Getting Energy From Vitamins

The biggest complaint that doctors often hear from patients is a lack of energy, or the constant feeling of fatigue. Due to these types of complaints, it really isn't a surprise that people want to know the best types of vitamins and supplements they can get for energy. All vitamins are ideal for staying healthy, as well as keeping your body performing in top shape.

Among vitamins and supplements, one of the most common for energy is folic acid. Folic acid is a B vitamin that has been proven to increase energy levels. Even though you can look for vitamins that provide energy, it would be in your best interest to find those that can be effective with fighting fatigue as well. There are vitamins, nutrients, and supplements that are great for fighting fatigue and helping the body stay alert.

The vitamin known as NADH is very powerful for energy, although many people aren't aware of it. People who use vitamins on a regular basis would find themselves very impressed with the boost NADH provides. It is often used with chronic fatigue, although the way it works can be quite complicated indeed. Other vitamins that are great for providing energy include the msm supplement and gingko biloba.

If you happen to be on a blood thinner, such as aspirin, you should always consult with a doctor or other trained specialist before you take gingko biloba, as it is a blood thinning agent. Even though it is considered to be an energy vitamin, if you use it with aspirin it can thin your blood down a bit too much. If you get your blood too thin, it may lead to medical problems later on in life that can prevent you from doing the things you love.

With any vitamin that you take as a source of energy, you should always consult with your doctor. If you have any type of heart or other serious medical condition, you may not be able to take the vitamin you are interested in. For this reason, you should always consult with your doctor and ask for his advice. After a few tests and exams, your doctor will be able to tell you what type of vitamins you should or shouldn't take.

In the world of vitamins and supplements, there are many alternative sources that you can take for energy. Whether you are a senior citizen looking to do more activities or an athlete looking to get more energy, there are many different vitamins out there that can give you what you need. Before you rush out and explore your options though, you should always consult with your doctor first and see if there are any vitamins you shouldn't be taking.
Read More..

Discount Vitamins

Instead of paying full price for the vitamins and supplements you need, you can always save a bit of money and go with discount vitamins. There are several ways to find vitamins on discount, with the most common way being sales at your local nutrition store. Even though this is the most common way to find discount vitamins, it can also be one of the hardest ways to find the vitamins you need.

When local nutrition stores have discount sales, they normally have a limited supply of the vitamins that have on sale. Once they have been sold, that is normally the end of that particular vitamin being offered at discount price for the duration of the sale. Other times, the time frame of the sale may make it hard to get to the store. If you don't know about the sale in advance, it may conflict with your schedule and you miss out on it.

Many stores that are going to be having discount vitamin sales will run coupons and fliers in local papers and magazines. The Sunday paper for instance, is always full of magazines and coupons, which is normally where they advertise the sales. Even though there may be a lot of advertisements found in the Sunday paper, it is normally where you find the best deals. If you spend some time going through the advertisements, you can normally find some great sales, including sales at your local nutrition store.

Another great way to get discount vitamins is buy them in bulk. A lot of people underestimate buying bulk, as they don't understand just how great this can be. If you buy bulk at your local nutrition store, you are more than likely going to get a great deal. Even though your local store may be offering discount vitamins through a sale, buying bulk is sometimes cheaper than even their best sales.

The reason for this, is the fact that bulk purchases off the best possible prices on discount vitamins. If you are looking to take certain vitamins on a frequent or daily basis, buying in bulk may be the best decision. If you buy vitamin A or vitamin C in bulk, you can get it at a great price with enough of a supply to last you for a long time. When buying in bulk, you'll get a great price and enough of the vitamin to keep you from going back to the store for quite a while.

If you buy in bulk, you should make sure that you can use the vitamins before the expiration date expires. There are many vitamins out there that have expiration dates, after which they must be discarded if they aren't used. Even though buying in bulk is always the preferred way to buy your discount vitamins, you should make sure that you can use the vitamins before they expire. You should never feel pressured or even tempted to buy in bulk unless you know for sure you can use all of the vitamins.

With many options available to you, discount vitamins are the ideal purchase to get the vitamins and supplements you need. Millions of us all across the United States take vitamins on a daily basis, making them a sound investment. Even though you can buy vitamins on sale at your local nutrition store or online, buying bulk is always the best way to make your purchase. You can get a great price on your vitamins - and have more than enough to keep you going for a long time.
Read More..

Bee Pollen Supplements

Even though a lot of people don't actually realize it, a lot of antioxidant foods that we consume are from vegetables. Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and peppers are all excellent choices with some great benefits for your body. When consuming vegetables, you should always go for those that are rich in color, as they are high in what is known as phytonutrients.

Phytonutrients are nutrients found in the skins of several fruits and vegetables, which give the food color as well as flavor and scent. Phytonutrients are quite simply the best types of antioxidant foods that you can find anywhere. If you are looking for a supplement value, the coq10 offers you a high level of antioxidant value.

Although fruits and vegetables are the best sources for antioxidants, the problem with them is that they are produced by the use of chemical herbicides, pesticides, and different types of fertilizers. Over the years, studies have shown that fruits and vegetables which are organically grown are high in antioxidants, and boast a much higher concentration than those that have been produced commercially.

In the busy world of today, it can be very tough to eat like we should, nor can we eat organic fruits and vegetables all the time. If you can't or don't have access to organic fruits or other sources of antioxidant foods, you should look into nutritional supplements that offer you the phytonutrients you need in your diet.

Supplements that contain phytonutrients do have advantages when compared to certain fruits, such as carrots - which can elevate your blood sugar level to a very high level. Phytonutrients found in supplements are the extract of pigments where nutrients are concentrated, meaning that they draw the best from antioxidant foods, leaving the calories and sugar behind.

Don't get the wrong idea here, fruits and vegetables are indeed good for you. They are high in antioxidants, although those that are produced commercially generally come with chemicals and such that aren't so good for you. Canned fruits and vegetables come with high levels of sugars and calories, which antioxidant supplements don't have. The supplements offer you the levels you need, without any chemicals, sugars, or calories. This way, you don't have to worry about consuming anything that isn't good for you.



No matter how you look at it, healthy eating for your body starts and end with foods that contain antioxidants. There are several types of foods that contain antioxidants, although fruits and vegetables contain the most amounts. Steak and meat are also great sources of antioxidants, along with other great benefits, such as protein. Anytime you can’t get foods that contain antioxidants - you can count on supplements to deliver the amount you need to stay healthy.
Read More..

Antioxidant Supplements

A key ingredient to improving your lifestyle and living a healthy life is antioxidants. There are several antioxidant supplements out there that can help you live a healthy life, that are natural and won't cause you any damage. You can also eat different types of food that contain antioxidants as well, although supplements are the ideal way to get the right amounts of antioxidants.

If you take in more antioxidants through food and supplements, there are a few benefits that you'll have, with the first being cell protection. Antioxidants can help to protect your cells from damage, which helps to fend off diseases. Many times, you can have a lack of vitamins in your body, which will cause you to recover from diseases or injury very slow. If you have the right amount of vitamins and antioxidants in your body, you'll notice the differences.

In most cases, you can get antioxidant supplements in the form of herbal or natural, which will greatly help your body. They have a lot of benefits as well, such as preventing various diseases, keeping blood clotting under control, and restoring libido. Nutrition and proper dieting is a very important part of life, therefore you should always keep your health under control and make sure you eat well.

There are non synthetic supplements out there as well, that are ideal for keeping your health maintained. They can be easily absorbed by your body, unlike that of synthetic supplements. Synthetic supplements are well known for their absorbing, as it can take a long time before you see any type of results. Non synthetic on the other hand, gives you almost immediate results, as they are easily absorbed by the body and don't have any type of side effects.

Keep in mind that even though you may be taking vitamins that contain antioxidants, you'll still need to remain on a healthy diet. You'll need food that contains the minerals and vitamins you need as well, although the supplement vitamins will give you more. You can also use vitamins and supplements that contain antioxidants if you aren't able to eat the right foods that contain these precious nutrients.

For more reasons than one, you should always make sure that you include foods and supplements that contain antioxidants in your diet. If you aren't taking in the right amount of antioxidants, you'll be at a risk for disease or other harmful effects. Antioxidants do a lot for your body, which is why you want to ensure that you are taking in the right amounts. You can find many different vitamins and supplements that include them, all you need to do is make sure that you are eating right and doing all you can to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Read More..

All About Vitamin A

Vitamin A was first discovered back in 1912, by a Polish biochemist named Casimir Funk. He came up with the word vitamine, which was later given the name vitamin. Funk was the first to discover vitamins as we know them today, although vitamin A was actually the first one discovered, hence the letter in the title of the vitamin.

You can find vitamin A in natural foods such as oranges and yellow fruits. It can also be found in vegetables as well, such as spinach and fats. When found in vegetables, vitamin A is water soluble, coming in the form of beta carotene. The beta carotene form of vitamin A can be eliminated from your body through natural processes, making it an excellent way to get vitamin A.

