However, many of these diets are useless and/or downright dangerous.

A report by the experts at Which magazine earlier this year condemned a number of fad plans, including low-carbohydrate diets, cabbage soup diets and the 'Eat fat, get thin' diet where the author actually stated that exercise is not important (yeah, right).

Many fad diets work by having illogical rules that make it too difficult to eat many different foods. The side effect of this is that you take in fewer calories. One other nasty effect is that it prevents you from eating a wide range of foods, and variety is essential for good health.

Beware of claims and theories that appear scientific, but have no scientific studies to back them up. Testimony from a famous person is just not good enough.

Moderately reduced-fat diets are often OK, but avoid super-low-fat ones. Your body still needs to take in a few essential

fatty acids with your food.

Low-carbohydrate and high-protein plans are potentially dangerous. The diets often contain too much saturated fat and not enough fibre, and lack of carbohydrate can put the body into ketosis. Ketosis is an abnormal metabolic state with unpleasant side effects such as bad breath and nausea. The diet can also place a strain on the kidneys. The 'science' behind the diet has been disagreed with.

There is no evidence to support the theory that you should avoid eating carbohydrates and proteins at the same meal.

There is no proof that you need a special diet to go with your blood type. A small serving of a low calorie food (such as kidney beans) cannot make you gain weight, it isn't scientifically possible.

Detox diets are supposed to rid the body of 'impurities'. Nobody has ever been able to say what these supposed impurities actually are. Although detox diets often claim to get rid of cellulite, it's important to realise that cellulite is only fat that's been laid down in a particular way in certain parts of the body...it isn't a disease.

The best solution

Here's the bit nobody wants to hear. The best way to get down to your healthy weight and feel and look your best is to do it slowly. A balanced diet and moderate regular exercise will gently get you toned up, and keep the weight off for good.

The Difference Between Signs and Symptoms

2008-05-17T02:44:00.001-07:00

Signs are what a doctor sees,
symptoms are what you experience.

Did you know that 90 - 95% of a doctor's diagnosis will come from what you say? Yep! If you do not give the doctor all of your symptoms and history then you are asking him or her to diagnose you based on insufficient information. Whenever you go to the doctor, he or she will take a patient history using a mneumonic called, "OPPQRST." Every doctor on the planet follows this mneumonic. This translates into: Objective, Palliative, Provocative, Quality, Radiating, Subjective and Timing.

* ONSET: When did it start?
* PALLIATIVE: What relieves your symptoms?
* PROVOCATIVE: What provokes your symptoms?
* QUALITY: How would you describe the symptoms? Sharp? stabbing?, sore? uncomfortable? nausea? achy? throbbing? ripping? tearing?
* RADIATING: Do the symptoms or pain radiate to another area of your body?
* SEVERITY: On a scale of 1 - 10, how would you rate your pain or discomfort?
* TIMING: How often do the symptoms occur?

Typically with chest pain, the additional LMN are added to the mneumonic which means: Last, Movement and Notable Symptoms.

* LAST: When was the last episode?
* MOVEMENT: What activities could you do before you first felt chest pain and what activities can you do now?
* NOTABLE SYMPTOMS: What other symptoms do you have with your chest pain?

Here are just a few things that will automatically pop into a doctor's head when you give the following symptoms. The doctor will then perform various orthopedic, laboratory or imaging tests on you to confirm or deny his or her suspicions:
Please keep in mind there are many other conditions, diseases, syndromes and illnesses that your doctor may be thinking depending on what you stated in your patient history.

* ABDOMINAL PAIN: - may be indicative of appendicitis, food allergies, food poisoning, gastro-intestinal disorders, hiatal hernia or pre-menstrual syndrome.
* ABNORMAL VAGINAL DISCHARGE: - may be indicative of yeast infection (candidiasis) , chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea or trichomoniasis.
* BACKACHE: - may be indicative of back strain, DJD (degenerative disc disease), lack of exercise, obesity, female disorders, spinal injury or pancreatic disorders.
* BLOOD IN THE URINE, STOOL, VOMIT, VAGINA OR PENIS: - may be indicative hemorrhoids, infections, polyps, bowel tumors, ulcers, cancer of the kidneys, colon or bladder.
* DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING: - may be indicative of emotional stress, hiatal hernia, cancer of the esophagus.
* EXCESSIVE SWEATING: - may be indicative of thyroid disorder, menopause, stress, food allergies, fever, infection or Hodgkin's disease.
* FREQUENT URINATION: - may be indicative of bladder infection, a diuretic effect, excessively taking in liquid, not emptying the bladder in a timely fashion or cancer.
* INDIGESTION: - may be indicative of poor diet, lack of enzymes such as HCL (hydrochloric acid), gallbladder dysfunction, heart disease, acidosis, alkalosis, allergies, stress, adrenal, liver or pancreatic disorders.

* PERSISTANT COUGH: - may be indicative of lung disorders, pneumonia, emphysema, bronchitis, influenza, food allergies or cancer.
* PERSISTANT FEVER: - may be indicative of influenza, mononucleosis, rheumatic disorders, bronchitis, colds, meningitis, diabetes or chronic infection.
* PERSISTANT HEADACHE: - may be indicative of migraines, eyestrain, need for glasses, allergies, asthma, drugs, glaucoma, high blood pressure, brain tumor, vitamin deficiencies, sinusitis or stress due to personal Life experiences.
* RASH WITH BLISTERS: - may be indicative of Herpes Zoster or Shingles.
* SUDDEN WEIGHT GAIN: - may be indicative of over-eating, lack of exercise,thyroid condition (underactive) or edema.
* SUDDEN WEIGHT LOSS (UNEXPLAINED) : - may be indicative of cancer, diabetes, thyroid condition (overactive) , hepatitis, mononucleosis, parasites, infection or malabsorption syndrome.
* SWELLING IN THE APPENDAGES OR ABDOMEN: - may be indicative of edema, heart condition, kidney dysfunction, medication, food allergies, oral contraceptives or steroids.
* SWOLLEN LYMPH NODES: - may be indicative of chronic infection, lymphoma, various cancers, toxic metals, toxic build-up or Hodgkin's disease.
* THIRSTING EXCESSIVELY: - may be indicative of diabetes, infection, excessive exercise or fever.

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms or have concern for your help, please seek medical attention immediately.

DISCLAIMER
Our goal is to provide you with information that may be useful in attaining optimal health. Nothing in it is meant as a prescription or as medical advice. You should check with your physician before implementing any changes in your exercise or lifestyle habits, especially if you have physical problems or are taking medications of any kind.

Ur Health-Miracle Cures

2008-05-15T02:12:00.001-07:00

1) Miracle Cure For Anything That Ails You Is As Close

Illness Food Effect
Headaches Fish Eat plenty of fish - fish oil helps prevent headaches. So does ginger, which reduces inflammation and pain.
Hay Fever Yogurt Eat lots of yogurt before pollen season
Strokes Tea Prevent buildup of fatty deposits on artery walls with regular doses of tea.
Insomnia Honey Use honey as a tranquilizer and sedative.
Asthma Onions Eating onions helps ease constriction of bronchial tubes.
Arthritis Fish Salmon, tuna, mackeral and sardines actually prevent arthritis.
Upset Stomach Bananas, Ginger Bananas will settle an upset stomach. Ginger will cure morning sickness and nausea.
Bladder Infections Cranberry Juice High-acid cranberry juice controls harmful bacteria
Bone Problems Pineapple Bone fractures and osteoporosis can be prevented by the manganese in pineapple.
PMS Cornflakes Women can ward off the effects of PMS with cornflakes, which help reduce depression, anxiety and fatigue.
Memory Problems Oysters Oysters help improve your mental functioning by supplying much-needed zinc.
Colds Garlic Clear up that stuffy head with garlic.
Cough Red Pepper A substance similar to that found in the cough syrups is found in hot red pepper.
Breast Cancer Wheat, Bran, Cabbage Wheat, bran and cabbage help maintain estrogen at healthy levels.
Lung Cancer Orange & Green Veggies A good antidote is beta carotene, a form of Vitamin A found in dark green and orange vegetables.
Ulcers Cabbage Cabbage contains chemicals that help heal both gastic and duodenal ulcers.
Diarrhea Apples Grate an apple with its skin, let it turn brown and eat it to cure this condition.
Clogged Arteries Avocados Monounsaturated fat in avocados lowers cholesterol.
High Blood Pressure Olive Oil, Celery Olive oil has been shown to lower blood pressure. Celery contains a chemical that lowers pressure, too.
Blood Sugar Imbalance Broccoli, Peanuts The chromium in broccoli and peanuts helps regulate insulin and blood sugar.

Tips on How to Stop Smoking

2008-05-15T02:11:00.001-07:00

Tips on How to Stop Smoking
Getting Ready to Quit
Set a date for quitting. If possible, have a friend quit smoking with you.
Notice when and why you smoke. Try to find the things in your daily life that you often do while smoking (such as drinking your morning cup of coffee or driving a car).
Change your smoking routines: Keep your cigarettes in a different place. Smoke with your other hand. Don't do anything else when smoking. Think about how you feel when you smoke.
Smoke only in certain places, such as outdoors.
When you want a cigarette, wait a few minutes. Try to think of something to do instead of smoking; you might chew gum or drink a glass of water.
Buy one pack of cigarettes at a time. Switch to a brand of cigarettes you don't like.
On the Day You Quit
Get rid of all your cigarettes. Put away your ashtrays.
Change your morning routine. When you eat breakfast, don't sit in the same place at the kitchen table. Stay busy.
When you get the urge to smoke, do something else instead. Carry other things to put in your mouth, such as gum, hard candy, or a toothpick.
Reward yourself at the end of the day for not smoking. See a movie or go out and enjoy your favorite meal.
Staying Quit
Don't worry if you feel sleepy most of the time or if your now short-tempered, these feelings will eventually past.
Try to exercise: take walks or ride a bike.
Consider the positive things about quitting, such as how much you like yourself as a non-smoker, health benefits for you and your family, and the example you set for others around you. A positive attitude will help you through the tough times.
When you feel tense, try to keep busy, think about ways to solve the problem, tell yourself that smoking won't make it any better, and go do something else.
Eat regular meals. Feeling hungry is sometimes mistaken for the desire to smoke.
Start a money jar with the money you save by not buying cigarettes.
Let others know that you have quit smokingp;most people will support you. Many of your smoking friends may want to know how you quit. It's good to talk to others about your quitting.
If you slip and smoke, don't be discouraged. Many former smokers tried to stop several times before they finally succeeded. Quit again.

Acne : 8 Simple Tips To follow

2008-05-15T02:09:00.001-07:00

Tips for Perfect Beauty

2008-05-15T02:08:00.001-07:00

There is no doubt that your skin needs special treatment since it is the body's largest organ. You may not know how to take good care of your skin, how frequent you should do it, and so on. Keeping the skin moist, elastic, and smooth is one of the best ways of skin care treatment. Look at these helpful tips below:

1. The first thing you must know about skin care treatment is to do it regularly. You can start it from the very easy way, like washing your hands and face with a natural soap or cleanser.

2. Which type of skin do you have? Dry, normal, or oily skin? Get to know your type and use appropriate skin care products for the treatment. Consult with your beautician if you're not sure about it.

