Category: Body

Vitamin A helps with illnesses and infections by repairing tissues that line various parts of your body if they are damaged to help prevent against infection.  Vitamin A helps various parts of your body including your mouth, throat, lungs, and eyes to help prevent against infection or to repair them if they become damaged.

Vitamin A can become toxic if you exceed the recommended daily allowance.  You would want to check with your doctor to find out what the recommended allowance of vitamin A for you is based on your age, sex and other factors.  In order to get the right amount of vitamin A it is better to limit how much beta-carotene you can consume.  It is better to obtain the greatest amount possible of beta-carotene that your body can convert to vitamin A instead of eating vast quantities of pure vitamin A rich foods.  Beta-carotene can be converted to vitamin A.  Some of the foods that contain beta-carotene include carrots, dark green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, and many other fruits and vegetables, especially the orange, green and red colored ones.  Vitamin A can be found in foods like milk, liver, meat, and eggs.

Vitamin A is important for cell growth and to help boost your immune system.   It is also important to help children develop healthy bones and teeth.  You can ask your pediatrician what they recommend as a daily dose for your child based on their age and weight.

By eating food high in beta-carotene and vitamin A, you can develop and maintain and strong and healthy immune system.

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The Homemade Medicine Review

This book offers surprisingly simple and effective herbal recipes for many common conditions such as:

Acne

Insomnia

Common colds (yes it actually work, not just make the symptoms go away)

Hair loss

Dandruff

Constipation

Asthma

Arthritis

Hemorrhoids

Charles Silverman (the author of this book) is a doctor from Miami.  He specializes in herbal medicine.  Throughout his work he traveled a lot and found many natural remedies people use around the world.  He tried them all and selected ones where there is scientific proof that they have positive effects.  His book teaches how to prepare these natural remedies at home, from commonly available ingredients.

Buying readily made herbal medicine is convenient, but you can never be sure if it is made properly.  Also, really good herbal remedies have a short shelf life; they lose their effectiveness after only a few days.  This is the main reason why it is preferable to make your own herbal medicines.

Find out more about the Homemade Medicine by Charles Silverman:

http://www.homemademedicine.com

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Without health, there is no point.  To anything.

~ Everett M·mor

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All your bones are joined together by joints.  Everywhere your bones meet there is cartilage; which is a rubbery, protective layer that helps your joints move smoothly and painlessly.  When your cartilage wears out, the thin membrane called the synovium, which provides fluid to lubricate the moving parts of your joints, becomes inflamed.  This can cause rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis develops slowly over the years and is a result of the wear and tear placed on your joints.  People over the age of 50 will most likely have at least one of their joints affected by osteoarthritis.  Rheumatoid arthritis starts out with red, stiff, swollen and painful joints.  It can actually cause scar tissue to develop in the joints or in extreme cases, cause your bones to fuse together.

Below are some tips to help you prevent against developing arthritis or to help ease the pain:

Walking is one of the best exercises you can do.  It is a low impact exercise that gives you the maximum results.  Try starting off with walking 10 to 15 minutes a day, then gradually work up to 30 minutes a day.

Stretching your muscles can be achieved by learning yoga.  Try starting slow by doing each stretch for 15 to 20 seconds.  Make sure to find the best yoga stretches that focus on your trouble spots.

If you are overweight, then losing weight can help by taking some of the pressure off your joints.  The best way to lose weight is to cut back on your calorie intake a little each day.  You do not need to make a drastic change in your diet, simply eat smaller portions and add an exercise routine to your day to help drop a few pounds, then you will notice a decrease in the pain from your arthritis in little or no time.

Be sure to check with your doctor before starting any kind of exercise program to make sure that it will not do you more harm than good for your arthritis.  Your doctor should be able to tell you which exercises and stretches are the best ones for your arthritic symptoms.

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People say that losing weight is no walk in the park.  When
I hear that I think, yeah, that’s the problem.