Vitamin A is required by the body on an every day basis to maintain healthy skin and keep your eyesight on track. There are many people who say that carrots provide enough vitamin A to prevent you from getting night blindness. The fact is, ancient Egyptian doctors prescribed liver in their time, which they said contained enough vitamin A to combat night blindness. Vitamin A is also known as an antioxidant, which makes it ideal to prevent cancer and anti aging. Along with these benefits, it also helps with your immune system as well.

To get the proper absorption of vitamin A, you'll need to consume fat. Those of you who happen to be on a low fat or restricted diet, simply may not be getting the right amounts of vitamin A from your supplements that you may think. To get the proper absorption of vitamin A in your diet, you'll need to consume a high enough level of protein. Protein combines with vitamin A to make it stronger, and help it move through your body.

On a normal day, you should be consuming around 5,000 international units (IU) of vitamin A. Depending on your health and your age, you may need to consume more or less. The safest form of vitamin A is beta carotene as mentioned above, and it can be taken in much larger doses. No matter what age you may be, you can feel safe to consume high amounts of vitamin A in the form of beta carotene.

If you don't consume enough vitamin A in your diet, you'll end up with a deficiency. A deficiency is never a good thing, as it normally results in skin problems, increased infections, and even night blindness as well. A prolonged deficiency in vitamin A can put you at a risk for cancer as well, and you’ll also miss out on any effects of anti aging that the vitamin might have. Although you should begin taking it immediately if you have a deficiency, the effects wouldn't be the same as they would be if you stayed up to date with the right amount on a daily basis.

On the other hand, if you are getting too much vitamin A, you'll put yourself at risk for pain in your joints, abdomen, and your bones. Even though too much or not enough can cause you serious side effects, you should always get the right amount in your diet. Vitamin A is very important, and should always be included in your diet. You can find it in many foods, or take supplements that include the well needed vitamin. If you are going to take supplements, you should make sure that they provide the right amounts - with no side effects.
Read More..

A Lack Of Vitamins

Everyone knows that the human body needs a certain amount of vitamins and minerals everyday to function properly and remain healthy. A well balanced diet can supply your body with the vitamins it needs, although problems and disorders can arise if your diet doesn't supply your body with the vitamins it needs. The symptoms of vitamin deficiency will normally present themselves when the lack of vitamins is at an advanced level.

Those who don't get enough of vitamins A, B1, and B2 for example, will always feel tired, along with a loss of appetite. Other symptoms include mental and emotional stress, chapped lips, and other annoying or painful habits.

The most common causes of deficiency include a poor diet, alcoholism, stress, a lack of vitamins, or medicine that interferes with your ingestion of vitamins. If you are always feeling tired or feeling a lack of energy, you are probably short on the vitamins that your body needs to have on a daily basis. If you visit your doctor and tell him the problem, he will probably recommend vitamins and supplements that will give you want you need. Whatever you do, you should never overdo it and try to catch up on what you've been missing - as this will do you more harm than good.

Even though you may be following a healthy diet, you'll still need to take vitamins and supplements. No matter how healthy you eat, you should still use the right vitamins and supplements to give your body what it needs. Vitamins are a great back up source, as they will provide your body with the minerals and nutrients it needs in the event of your diet failing you.

Before or after every meal that you consume, you should take vitamins or supplements. If you have a deficiency in a certain vitamin or vitamins, you should make sure that you never miss taking the vitamin you need. Even though you may not realize it, being deficient in a vitamin can greatly damper your performance as well as the overall health of your body.

When you look for supplements, you should always look for those that contain vitamins B6, B12, D, E, and folic acid. Along with being considered dietary supplements, these well known vitamins will help to fight cancer and help your heart remain healthy. The combination of these vitamins will help your body to remain healthy, boost your immune system, and keep you feeling refreshed.

To remain healthy and keep your body operating as it should, you all need to invest in vitamins and supplements. You can find them online or at local nutrition stores, many of which wont cost you much money at all. No matter what your age may be, you all need to ensure that you are eating the right foods and taking the right foods. Keep in mind that you should never replace food with vitamins, as they are more less meant to give you additional nutrients and minerals.

Anytime you aren't able to eat the right food, you should always turn to vitamin supplements to give your body what it needs. Supplements and vitamins are one of the best investments you can make, as everyone needs vitamins in their body. Even though the costs may add up over time, it is more than worth it when you think about. For what you spend in vitamins and supplements, you'll be keeping your body healthy - and preventing a deficiency in vitamins. Although vitamin deficiency is very common these days, it doesn't have to be.
Read More..

Working Out for Extreme Fitness

Many people think about building muscles as abandoning life outside the gym and devoting hours in the gym like a monk in a monastery. Perhaps the only way to chisel the body into a hot muscular physique is by toiling hour by hour over the rusty iron day in, day out and year in, year out.

This need not be so. Although hard work is truly required, extreme fitness demands one to be a slave of the iron weights. Full-body work outs can make one progress and it easily fits in one's schedule. This is very convenient if one is looking forward to achieving extreme fitness but finds it hard to hold on to a single work out routine.

Genuine full-body work outs done by athletes with an aim in mind makes for maximum muscle contraction using heavy weights, makes room for full recovery so one can actually grow and continue to train hard plus it also prevents burnout which is inevitable due to excess training.

So if one is ready for extreme fitness, here is all there is to know about full body work out:

Full-body work out is a time saver. The biggest plus about having the whole body trained all at once is probably having to go to the gym less frequently; perhaps around two to three times for every seven days would be enough.

Another advantage of working out the entire body all at once is that one need not spend two or more hours of strenuous exercise in the gym for every session; one only spends one hour in the gym for every session. So that's just three to four hours per week in the gym right? With full-body work outs, it is all about the quality of exercise one does for session and not the quantity, nor even the amount of time you allot per session.

Full-body work out boosts the cardiovascular system for extreme fitness. One must allot two to four sets for every body part into the one hour session. Jam packed with exercising, each one hour session then gets the heart and the rest of the cardiovasular system pumping and up to speed in a flash.

Now feeling pumped up, next find out what rules does one have to follow when engaging in full-body work outs:

Training commences only once every two to three days. This is so easy isn't it? What is great about this is that there is time spared during rest days so that one can indulge in a few cardio exercise sessions instead of depending on cardio execises one normally does at the end of each work out session which after all, are not at all very effective.

Heavy lifting is strongly advised. Contrary to popular belief, especially among athletes. It is not true that it is good to get trapped on training lightly than one actually could so as to conserve energy for the other body parts that will come later in the routine. What is true is that one cannot achieve optimal progress if one is not training heavy, no matter which program that person is doing.

One exercise only per muscle group. This is very easy to follow and is also important. Doing basic exercises which are also intense means you do not have to do another different exercise for that body part.

Keep work out short. Resistance training affects the natural homones of the body connected to muscle building. Intense exercising boosts the testosterone levels and long work outs increase those of catabolic cortisol. Sixty minutes of work out allows you to get the best of both worlds.

Now with this convenient and powerful work out regimen, one can now truly experience extreme fitness.

Read More..

Moderate Exercises to Fitness!

Have you ever felt tired and stressed out from work and by the time you get home you see your three children running towards you asking you to play basketball with them? You refused and promised them that you will after you take you rest.

Instead of disappointing your children, why not say, "yes" after all? You will be surprised by the amount of energy you will have after that 30-minute activity.

Did you know that by exercising at a moderate pace for only 30 minutes, you would feel a lot better, mentally? It has been proven that this improves the appetite and sharpens your style in problem solving. Not only that. You will also feel that it is easier to sleep at night if you do moderate exercises even for only 30 minutes every day.

What are the benefits of regular exercise? It promotes self-discipline and has a positive impact how you perceive life. Exercise helps in lifting your spirits and getting you out of any depression. For first timers, it can be done for 15 minutes for 2 to 3 days a week. You can increase the time you spend once your body gets tuned up for it.

DON'T you ever force your body! If you get hurt, then stop. You can take a break from exercising for a few days and then you can start again but you need to start from day 1.

Here are some moderate exercises you can do and enjoy:

1. Do the Walking. Make use of your surroundings. You can walk your dog, with your partner or child. Encourage your family to do the walking exercise daily and you will find yourself burning calories while enjoying the surroundings and getting enough sunlight that is also good for your body.

2. Discover the wonders of Yoga. Yoga is one effective exercise that energizes not only your body but also your soul. You may want to learn even the basic yoga positions that are not too complicated but proven effective. A five-minute yoga exercise can perk you up and recharge your body with the energy you lost for the whole day. You relax and at the same time you stretch!

3. Engage yourself into sports. Play basketball, football, baseball, tennis or badminton. Many doctors have recommended sports as an effective way to stay fit and healthy. Sports can also be done in moderation. Do not take it seriously. Shooting basketball with a friend is one moderate exercise that is also considered a sport.