3. Eat lots of healthy foods, namely fresh fruits and vegetables which act as great antioxidants. They are substances that prevent damage in the body caused by free radicals. Strawberries, cranberries, blueberries, tuna, and mostly seafood, as well as onions, garlic, and broccoli are great sources of food high in antioxidant.

4. Avoid smoking and stay away from alcohol. They are real skin enemies since they create wrinkles to your skin and making it dry.

5. Carry out proper treatments for your skin: clean your skin with water and free-chemicals cleansing products everyday, scrub your skin regularly to remove dead cells and smooth the skin, and moisturize it with skin lotion and cream containing high amount of vitamin E.

Those tips above are actually only a few of numerous skin treatments. You should maintain your youthful looks by always giving good care of your skin. Consuming vitamins and supplements is also a good way to do it. Don't forget to drink a lot of water and exercise regularly! Have a healthy skin, and of course a healthy living!

Caring for a drunk mate

2008-05-14T01:22:00.001-07:00

Caring for a drunk mate

From weaving into traffic to starting impossible fights, and even dealing with a case of unconsciousness, here's how to manage a friend who's had one too many.

Recognise the warning signs

If you've ever been in a situation where you've consumed too much alcohol, often it's the people around you who are first to notice. So, if you're out with someone who has begun to talk loudly, slur their words, or become a little excitable or unstable on their feet, it might be time to step in as a mate.

Make them aware that they're drunk

The key is not to make them feel foolish or embarrassed. Instead, have a quiet word and suggest they call a halt to their alcohol intake. As an incentive, flag up the fact that you're both having a good time, so why risk spoiling it by boozing any more? If they're not keen to call it a night, suggest switching to soft drinks instead, grabbing a snack, or even simply slowing down their alcohol intake.

Elect to get them home safely

The party has to come to a close at some stage - whether your mate has seen reason, or you've nowhere else to keep drinking. Whatever the case, don't let them stumble off alone. Stick together, keep them walking if needs be, and also use your judgement as to whether some food might help. If they're just a bit tipsy then eating can only help to absorb the alcohol in their system, but don't risk if it if they're so hammered you think they're close to losing consciousness.

Taxi ride or trudge on foot?

Some fresh air and physical exercise can often help a drinker sober up. Just consider whether walking back is safe. If your mate is one of those drunks who forget their road sense entirely, or likes to throw insults at police or passing strangers, you might be better off grabbing a taxi. If so, make sure the window is open, and be prepared to ask them to stop in a hurry if it looks like they're about to redecorate the interior.

Let someone know they're in a state, or stay with them

Once you've reached your destination, don't leave them to their own devices. If they're living at home, or sharing a house or flat, inform someone there of the situation. They might not thank you for waking them up, but ultimately you're doing it for the sake of your friend's welfare - and they will understand this. If your mate lives alone, and is in a rough state, consider staying the night to keep an eye on them. If you have to help them to bed, put them in the recovery position as a precaution (see below).

Dealing with a drunk mate emergency

Different factors affect the impact of alcohol on an individual. Everything from how much they've drunk to when they last ate, their physical shape and health can play a role, which means the effects from boozing can sometimes take people by surprise.

Vomiting, fainting and loss of consciousness are all associated with alcohol misuse. If you're with someone who stops having a good time, and goes from bad to worse, here's how to manage the situation responsibly:

The recovery position

If your mate has collapsed, and they're still breathing:

Turn them onto their front, with their head sideways on the side nearest to you;

Bend their upper arm and their leg on the side nearest to you;

Straighten the other arm and leg;

Stay with them, keep an eye on their breathing, and tell someone to call an ambulance.

Emergency resuscitation

If someone's heart has stopped and they're not breathing, you need to act fast:

Call out for help. Tell someone to call ambulance;

Quickly look in their mouth and scoop out any foreign bodies or vomit;

Turn them onto their back;

Tilt their head back and lift the chin slightly to open the airway;

Close their nostrils with your thumb and finger;

Take a deep breath and place your mouth over their mouth;

Blow into their mouth until their chest expands;

Repeat one more time;

Feel the side of their neck or at the wrist with your fingers for a pulse;

If there is no sign, perform cardiac massage (see below).

Cardiac massage

Locate the notch at the bottom of the breastbone;

Measure two finger-widths above this;

Place both hands on the middle of the breastbone and press down firmly and smoothly 15 times, at a rate of about 80 times per minute;

Keep repeating mouth-to-mouth (two breaths) and then cardiac massage (15 compressions) until you get a pulse and breathing, or until the ambulance
crew arrive and take over.

Ambulance alert

If you're really worried about a mate who has drunk too much then call an ambulance immediately. It might save a life and you won't get into trouble.

The Lots of Healthy Habits

2008-05-14T01:21:00.001-07:00

The Lots of Healthy Habits (Please Read)
BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.
This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.
2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing
malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air
decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain
efficiency.
6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest.. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the
death of brain cells.
7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and
decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.
8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of
the brain as well as damage the brain.
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may
cause brain shrinkage.
10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.
*******************
The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.
2. Not urinating in the morning.
3. Too much eating.
4. Skipping breakfast.
5. Consuming too much medication.
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener.
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil.
Do not consume fried foods when you are tired,
except if the body is very fit.
8. Consuming raw (overly done)
Foods also add to the burden of liver.
Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary
chemicals according to 'schedule.'

Because :

Evening at 9 - 11

PM : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic chemicals
(detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes).

This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their
homework, this will have a negative impact on health.

Evening at 11pm - 1 am :

is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 1 - 3 am :

detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 3 - 5 am :

detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be
a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process
had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.

Morning 5 - 7am :

detoxification in the colon,

you should empty your bowel.

Morning 7 - 9 am :

absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you

should be having breakfast at this time.

Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30 am , for those who are
sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits,

and it is still better to
eat breakfast late until 9 - 10 am rather than no meal at all..

Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to

4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow
produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.

DO TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH.................

Nail Growth Ideas

2008-05-14T01:17:00.001-07:00

Nail Growth Ideas

The speed of nail growth increases if you enjoy a healthy diet. This is not a joke but a proven fact. Illness however, can slow it down.

Enhancing Nail Growth

• Rub the fingernails of one hand across the nails of the other hand for about 5 minutes each day. This will increase nail growth.
• Strong cleaning products and the sun can break your nails. Use a sun block cream while going out into the sun. While doing household chores use a pair of gloves. Use a good moisturizer on your hands each night before going to bed.
• Corners of your nail should not be filed. Filing them will weaken the nail and they will break easily.
• Food rich in potassium, iron, calcium and vitamin B are especially good for your nails. Almonds, garlic, spinach celery, yogurt, eggs and seafood are good for your nails.
• Drinking insufficient water can cause your nails to break.
• If your nails are brittle then do not use perfumes that contain alcohol, as this will further deteriorate the condition of your nails.
• Use four fingers of the opposite hand and knead each finger from the tip to the bottom of each finger. It will relax your fingers.
• Almonds contain fatty acids that are good for your nail. Eat 6 almonds a day and your nails will visibly improve.
• To prevent yourself from biting your nails, make a paste of the gel from one fresh aloe leaf by double boiling it in a pan. Put into a jar and apply this paste on your nails to prevent biting. Ingesting too much of this paste will cause vomiting.
• To encourage nail growth massage the cuticle and nail with your finger tips.
Some don'ts of good nail growth
• Don't wash dishes without wearing a pair of rubber gloves.
• Do not pick at your nail polish, as you will damage the nail.
• Don't let your nails grow too long as they will break easily.
• Don't use your nails as tools as this will weaken your nail.
• Don't go out in public with chipped polish.
• Remember to moisturize your cuticles every night.

Some Facts about Nail Growth

1. A healthy toenail takes about a year to grow out completely.
2. A healthy fingernail takes about six months to grow out completely.
3. Nails grow faster in the summer.
4. Men's nails generally grow faster than women's.
5. Nails grow faster on the hand you use most.

Let lemon transform your looks..!!

2008-05-14T01:16:00.001-07:00

Let lemon transform your looks..!!

Lemon is considered to be a sacred fruit since time immemorial in various cultures of the world. It is also associated with rituals to drive away evil spirits, to break up the spells of black magic and to bring health and prosperity. Superstitions aside, lemon is a fruit which is good for health and can cure many diseases.

Lemon contains valuable acids, citric, malic, potassium citrate etc, in addition to vitamin C. These interact with one another to help in the absorption of iron and calcium, improve haemoglobin in the blood and strengthen the bones. These acids also help in dissolving waste products such as uric acid, excessive fat and cholesterol. Because of its effect on the accumulated fat in the body, lemon juice was the first natural tonic given to weight watchers throughout the world.

Lemon is rich in vitamin C, the deficiency of which leads to rickets and defective teeth formation in young children and also causes gastro-intestinal disorders. Vitamin C plays a major role in the formation of collagen which is essential to keep the skin smooth, wrinkle free and soft.

Lemon as a beauty aid:

To improve skin texture and complexion, squeeze a fresh lemon in a glass of boiled milk and add 20 ml of glycerin. Let it stand for 30 minutes and then apply to the face, hands and other exposed areas of the body. Let it dry overnight and wash it the next morning. You will see gradual improvement in your skin with regular use of this face pack.

This preparation also helps to cure cracked heels and palms. It prevents pimples, freckles and dry skin. On application to nails, they became soft and healthy and it is the only cure to reduce brittleness of the nails.

Drink a glass of butter milk adding the juice of a half lemon every morning as a beauty tonic.

The paste of tender lemon leaves with a pinch of turmeric powder, works wonderfully to cure pimples, pimple scars, softens the skin and improves the complexion.

Mix 75 ml of tender coconut water with the juice of one lemon and 75 ml of carrot juice and take regularly to improve the output of urination and to cure bags under the eyes and generalized edema.

Lime juice for hair removing:

For safe, home-made wax to get rid of unwanted hair, mix lemon juice with dissolved sugar and apply over the skin. This can be regularly used in stead of wax.

10 Rules To Stay Young ..!!

2008-05-14T01:15:00.001-07:00

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height.Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them!"
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable,improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

10 Steps For Improving Your Brain Health.

2008-05-14T01:14:00.001-07:00

"There is a lot we can do to keep our brains healthy and potentially prevent or lessen the cognitive decline that often comes with aging," Daniel Perry, executive director of the nonprofit Alliance for Aging Research, said in a prepared statement. "We are encouraging people to take steps to improve brain health as part of their overall fitness regimen for the New Year."

The Alliance for Aging Research recommends these 10 steps for improving your brain health.

* Eat a Brain-Healthy Diet. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids (commonly found in fish), protein, antioxidants, fruits and vegetables and vitamin B; low in trans fats; and with an appropriate level of carbohydrates will help keep your brain healthy.
* Stay Mentally Active. Activities such as learning a new skill or language, working on crossword puzzles, taking classes, and learning how to dance can help challenge and maintain your mental functioning.
* Exercise Regularly. Exercising often can increase circulation, improve coordination, and help prevent conditions that increase the risk of dementia such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
* Stay Social. Spending time with friends, volunteering, and traveling can keep your mind active and healthy.
* Get Plenty of Sleep. Not getting enough sleep can have a negative impact on brain health.
* Manage Stress. Participating in yoga, spending time with friends, or doing other stress-relieving activities can help preserve your ability to remember and learn.
* Prevent Brain Injury. Wearing protective head gear and seat belts can help you avoid head injury, which has been associated with an increased risk of dementia.
* Control Other Health Conditions. Maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, eating a well-balanced and nutritious diet, and controlling stress can help reduce your risk of diseases that affect your brain, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and hypertension.
* Avoid Unhealthy Habits. Smoking, heavy drinking and use of recreational drugs can increase the risk of dementia and cognitive decline.
* Consider Your Genes. If your family history puts you at risk for developing dementia, work with your doctor to find ways to maintain your brain health to help avoid or slow the progression of cognitive decline.