~ Chris Adams

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One of the best ways to improve your overall feeling of health and wellness is to detoxify your body.  You will have a noticeable improvement in your health by detoxifying your body a couple of times a year.  When you consider all of the pollutants in the world, it’s easy to understand how you could quickly build up toxic levels in your body that could cause you to become ill.  When your body builds up toxic levels it can lead to serious problemssuch as a weakened immune system, low energy levels, and a feeling of depression.

In order to have an effective detox, spend a week eating only the foods listed below:

Vegetables including carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts, onions, turnips, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, corn, leeks, and Brussels sprouts.

Oats are great and can be made into oatmeal cereal.  Alternatively, it can be sprinkled over fresh fruit or a fruit smoothie.

Make sure to eat plenty of fresh fruit when on a detox diet.  The best fruits are apples, however, any type of fruit can be used including cantaloupes, oranges, or any kind of fruit you enjoy.  You can also drink fruit juices but make sure that they are 100% pure fruit juice and don’t contain added sugar or artificial flavors.

Beans and lentils are great for detoxifyingng the body.  Make sure that the beans you eat are from dried beans.  Eat plenty of beans including kidney beans, Lima beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas and lentils.

Fresh fish including cod, mackerel, trout, monk fish, and salmon can be a big part of your diet while detoxifyingng your body.

Yogurt is great for your body while detoxifying since it contains valuable nutrients and beneficial bacteria to help your digestive system.

Spend a week eating only these foods and you’ll be amazed at how much better you will feel.  Do this at least twice a year or every couple of months if you feel that your body needs it.

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Doctors are always working to preserve our health and cooks
to destroy it, but the latter are the more often
successful.

~ Denis Diderot

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It is important to take time out of your busy daily schedule to do some form of exercise.  Choose something that you enjoy, e.g. walking, running, doing yoga, or doing pilates, etc., so that you will be happy and willing to do it regularly.   Exercising regularly provides us with many physical, emotional, and psychological benefits.

Below are some of the many benefits that you get from exercising regularly:

1.  Exercise helps to increase the release of endorphins in your body.  Endorphins help to make you feel happy and fight against depression.

2.  Exercise helps to decrease your chances of developing several diseases.  By doing 20 minutes of exercise at least three times a week, you can decrease your chances of  developing diseases including cancer, stroke, diabetes, and heart problems.

3.  Exercise can help you your decrease HDL cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels and your blood pressure.  It can also help to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer and uterine cancer in females; and prostate cancer in men.

4.  Exercise helps to speed up your metabolism and burn more calories throughout the day even after you have finished exercising.

5.  Exercise helps to increase your stamina.  It can provide you with the energy you require to have a productive social life and a better relationship with your partner.  Since exercise will make your body look better, you will also feel more self-confident.

6.  Exercise gives you more energy and helps you gain self-control.  The more you feel in control of your own body, the easier it is to achieve your goals.

Remember that there are many different forms of exercise.  If you cannot stand going to the gym and working out with weights, then why not try going for a walk, turning on the music and dancing around the room, or finding a friend to work out with?

No matter what kind of exercise you choose to do, just start doing it.  Your health will improve, which will in turn make your life more enjoyable.

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I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures
out what I’m doing.

~ Marsha Doble

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Calcium plays an important role in maintaining strong bones and teeth, and to prevent against osteoporosis.  It also plays an important role in the regulation of the cardiovascular system and the nervous system.

Dairy products are the main source of food containing calcium.  These include milk, yogurt and cheese, etc.  Choose the low fat version so that you can still get the benefit of the calcium without all the additional fat which is not healthy.  You can also find calcium in dark-green leafy vegetables, almonds, tofu and sardines.  Other food that are rich in calcium include wholemeal bread, kale, oatmeal, soya flour and American cheese.

If you do not eat enough food to get the recommended daily dose of calcium, then it is a good idea to take a calcium supplement.  Vitamin D plays an essential role in assisting the absorption of calcium into your body so if you’re not getting enough sunlight every day, then take a Vitamin D supplement along with your calcium supplement as well.