4. Join exercise programs at work. If you still do not have exercises programs at work, then why not start it? You can talk to your boss about it and start with your colleagues. You do not only lose calories but it is also one good way to bond with them. This can be done 30 minutes, 3 times a week.

5. Exercise while doing household chores. Gardening, raking leaves, lawn mowing, doing the laundry, vacuuming and car washing are effective moderate exercises at home. Make use of these chores to sweat and burn calories. Instead of using machines and gadgets to perform these chores, why not do it with your hands and lose some fats?

Making exercises as part of your daily routines will surprise you of how much calories you will lose. Doing these moderate exercises of the same amount every day can burn 150 calories up to 1,000 calories a day!








Read More..

Fitness Apparel

In a sports apparel specialty store you will delight at the wide range of clothing plus accessories that is available in the market. Specific sporting apparels like golf, fitness exercise, equestrian and yoga are very much available. The apparel for sports like surfing or rafting and even mountaineering are abounds. The wetsuits are perfect for surfing apparel. The sports apparel include caps, batting gloves and rafting vests. Here's a short list on how to choose your sports and fitness apparel

1. The Golf wear
The golf apparel can be found in any specialty sport store. The golf apparel usually includes a trouser with a t-shirt. In golf apparel, comfort is the most important factor. Chinos are also very popular golf wear. Hats and caps of varying designs and makes are also available. Of course outlandish gears worn by some professional golfers are also available.

2. The Running / Fitness wear
The running apparel is best made with cotton to retain moisture that causes friction and might lead to possible chafing. The running shorts and tights including the cotton socks are the basic running gear. When running apparel is being chosen, try to select a base layer top which keeps you dry for an extended run. Comfortable and fit running shoes must be matched to keep you fresh on the run.

The fitness gear pertains to all kinds of apparel including aerobics and gymnastics. The multi-colored tights and leotards are the best and most comfortable during a workout. The fitness gear must be selected with care. Choose the proper material and correct size when selecting the fitness gear is a must.

3. The athletic apparel
The athletic apparel must be chosen with the climate and weather in thought. An apparel that is not suited for the weather will hinder the performance of an athlete. A popular athletic wear is the running or jogging pants with a drawstring waist. These type of athletic apparel can be purchased at discounted rates. The all weather gear is designed to keep most of the elements out. An athlete depends on the athletic gear to perform at his best.

4. The Equestrian apparel
The equestrian gear is mainly about breeches and boots. There are specialty equestrian stores that stock clothing and other equipment for riding. The casual equestrian gear could be riding breeches matched with a plain shirt. The paddock boots available also at equestrian apparel stores complete the set for an equestrian. A pair of riding pants and a jersey can be bought at an equestrian apparel store. When having lessons on riding, you may want to look online for equestrian stores to see and choose an outfit which lets you ride with great style and comfort. A little pricey in most cases but may be worth the price. A western style of gear is also available in specialty shops.

5. The Yoga apparel
The yoga apparel must be very comfortable and loose for easy movement. A t -shirts and a loose-fit short are basic yoga apparel which will keep you fresh and comfortable. Also, it does not cost much. The designer yoga apparels are available at special yoga stores. Yoga Capri pants and unitards are available at yoga apparel store. The special Asana clothing can be found at very exclusive yoga outlets.

Read More..

A Look on Diet Fitness

Many people nowadays are very much conscious about their own health and fitness. In addition to that, these people, and many others as well, are now having that desire to sculpt their bodies to ahieve that magazine-cover look. As a result, gyms, health spas and other fitness centers have proliferated all over to cater to the needs of the fitness buffs and afficionados.

Even on television exercise machines, weight loss products, and other paraphernalia to improve fitness have more or less gained control over the airwaves and made their way into the households. But exerise is not the only way to build that body beautiful. It also entails certain amount of responsibility on the foods one chooses to eat. Being healthy and fit requires one to observe diet fitness.

Diet fitness is as essential as exercise itself. Diet for fitness provides the essential nutrition one needs to restore worn-out muscles and for healthy growth. Diet fitness should never be taken for granted. With the popularity of keeping fit, many different views, methods, programs and dieting strategies have been formulated by many professionals. Among these are high carb diets and high fat diets. Whih one is more effective and which one should one choose to follow?

First thing to know would be the fundamental differences between these two diet approaches. As the name implies, high carb diets concentrates on taking in carbohydrate-rich foods while high fat diets endorses fat-rich foods. High carb diets are utilized to glycogen stored in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is a glucose complex that provides large amounts of energy ready for use in anaerobic exercises.

Fats, on the other hand, is well-nown for being the richest source of calories. It actually contains 2.5 times more calories than carbohydrates and proteins alike. Studies also show that it takes the body 24 calories to metabolize carbohydrates while it only takes 3 to burn down fat. So which one to follow? A person can follow a high carb and low fat fitness diet or the other way around. It is absolutely not recommended to follow both at the same time; unless of course if you want to gain body fat.

But then diet fitness is not all about losing fat, one must also consider his diet in order to keep fat away. Research shows that sustainable loss of weight can only be achieved on a diet which suits the individual food preferences, lifestyle, medical profile and satiety signals.

Diet programs all over can help you shed off excess pounds, but only one diet can help you stay sexy, and it is the one that satisfies you most. Other important aspects of having a fit diet are moderation, balance and variation. One must be careful not to leave out important nutrients and other substances necessary for healthy body functioning. health organizations are clear about the amounts of nutrients an individual should have in the body.

Low fat high carbs, high carbs low fat; the question is not which diet program will work out but which is it that will work for you. Striving for a sexy and healthy body does not have to burden an individual, diet fitness does not have to mean sticking to the same kind of food for life. One may even try to be adventurous and try out new foods out there. Who knows? one may even discover spinach interesting.











Read More..

Beauty and Fitness

Health is wealth. By being physically fit, it can make a person look lean both inside and out. There is a lot a person can do such jogging or walking in the morning, playing basketball or any other sport with friends but if a person wants to have muscles and look lean, the best thing to do will be to sign up and workout in a gym.

Just like taking any medicine, one should first consult the doctor before undergoing any form of exercise. Physical exercise is beneficial because it helps maintain and improve ones health from a variety of diseases and premature death. It also makes a person feel happier and increases ones self esteem preventing one from falling into depression or anxiety. It has also shown to make a person with an active lifestyle live longer than a person who doesn't.

The best exercise plan should have cardiovascular and weight training exercises. This helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase ones metabolism and make one either gain or lose weight.

A person who has never worked out before should do it gradually. Doing it too much for the first time can make one pull a muscle or have an injury making it worse. Endurance will never be built in a day and doing it repeatedly will surely be good to the person.

Focusing on certain portion in the body can help make it improve. A good example is going to the gym and doing a workout more often in a specific area such as the abs can give one a chest pack.

But beauty is not only about having muscles which is what people can see. It is also about enhancing the beauty within.

Here are some things one can do everyday to stay beautiful and healthy;

· Reading books and other reading material more often keeps the mind sharp just like working out keeps the body in shape.

· Work no matter what kind it is produces stress. One can reduce this by taking the time out to do something special like lying in a hot tub, shopping or watching a movie. Studies have shown it is reliever and helps one from looking haggardly.

· Pollution is something people cannot control given the size of the problem. When one goes out, it is best to put some form of protection such as beauty products that contain antioxidants that protect the skin from damage. There are also other beauty products available and choosing the right one with the help of a dermatologist can help the person.

· Another way to stay healthy is to give up some vices. Most people smoke and drink. Smoking has been proven to cause lung cancer and other diseases as well complications for women giving birth. Excessive drinking has also shown to do the same.

· For people who don't smoke, it is best to stay away from people who do since studies have shown that nonsmokers are also at risk of developing cancer due to secondary smoke inhalation.

· Lastly, it is best to always start the day with a positive outlook. Just as studies have shown that exercise makes a person feel happier, smiling produces the same effect. A smile can do a lot and it is contagious in a positive sense. It brightens the day of not only one but others as well.








Read More..

The 24 Hour Fitness Path

The Twenty Four Hour fitness center is like your one stop shop to everything about fitness and your well-being. Imagine it as the Walmart of the fitness industry. Twenty Four Hour fitness centers are located in a number of areas in the state. All of them have equipments which cater to weight training as well as cardio vascular equipments. A variety of fitness gear is also available. Twenty Four Hourfitness centers all have locker rooms and believe it or not baby sitting accommodations. Over all, the Twenty Four Hour fitness center is a complete, clean and extremely well maintained facility that especially caters to all your fitness wants, needs and preferences.

Join Us

It is very easy to get started on your path to fitness. Twenty Four Hour fitness centers have over three hundred clubs located in the whole nation and is open for twenty four hours. There is no long term contract to sign up in. You have the option to pay monthly, but you are offered a complete personal training package that suits your body type, body weight and built so you are ensured with a service that is truly personalized.

Which club do you belong in?