Home Made Facial Mask

2008-05-12T21:54:00.001-07:00

Honey Mask

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. honey
1 egg white
2 tsp. glycerin
1/3 cup flour

Whisk the honey, egg white and glycerin, and then add the flour. The result should be a thick paste. Apply to face and rinse after 15 minutes This mask effectively moisturizes and tightens the skin, making it smooth and soft.

Egg Mask

Ingredients:
1 egg white

Separate the egg white from the yolk. Put the egg white on your face and relax for about 15 minutes. Wash off with lukewarm water.

This mask leaves your skin smooth, refreshed and tightens your skin.

Ingredients:
Egg yolk

Separate the yolk from the egg white. Mix the yolk and apply over clean skin. Let it set for about 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

The egg yolk acts as an ant-oxidant and does wonders for your complexion as it pulls impurities out of your skin, leaving it soft and healthy.

Yoghurt Moisturizing Mask

Ingredients:
Plain yoghurt

Smooth yoghurt over your face and let it set for about 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water.

This mask is super-simple and will add lots of moisture to your skin. Especially a treat to people having dry skin. Plus, it's great for those of us who hate spending time in the kitchen and want something that's quick to prepare and easy to make.

Egg and Honey Facial

Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. vitamin E oil
1 tsp. almond oil

Mix all ingredients together, stirring until smooth. To use, apply to face and rinse with warm water after 15 minutes.

This easy mask is suitable for all skin types. It clarifies and moisturizes the skin, leaving it cleansed and silken. Egg yolks contain anti-oxidants, which are very beneficial to our skin.

Vegetable Mask

Ingredients:
1/2 tomato, mashed (remove seeds and skin)
2 tsp. curd
1 tsp. mashed cucumber
3-4 tsp. oatmeal powder
3 crushed mint leaves.

Mix ingredients together and apply on your face. Wait for ten minutes, and then wash off with warm water.

This mask works well for oily skin, since it absorbs the surplus oils. Tomatoes are excellent anti-oxidants, and the curd prevents excessive drying.

Fruity Facials

Ingredients:
Strawberry

Crush strawberry and apply on face and leave it on for 2/3 minutes and then rinse with plenty of water.

Strawberry is rich in vitamin c and is very refreshing for your skin. However some people are allergic to strawberry so before applyinh test it on your skin and if there is any irritation then do not apply.

Ingredients:
Papaya

Crush papaya and apply on face and leave it on for 5 minutes. Rinse off with plenty of water.

Papayas contain an enzyme 'papain', which is useful in exfoliating the skin.

Ingredients:
Watermelon

Crush watermelon and apply on the face for 5 minutes and then rinse. Watermelon cleanses the skin.

Benefits Of Vitamin C

2008-05-12T21:52:00.001-07:00

Each one of us knows that Vitamin C is good for health but do we actually know how beneficial it is. To get acquainted with so-called cure-all vitamin, firstly understand what is the genre of Vitamin C. Categorized under water-soluble vitamins, it is accountable for many body functions, and is an essential part of diet. Every person must take at least 90mg of Vitamin C in his/her daily diet. Citrus fruits and vegetables, like orange, grapes, tangerines, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and even potatoes, are good sources of Vitamin C. It protects our body from several diseases and has been proved to enhance the immune system. Given below are the benefits of Vitamin C.

* It keeps a check on the presence of cholesterol in the body. Thus, it actually helps to prevent gall bladder disease and even heart problems.

* Recommended intake of Vitamin C helps in maintaining healthy blood pressure levels.

* It facilitates collagen repair and formation. So, it also helps you to look younger.

* It aids the function of body's immune system. Hence, ingesting more of this vitamin in winters protects from problems, like cold & cough. It also aids in healing from scrapes and bruises.

* Being an anti-oxidant, Vitamin C also protects the body from free radicals that could cause heart disease and cancer.

* It also helps to maintain healthy gums. People, who lack Vitamin C, frequently develop black and swollen gums, called scurvy.

* Over consumption of Vitamin C is not exactly harmful because being a water-soluble vitamin, extra amount gets excreted in urine. However, too much consumption can lead to problems of stones in later stages.

Homemade Recipes for Teeth Care

2008-05-12T21:50:00.001-07:00

How can you get healthy teeth, using natural remedies from home?

Mint and Rosemary Mouthwash
2 1/2 cups distilled or mineral water
1 tsp fresh mint leaves
1tsp rosemary leaves
1 tsp anise seeds

Bring the water to a boil. Add herbs and seeds, infuse for 20 minutes. Cool, strain and use as a gargle/mouthwash.

Spearmint Mouthwash
6 ounces water
2 ounces vodka
4 teaspoons liquid glycerine
1 teaspoon aloe vera gel
10-15 drops Spearmint essential oil

Boil water and vodka, add glycerine and aloe vera gel. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Add spearmint oil, and mix well. Pour into bottle, cap tightly. Use as a gargle/mouthwash.

beer , very good 4 health

2008-05-12T21:49:00.001-07:00

Beer and its magnificent research
Studies have revealed that beer can produce the same benefits as drinking wine. Whether you prefer ales, lagers, stout, bitter or wheat beers, studies show that one drink a day for women or up to two drinks a day for men will reduce your chances of strokes, heart and vascular disease. It's no secret that the stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause of serious, long-term disabilities.

What's interesting is that it was proven that those who drank one beer a week compared to those who drank one beer a day experienced no variance in reducing stroke risks. It is said that light to moderate drinkers will decrease their chances of suffering a stroke by 20%. A researcher at the Texas Southwestern Medical Center reported that those who consume moderate amounts of beer (one to two a day at the most) have a 30-40% lower rate of coronary heart disease compared to those who don't drink. Beer contains a similar amount of 'polyphenols' (antioxidants) as red wine and 4-5 times as many polyphenols as white wine. At times pregnant women were also allowed to have beer during their pregnancy to facilitate the baby and help him slide out easily from the mother's womb.

Alcohol has also been attributed of its ability to increase the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) into the bloodstream as well as help to decrease blood clots. As a conditioner too, beer has excellent results on adding up to the shine of your hair. As it contains vitamin B6, which prevents the build-up of amino acid called homocysteine that has been linked to heart disease, you're sure to have a healthy hear too.

Some interesting facts for you to ponder upon.

* Beer is nutritious if consumed in moderation
* That beer is fat-free and cholesterol free?
* Beer has a relaxing effect on the body thereby reducing stress.
* It can help you sleep better
* It helps prevent heart disease and improves the blood circulation
* It has proven to have positive effects on elderly people. It helps to promote blood vessel dilation, sleep, and urination.

On an average beer contains the following:
0mg of cholesterol
0g of fat
13g of carbohydrate
25mg of sodium protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and vitamins B, B2, and B6

20 Different types of food to add to our diet !!!!!!

2008-05-12T21:39:00.001-07:00

20 different food types that we can add to our diet, their effects and how they function :
Wholegrain is a great brain stimulator because it contains high percentage of folate. Make sure you are eating a diet rich in whole grain breads, cereals, popcorns etc, because they can boost your blood flow to the brain.

. Wholegrain Foods

Whole grain is a great brain stimulator because it contains high percentage of folate. Make sure you're eating a diet rich in whole grain breads, cereals, barley, popcorn, etc., because they can boost your blood flow to the brain. Every organ in the body is dependent on blood flow… especially the brain.
Wholegrain breads and cereals are rich in Vitamin B6, an important brain vitamin. Wheat germ additionally contains memory-improving thiamine.
Nuts

Everything from the most common nuts — such as walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews and almonds — to the more exotic seeds and nuts can clear up that "brain fog" and enable you to think clearer and are positive mood enhancers.

2. Walnuts

Both literally and figuratively speaking, walnuts are "brain food". Physically the walnut looks a lot like the human brain. The thin, outer green cover that is taken out before the walnuts are sold is similar to the scalp. The hard shell of a walnut is like a skull. The thin sheet inside, with its paper-like partitions between the two halves of the walnut, is like the membrane. The shape of the walnut itself represents the human brain's two hemispheres.
Walnuts are made up of 15 to 20 percent protein and contain linoleic (omega-6 fatty acids) and alpha-linoleic acids (omega-3 fatty acids), vitamin E and vitamin B6, making them an excellent source of nourishment for your nervous system.
Omega 3 fatty acids found in walnuts are especially helpful in brain function. Our brain is more than 60% structural fat which needs to be primarily omega-3 fats, found in walnuts and flaxseed, for its cell membranes to function properly. Cell membranes, primarily composed of fats, are the gatekeepers of the cell. Omega-3 fats, flexible and fluid by nature, make it easy for nutrients to pass thru the outer membrane of the cell and also helps remove waste efficiently. Definitely worth it when the cell belongs to your brain, don't you think?
Walnuts may also help correct the human brain's seratonin levels. Seratonin is an important brain chemical that controls both our moods and appetite. Walnuts may be able to relieve disorders like insomnia, depression, overeating and other compulsive behavior, commonly treated with antidepressant drugs like Prozac, without the dangerous side effects.

3. Cashews

While you're in the nut aisle shopping for walnuts be sure to pick up some cashews, almonds, pecans and peanuts too. Each nut can enhance your mental health in its own way. Cashews are high in magnesium, known to open up the blood vessels in your body. More oxygen-rich blood = better brain function.

4. Almonds

Phenylalanine, found in almonds, can do wonders for your mental and neurological health. Phenylalanine has the rare ability to cross the blood-brain barrier where it stimulates the brain to generate natural mood-boosting neurotransmitters called dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline. Additionally, almonds are high in riboflavin which is known to boost memory.

5. Pecans

Pecans and peanuts provide choline, another important nutrient for optimal brain function. Choline aids in both memory and brain development.
Berries

6. Blueberries

Eating blueberries and a diet rich in deep pigment from fruits and vegetables helps preserve the brain machinery and boost the potency of neuron signals. Blueberries literally strengthen the brain. They have compounds that turn on key systems in the brain enable other proteins to help with memory or other cognitive skills.
In one recent study, subjects who ate one cup of blueberries a day for two weeks showed an increased birth rate of brain cells in the hippocampus (region responsible for memory), and scored significantly higher in classroom tests than those subjects who did not.

Blueberries are also known to protect the brain from oxidative stress and may reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Dementia. In addition, blueberries also contain ellagic acid, another phytochemical that has been shown to prevent cell damage.

7. Strawberries

Antioxidant-rich strawberries can prevent age-related neurological declines by improving brain cell abilities to send and receive the 'signaling' molecules. The brain uses these signaling molecules to communicate.
Remarkably, these same studies showed that the powerful antioxidants in strawberries, spinach and blueberries can improve the ability to communicate even among brain cells already showing signs of age-related damage.

