Mood changes reflect 'growing pains' of changing your life

One topic that I think is important to cover when talking about stopping tobacco use is mood. Most people find mood changes occur frequently when first quitting and sometimes even severely enough to cause problems. In fact, many remark that when they quit they "just don't feel like themselves." Some people believe that they become a "mean person" when they quit, or that their whole personality is altered. In many cases, this is symptomatic of the change process itself. Before you ever started using tobacco, it felt "normal" not to smoke. Once you started to smoke on a regular basis, you began to identify with being a smoker. Over time, you...

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I'm Stuck in a Yo-Yo Nightmare! What Can I Do?

I'm sick of struggling to lose weight – and then gaining it right back and starting all over again. How do I lose weight permanently?First of all, learn to find JOY in the process of becoming and staying healthy. While nothing in this life is truly perfect or permanent, there is a way to manage and maintain your weight. That’s what you want to aim for, a stable and healthy weight. How? BALANCE! Aim to eat only as many calories as you use up in living. Learn to eat just the right amount of food (moderation is the key), from all six food groups every day. Learn and practice being physically active every day. In other words: eat for nourishment, mainly, and get your pleasure from life in all of its vast variety. This is all accomplished slowly, over time, with HELP! Help from others who have...

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Blood test can gauge prostate cancer risk

Thanks to Genomic research, a simple blood test can be used to determine a man's relative risk of developing prostate cancer. That's because blood work can detect five genetic variants that, according to an international study, are independently associated with the disease, but that, when combined, have a strong cumulative effect of risk.Compared to having none of these genetic variants, researchers write in the New England Journal of Medicine, having four increases the risk of developing prostate cancer by 400 to 500 percent. Family history is added to the equation to make six risk factors. Having at least five of six factors increases the baseline risk by more than 900 percent."Our finding provides an opportunity to supplement the well-established risk factors (age, race, and family history)...

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Avoid these calcium robbers

Aerated drinks have high phosphate content. Phosphate binds calcium in the bowel and reduces its absorption.Salt may adverse effect on calcium metabolism in the body. This can lead to bone loss. When the amount of sodium in the body goes up, more calcium is excreted from body to maintain a sodium-calcium balance.Cereals and pulses contain phytates, phosphorus compounds, which bind calcium and reduce its bioavailability. Though generally safe, if you think that your intake of cereals may lead to loss of bone health, ask your nutritionist or orthopedic to guide y...

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Caffiene

Many people assume that decaffeinated coffee and tea is somehow healthier- and there have been suggested links between caffeine and heart palpitations and pancreatic cancer. But there's growing list of ways that it might actually be good for you.Several studies have flagged coffee as combating or delaying the development of Parkinson's disease in men.It's most likely the caffeine that's doing it, says Dr. Kieran Breen, director of research for the Parkinson's Disease Society in the UK; perhaps it stimulates nerve cells' production of dopamine to counteract the disease's symptoms, or it may actually be protecting the nerve cells.Some studies have...

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Detox

What is a detoxification?A cleansing and detoxification program is a series of steps taken in order to actively enchance the elimination of toxic wastes from your body that creating, or have the potential to create bothersome symptoms and disease. An exceptional cleansing and detoxification program that greatly improve your health, requires the ingestion of higher quality nutrient. These nutrients include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, protein, carbohydrates, fats and water. Quiet activities such as prayer, meditation or slow diaphragmatic breathing are equally as important a successful detoxification program.Types of detox.Skin Brushing:It facilitates the skin cleansing by stimulating the lymphatic system which eliminate toxins through the skin. Lymphatic system is the part of the body...

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How it works : Sunburn

It's a little more complicated than a simple heat-and-char process. Immediately after sun exposure, you'll see some pink skin: that comes from dilation of the capillaries in reaction to ultraviolent B rays. "The actual burn you see later comes from series of chemical reactions," say Dr Mehmet C. Ox. Mast cell in the skin release chemicals like histamine and serotonin, triggering more chemical production and inflammation. Whitin 12 hours, skin cells begin to die, and inflammation turn the skin a darker red. UV radiation damages your DNA, setting you up for possible skin cancer and suppressing immunity. But your skin does try to fight back. As...

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Know your back pain.