Twenty Four Hour fitness center gives you the option to choose the specific type of club that you desire. The active club involves a group exercise as well as free weights and cardio machines to work off that fat. The sport club also includes everything in the active club but with additions such as basketball, heated pools and whirlpool. The super-sport club also includes the amenities found those in the active club and the sport club but with more additions such as massages, a sauna as well as a steam room. The ultra sport club is the works. It includes most of the amenities found in the active, sport and super sport club, plus a day spa, courts for racquetball as well as an executive locker room.

The Path to Performance

It all depends on what you want to achieve. In Twenty Four Hour fitness centers, a uniquely specialized fitness program is available to anyone who simply wants to improve their performance in a specific sport or is seriously training for competition. The program is designed by athletes.

The Performance program includes a menu plan specifically customized for those intense workouts. A resistance training is also available as well as a full cardio workout. After your exercise, a metabolic rate test is conducted.

This program is designed for those who wants to get started as soon as possible but has no clear and specific idea how. This is clearly the best option for them because all the information on nutrition, resistance training is learned through this program. This is the foundation one needs in order to have results that would last your body a lifetime.

The Components of Fitness

A regular exercise, an intense workout is just part and parcel of your path to health, fitness and well-being. There are other factors that should just as well play a part and which Twenty Four Hour fitness center teaches you.

Food intake is one of them. A menu is provided to those who follow the performance path. This details what you should or should not eat, or at least eat less of, if not completely avoid. Cardio is also one as this enhances your endurance to stress and exercise. Vitamins and supplements are a necessity unless you are sure that you are able to receive the proper amounts of iron, calcium, vitamin C or D or E in a day. If not, it is best to take them in. Resistance training is a feather in your fitness cap and is a necessary tool for being healthy, wealthy and wise.



Read More..

The Growth And Power Of Appetite

One fact attendant on habitual drinking stands out so prominently that none can call it in question. It is that of the steady growth of appetite. There are exceptions, as in the action of nearly every rule; but the almost invariable result of the habit we have mentioned, is, as we have said, a steady growth of appetite for the stimulant imbibed. That this is in consequence of certain morbid changes in the physical condition produced by the alcohol itself, will hardly be questioned by any one who has made himself acquainted with the various functional and organic derangements which invariably follow the continued introduction of this substance into the body.

But it is to the fact itself, not to its cause, that we now wish to direct your attention. The man who is satisfied at first with a single glass of wine at dinner, finds, after awhile, that appetite asks for a little more; and, in time, a second glass is conceded. The increase of desire may be very slow, but it goes on surely until, in the end, a whole bottle will scarcely suffice, with far too many, to meet its imperious demands. It is the same in regard to the use of every other form of alcoholic drink.

Now, there are men so constituted that they are able, for a long series of years, or even for a whole lifetime, to hold this appetite within a certain limit of indulgence. To say "So far, and no farther." They suffer ultimately from physical ailments, which surely follow the prolonged contact of alcoholic poison with the delicate structures of the body, many of a painful character, and shorten the term of their natural lives; but still they are able to drink without an increase of appetite so great as to reach an overmastering degree. They do not become abandoned drunkards.

No man safe who drinks.
But no man who begins the use of alcohol in any form can tell what, in the end, is going to be its effect on his body or mind. Thousands and tens of thousands, once wholly unconscious of danger from this source, go down yearly into drunkards' graves. There is no standard by which any one can measure the latent evil forces in his inherited nature. He may have from ancestors, near or remote, an unhealthy moral tendency, or physical diathesis, to which the peculiarly disturbing influence of alcohol will give the morbid condition in which it will find its disastrous life. That such results follow the use of alcohol in a large number of cases, is now a well-known fact in the history of inebriation. The subject of alcoholism, with the mental and moral causes leading thereto, have attracted a great deal of earnest attention.

Physicians, superintendents of inebriate and lunatic asylums, prison-keepers, legislators and philanthropists have been observing and studying its many sad and terrible phases, and recording results and opinions. While differences are held on some points, as, for instance, whether drunkenness is a disease for which, after it has been established, the individual ceases to be responsible, and should be subject to restraint and treatment, as for lunacy or fever; a crime to be punished; or a sin to be repented of and healed by the Physician of souls, all agree that there is an inherited or acquired mental and nervous condition with many, which renders any use of alcohol exceedingly dangerous.

The point we wish to make with you is, that no man can possibly know, until he has used alcoholic drinks for a certain period of time, whether he has or has not this hereditary or acquired physical or mental condition; and that, if it should exist, a discovery of the fact may come too late.

Dr. D.G. Dodge, late Superintendent of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, speaking of the causes leading to intemperance, after stating his belief that it is a transmissible disease, like "scrofula, gout or consumption," says:

"There are men who have an organization, which may be termed an alcoholic idiosyncrasy; with them the latent desire for stimulants, if indulged, soon leads to habits of intemperance, and eventually to a morbid appetite, which has all the characteristics of a diseased condition of the system, which the patient, unassisted, is powerless to relieve since the weakness of the will that led to the disease obstructs its removal.

"Again, we find in another class of persons, those who have had healthy parents, and have been educated and accustomed to good social influences, moral and social, but whose temperament and physical constitution are such, that, when they once indulge in the use of stimulants, which they find pleasurable, they continue to habitually indulge till they cease to be moderate, and become excessive drinkers. A depraved appetite is established, that leads them on slowly, but surely, to destruction."

Read More..

Tongue In Disease Diagnosis

Tongue is a muscular organ associated with the function of deglutition,taste and speech.It acts as an easily accessible organ for the assessment of health of an individual and shows the state of hydration of the body.It is said that tongue is the mirror of the gastrointestinal system and any abnormal functioning of the stomach and intestines will be reflected on the tongue.

Some characteristic changes occur in the tongue in some particular diseases.That is why the examination of the tongue is very essential and will give some clues for diagnosis.All doctors examine the tongue and they consider the changes in size,shape,,colour,moisture,coating,nature of papillae and movements ect.

Appearance of tongue in some abnormal conditions:-

1) Movements of the tongue:-

a) In one sided paralysis of the body(hemiplegia)tongue moves towards the parylised side when protruded.
b) Tremulus movement of the tongue is seen in diseases like thyrotoxicosis,delirium tremens and parkinsonisum.Tremor is also seen in nervous patients.
c) In progressive bulbar palsy there will be wasting and paralysis of the tongue with fibrillation.Eventually the tongue gets shrivelled and lies functionless in the floor of the mouth.This condition is associated with dribbling of saliva and loss of speech.
d) In chorea(involuntary rhythmic movements) the patient may not be able to keep the protruded tongue in rest,it will be moving involuntarily.

2) Moistness of the tongue:-

The moistness of the tongue gives some indication about the state of hydration of the body.Water volume depletion leads to peripheral circulatory failure characterised by weakness,thirst,restlessness,anorexia,nausea,vomiting ,dry and parched tongue.

Dryness of the tongue is seen in following conditions.

a) Diarrhoea
b) Later stages of severe illness
c) Advanced uraemia
d) Hypovolumic shock
e) Heat exhaustion
f) Hyponatraemia
g) Acute intestinal obstruction
h) Starvation
i) Prlonged fasting.

3) Change in colour of tongue:-

a) Central cyanosis:-
Cyanosis is the bluish discolouration of the mucus membrane due to decrease in the amount of oxygen in the blood.This is seen in heart failure,respiratory failure and in anoxia.In cyanosis tongue,lips ect becomes pale bluish.

b) Jaundice:-
This is the yellowish discolouration of all mucus surfaces of the body (including tongue)due to increase of bilirubin in the blood.Jaundice is seen in hepatitis,bile duct obstruction,increased destruction of RBCs and ect...

c) Advanced uremia:-
This is the increase of urea and other nitrogenous waste products in the blood due to kidney failure.Here the tongue become brown in colour.

d) Keto acidosis:-
This is the acidosis with accumulation of ketone bodies seen mainly in diabetes mellitus.Here the tongue become brown with a typical ketone smell from the mouth.

e) Riboflavin deficiency:-
Deficiency of this vitamin (vitamin B2) produces megenta colour of the tongue with soreness and fissures of lips.

f) Niacin deficiency:-
Deficiency of niacin (vitamin B3)and some other B complex vitamins results in bright scarlet or beefy red tongue.

g) Anaemia:-
It is the decrease in haemoglobin percentage of the blood.In severe anaemia tongue becomes pale.