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Health is a large word.  It embraces not the body only, but
the mind and spirit as well; … and not today’s pain or
pleasure alone,  but the whole being and outlook of a man.
~James H. West

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It can be very tempting to snack between meals.  Why not make up some healthy snacks to keep you satisfied and keep you away from eating junk food?  Here are some healthy snack ideas to get you started.

1.  Keep healthy snacks with you when you go to work or out.  If you already have the snacks with you, then you won’t be tempted to stop at the closest convenience store and pick up candy or chips.

2.  Prepare healthy snacks in advance and keep them in your fridge or in a basket on the table.  By having your snacks prepared in advance, it makes it easy for you to just grab one and take it with you on the way out the door.  Cut up fresh fruit and vegetables and put them in ziplock bags in the fridge so that they will be readily available when the cravings hit.

3.  Keep things in the house like low-fat yogurt, rice cakes, air-popped popcorn, baby carrots, celery sticks, and whole-grain crackers.

4.  If you crave things like chocolate, then why not try keeping mini-chocolate bars in the freezer and only take one and eat it slowly.  Many times you will find that it will satisfy your craving as well as save you hundreds of calories and many fat grams.

5.  If you must snack in front of the TV at night, eat air-popped popcorn, pretzels, whole-grain crackers, cut-up fruit or other nutritious low-calorie foods.

You could also find something to keep your hands busy while you’re watching TV like knitting, painting, or other crafts that will keep your mind off snacking.

It may be difficult at first to quit grabbing the easiest snacks that are high in calories and fat, but once you get in the habit of eating healthy snacks, you will not only feel better, but you may find yourself needing a smaller size of pants.

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Health is like money, we never have a true idea of its
value until we lose it.

~ Josh Billings

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The health of your heart is very important in having a long life.  Many heart attacks can be prevented by just following a few simple tips:

1.  Avoid eating fatty foods and foods with high amounts of salt.  You want to make sure to eat plenty of whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables.  Fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, which will keep your heart healthy.  Whole-grain foods will help to keep your digestive system working correctly and in turn make your whole body more healthy.

2.  Check with your family’s history and see if you are at a high risk for heart diseases.  Have your blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels checked to make sure that you are not at risk.  If you have high blood pressure or diabetes, then make sure that you take your medications daily.

3.  Get plenty of exercise.  You can do this by simply taking a walk every day, taking a yoga classs, riding your bike, or swimming, etc.  It is best to get at least 30 minutes of exercises three to four times per week.

4.  Keep your stress level in check.  Try to find at least 10 to 15 minutes every day to do something that relaxes you. Try things like meditation, listening to soothing music, reading, or just sitting outside watching the trees blow in the wind.  Do some deep breathing exercises or whatever you need to do to feel less stressed.

5.  Be sure to know the warning signs.  If you feel a burning sensation in your chest, then it could be a warning that you are about to have a heart attack.  Tightening in your neck or left arm, or shortness of breath could be a good indication that it’s time to see your doctor.

Taking care of your health and making sure that your heart stays healthy will determine the quality of life that you will lead.  Have an annual physical and make sure to have your cholesterol and blood pressure checked.  By just following these few simple tips, you will increase your chances of having a healthy heart and living to a ripe old age.

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Live in rooms full of light

Avoid heavy food

Be moderate in the drinking of wine

Take massage, baths, exercise, and gymnastics

Fight insomnia with gentle rocking or the sound of running water

Change surroundings and take long journeys

Strictly avoid frightening ideas

Indulge in cheerful conversation and amusements

Listen to music.

~ A. Cornelius Celsus

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DISCLAIMER:  All information given is intended for your general  knowledge only and is not a substitute for medical advice  or treatment. You should seek medical advice before  starting this or any other nutrition or fitness regimen.  We make no warranty, express or implied, regarding your individual results.