8. Blackberries

Blackberries contain an amazing class of nutrients called anthocyanins. Our brain is particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage but anthocyanins help protect our brain from oxidation stress, which in turn fights degenerative brain diseases.
One study even found anthocyanin-rich supplements to reverse age-related neurological deficits in subjects.
Seeds

9. Sunflower Seeds

Like nuts, many seeds and nuts can boost your mood and brainpower. Sunflower seeds contain tryptophan, an important amino acid that the brain converts to seratonin, which is a natural way to relieve mild depression and insomnia. Additionally, sunflower seeds are high in thiamine, an important B vitamin, which increases memory and cognitive function.

10. Pumpkin Seeds

Amazingly, the most powerful part of the pumpkin lies in its least used part. The seeds of the pumpkin are a power food, rich in many nutrients including: Zinc, Vitamin A and E, and the precious Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. The Zinc found in pumpkin seeds plays a vital role in enhancing memory and thinking skills.

11. Green Tea

Green tea is a wonderful beverage, and when freshly brewed, it enhances memory and focus and fights mental fatigue. Green tea contains catechines, which help you relax mentally, yet also keeps your wits sharpened.
Green Tea also helps maintain positive mood states and fights against many brain disorders. Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants found in green tea that can boost the availability of the important signaling brain substance dopamine in brain circuits. Dopamine is vital in creating positive mood states.
Polyphenols also help the brain and body run smoothly by maintaining a steady supply of our body's primary fuel: glucose. These powerful polyphenols also help prevent cancer and heart attacks.

12. Eggs

Eggs indeed offer a very impressive nutritional profile for their 70 calories. They are a precious source of high-quality proteins and rich in vitamins and minerals. But there's more!
Nutrient called choline, found in eggs, can help boost the memory center in the brain. Researchers have found choline to increase the size of neurons, which helps them fire electrical signals more strongly and rebound faster between firings.
Two antioxidants found in egg yolk called lutein and zeaxanthin help prevent the risk of age-related cataracts and macular degeneration, two of the most prevalent age-related eye conditions.
Remember this the next time you open the fridge door. The amazing egg: naturally good.

13. Avocados

For brain health, avocados are nearly as good as blueberries. Avocados contain mono-unsaturated fats, which contribute to healthy blood flow, the main requirement for a healthy brain.
To include avocados to your diet, add 1/4 to 1/2 of an avocado to one meal daily as a side dish.

14. Tomatoes

Lycopene, an amazing antioxidant found in tomatoes, could help protect against free-radical damage to cells, which is believed to be a primary factor in cases of Dementia, and particularly, Alzheimer's disease.

15. Broccoli

Broccoli is labeled as superfood due to its high overall nutrient content. It is a great source of vitamin K, which enhances cognitive function and improves brainpower.

16. Red Cabbage

Red cabbage is full of an antioxidant called polyphenol. Polyphenols reduce brain cell damage and is especially helpful in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimers' disease.

17. Eggplant

Eggplant skin contains a nutrient called nasunin which keeps our brain sharp by enhancing communication between our brain cells and messenger molecules. Remembering to use the skin pays tremendous benefits in vastly improved focus.

18. Spinach

Spinach slows down the effects of age-related declines in brain function and helps protect the brain from oxidative stress. Researchers suggest that a diet rich in spinach can significantly improve learning capacity and motor skills.

19. Yogurt

Calcium rich foods such as yogurt, milk and cheese improve nerve function. Yogurt contains an amino acid called tyrosine which is responsible for producing the neurotransmitters dopamine and noradrenalin. In short, yogurt helps improve alertness and memory.

20. Chocolate!!!

What better to end with? It's hard to believe that anything as incredibly delicious as chocolate can actually be incredibly good for you as well. Dark chocolate has powerful antioxidant properties and contains several natural stimulants which increase the production of endorphins while enhancing focus and concentration. The stimulants found in dark chocolate also improve mood. It has high content of flavanols that facilitate blood supply to the brain and enhance cognitive skills.
Milk chocolate jump starts impulse control and reaction time. It has also been known to improve visual and verbal memory.
More isn't necessarily better when it comes to chocolate. This is, unfortunately, one superfood that you have to indulge in in moderation.
Conclusion
Our brain is the greediest organ in the body, but its proper nourishment is vital to creative thought, positive mood, memory, and good overall health. It's no surprise that what you eat affects how you think, feel, remember, and potentially even increase intelligence.
If it's possible to eat your way to genius, who wouldn't want to?

Body Care

2008-05-12T21:36:00.001-07:00

Everyone hopes to have a perfect body but unfortunately no matter what we do, it just never seems perfect. You feel too fat, your nose is too small, your skin is too dry: the problems are never-ending. Perhaps it is not your body but your attitude that is not perfect. Realize that human beings are never satisfied - unconsciously, you keep wanting more and aiming higher. It is not completely unhealthy as long as you do not let it overpower you.
here are few tips you can use to acquire beautiful and smooth body skin and blemish free complexion
Mix six-teaspoon petroleum jelly, two-teaspoon glycerin and two-teaspoon lemon juice. Apply this moisturizing lotion at least twice a week if you have dry and flaky, arms and legs.
-Peel and grate a cucumber. Squeeze the juice to this, mix half-a-teaspoon glycerin and half-a-teaspoon rose water. Apply this on sunburns, leave it for some time.
-If you have cracked heels, melt paraffin wax; mix it with little mustard oil and apply on the affected area. Leave it overnight. After 10 or 15 days, your heels will become smooth.
-Massage your body with a mixture of coconut oil and any of your favourite scented oils like lavender or rosemary.
-For rough palms, use a mixture of glycerin and limejuice in equal proportion.
-For cracked heals, massage the foot with coconut oil and keep the foot in warm water for some time. Wipe the water off the feet and apply a mixture of hibiscus flower(10), Henna (1 handful) and juice of half a lemon. when dry wash it off.
-Remove scars on your hands and feet by rubbing them with lemon peel.
BODY SCRUBS
here are few body scrubs which u can easily make at home and can be very helpfull for your skin
Orange Cream Sugar Body Scrub
This recipe is great to remove dead skin and give your skin a healthy glow. The sugar contains glycolic acid and the cream is a source for lactic acid. Avoid irritated or broken skin areas.
Ingredients: ฝ cup sugar 2 TBSP cream or whole milk 5 drops orange oil 1 cup olive, jojoba, or almond oil
Mix sugar, oil and cream together. Add orange oil after main ingredients are completely mixed.
Apply to your body by starting at the feet and working your way up. Massage in a circular motion and leave it on for 10-15 minutes, then shower it off. This recipe is enough to make one full body treatment.
Lemon Head Sugar Body Scrub
This recipe is both cleansing and detoxifying. Lemon is very detoxifying to the body and will also help brighten the skin.
Ingredients: ฝ cup sugar 10 drops lemon oil or ฝ a lemon freshly squeezed 1 cup olive, jojoba, or almond oil
Mix all ingredients together. Apply to your body by starting at the feet and working your way up. Massage in a circular motion, then shower it off. This recipe is enough to make one full body treatment.

High BP sneaking past doctors

2008-05-11T22:25:00.001-07:00

Despite knowing the dangers of high blood pressure, there are still many loopholes in screening, treatment and control of the disease even after doctors' intervention, says a new study.

The study led by the Stanford University School of Medicine has revealed that there is a lack of routine blood pressure screening and a low percentage of patients who are achieving recommended blood pressure goals after diagnosis.

"Doctors should be screening more routinely during all office visits," said co-author Dr Randall Stafford, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Centre.

"Dual medication treatment should be seen as standard therapy and intensive lifestyle changes should be encouraged," he added.

High blood pressure is considered a silent killer as it quietly damages the body for years before actual symptoms develop.

The researchers said that it is this lack of symptoms that is one of the major reasons for gaps in care.

"This is a problem that spans much of preventive medicine," said Stafford. "The treatment itself doesn't make patients feel better. If somebody has asthma, they know that if they stop taking medication they're going to start wheezing. With blood pressure medicines, patients don't feel any different," he added.

The team analyzed data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey 2003-04, a federal survey that captures the provision and use of medical care.

Stafford said that there's been an assumption in the past that these problems have been solved, however, the new study indicates a continuing problem. Only 39 percent of patients who are treated were at the recommended blood pressure levels.

The first step toward improving treatment is to increase routine blood pressure screenings even in specialists' offices.

Blood pressure was measured in only 56 percent of all patient visits, according to the survey. That rises to 93 percent in visits by patients diagnosed with hypertension.

Once a patient is diagnosed with hypertension, physicians need to make clear to patients the types of treatment that will be necessary. And they need to strongly encourage lifestyle changes.

The study appears in journal Hypertension.

How to Control falling hair or hair loss

2008-05-11T22:23:00.001-07:00

hair is continuously growing and is being shed simultaneously. At any time, hair is growing and replacing shed hair. When this process gets disrupted, hair loss may occur. Hair loss can be psychologically a big put down, because every one is to some extent, worried about baldness and looks. Hair loss can be a major blow to a person's self esteem and if it can be checked, it can certainly add value to external beauty and looks and give a boost to self confidence and self worth.
Some common causes of hair loss are as follows.
Hormonal changes in the body related to medication, pregnancy, thyroid problems can cause hair loss. Normally if the hormonal balance is restored, hair loss can be checked to some extent.
Some diseases like, diabetes etc can result in hair loss. This kind of hair loss problem is normally difficult to control but with proper care and treatment, it may be possible to reduce the hair loss.
There are some life saving drugs and other strong antibiotics which can result in hair loss. If it is possible to find the exact medicine causing the problem, it may be possible to change the medication and prevent hair loss.
Fungal infections and bacterial infections can also cause hair loss. This kind of hair loss can normally be treated well, by correct medication given by a skin specialist.
Improper hair care, especially regular perming ( resulting in scarring of the scalp), continuously blow drying hair and continued use of chemicals for hair coloring purposes can cause permanent hair damage and loss.
Some people have a hereditary tendency to baldness. This may be termed male pattern baldness, leading to hair loss with a receding hairline, thinning hair and baldness at the top of the scalp.

some herbal home remedies for hair loss. It is suggested that you may try them for a month or so to find some change in your hair loss problem.Take 50 ml of coconut hair, heat it and add three flakes of garlic (squeeze the garlic juice into the oil) and four peppercorns (crush them into the oil). Let the oil cool by itself and then massage this oil into the hair. Regular application, will stimulate hair growth and result in healthy voluminous hair over time.
An excellent hair tonic can be prepared by mixing almond oil, olive oil and castor oil in equal proportion. Massage this daily into the hair to stimulate hair growth and improve hair texture.
Another herbal remedy that works to reduce hair loss is prepared with olive oil. Take 20 ml olive oil and add one teaspoon honey and one teaspoon cinnamon powder to the mixture. Mix well to create a smooth paste. Apply this paste to the scalp and leave on for 30 minutes. Rinse off with warm water. Repeat every three days for a month to find reduced hair loss and better thicker hair.
Many people suffer from minor infections in the scalp, which may be causing hair loss. A simple herbal remedy to check this kind of hair loss is easy to prepare. Mix two tablespoons (around 20 ml ) of ginger juice with one tablespoon (10ml) of lime juice in a bowl. Apply this to your hair, by massaging the same into your scalp. This will help prevent minor infections, reduce itching and stimulate hair growth. Leave on for 30 minutes and then wash off with warm water. Create this mixture, fresh every time, and use it once a week for 4 weeks to find significant improvement.
A quick and simple remedy for hair loss is simply crushing some garlic cloves and massaging the same into your scalp. This will improve blood circulation and it is recommended once every two weeks as a good way to stimulate hair follicles.
Good diet is also essential for improving the condition of the hair. It is important to drink plenty of water, raw salads, yoghurt, leafy vegetables and whole grain cereals. Cutting down on fried snacks, salt, sugar and aerated drinks helps in general skin and hair care.
Try shifting to herbal shampoos containing, herbs such as henna, Lemon grass, Mint, Hibiscus, Neem. These shampoos are any day better then detergent based shampoos which can contribute to hair loss.
In case, hair loss is permanent and irreversible, then the only recourse is hair grafting or a wig. However many males look stunning with a bald head also so all is not lost if hair loss does not stop. The above remedies will normally work well in cases of minor hair loss if started well in time. It is best to treat conditions of severe hair loss through medical intervention. Take care..
another remedy to control falling hair
baadam ka oil-10 gm and betnovet….mix both of them place it in a bottle and apply it twice or thrice a week and do tell me da results….inShAllah u'll get amazing results….and yeah drink daily a glass ov carrot and raddish juice…

6 Tips for Making Healthy Salads

2008-05-11T22:22:00.001-07:00

6 Tips for Making Healthy Salads

*One of the true blessings of our modern age is the all-year round
availability of fresh vegetables and fruit on the shelves of supermarkets.
Using them in salads is a fast and easy way to boost your health, supply
your diet with vitamins and antioxidants, and ensure that your waist always
stays lean.*

fresh veggie salads eaten with the right fats on a daily basis, are one of
our best protectors against coronary heart disease and cancer?