4) Coating on the tongue:-

a) Bad breath:-
The main cause for bad breath is formation of a pasty coating(bio film) on the tongue which lodges thousands of anaerobic bacteria resulting in the production of offenssive gases.Those who complain about bad breath may have thick coating on the posterior part of the tongue.

b) Typhoid fever:-
In typhoid fever tongue becomes white coared like a fur.

c) Candidiasis;-
It is a fungal infection which affects the mucus surfaces of the body.On the tongue there will be sloughing white lesions.

d) In diabetes and hypoadrenalism there will be sloughing white lesions.
e) Secondary syphilis:-

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted diseased caused by trepenoma pallidum infection.In secondary stage of this disease we can see mucous patches which are painless,smooth white glystening opalescent plaques which can not be scraped off easily.

f) Leokoplakia:-
Here white keratotic patches are seen on the tongue and oral cavity.This is a precancerous condition.

g) AIDS:-
In these patients hairy leukoplakia is seen.

h) Peritonitis:-
It is the inflammation of the peritonium(inner covering of abdominal cavity which also covers the intestines and keep them in position) in this condition there is white furring of the tongue.

i) Acute illness:-
Furring is also seen in some acute diseases.

5) Papillae:-
These are small projections on the rongue associated with taste.There are different type of papillae on the healthy tongue.In some diseases there are some abnormal changes which are following.

a) Hairy tongue:-
This condition is due to elongation of filiform papillae seen in poor oral hygeine ,general debility and indigestion.

b) Geographic tongue:-
Here irregular red and white patches appear on the tongue.These lesions looks like a geographic map.The excact cause is not known.

c) Median rhomboid glossitis:-
In this condition there is smooth nodular red area in the posterior mid line of the tongue.This is a congenital condition.

d) Nutritional deficiency:-
In nutrional deficiency there is glossitis(inflammation of tongue) leading to papillary hypertrophy followed by atrophy.

e) Benign migratory glossitis:-
It is an inflamatory condition of the tongue where multiple annular areas of desquamation of papillae appear on the tongue which shift from area to area in few days.

f) Thiamine and riboflavin deficiency:-
Deficiency of these vitamins cause hypertrophied filiform and fungiform papillae.

g) Niacin and iron deficiency:-
In this condition there is atrophy of papillae.Smooth tongue is encountered in iron deficiency.

h) Vitamin A deficiency:-
This causes furrowed tongue.

i) In nutritional megaloblastic anaemia tongue becomes smooth.
j) Folic acid deficiency:-
Here macrocytic megaloblastic anaemia with glossitis is seen.
k) Cyano coblamine deficiency:-
Here glossitis with macrocytic megaloblastic anaemia and peripheral neuropathy is encountered.
l) Scarlet fever;-

In this streptococcal infection there is bright red papillae standing out of a thick white fur ,later the white coat disappear leaving enlarged papillae on the bright red surface and is called strawberry tongue.

6) Ulcers on the tongue:--

a) Apthous ulcer:-
These are round painful ulcers appear in stressed individuals frequently. May be associated with food allergy.Usual sites are tongue,lips,oral mucosa and ect.

b) Herpes simplex:-
It is an acute vesicular eruptions produced by herpes simplex virus.When these vesicles rupture it forms ulcers.

c) Ulcer in cancer:-
Cancerous ulcers are having everted edges with hard base.Bleeding is also seen.Cancer of the tongue is common in tobacco chewers.

d) Syphilitic ulcers:-
Syphilitic fissures are longitudinal in direction.In primary syphilis extra genital chancre is seen on the tongue.In secondary syphilis multiple shallow ulcers are seen on the under surface and sides of the tongue.In tertiary syphilis gumma may be seen on the midline of the dorsum of the tongue.

e) Dental ulcers:-
These ulcers are produced by sharp edges of carious teeth.
Read More..

Eating For A Healthy Heart

Bad cholesterol or a bad diet is something we all experience at some point in time. It's impossible to eat healthy our whole lives, even though we maytry hard to do it. Eating healthy for your heart is something everyone should try to do, especially when it comes to restoring health and reducing heart attacks.

Your heart and food
We know these things for sure - a diet high in saturated fats will help raise your cholesterol, which is a risk factor for heart disease. People that are obese are more prone to heart disease. A
diet high in sodium may elevate your blood pressure, leading to inflammation and even heart disease. To help prevent heart disease and improve your health, put the tips below to good use.

Eat plenty of fish
Herring, sardines, and salmon are all excellent sources of Omega 3 essential fatty acids. Other fish are great to, although Omega 3 may help to get your cholesterol down to a healthier level.

Choosing healthy fats and oils
Saturated fat will increase the risk of heart disease. It's found in meat, butter, and even coconut oil. You should avoid them until your cholesterol levels are down and you are at a healthy weight. Even those that love red meats can enjoy seafood and nuts for their main sources of protein. Monounsaturated fats such as olive oils will help you to protect your heart. Olive oil is an ideal
choice for cooking, dressing, or even as a dipping sauce.

Plenty of fiber
Fiber can help you control your cholesterol. You can find fiber in whole grain products to help control sugar absorption as well, which will help you keep your digestive system healthy.

Choosing carbohydrates
Eating for your heart involves staying away from sugary foods such as candy, cookies, cakes, and
pastries. Eating a lot of sugar isn't good for your heart disease at all. Healthy carbohydrates involve whole grain breads, whole grain pasta, brown rice, and a lot of vegetables. You should make fruits and vegetables the main aspect of your diet.

Healthy cooking methods
Stir frying and sauteing with olive oil or canola oil are both great methods, as you shouldn't dip your food in batter and fry it anymore. If you cook chicken, remove the skin and bake it in the oven in foil. Instead of frying your fish you should always bake it. Steaming your vegetables can help maintain the most nutrients. You should use cream sauces or lots of butter anymore either. When you eat vegetables, try squeezing lemon juice on them or using your favorite seasonings.

As you make the proper changes to your diet, keep in mind that it takes time for them to become habits. Eating healthy is always great for your body and your lifestyle, especially when it comes to your heart and the prevention of heart disease.


Read More..

Cooking with Oils

Everyone knows the foods to eat that improve health, although how we cook the food can be just as important. With there being so many oils and butter products claiming to be the best, it can be quite difficult to know which ones to use and which ones to avoid.

1. Canola oil
Canola oil is a popular oil, with many physicians claiming that it has the ability to lower the risk
of heart disease. The oil is low in saturated fat, high in monounsaturated fat, and offers the best
fatty acid composition when compared to other oils.You can use canola oil in sauting, as a arinade
and even in low temperature stir frying. It hasa bland flavor, which makes it a great oil for foods
that contain many spices. Unlike other oils, this one won't interfere with the taste of your meal.

2. Olive oil
olive oil offers a very distinct flavor with plentyof heart healthy ingedients. The oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, helps to lower cholesterol levels and reduce risk of cancer. It's also rich in antioxidants and has a very long storage life. Even though it can be used in cooking, it's the healthiest when uncooked, such as with a salad or dipping sauce. When you use it with cooking, you should heat it on low to medium temperatures, making sure to avoid high heat.

3. Butter
Butter is one food that has been around for many, many years. Butter tastes good, and offers sources of Vitamin A and other fat soluble vitamins such as E, K, and even D. Butter is also made from natural ingredients and not chemically or artificially processed. You can use butter with cooking, baking, or even as a spread. You can also pair it with creamy sauces, marinades, baked dishes, or even bread.

4. Margarine
Margarine was first introduced as an alternative tohigh fat butter. When it was first created however, it was loaded with trans fat, a substance that we now know raises bad cholesterol. As a cooking oil, margarine tastes good, it's lower in fat than most oils and butter, and it's quite easy to spread. It's available in a variety of different products and a good source of vitamin E. When it comes to cooking with oils, there are several at your disposal. There are many more than what is mentioned here, although the ones above are the most popular. Eating healthy involves cooking
healthy food - which is where your cooking oil really takes center stage.


Read More..

Becoming A Healthy Eater

Being a healthy eater requires you to become both educated and smart about what healthy eating actually is. Being food smart isn't about learning to calculate grams or fat, or is it about studying labels and counting calories.

Healthy eating is all about balanced and moderate eating, consisting of healthy meals at least
three times per day. Healthy eaters eat many different types of foods, not limiting themselves to one specific food type or food group. Eating healthy requires quite a bit of leeway. You might eat too much or not enough, consume foods that are sometimes more or less nutritious. However, you should always fuel your body and your brain regularly with enough food to keep both your mind and body strong and alert.

A healthy eater is a good problem solver. Healthy eaters have learned to take care of themselves
and their eating with sound judgement and making wise decisions. Healthy eaters are always aware of what they eat, and know the effect that it will have on their bodies.

When someone is unable to take control of their eating, they are also likely to get out of control with other aspects of life as well. They could end up spending too much, talking too much, even going to bed later and later. You should always remember that restricting food in any way is always a bad thing. Healthy eating is a way of life, something that you can do to enhance your body or your lifestyle. If you've thought about making your life better, healthy eating is just the place to start. You'll make life easier for yourself, those around you, and even your family.
Read More..