Ooouuucchhh!!! Back pain is like a bad dream: the longer it persist, the worse it get. So, first goal in pain management is to determine where you are on the pain cycle. And then to 'wake up' and stop the cycle as soon as possible.1. Inactivity and stressBeing unfit and under stress sets the stage for back pain. Weak, stiff muscles can't bounce back when they're hit with stress: Instead they go into a spasm. Constant, unrelieved stress will take its toll somewhere in the body-usually your back2. Muscle spasmOne day, 'for no reason at all', you feel a jabbing pain in the back-this is a muscles spasm. Your bcak muscles contract suddenly - and painfully- like a Charley horse. A spasm is your body's natural splinting reaction to prevent more damage to your back.3. Muscle can't breatheA spasm chokes...

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So you are 70s?

Who said when you are 70s you can have sex? But most of people have choose to not having sex when they are getting older. A five-year study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, of 989 men aged 55-75 in Pirkanmaa, Finland, showed that having sexual intercourse less than once per week doubled the risk of erectile dysfunction, compared to having sex once per week.Although there are plenty of studies about sexual problem associated with old age, there is relatively little research about normal sexual behaviour later in life. More couples over 70 are having sex and finding it satisfying than in previous generations, a British Medical Journal...

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Beauties sleep

You know how important good nutrition and exercise are for your health and beauty, but sleep is also crucial too. Here are some tips from the Sleep Disorder Institute at New York's St. Luke's Roosevelt hospital to help you get the sleep you need:*Exercise every day. Even 20 minutes of walking can help keep stress hormones from interfering with your sleep*Avoid large meals just before bedtime. An inactive digestive system can disrupt sleep.*Minimize light, noise and temperature extremes. Your bedroom should be comfortably cool, about 69 degrees.*Don't read, watch television or work in bed. Use the bed only to sleep. This helps you prevent from...

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Eating While At Work?

Eating at your desk encourages mindless eating, and overeating. But if you have to, these are some of the tips that may help you eat healthier :*Watch what you eat.For lunch, you want to pick a meal that's moderate in size but doesn't fill you up.*Bring your lunch.Avoid takeout lunches, which tend to be expensive, oversize, heavy in fat and calories and lacking in nutrients.*Walk when you can.Walk to the water cooler, from the farthest spot in the parking lot, to the copy machine -anyhting you can do to move your muscles.*Don't make it a habit.If you can, try as much to keep yourself away from your desk during lunch hou...

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A killer migraine

Basilar-Type Migraine (BTM) is an uncommon type of complicated migraine with symptoms that result from dysfunction of the lower part of the brain. In serious cases, it can lead to stroke, coma, or even death.Who's at risk?Early research suggested that BTM was most common in adolescent females. More recent statistical analysis has shown that BTM affects all age groups and both male and female. However, BTM, like other forms of migraine, is more common in females. The are approximately three times as many female sufferers as male.SymptomsThe symptoms of BTM is usually occur suddenly and can be associated with inability to speak properly, ringing in he ears, and vomiting. This called the aura phase, where sufferers experience perceptual disturbances. This phase usually last for an hour and can...

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Wake up muscles

Stretching in the morning is a great way to "waken" up your muscles, and get them ready for the day. Stretching loosens up your body while increasing blood flow to your muscles. Incorporating morning stretches into your daily routine is a positive way to begin each day. A side body stretch helps to evelate your heart rate by expanding your lungs in order to help you breathe more efficiently throughout the d...

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Alzheimer's Disease

What is Alzheimer's disease? Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative and terminal disease that destroys brain cells and is the leading cause of dementia (affecting an estimated 24 million people worldwide.) It affects approximately one in eight people over the age of 65. The term 'dementia' describes a group of symptoms that are caused by changes in brain function. Dementia symptoms may include asking the same questions repeatedly, becoming lost in familiar places, being unable to follow directions, getting disoriented about time, people and places and neglecting personal safety, hygiene and nutrition.Who always affected by this disease?In most...

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How much you spend?

You don't have to blow your budget to live healthily. Just concentrate your diet on most whole, fresh vegetables, fruits, buts and seeds. Avoid processed foods. You get healthier by giving your body the natural nutrients it craves and avoid clogging your system up with processed foods. Also purchase your organic food from your fresh market or night market instead of from the supermarket. Because locally grown produce is much cheaper. The primary saving is the transportation costs, as fuel prices are soaring high these day. ...

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