I urge you to take a full advantage of the cornucopia of fresh fruit and
veggies by using these 6 tips for making truly healthful salads!
*1.* *Organic vegetables are your best choice.* However, if you are not able
to get them, be sure to wash your non-organic veggies thoroughly to remove
pesticides and other impurities. A good idea would be to soak them first
with Chlorox bleach (1 teaspoon per gallon) for 10 minutes, and then rinse
well.

*2.* *The key to a delicious salad is vegetables at the peak of freshness
and ripeness*. Tomatoes would be much sweeter, if you first keep them for a
few days in a dark place at room temperature, transferring to a fridge when
they are dark red, ripe, and juicy. Remember: salads, herbs and greens kept
too long eventually lose their valuable nutrients.

*3. Jazz up your salads with raw, homemade dressings* made of high quality,
extra-virgin olive oil, unrefined flax seed oil, apple cider vinegar,
freshly-squeezed lemon juice, avocado, or cultured cream. Avoid using
commercial dressings, since they usually contain rancid, cheap, low-quality
vegetable oils, preservatives, and coloring additives and offer little
nutritious value.

*4. Give salads some flash using vegetables of different colours!* A salad
mixed with green, white, red, and yellow components ensures a full range of
health-promoting minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and enzymes.

*5. You CAN cook a salad!* Try steaming or blanching your vegetables before
mixing them into a salad. Heat actually makes nutrients in certain
vegetables, such as asparagus or broccoli, more available to your body. This
is also helpful if you have a delicate intestinal tract, since raw
vegetables may not be advisable.

*6. Finish with a cheese flourish!* On top of your salad, grate or crumble
the cheese of your choice , such as Parmesan, Roquefort, Brie, or Goat's
Feta and it becomes an instant delight for your eyes and taste buds.

HealthAnd Vegetables

2008-05-11T22:21:00.001-07:00

Vegetables

BROCCOLI
How it combats cancer: Research has revealed that a chemical component called indole-3-carbinol can combat breast cancer by converting a cancer-promoting estrogen into a more protective riety. The phytochemical sulforaphane raises the levels of certain cancer-fighting enzymes that defend the body from cigarette smoke, fumes, pesticides & other known carcinogens.

Diet tips: Broccoli leaves actually contain more beta-carotene (I.e. Pre-Vitamin A) than the florets - use leaves in purees, soups, stir-fries. To preserve broccoli's valuable nutrients, steam or microwave, being careful not to overcook. Avoid garnishing broccoli with fatty cheeses and creams instead, squeeze on some lemon juice or sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs.

PAPAYA
How it combats cancer: Its plentiful store of vitamin C works as an antioxidant and may also reduce absorption of cancer-causing nitrosamines from the soil or processed foods. Papaya contains folacin (also known as folic acid), which has been shown to minimize cervical ysplasia and certain cancers.

Diet tips: Choose papayas that are at least half yellow in the store - fully green ones were probably picked too soon and won't ripen properly. You can serve papaya in fruit salad, add it to a garlic-and-spinach pasta mixture, or just eat it on its own, letting the juice dribble down your arm.

GARLIC
How it combats cancer: Garlic's immune-enhancing allium compounds block carcinogens from entering cells and slow tumor development. Diallyl sulfide, a component of garlic oil, has also been shown to render carcinogens in the liver inactive. Studies have linked garlic - as well as onions, leeks, and chives - to lower risk of stomach and colon cancer.

Diet tips: Add raw garlic to salads, use it fresh in marinades and sauces;
rub freshly cut garlic around the insides of salad bowls and over chicken
and fish fillets. Avoid dried or powdered garlic, which is less
concentrated - and less effective

KALE
How it combats cancer: Research has shown that indoles, nitrogen compounds found in kale and other leafy greens, may help stop the conversion of certain lesions to cancerous cells in estrogen-sensitive tissues. In addition, isothiocyanates, phytochemicals found in kale, are thought to suppress tumor growth and block cancer-causing substances from reaching their targets.

Diet tips: A cruciferous vegetable, kale requires quick cooking - blanching or steaming - to preserve its nutrients. When you're done, save the nutrient-rich cooking liquid for soups or sauces. You can also use whole large leaves to wrap fillings or to layer in lasagna.

SWEET POTATO
How it combats cancer: This nutrient-dense food contains many anticancer properties. It's loaded with beta-carotene, which may protect DNA in the cell nucleus from cancer-causing chemicals outside the nuclear membrane.

Diet tips: Go for freshness when picking potatoes - canned arieties contain less beta-carotene and vitamins C and B. Naturally sweet and creamy, mashed sweet potatoes can be enhanced with a little apple juice. Or whip the cooked tubers with orange zest or orange juice and season with cinnamon,nutmeg, and ginger.

GRAPEFRUIT
How it combats cancer: Grapefruits, like oranges and other citrus fruits,contain monoterpenes, believed to help prevent cancer by sweeping carcinogens out of the body. Some studies show that grapefruit can inhibit the proliferation of breast-cancer cells in vitro. It also contains vitamin C, beta-carotene, and folic acid.

Diet tips: Grapefruit can be sweetened with brown sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup or honey; vanilla extract, fresh mint, and almonds also accent the fruit's flavor. Grapefruit juice will give you the antioxidants and phytochemicals that fight cancer, but it's missing the fiber that fresh,whole grapefruit offers.

AVOCADO
How it combats cancer: Avocados are rich in glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that attacks free radicals in the body by blocking intestinal absorption of certain fats. Ounce for ounce, avocados also supply 60 percent more potassium than bananas and are a strong source of beta-carotene.

Diet tips: Store avocados at room temperature until they soften. If you don't eat the fruit immediately after cutting, sprinkle on some lemon or lime juice to keep it from darkening. Add chunks or slices to salads and sandwiches or spread mashed avocado on bread.

SEAWEED
How they combat cancer: Seaweed and other sea vegetables contain beta-carotene, protein, vitamin B12, fiber, and chlorophyll, as well as chlorophylones - important fatty acids that may help in the fight against breast cancer. Also, many sea vegetables have high concentrations of the minerals potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and iodine.

Diet tips: Sea vegetables come fresh, dried, or powdered. Both the Japanese & the Irish regularly use them as flavorings for broths & soups,stir-fried over rice, or as a wrap for fish and other seafood. Varieties such as dulce, wakame, kombu, and hijiki even appear in pancakes,salads,puddings, and sandwiches.

TOFU
How it combats cancer: Soy contains several types of phytoestrogens -weak, nonsteroidal estrogens that could help prevent both breast and prostate cancer by blocking and suppressing cancerous changes. Genistein,one type of phytoestrogen, also lowers breast-cancer risk by inhibiting the growth of epithelial cells & new blood vessels that tumors require to flourish.

Diet tips: Tofu is made by coagulating the protein in soybeans - much the way cheese is produced. While bland on its own, tofu absorbs other flavors when cooked, making it perfect for stir-fries, dips, spreads,shakes, even cheesecake. It's also a good high-protein substitute for meat, whole milk & mayonnaise.

Ur Health & YouthThru FRUITS

2008-05-10T06:45:00.001-07:00

Health Tips - Super Fruits

Kiwi : Tiny but mighty
This is a good source of potassium, magnesium, Vitamin E & fibre. It's Vitamin C content is twice that of an orange.

Apple : An apple a day keeps the doctor away?
Although an apple has a low Vitamin C content, it has antioxidants & flavonoids which enhances the activity of Vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack & stroke.

Strawberry : Protective Fruit
Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits & protect the body from cancer causing, blood vessels clogging free radicals.

Orange : Sweetest medicine
Taking 2 -4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent & dissolve kidney stones as well as lessen the risk of colon cancer.

Watermelon : Coolest Thirst Quencher
Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione which helps boost our immune system. They are also a key source of lycopene - the cancer fighting oxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are Vitamin C & Potassium.

Guava & Papaya : Top awards for Vitamin C
They are the clear winners for their high Vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fibre which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene, this is good for your eyes.

Tips of how to stay young........

Research has found that people who generally live longer do so partly because of good habits. Here, Dr Vernon Coleman and others provide some of the following good habits for longevity.

1) Laugh & fun, don't be gloomy
2) Let bygones be bygones. Dwelling on the past inflicts unnecessary stress.
3) Early to bed, early to rise, is healthy & wise
4) Stay lean, being just 30% overweight is bad.
5) Keep learning, reading & socializing - an alert & active mind keeps brain cells healthy.
6) Keep working, doing something you like. Don't retire, it slows down your body.
7) Be the boss of your own life. Letting others push you around produces stress.
Too many pills ruin your body, take just what you need.
9) Constantly alternating between weight gain & loss is bad
10) Exercise, quit smoking and eat less fatty foods
11) Do not worry about health & death, just get on with your life and enjoy it.

Prevent skin problems in summer

2008-05-10T06:43:00.001-07:00

Summer is here and with the mercury levels rising every day, the heat and humidity play a major role in our lives, keeping us hot and bothered. Summer brings with it a host of skin problems, some of which are:

Skin tan and burn: A suntan is actually the body's defence mechanism against strong sunlight and the visible evidence of damage to the skin. Severe sunburn results in the redness of the skin, skin peeling and sometimes itching. The treatment for this lies in:

Avoiding sunlight and using a calamine lotion during the day. Also taking an allergic tablet during the day and night for a week along with a very mild steroid lotion at bedtime will help.

Acne: Aggravation of acne (pimples) as the heat, humidity, dead skin cells and oil tend to clog the pores thereby leading to comedones (blackheads) and then acne. Hygiene plays an important role. The treatment is in the form of:

Applying a 'mud-pack' once a week to absorb the oil.

Having plenty of water and taking supplements of Vitamin A, zinc and antioxidants and applying an erythromycin gel at bedtime.

Prickly heat: Excessive sweating and increased dead cell turnover blocks the sweat glands and causes a rash-like picture commonly known as 'prickly heat' especially in the folds of the skin where the sweat accumulates and maybe also on the the back. This leads to itching. The treatment lies in the form of:

Having cool showers, wearing loose clothes, putting talcum powder after a bath, applying calamine lotion on the rashes.