How Alcohol Affects The Brain

I once had the unusual, though unhappy, opportunity of observing the same phenomenon in the brain structure of a man, who, in a paroxysm of alcoholic excitement, decapitated himself under the wheel of a railway carriage, and whose brain was instantaneously evolved from the skull by the crash. The brain itself, entire, was before me within three minutes after the death. It exhaled the odor of spirit most distinctly, and its membranes and minute structures were vascular in the extreme. It looked as if it had been recently injected with vermilion. The white matter of the cerebrum, studded with red points, could scarcely be distinguished, when it was incised, by its natural whiteness; and the pia-mater, or internal vascular membrane covering the brain, resembled a delicate web of coagulated red blood, so tensely were its fine vessels engorged.

I should add that this condition extended through both the larger and the smaller brain, the cerebrum and cerebellum, but was not so marked in the medulla or commencing portion of the spinal cord.

The spinal cord and nerves.

The action of alcohol continued beyond the first stage, the function of the spinal cord is influenced. Through this part of the nervous system we are accustomed, in health, to perform automatic acts of a mechanical kind, which proceed systematically even when we are thinking or speaking on other subjects. Thus a skilled workman will continue his mechanical work perfectly, while his mind is bent on some other subject; and thus we all perform various acts in a purely automatic way, without calling in the aid of the higher centres, except something more than ordinary occurs to demand their service, upon which we think before we perform. Under alcohol, as the spinal centres become influenced, these pure automatic acts cease to be correctly carried on. That the hand may reach any object, or the foot be correctly planted, the higher intellectual centre must be invoked to make the proceeding secure. There follows quickly upon this a deficient power of co-ordination of muscular movement. The nervous control of certain of the muscles is lost, and the nervous stimulus is more or less enfeebled. The muscles of the lower lip in the human subject usually fail first of all, then the muscles of the lower limbs, and it is worthy of remark that the extensor muscles give way earlier than the flexors. The muscles themselves, by this time, are also failing in power; they respond more feebly than is natural to the nervous stimulus; they, too, are coming under the depressing influence of the paralyzing agent, their structure is temporarily deranged, and their contractile power reduced.

This modification of the animal functions under alcohol, marks the second degree of its action. In young subjects, there is now, usually, vomiting with faintness, followed by gradual relief from the burden of the poison.

Effect on the brain centres.

The alcoholic spirit carried yet a further degree, the cerebral or brain centres become influenced; they are reduced in power, and the controlling influences of will and of judgment are lost. As these centres are unbalanced and thrown into chaos, the rational part of the nature of the man gives way before the emotional, passional or organic part. The reason is now off duty, or is fooling with duty, and all the mere animal instincts and sentiments are laid atrociously bare. The coward shows up more craven, the braggart more boastful, the cruel more merciless, the untruthful more false, the carnal more degraded. ' In vino veritas ' expresses, even, indeed, to physiological accuracy, the true condition. The reason, the emotions, the instincts, are all in a state of carnival, and in chaotic feebleness.

Finally, the action of the alcohol still extending, the superior brain centres are overpowered; the senses are beclouded, the voluntary muscular prostration is perfected, sensibility is lost, and the body lies a mere log, dead by all but one-fourth, on which alone its life hangs. The heart still remains true to its duty, and while it just lives it feeds the breathing power. And so the circulation and the respiration, in the otherwise inert mass, keeps the mass within the bare domain of life until the poison begins to pass away and the nervous centres to revive again. It is happy for the inebriate that, as a rule, the brain fails so long before the heart that he has neither the power nor the sense to continue his process of destruction up to the act of death of his circulation. Therefore he lives to die another day.



Read More..

Effect Of Alcohol On The Membranes

The parts which first suffer from alcohol are those expansions of the body which the anatomists call the membranes. "The skin is a membranous envelope. Through the whole of the alimentary surface, from the lips downward, and through the bronchial passages to their minutest ramifications, extends the mucous membrane. The lungs, the heart, the liver, the kidneys are folded in delicate membranes, which can be stripped easily from these parts. If you take a portion of bone, you will find it easy to strip off from it a membranous sheath or covering; if you examine a joint, you will find both the head and the socket lined with membranes. The whole of the intestines are enveloped in a fine membrane called peritoneum .

All the muscles are enveloped in membranes, and the fasciculi, or bundles and fibres of muscles, have their membranous sheathing. The brain and spinal cord are enveloped in three membranes; one nearest to themselves, a pure vascular structure, a network of blood-vessels; another, a thin serous structure; a third, a strong fibrous structure. The eyeball is a structure of colloidal humors and membranes, and of nothing else. To complete the description, the minute structures of the vital organs are enrolled in membranous matter."

These membranes are the filters of the body. "In their absence there could be no building of structure, no solidification of tissue, nor organic mechanism. Passive themselves, they, nevertheless, separate all structures into their respective positions and adaptations."

Membranous deteriorations.

In order to make perfectly clear to your mind the action and use of these membranous expansions, and the way in which alcohol deteriorates them, and obstructs their work, we quote again from Dr. Richardson:

"The animal receives from the vegetable world and from the earth the food and drink it requires for its sustenance and motion. It receives colloidal food for its muscles: combustible food for its motion; water for the solution of its various parts; salt for constructive and other physical purposes. These have all to be arranged in the body; and they are arranged by means of the membranous envelopes. Through these membranes nothing can pass that is not, for the time, in a state of aqueous solution, like water or soluble salts. Water passes freely through them, salts pass freely through them, but the constructive matter of the active parts that is colloidal does not pass; it is retained in them until it is chemically decomposed into the soluble type of matter. When we take for our food a portion of animal flesh, it is first resolved, in digestion, into a soluble fluid before it can be absorbed; in the blood it is resolved into the fluid colloidal condition; in the solids it is laid down within the membranes into new structure, and when it has played its part, it is digested again, if I may so say, into a crystalloidal soluble substance, ready to be carried away and replaced by addition of new matter, then it is dialysed or passed through, the membranes into the blood, and is disposed of in the excretions.

"See, then, what an all-important part these membranous structures play in the animal life. Upon their integrity all the silent work of the building up of the body depends. If these membranes are rendered too porous, and let out the colloidal fluids of the blood the albumen, for example the body so circumstanced, dies; dies as if it were slowly bled to death. If, on the contrary, they become condensed or thickened, or loaded with foreign material, then they fail to allow the natural fluids to pass through them. They fail to dialyse, and the result is, either an accumulation of the fluid in a closed cavity, or contraction of the substance inclosed within the membrane, or dryness of membrane in surfaces that ought to be freely lubricated and kept apart. In old age we see the effects of modification of membrane naturally induced; we see the fixed joint, the shrunken and feeble muscle, the dimmed eye, the deaf ear, the enfeebled nervous function.

"It may possibly seem, at first sight, that I am leading immediately away from the subject of the secondary action of alcohol. It is not so. I am leading directly to it. Upon all these membranous structures alcohol exerts a direct perversion of action. It produces in them a thickening, a shrinking and an inactivity that reduces their functional power. That they may work rapidly and equally, they require to be at all times charged with water to saturation. If, into contact with them, any agent is brought that deprives them of water, then is their work interfered with; they cease to separate the saline constituents properly; and, if the evil that is thus started, be allowed to continue, they contract upon their contained matter in whatever organ it may be situated, and condense it.

"In brief, under the prolonged influence of alcohol those changes which take place from it in the blood corpuscles, extend to the other organic parts, involving them in structural deteriorations, which are always dangerous, and are often ultimately fatal."

Read More..

Action Of Alcohol on Internal Organs

Action on the stomach.

The action of alcohol on the stomach is extremely dangerous that it becomes unable to produce the natural digestive fluid in sufficient quantity and also fails to absorb the food which it may imperfectly digest. A condition marked by the sense of nausea emptiness, prostration and distention will always be faced by an alcoholic. This results in a loathing for food and is teased with a craving for more drink. Thus there is engendered a permanent disorder which is called dyspepsia. The disastrous forms of confirmed indigestion originate by this practice.

How the liver gets affected.

The organic deteriorations caused by the continued use of alcohol are often of a fatal character. The organ which most frequently undergoes structural changes from alcohol, is the liver. Normally, the liver has the capacity to hold active substances in its cellular parts. In instances of poisoning by various poisonous compounds, we analyse liver as if it were the central depot of the foreign matter. It is practically the same in respect to alcohol. The liver of an alcoholic is never free from the influence of alcohol and it is too often saturated with it. The minute membranous or capsular structure of the liver gets affected, preventing proper dialysis and free secretion. The liver becomes large due to the dilatation of its vessels, the surcharge of fluid matter and the thickening of tissue. This follows contraction of membrane and shrinking of the whole organ in its cellular parts. Then the lower parts of the alcoholic becomes dropsical owing to the obstruction offered to the returning blood by the veins. The structure of the liver may be charged with fatty cells and undergo what is technically designated 'fatty liver'.

How the Kidneys deteriorate.

The Kidneys also suffer due to the excessive consumption of alcohol. The vessels of Kidneys lose elasticity and power of contraction. The minute structures in them go through fatty modification. Albumin from the blood easily passes through their membranes. This results in the body losing its power as if it were being run out of blood gradually.

Congestion of the lungs.

Alcohol relaxes the vessels of the lungs easily as they are most exposed to the fluctuations of heat and cold. When subjected to the effects of a rapid variation in atmospheric temperature, they get readily congested. During severe winter seasons, the suddenly fatal congestions of lungs easily affects an alcoholic.

Alcohol weakens the heart.

Consumption of alcohol greatly affects the heart. The quality of the membraneous structures which cover and line the heart changes and are thickened, become cartilaginous or calcareous. Then the valves lose their suppleness and what is termed valvular disorder becomes permanent. The structure of the the coats of the great blood-vessel leading from the heart share in the same changes of structure so that the vessel loses its elasticity and its power to feed the heart by the recoil from its distention, after the heart, by its stroke, has filled it with blood.

Again, the muscular structure of the heart fails owing to degenerative changes in its tissue. The elements of the muscular fibre are replaced by fatty cells or, if not so replaced, are themselves transferred into a modified muscular texture in which the power of contraction is greatly reduced.

Those who suffer from these organic deteriorations of the central and governing organ of the circulation of the blood learn the fact so insidiously, it hardly breaks upon them until the mischief is far advanced. They are conscious of a central failure of power from slight causes such as overexertion, trouble, broken rest or too long abstinence from food. They feel what they call a 'sinking' but they know that wine or some other stimulant will at once relieve the sensation. Thus they seek to relieve it until at last they discover that the remedy fails. The jaded, overworked, faithful heart will bear no more. it has run its course and the governor of the blood-streams broken. The current either overflows into the tissues gradually damming up the courses or under some slight shock or excess of motion ceases wholly at the centre.

Read More..

Permanent Weight Loss Solutions

There are many people who attempting to lose weight, some will succeed and others will fail, however the biggest battle for people who are able to reduce their weight, is often to keep to their ideal weight. Many people will find that they have soon returned to the weight that they were before they went on their diet or even that they are actually fatter. This can of course be very depressive and can result in them losing a lot of their self-esteem. What is needed is for a permanent solution to their weight problems.

There are some obvious routes to take in the battle to lose weight. They would include increasing the amount in which we exercise and reducing the amount we eat. It is this eating issue that can be the hardest to control and to reduce as our temptations often get the better of us.

In my opinion what we need to do is to make our house a fat free zone. If we become hungry and start looking through the cupboards and notice for example a packet of crisps, it can often be very difficult not to eat them. Our desire for instant food can become too great and our inner demons try and convince us that one packet will not hurt. If that packet of crisps had not been in the cupboard we would have not been put into that position of temptation and would of course not have been able to eat them.

A number of years ago, when I went about losing my own excess weight, I decided to remove all of the foods from all of the cupboards which I was aware that I needed to stop eating. I also removed certain drinks such as alcoholic drinks which were also something which contributed to my weight problems. I put into the dustbin all of the takeaway menus that I had and basically attempted to make it as hard as possible for me to eat or drink anything that I shouldn't have been.

When out and about I had to be determined to keep to my diet and to not be tempted to buy any of these items from the shops etc. This was not easy to do as I am somebody who loves all of these fatty type foods.

In my weekly food shop I bought far more fruit and vegetables and was surprised at how quickly my taste buds started to change. I soon looked forward to eating an apple as an example and the weight slowly but surely started to reduce.

After a number of months I reached a weight that I was happy with. My wife stated that I was now able to start eating items such as dry roasted peanuts, this was a particular favourite of mine. This was possibly true but could easily result in a return to my old bad habits and of course weight problems. I decided to stick with the fruit and my cupboards are still free of those foods which I love to eat but which are not good for my weight.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/202/Steve-Hill
Read More..

How To Make Your Own Rooting Hormone

When starting a new plant from a leaf or stem cutting, the cutting will be more likely to form roots and create a new plant if a rooting hormone is used.

While commercial rooting hormone can be used there are organic homemade versions that work as well.

To make rooting hormone soak the yellow-tipped shoots of a weeping willow tree in water. A tea made from the bark of a willow tree is also effective. When using the shoots or bark soak them for 24 hours prior to using.

Some people have found that using honey makes an effective rooting hormone as well.

Leaf cuttings: Any plant with leaves such as African Violet, Geranium etc. can be propagated with leaf cuttings. Using a sharp knife cut off a healthy leaf at the point where it joins the stem. Insert the cut part, called a petiole, into the rooting hormone. Place the end into a small container of light potting soil in which you have made a small hole with a pencil. Making a hole prior to planting assures that the rooting hormone will not be brushed off the cutting when you plant it. Perlite, Vermiculite, and/or water-soaked Sphagnum moss can be added to potting soil to make the soil light. Make sure the leaf is leaning slightly so that the new plants will have plenty of light and not be shaded by the leaf.

Stem cuttings: These are treated just like leaf cuttings except you cut off a stem with several leaves instead of just one leaf. Remove the bottom leaves, leaving a few at the top. Proceed as with the leaf cutting.

In both instances cover the pot with a plastic bag or inverted glass jar. This will keep moisture from evaporating and keep the cutting from wilting. Keep in a warm location with diffused light but out of direct sunlight. When there is indications of growth after about 3 to 6 weeks, transplant the new emerging plant into a new pot of potting soil. Continue to keep a humid environment for about 2 more weeks until active growth begins.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/497/Marilyn-Pokorney
Read More..

10 Secrets to Keeping the Weight Off for Good

What's interesting about weight loss is that many people think that it's just a process that begins when you make changes to lose weight and ends when you've lost all the weight.

However, if you're not continuing with the changes that you've made, you might find yourself back at the original weight that you were. Instead of going up and down on the scale, here are ten secrets that you can use to keep your slim figure.

- Weight training works – Studies have shown that people that have more muscle mass will burn more calories, even at rest. Because of this fact, you will want to incorporate some weight training into you maintenance plan so that as you increase your calorie intake, you're able to burn them off without any gain.

- Food journaling – When you write down what you eat, you will be able to control the amount of food that you are eating. Even if you only write down your food intake for a few days a week, keeping an eye on how you're eating can help alert you of problems before they become pounds.

- Daily exercise – When you want to keep the weight off, exercise will need to become a part of your life. However, this doesn't mean that you need to work out for hours each day. Try to fit in thirty to sixty minutes of exercise each day to keep extra weight at bay.

- Allow yourself treats – Life isn't about deprivation, so neither should your new figure. When you've lost weight, you have learned about how much you needed to eat in order to cut back on calories. Once you've learned this, you can also learn to have a treat every now and then, enjoying it instead of overindulging in it.

- Look at making changes rather than dieting – When you're looking to lose weight, the 'sprint' approach isn't going to be a long term fix. You need to permanently change your eating habits in order to ensure that your weight stays at its new position.

- Learn to make favorite recipes healthier – If you have a favorite cheesecake recipe; why not learn how to make it lower in fat and sugar? This way, you can still enjoy the foods you love.

- Get support – You don't have to join a weight loss club to do this, but telling your friends and family about your goals can help to get everyone into supporting your efforts. When you do this, people will start to recognize that family gatherings should have healthy options as well as not always revolve around food.

- Keep the stress away – Many people eat when they are stressed, but when you've lost weight, you want to avoid this kind of trigger. Instead, figure out ways that help you deal with stress. What can you do instead of eating to help calm down and relax?

- Watch your weight – Studies have shown that those that regularly monitor their weight tend to keep off weight better than those that don't. You don't have to get on the scale every day, but weighing in once a week can help alert you to when you might need to rethink that second slice of pie.

- Recognize a slip up and forgive yourself – When you start to get angry about mistakes, you can backslide into old eating habits. You will have times when eating right will be more difficult, but you will persevere.

Acknowledge that you made a poor eating choice (or several) and then forgive yourself and eat better at the next meal. There's no need to punish yourself.

Keeping the weight off can actually be more difficult than losing it in the first place, but when you're committed to keeping trim, these tips will make sure that you do.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/103/Lynn-VanDyke
Read More..

Best Ways to Lose Weight

Overweight can cause a lot of troubles to one personally alongside other health related issues. Studies have shown that overweight invariably leads to health issues such as hypertension, cardiac troubles, sleep apnea and diabetes. Further, being obese could hamper one’s freedom to move, run, or sit comfortably in a standard chair. The only way out of this mess is to shed those extra pounds around your waist by embracing some healthy weight loss diet plan and follow it religiously. In the following paragraphs, you’ll see few important tips that could help one effectively reduce his/her weight to healthier proportions.

Every healthy weight loss diet plan proposed by dieticians and nutritionists starts with a simple suggestion – reduce the food intake to the optimum amount. But it is the most difficult of the things to implement and it will take a lot of mental effort from your side to tune your mind to say NO to victuals.

Reducing the food all in a sudden could adversely affect one’s health. Hence reduction in food intake also means adopting a healthier and balanced diet schedule. As a rule of thumb, embrace a healthy weight loss diet plan that is rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and whole grains, alongside drinking lots of water, at least 8-10 glasses a day. It would be prudent to chart a healthy weight loss diet plan for oneself than following text book quick weight loss programs such as Mediterranean diet, Hollywood diet, lemonade diet or slim fast diet.