Rosacea: This is characterised by red and inflamed skin especially on the cheek, chin and frown areas of the face. The rash can also lead to tiny boils on the cheeks and maybe even to severe acne if left untreated. The treatment is in the form of:

Avoiding sunlight, using a soap-free face wash and a good sunscreen, reducing stress with yoga, meditation, having an antacid or aloe vera juice in the morning on an empty stomach.

Fungal infections of the skin: This is very common in the hot and humid weather. The fungi thrive in the humid weather and areas where there is less aeration as in the folds of the skin especially in people who wear tight clothing, shoes the whole day long and synthetic clothing. The treatment is in the form of:

Having a shower more often, using an anti-fungal powder in the body folds after a bath and applying an anti-fungal cream at bedtime on affected areas.

Dandruff: Dandruff is a result of over-secretion of oil on the scalp mixed with increased dead cell turnover, sweats and the pollution around. This leads to a 'scale' formation on the scalp which is not only unhygienic but can also lead to hairfall, itching and eventually pimples on the forehead and back. The treatment is in the form of:

Washing your hair often in summer. Using a medicated shampoo containing 2 per cent ketaconozole and ZPTO (zinc pyrithione).

Using home remedies like lemon juice or curds on scalp before washing the hair.

Increased pigmentation: Normal skin and skin with pigmentation problems seems to look darker when exposed to the summer sun. This is because exposure to sun activates the melanin to rise to the upper layers thereby increasing pigmentation.

The treatment is in the form of:

Avoiding direct sunlight.
Using a sunscreen of a good SPF mixed with calamine lotion atleast 2-3 times in the day.
Using an umbrella and sunglasses while going out in the sun and sun visors for the car.
Using a skin lightening cream at bedtime.
Taking supplements of vitamin C, folic acid and antioxidants.
Body odour: This is a characteristic unpleasant body smell which is not only due to increased sweat accumulation but also due to a bacterial decomposition of the same. This could be quite an embarrassing condition for many.

To avoid body odour:
Use loose, cotton clothing.
Have a shower 2-3 times a day.
Use a medicated soap especially in the body folds.
Use an anti-fungal powder and deodorant in the body folds.
Reduce caffeine intake and only drink herbal and green tea.
Use a fragrance on clothes rather than on the skin to prevent pigmentation.

Prevention of Cancer

2008-05-10T06:38:00.001-07:00

4) CAUSES OF CANCER

The number ONE killer in Singapore is cancer (followed by Heart Disease & Stroke). Not all cancers are the same. 1/3 is curable. 1/3 is preventable. 2 factors of cancer that cannot be controlled are AGE & FAMILY HISTORY.

Causes of cancer:-
1. Smoking is very often the main cause of cancer. It kills us silently and drains money from us quietly. There're 4,000 harmful chemicals (though in diluted form) in one stick of cigarette. Taking one puff is 600 times worst than inhaling the exhaust fumes from vehicles.

2. Some food that cause cancer are:

2.1 Barbecued Food
2.2 Deep Fried Food
2.3 Overheating Meat
2.4 Food that is high in fat causes our bile to secrete acid that contains a chemical which is a promoter of cancer cells.
2.5 Food that contains preservatives, too much salt or nitrates (e.g. Canned food, Salted egg & veggies, sausages, etc.)
2.6 Overnight Rice (where Aflatoxin is accumulated)
2.7 Food that is low in fibre: Our body needs 25 gm of both soluble & insoluble fibre daily. We must drink at least 1.5 litres of plain water a day.

2.8 Contaminated Food (e.g. moulded bread causes our body to secrete toxins that may eventually lead to liver cancer in the long run. Never eat bread that is kept in room temperature for more than 2 days especially in a humid weather like Singapore 's.

3. Types of fat and which is the best?

3.1 Highly Recommended for Health:-
i. Olive Oil - The best of all oils. It does not absorb in our body.
ii. Fish Oil - Omega 3 (contained in NI's Circulytes) haspoly-unsaturated fat. It's good for our brain cells.
iii. Peanut Oil - It contains Vitamin E. A small dosage is recommended only.
3.2 Not Recommended for Health
i Vegetable Fat - Palm oil is worst than coconut oil. It is high in cholesterol and highly unsaturated.
ii Coconut Oil - It has saturated fat.

4. Specific Food & Beverages
4.1 Egg when eaten too much can cause High Colon Cancer. Risk Ovary Cancer, Prostate Cancer.
4.2 Cabbage is highly recommended for health reason.
4.3 Tomato is best eaten raw with a bit of olive oil for better absorption. Other alternative is to take tomato sauce.
4.4 Coffee is good because it contains 2 anti-oxidants. Inhaling the coffee aroma for half each day is equivalent to eating two oranges a day. However, the residue of over-burned coffee is extremely bad for health. It can cause cancer.
4.5 Tea, as long as it is in its original tea leaves and not processed into BOH or Lipton packets, it is good for health. Tea contains 30 anti-oxidants. Recommended dosage is 4 cups a day.

Exercise and be fit
Have a balanced lifestyle. Exercise regularly.

F : Frequency: 3 to 5 times a week.
I : Intensity: Exercise till we sweat and breath deeply.
T : Types of exercises: Find one that suits our age, lifestyle, etc.

Have regular check-up
Once we reach the age of 45 & above, it is recommended that we go for regular comprehensive health examination. Early detection may save lives.

Arms and legs linked to memory loss

2008-05-10T06:36:00.001-07:00

Having short arms and legs may raise a person's risk of developing memory problems later in life, US researchers said on Monday.

They said women with the shortest arm spans were 50% more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease than women with longer arm spans. And the longer a woman's leg from floor to knee, the lower her risk for dementia.

In men, only a shorter arm span was linked with higher dementia risk, according to the study. The researchers said several studies have suggested that early life environment plays a role in susceptibility to chronic disease in later life.

Short limbs may be a sign of nutritional deficits early in life that ultimately play a role in brain development.

"Body measures such as knee height and arm span are often used as biological indicators of early life deficits, such as a lack of nutrients," said Tina Huang of Tufts University in Boston, who led the study.

Other studies have found a link between limb length and dementia in populations in Asia, and Huang wanted to see if the trend would hold true in a US population, where 80% of height is thought to be inherited.

She and colleagues studied 2,798 people for an average of five years and took knee height and arm span measurements. Most people in the study were white, with an average age of 72. By the end of the study, 480 had developed dementia.

"We found that shorter knee heights and arm spans were associated with an increased risk of dementia," Huang and colleagues wrote.

"Overall, our findings suggest that as they do in the Korean populations, anthropometric measures of short stature, even as defined by Western standards, similarly predict risk for dementia," they wrote.

Avoid These Dieting Practices

2008-05-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

Many of us start putting on the pounds when life gets too busy to fit in exercise. Sure we're busy with the demands of work and family but those don't necessarily get our muscles fired up and heart pumping effectively to burn lots of calories.

The same time constraints often lead us to choose easy, fast food options which are often loaded with fat and calories. Isn't it easier to grab a burger or bagel than to take the time to prepare healthier, lower-calorie meals?

Then there are those milestones in our lives that tend to translate into extra pounds - like pregnancy, the "freshman 15" (gaining 15 pounds) early in college, and the slowdown in metabolism around menopause.

Bottom line: Day after day, calories consumed outweigh those burned, which translates into pounds on our hips and thighs.

We feel pressured to lose the added pounds when we learn about the health risks associated with obesity like heart disease and diabetes. Likely you've heard from a health professional or a family member that you ought to lose weight.

Yet who among us can measure up to the unrealistic standards of body weight presented to us by the media month after month in the endless parade of ultra-thin models and celebrities that grace the covers of nearly every woman's magazine?

Making the right diet choices may seem difficult, and sometimes we may be tempted to take shortcuts that could be unhealthy or even dangerous over the long term. We allow ourselves to get hooked by diet fads because they can often deliver a quick initial drop in weight (which of course then creates an addictive, positive-feedback loop that encourages us to continue the unhealthy behaviors).

You may already know which dangerous diet techniques I'm referring to, but let's run through a few:

Purging (vomiting) after a meal
Starvation
Laxative abuse
Diuretic abuse
Stimulant abuse

Why are these practices dangerous? It's all about maintaining the chemical balance within our bodies. Our blood, for example, has a perfect balance of salts such as sodium, potassium, and calcium, and these substances must all be in just the right amounts if our hearts are to pump normally and our muscles to contract.

Our bodies also maintain a strict balance of acids and their chemical opposites, bases, an equilibrium that is reflected in a value called the pH. Changes in pH influence the balance of salts in the body. All of the diet techniques listed above can cause dramatic losses of potassium, stomach acid, and bicarbonate (a base). One of the frightening consequences such behaviors may lead to is an irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia), which is associated with cardiac arrest and death.

Here are some other common problems these dieting methods may cause:

Damage to the tooth enamel when stomach acid is forced out through the mouth during vomiting.
Cramping and diarrhea due to laxative use.
An inability to achieve regular bowel movements without resorting to laxatives.
Jitteriness, sleep difficulties, and heart palpitations caused by some of the dieting products containing stimulants. (The stimulant Fen-phen-fenfluramine and phentermine-was banned in the United States after it was associated with heart damage and deaths, primarily among women.)
The breakdown and ingestion of muscle during starvation, as the body tries to use its own substance to provide essential nutrients to the brain, thus counteracting any beneficial effects of a diet.
An increasing risk of osteoporosis as long-term indulgence in such diets depletes calcium from the bones.

So, for a lifetime of health and fitness, go with what's been proven to work: follow a diet that's low in simple carbohydrates and saturated fats, and balance it with increased physical activity.

It may take a few months to start seeing results, but with patience and a commitment to your overall well being, you'll eventually get to enjoy the sustained benefits of this healthier approach over many years.

Lower Your Blood Clot Risk

2008-05-09T22:34:00.000-07:00

March is DVT Awareness Month among the medical community. DVT stands for deep vein thrombosis, which refers to the formation of blood clots inside the large veins.

Simply put, DVTs are blood clots that can kill, affecting 2 million Americans each year. Why should women in particular worry? It's because estrogen can increase the risk of developing a blood clot. The good news is that DVTs can be prevented.

DVT are more likely to develop in large veins such as those in the legs that return blood to the heart under low pressure. Because the blood flow is not under much pressure, it can easily pool inside a vessel if you are not actively moving around - sort of like when a film forms on pudding cooling in a cup.

Blood clots are also more likely to form in the event of an injury to the blood vessel. Just as when your skin gets cut and a clot forms so you won't bleed continuously, the injury inside a vessel must also form a "scab."

Unfortunately, sometimes a clot like this can break off and travel to the lungs, leading to a serious condition called pulmonary embolus, or PE. Large PEs can interfere both with the lungs' ability to oxygenate the blood cells and also with the heart's ability to pump blood.

The classic symptom announcing the development of a DVT in the legs is calf pain, with swelling of the affected leg. However, since no symptom can tell you for sure, the goal of DVT Awareness Month is really to remind physicians to be on the alert to evaluate for a blood clot whenever any of the following DVT risk factors exist:

Forced immobility, as when in the hospital or on a long flight
Smoking
Pregnancy
Family or personal history of a clot
Estrogen use, as in oral contraceptives
Heart or lung diseases, particularly congestive heart failure and COPD
Surgery
Cancer

Now let's talk about steps you can take to prevent your ever having a DVT:

Know your risk. Ask your parents and grandparents about any history of blood clots or unexpected sudden deaths.
Do not smoke, or else quit now.
Take frequent breaks when seated for long distances. Get out of the car and walk around. On plane rides, walk in the aisle regularly, or do isometric contractions of your entire legs from the feet to hips. Stay well hydrated, too.
Ask your doctor what you can do if you are hospitalized. Depending on your situation, they may recommend a preventive treatment called DVT prophylaxis.
Don't delay seeking medical help if you suspect you've developed a clot. When your life is on the line, will you really care if it turns out to be nothing?

An ultrasound will quickly show whether a DVT has formed and allow for the immediate use of life-saving blood thinners. In some cases, a simple blood test will be enough; other times, however, a CT scan of the lungs may be needed.

Pumping Up Your Iron

2008-05-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

If you've suffered heavy periods and tests show you have anemia with low iron levels, then you may have been told to start an iron supplement. Sounds simple enough - until you get to the pharmacy and are confronted by the dozens of supplements from which to choose. Which one is best? Whichever one suits your budget. But some words of experience may help you decide.

The most commonly recommended iron supplement is ferrous sulfate at a dose of 325 mg twice daily. This compound has a good amount of elemental iron. To maximize iron absorption, take the supplement with orange juice or vitamin C. Avoid mixing your iron supplement with milk, antacids or your calcium supplement, though, because these substances will reduce iron absorption.

Unfortunately, iron supplements can cause nausea, constipation, and change the color of your stools. Some women manage better with slow-release preparations which have fewer of these bothersome side effects. You may be able to tolerate ferrous gluconate, but this form of iron provides less elemental iron. If constipation is a problem, try reducing the dose or adding a fiber supplement like Metamucil, Citrucel, or Benefiber.

If you don't like having to take supplements and have only borderline anemia, then I often recommend simply taking iron pills during the menstrual cycle when there's greater loss of iron through bleeding. There's even an oral contraceptive pill that provides iron tablets in the package for each day of the menstrual cycle.

Speaking of oral contraceptives, they often lighten menstrual periods which means less bleeding and iron loss and can eliminate the need for iron pills. Intrauterine devices (IUDs) also typically lead to lighter periods, especially the newer progesterone-releasing one (Mirena).

Of course, one of the most important ways to make sure you get enough iron is through a varied diet with lots of iron-rich foods. Meats, especially liver, and veggies like spinach and other dark leafy green ones, are great sources of iron. Also look for iron-enriched breads and cereals. If you spend a little time reading food labels, you may be able to adjust your diet to compensate for your low iron levels without having to take a pill!

Are You a Chronic Worrier?

2008-05-09T22:32:00.001-07:00

Whether it's part of our physiological or psychological make-up or a consequence of the particular stresses life imposes on us, many women suffer regularly with anxiety. Such longstanding anxiety can take the form of an underlying sense of worry that affects us throughout the day over many years.

Often, anxious feelings and thoughts interfere with falling or staying asleep. Sometimes anxiety comes in waves of panic, characterized by a doomsday outlook and physical symptoms like heart palpitations and shakiness.

I'm speaking to more and more women lately who say they once managed stress quite well in the past but who for some reason are now finding it more difficult to cope with their current situations. This is because, over time, our responses to stressors do change.

For example, before having a child I could fly in an airplane without hesitation and even enjoyed an occasional bout of unexpected turbulence. Now that I'm a mother, though, I can't seem to make it through a flight without some flashes of panic!

Let's take a look at how to assess our personal anxiety levels. First, take a moment to examine recent life events. I generally suggest looking at some of the usual suspects to find the source of anxiety: work, family and personal life, even a lack of exercise and poor diet.

Has there been a major change in your life situation? New job responsibilities? Financial stressors? Challenges in your personal relationships? Whenever even a small life-change happens, a surge in anxiety should not come as a complete surprise.

Next, don't hesitate to talk to your personal physician about your anxieties. Most doctors won't ask about your mental health, so you need to be proactive and bring it up. This is an issue that cannot be addressed well over the telephone, and is impossible to fix in an urgent care center.

If you are able to see a therapist, psychiatrist, spiritual counselor, or even a hypnotist, you can certainly start there as well. But your medical doctor can evaluate you for unusual physical sources of anxiety, including rare conditions like pheochromocytoma (a tumor of the adrenal gland that causes severe high blood pressure and often anxiety) or an overactive thyroid.

Last, consider some treatment and lifestyle options:

Eat a healthy diet. Reduce or eliminate caffeine. Skipping meals or eating carbohydrate-dense items alone can lead to hunger which causes jitters, too.
Evaluate your supplements and medications. Some dietary supplements and medications can have a stimulating effect like diet aids and cold medicines with ephedrine - but never discontinue a medication without first talking with your doctor.
Get moving. Regular exercise has been proven to help improve mood and lower anxiety. Try gentler movement therapies like yoga, tai chi, and Pilates.
Be mindful. Meditation - in this case, striving to be inside your body as much as possible and paying attention to the present moment - can help you disconnect from mind chatter and thought patterns that may be fueling your anxiety.
Consider medication. Unfortunately, meds for anxiety can be tricky. The classic anti-anxiety medicines, namely the benzodiazepines (BZDs), are habit-forming when used consistently and over prolonged periods, so they should only be used sparingly and with caution. While BZDs are very effective tranquilizers, especially for panic attacks, other options like anti-hypertensive and anti-depressant medications are available.

The Healing Power of Laughter

2008-05-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road." -Henry Beecher

For the last several years, I've been compiling info and working on a few-hundred-page book about the healing power of chocolate, wine, and country music. I was recently trying to explain this book to a friend I hadn't seen since college. So I must have been talking about this book for 10 minutes when my friend says excitedly, "So who's doing the illustrations?" I didn't understand. He continued, "It's a children's book, right?!" Granted, in college I had a reputation as more of a red-headed Bob Marley than as an aspiring author, but still -- clearly my friend didn't think I had it in me.

So y'see...I had two ways to respond. ONE: I could have gotten pissed off and offended. TWO: I could have laughed. It was a great lesson in the shock-absorbing abilities of laughter.

Which brings us to country music. More than any other genre, country music pokes fun at life. So many country songs can make you laugh. Take Brad Paisley's song "Ticks." He's got a strange and funny way of comin' on to his girl:

'Cause I'd like to see you out in the moonlight
I'd like to kiss you way back in the sticks
I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
And I'd like to check you for ticks.

Studies have proven that laughter and humor are effective medicines for stress and depression while elevating mood, lowering blood pressure, and boosting the immune system. Here are some examples of how humor can save your day:

1. Laughter Brightens Your Spirit A "Los Angeles-based country music singer" kinda seems like a contradiction in terms. LA is the land of flash and celebrity, NOT country music. But LA-based country star Cynthia Ford sells out her local gigs, and her hit song, "California Country," pokes fun at her very own LA lifestyle. She sings:

I've got my straw hat and my BMW
I sip my soy latte and listen to the news
The traffic is awful
But it will be just fine
Cuz 10 minutes late is right on time

2. Laughter Brightens Your Struggles Everyone plays the hand they're dealt in life differently. You can choose to ride out and laugh off your struggles or fight and resist them. In his song Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, Waylon Jennings pokes fun at cowboys' tendency to brood all alone:

Cowboys ain't easy to love and they're harder to hold.
They'd rather give you a song than diamonds or gold.
Lonestar belt buckles and old faded Levis,
And each night begins a new day.
If you don't understand him, an' he don't die young,
He'll prob'ly just ride away.

3. Laughter Brightens Your Yoga Although I'm a yoga teacher, I have a stocky body unlike what you'd expect from a yoga instructor. One time I was a student in a yoga class in New York City. We were doing a pose that's difficult for someone with my build. I'd practiced yoga for more than a decade, yet the teacher ran over to me exclaiming, "Oh, is this your first time?!"

I love yoga because while I'm not the world's finest physical specimen, I still get so much peace from the practice. While you'll never find my stocky body on the cover of the yoga magazines, I still dream about what it would be like to do some fancy poses. I've superimposed my face on this photo. Feel free to dream with me...

4 Tips on How to Get More Out of Life, Starting Right Now!

2008-05-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

"Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil or a better break or a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance. Everyone is just waiting." -Dr. Seuss

There's nothing more annoying that someone telling me to save money and be ready for the future. Sure, that's important, but it's equally important to live for today! Life's rug can be swept out from under you faster than a New York minute, so it's important to fill every day with passion, love, and good times.

Here are 4 ways to live a richer life on a daily basis:

1. Tell Someone (Anyone) "I Love You" Every Day

"Baby, I might not be smart, but I’m gonna show you my heart!" -Cynthia Ford in "What I’m Thinking"

I remember one time when I was a kid my family went on a trip with another family. As the plane took off, the other family screamed to each other, "Love you!" The dad said it to sons one, two, and three, his daughter, and his wife, and everyone responded back, "Love you!" in a brief but rich chorus. My family tried to refrain from laughing at the oddness of all the "love you"s shouted in public without any worries over what others might think. But over time, I came to realize how sweet this was and started telling people "I love you" much more often. Don't be embarrassed to wear your heart on your sleeve. Brilliance shines brightly from the person courageous enough to express their emotion.

2. Live Like You Were Dying

Several years ago, Steve Jobs went for a doctor's appointment only to be told the shockingly sad news that he had pancreatic cancer and no more than 3 to 6 months to live. He suddenly needed to tell his kids everything he thought he'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. He spent the day getting his affairs in order only to find out later that evening that he actually had a rare form of cancer that was treatable. It was a powerful brush with death, bringing home the message that Tim McGraw turned into a hit country song: celebrate life and "Live Like You Were Dying" (at least some of the time). Goes like this:

Well, I finally read the good book

I took a good long hard look

at what I'd do if I could do it all again…

I went sky-diving,

I went rocky mountain-climbing,

I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu-Man-Chu

I loved deeper, I spoke sweeter

and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying!

And he said someday

I hope you get the chance

To live like you were dying!

3. Pick Your Moment

Okay, so you can't always live like you were dying, or you could end up homeless and begging for pocket change. But at the very least, you can pick a moment every day where you give yourself a chance to eat, drink, pray, love…whatever your highest passion and greatest joy is. In fact, how about right now?

Ty Hernon sings about it in "Living in a Moment":

Tell me something, who could ask for more

Than to be living in a moment loving every minute

Tell me something, who could ask for more

Than to be living in a moment you would die for

4. Embrace High Moon at 12 Noon

A great yogic exercise to seize the moment is to lie down on your belly right smack in the middle of the day (though doing it at the end of your day works too). Nothing fancy here. As Leonardo da Vinci said, "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

How Doing Yoga Can Get You A Raise

2008-05-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

"The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." -Alexander Graham Bell

We're all too familiar with attention deficit disorder. Maybe you have it or your partner has it or your child has it. Whether officially diagnosed or not, it seems everyone these days has a little ADD. If you're in school, an inability to focus the mind can cause frequent classroom disruptions, poor academic performance, and issues with following rules or completing required tasks. If you're in the work force, mental restlessness can cause absenteeism, lateness, below-average productivity, missed deadlines, and senseless conflict.

ADD is an age-old human obstacle. Even thousands of years ago, the yogis knew that focusing the mind was quite the challenge. As the ancient text the Upanishads states, "Hold the reins of our mind, as you would hold the reins of a restive horse." This was written in a much simpler time without the over-stimulation of advertisements, ringing gadgets, and triple-shot lattes. In the craziness of the modern world, it’s harder than ever to tame the brain. Here are some thoughts (not prescriptions) on how to focus the mind naturally and enhance your grades, standing at work, and/or overall quality of life.

1. Find your Purpose

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive." –Harold Whitman

Finding your purpose in life is not something that’s taught in school. But of the seven energy centers defined by the yogis as chakras, the very first chakra relates to finding your purpose. Just as a plant that's not rooted in the earth fails to blossom, a human being not rooted in a sense of purpose fails to grow in any particular direction. Whether you're a hyperactive eight-year-old kid or a 45-year-old struggling at work, if you're not connected with your purpose, your mind is bound to bounce off the walls. So take the time to isolate yourself from the errands, goals, phone calls, and emails in order to ask yourself the tough questions that ponder the deep issues. "What do I care most about? Am I doing what I love in life? Are my priorities out of whack?"

2. Find Your Passion

"Chase your passion, not your pension.” -Denis Waitley

How do you find your purpose? Consider getting a little more in touch with what you love most in life. There is a mental state defined as "flow." You reach a state of flow when you're doing that thing you love most…listening to music, playing with a particular toy, eating a great meal, writing a poem, running a race. Studies show that when you reach flow, you feel a sense of oneness with the environment, you lose track of time, and you are almost impossible to distract.* Granted it's difficult to always be in flow, but embracing your passions more often can do a number on a restless mind.

3. Take the Inside Lane

"We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind, and a tender heart." -Martin Luther King

I once took a Tai Chi class from a very respected teacher. He described how one should strive to move at a calmer and more controlled pace. This pace can be seen in elite athletes and advanced meditators. Scientists call it "calm hypernawareness." The Tai Chi teacher compared it to running the inside lane in a track meet. A focused mind turns a tight corner and operates with proficiency and resolve. Next time your mind is cluttered with excess thoughts that make it hard to focus, think of those excess thoughts as runners in a track meet. You want to nudge them to the outside lane and assert yourself on the inside lane.

4. The Magic Block

I normally wouldn’t tell you to go out and find yourself a yoga block, but the following is simply amazing. If you don’t have a yoga block and you want a $5 tool for relaxing the mind and melting into never-never land, try your local yoga studio or sporting good store and pick one up. Look for a block that’s relatively solid. Some blocks are soft and mushy, which makes this exercise difficult.

-With the block in hand, lie down on your back.

-Lift your hips in the air.

-Place the block underneath you. If possible, try putting the highest edge of the block facing up. If that's too much, place the block on a lower edge.

-The block should rest comfortably right at your sacrum, which is where you'd wear a belt. Relax your back against the block. This should feel wonderful. If the block is pinching or uncomfortable, keep adjusting it until you find the comfort zone.

-Relax for a few minutes and observe how it's just the right balance of sensation and relaxation in order to put the mind at ease.

Use Foods to Reduce Diabetes Risk

2008-05-09T22:06:00.001-07:00

Diabetes is one of the few diseases that you really can control and even prevent. If you already know you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, you can focus on prevention right now by paying close attention to the foods you eat.

We spend lots of time mulling over big decisions like what car to purchase, how to decorate a room, or what job to have. Ultimately, though, they aren't as important as the decisions we make several times a day about what foods we're going to put into our mouths.

Research shows that a diet low in fat and calories and high in fiber, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables can help to prevent type 2 diabetes. Let's break down such a diet into its components:

Calories. A reduction in calories leads to weight loss, which helps to prevent diabetes. If you need to lose weight, don't get hung up on what your specific calorie goal should be; just think about reducing your calorie intake.
Fats. To prevent diabetes, your diet should contain less than 30 percent of total calories from fat and less than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fat. For a 2,000-calorie diet, this means less than 65 grams of fat per day and no more than 20 grams of that fat should be saturated. Research shows that people whose diets contain the lowest percentage of calories from fat reduce their risk of developing diabetes the most. (Persons who actually have diabetes must limit saturated fat consumption to 7 percent of total calories.)
Fiber and whole grains. Aim for 25 grams or more of fiber each day. Fiber is listed on every food label. To help you reach your daily fiber goal, look for foods with more than 5 grams of daily fiber per serving. Choose foods whose list of ingredients contains the words "whole grain" or "whole wheat" as the first ingredient.
Fruits and vegetables. These foods provide vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that our bodies need. Fruits and vegetables are also fat-free foods, so they're generally lower in calories than other food choices.

You have control over what you eat each day. Decide to eat healthy and work toward preventing diabetes.

Overcoming Exercise Barriers

2008-05-09T22:05:00.001-07:00

There's a good chance you're not exercising enough, right — even though it can help prevent type 2 diabetes. Let's think about your barriers to exercise and how to get past them.

These are some of the barriers I often hear about from patients, and the ways they've overcome them.

I have no time. We have 1,440 minutes in each day. How is it that we can't devote 30 of those to exercise? You can make the time for exercise once you decide that it's a priority, just like going to work or picking up the kids from school. Cut out some television time or put a treadmill in front of the television.
I'm all done in. Well, exercise actually gives you more energy. If you have long workdays, plan to do something during work or early in the morning, and notice how you soon have extra pep.
I'm in pain. This is a tough one, but think where your pain is located. If you have knee pain, for instance, choose low-impact exercises like swimming or exercises in a chair. Talk with your doctor about your pain and ask if a referral to physical therapy might be a way to learn about safe exercises.
I can't afford it. It doesn't take any money to go for a walk or jump rope or run some laps. Sure, you can join a gym or purchase exercise equipment for your home, but you don't have to.
It's too hot, too cold, too wet. I hope the weather where you live isn't stopping you every day of the week, but do have a back-up plan when you can't exercise outside. Try mall walking, exercise videos, or home exercise equipment.
I hate it. Some people just don't want any part of exercising. Try doing something with a friend. Listen to some music or watch television while exercising, to take your mind off the fact that you are actually getting yourself moving. Once you start noticing the benefits, those 30 minutes of physical activity may even become a daily habit!

Why Should You be Concerned About Diabetes?

2008-05-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

November is American Diabetes Month. So why should you be concerned about diabetes? Some statistics from the American Diabetes Association might pique your interest.

Diabetes is the 5th leading cause of death by disease; currently, it's a disease that has no cure.
Since 1987, the death rate due to diabetes has increased by 45 percent, while the death rates from stroke, cancer, and heart disease have all declined.
Worldwide, over 246 million people have diabetes. By 2020, that number is expected to rise to 380 million.
Diabetes is costing our society. In 2002, $92 billion was spent on direct medical costs for diabetes. This means that 1 out of every 10 dollars we spend on health care goes to feed the diabetes beast. The total cost of diabetes to the U.S. each year is estimated to be $132 billion, which includes not only the direct costs but also $40 billion in such indirect costs as disability, work loss, and early death.
Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults ages 20-74 years.
Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.
Men with diabetes are twice as likely to experience erectile dysfunction as men without the disease.
Adults with diabetes die from heart disease 2 to 4 times more often than adults without diabetes.

With this list of grim statistics about diabetes, however, we must always remember this cause for hope: Diabetes is one of the few serious diseases you can control and actually prevent.

Lumpectomy and Radiation Always Go Together

2008-05-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Lumpectomy surgery and radiation were always meant to go together. But for some pretty inexcusable reasons, they don't always.

When a woman has lumpectomy surgery (removal of the cancerous lump with a margin of healthy tissue around it, while saving the rest of the breast), the procedure should be followed by radiation to the breast. Why? To help neutralize and destroy any mutated cells that might remain and grow into breast cancer later. Without these life-saving doses of radiation, about 40 percent of women who had lumpectomy will, within two years, have a recurrence of breast cancer at the site where it started. So the need for radiation in this case is obvious.

Yet according to a recent study, only about 75 percent of women having lumpectomy surgery for breast cancer get radiation afterwards! Why? The reasons are disturbing.

The study revealed a pattern. The 25 percent of lumpectomy patients not receiving radiation and, specifically, those who were not advised by their breast surgeon that they should be getting radiation, were primarily older, black women and women who were unmarried. Those living outside urban areas were also less likely to receive radiation, even if they needed it.

Another pattern exposed by the study: Surgeons who were female and had an M.D. degree were more likely than male M.D.s or health care professionals to refer their patients for radiation therapy after lumpectomy surgery.

The accepted standard of care for treatment of breast cancer is to do radiation after lumpectomy, so that there are only a few special circumstances in which radiation may not be recommended following lumpectomy surgery. Here are several:

A woman who lives far from a radiation facility and, due to this distance, isn't able to come in for this adjuvant therapy every day for 5 or 6 weeks. The surgeon will instead usually recommend a mastectomy with some form of reconstruction. Mastectomy surgery, unless the patient has locally advanced disease, usually doesn't require radiation afterwards; thus, from a survival perspective, mastectomy is equal to lumpectomy plus radiation.
A very elderly woman who has many other serious medical problems such as congestive heart failure or COPD, and whose doctors believe does not have much longer to live, would probably not be offered radiation after lumpectomy. In such circumstances, she may lose her life to other natural causes long before a possible recurrence of her breast cancer would take her.

If you are embarking on lumpectomy surgery for treatment of breast cancer, be extremely aware that you are signing up for radiation, too: they go hand in hand. It is not in your best interest to try to negotiate out of doing it.

Breast Reconstruction and Your Risk of Infection

2008-05-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

Your choice of breast reconstruction may influence more than the look of your bustline. A recent study has found that, when the breast is reconstructed immediately after mastectomy surgery, the procedure that uses breast implants carried about double the risk of infection as reconstruction using fatty tissue from elsewhere in the woman's body (most commonly, tummy fat).

That's a risk of 12 percent for women receiving implants compared to 6 percent for women having tissue transfers that did not involve implants.

When you think about it, this makes sense. After all, implants are foreign objects that are being introduced underneath the muscle to recreate the breast mound lost as a result of a mastectomy performed for either breast cancer or prevention (a prophylactic mastectomy).

Your body certainly knows that the implant is a foreign object and treats it as such, revving up your immune cells to do battle. If bacteria are present or are introduced in surgery, the body can have trouble fighting off these pathogens, which want to establish a home in the area of the implant and so cause infection.

The chances that such an infection will prevail are even higher for those women who have implant surgery after receiving chemo to shrink a cancerous tumor prior to the surgery. That's because her white blood cells, which ward off infection, have already just taken a hit from the chemo and may not have bounced back to normal yet.

So, if you anticipate having reconstruction with an implant immediately after your tumor is removed, ask the doctor what particular steps will be taken to prevent infection. Commonly, these will include antibiotics being administered intravenously during the operation. Also, be sure to report to your surgeon if you have any symptoms of a cold or flu within two weeks before your surgery date, because a viral infection may influence the timing of this type of procedure.

After you come home from surgery-hospitalization for mastectomy with implant is one night; an inpatient stay with flap surgery is generally three to four nights - inform your doctor of any signs that an infection may be brewing. These signs can include fever, increased pain, or redness at the incision. Also notify your doctor if the skin around the implant feels hotter than the rest of the skin on the chest.

Women at particular risk of infection are those who smoke or have diabetes.