And finally, backup your efforts with a strict fitness regime to burn away those extra calories from the body. Make it a practice to spend 30 min in the gym daily. A short stroll in the garden or in the street in the evening is also is advisable.

To conclude, whichever healthy weight loss diet plan you choose, it will be hard work overall – both physical and mental – to shed those extra kilos you have gained over the years by hard eating. But the end result is worth all the efforts put in. And that will be a test of your mental resolve as well.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/514/Oliver-Turner
Read More..

Home Teeth Whitening Tips

About a decade ago, people knew only one way of getting their teeth whitened – that was through dental in-office whitening. It was a wearisome procedure but slowly when people started showing a compulsive concern of having a whiter set of teeth, the impulsion goaded a number of different bleaching formulas and teeth whitening kits started flooding the everyday market.


Nowadays, dental in-office teeth whitening aren’t the only option. Numerous home teeth whitening kits are now dominating the market with unprecedented rate, as they are more beneficial products of teeth whitening treatments. Home teeth whitening system uses different teeth whitening kits like whitening strips, teeth whitening trays with whitening gels, and brush-on whitening.

Some of the basic home teeth whitening tip or methods of teeth whitening, used by people around the world are as follows:

1) Application of a paste of lemon juice and salt in the yellowish tint of the teeth is a wonderful way of eradicating that dull color of the teeth.

2) Rubbing the inner white part of an orange peel in the discolored teeth gives a lovely white shine.

3) Regular use of paste of bi-carbonate of soda with water removes the surface stain from the teeth.

4) Dried and powdered Bay leaves combined with dried orange peel also acts as an excellent whitener.

All these home teeth whitening methods when done regularly can give an excellent result.

Nowadays, people lack patience and time and so they frequent the chemist’s shop to purchase teeth whitening kits. These kits include whitening strips, whitening sprays, brush-on gels and whitening toothpastes. But before using such teeth whitening kits, one should follow certain guidelines to get a perfecta teeth whitening. He should use oxygenating toothpaste to brush the teeth because it contains substances that strengthen gums and prevent sensitivity from occurring in the teeth.

Before purchasing teeth whitening kits containing bleaching gel, one should confirm that the formula has 21 percent concentration and is carbamide peroxide based. After using Home teeth whitening kits, one should rinse their mouth with an oxygenating oral wash to get that perfecta teeth whitening.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/514/Oliver-Turner
Read More..

How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off

Tired of being overweight? Tired of hearing about all of the "miracle" weight-loss pills and programs that are supposed to work in 5 days but don’t? If you’re tired of this and are really ready to lose weight, it’s time to look at two weight-loss strategies that make sense and really work. Losing weight isn’t one-size-fits-all, but by combining the strategies that you like and that are known to work, you can lose weight and keep it off for the rest of your life.

Exercise

Exercise probably isn’t anyone’s favorite, but for optimum health, we all need it. As you get older, you slow down. As you slow down, it makes your metabolism slow down too. To combat this and to have a healthy and strong heart, you must exercise. Start slowly with an activity that you enjoy for just 15 minutes per day. As you get stronger, you will find that you enjoy the exercise, so begin increasing it until you are doing one consistent activity for 30 minutes per day.

Add Variety

The more you want to lose, the more you need to exercise. You can break up your exercise into several 10-minutes segments if it makes it more appealing to you. To keep it from getting boring, try different activities. A great exercise to start with is walking. You can walk outside on nice days and use a CD to exercise with indoors when the weather is bad. Try different exercise CDs. They aren’t expensive and having a variety to choose from including your outdoor walking will help you from getting too bored.

Make yourself a list of activities that you enjoy: hiking, biking, tennis, bird watching, or swimming. Think of a list of places that you could walk that would be more interesting instead of the same old scenery every day. Keep this list handy to remind yourself of all the things you could be doing for exercise so when you are tempted to skip the exercise on a particular day, you will have something you can do to get you going and off the couch.

Eat Healthy

Yes, it’s more fun to eat out frequently and eat whatever you choose, but this is what caused you to be overweight in the first place. You will have to re-program your thinking about eating. Take some time and see what triggers your overeating or eating unhealthy foods.

Do you eat out of habit? Some people eat because they are bored and eating is a form of entertainment. Make a list of things that you enjoy doing or look at your list of exercise activities when you are tempted to eat out of boredom. Keep this list handy and make yourself choose something off the list instead of eating.

Do you eat because of stress or when you are upset? Many people eat as a result of dealing with stress and being emotionally upset. Learn about different stress relieving strategies and learn to use them when you are feeling emotional turmoil. If you don’t learn to handle your stress in a different way other than eating, you will never win the war of being overweight.

Exercise and eating healthy aren’t new, but they work. The bottom line when it comes to losing weight is to burn more calories than you eat or take in. The only way to do this is to combine exercise and choosing to eat less and eat foods that are healthy for you, staying away from fast food and processed food. Make up your mind that you are going to quit trying the "lose weight fast" miracle programs that don’t work and stick to the two strategies that have been proven to work. Before you know it, the pounds will be dropping off and will stay off.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/324/Jason-Ladock Read More..

Healthy Diet During Menopause

Maintaining a healthy diet is important at any stage in life. But during menopause, it may be even more important. Since you will be losing estrogen, it is essential to get enough vitamins and minerals throughout the day to improve overall health. Losing calcium is another factor women have to deal with as they age. By learning how to eat at the beginning stages of menopause, you will be eating better and feeling better for years to come.

Eat foods that are high in fiber. Fruits, vegetables such as broccoli and spinach are great sources of many vitamins and also fiber. Fiber will keep your bowels clean which will give you more energy during the day.

Getting more calcium into your body will help keep your bones healthy and also help when losing weight. Drink plenty of milk and eat foods such as yogurt, cheese, and dark green leafed vegetables will help you achieve your daily allotment, which should be 1000mgs per day. Avoid foods that are high in sugar and fat. This includes most dessert items as well as bacon, and hot dogs.

Once you have modified your diet, you will begin to have more energy and you will begin to sleep better at nighttime. In addition to eating properly, it is also important to exercise as well. Drink plenty of water in order to stay hydrated and try to walk or perform some other sort of exercise at least three days a week. Menopause is not the end of your life, but rather a beginning of the next half of it.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/504/Jeanette-Pollock Read More..

Herbal Pain Remedies

When you experience pain of any sort what is the first thing you think of? You want to rid yourself of the pain as fast as possible and as naturally as possible without a lot of side effects, right? Well, there are many different ways to go about pain relief. You can call a doctor and ask for a prescription or, if you are more health oriented, you can look into a more natural cure and choose herbal pain remedies.

How do you know which herbs accomplish which tasks? Below you will find a list of the 50 most common herbal pain remedy herbs and what condition they relieve.

Common Herbal Pain Remedies:

Herb Relieves

Aloe Vera Burns
Black Cohosh Menopause Symptoms
Boswellia Arthritis and Joint Injuries
Chamomile Digestion Problems
Coffee Athletic Stamina, Decongestant in Colds Flu and Asthma
Cranberry Urinary Tract Infections
Echinacea Colds and Flu
Evening Primrose Oil Rheumatoid Arthritis
Flaxseed Oil Menopausal Discomfort, Osteoporosis
Garlic A type of Antibiotic, Cholesterol Control, and Cancer Prevention
Ginger Motion Sickness, Morning Sickness
Ginkgo Alzheimer’s Disease, Mental Acuity, Erection or Libido Problems, Anti-Depressant Induced Sex Problems, Altitude Sickness
Ginseng Athletic Stamina, Immune Enhancement, Diabetes, Erectile Dysfunction, Low Sperm Count
Goldenseal Digestive-Tract Infections
Hawthorn Congestive Heart Failure
Hibiscus Hypertension
Horse Chestnut Varicose Veins
Lemon Balm Relaxation, Herpes
Licorice Sore Throat
Papaya Herniated Disks
Peppermint Indigestion, Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Red Pepper Pain Relief
Saw Palmetto Benign Prostate Enlargement
Tea Heart Health, Cancer Prevention, Bad Breath, Gum Disease, Athlete’s Foot
Turmeric Arthritis, Joint Injuries
Valerian Insomnia
White Willow Bark Back Pain

The above are a list of the 50 most common herbal pain remedies. There are many more out there that you can try and use however; these are just a look at the ones that are used on a regular basis. Some of these works well alone to relieve your pain and some of them actually work to relieve the condition that the pain is caused by.

As you can plainly see from this shortened list of herbal pain remedies, there are many different herbs out there that have healing or pain relief features. The secret is to identify the pain, including the source of the pain if possible, and then search for an herb that will relieve your pain. Once you have the pain manageable, then further investigate and locate an herb that will ease the ailment that caused the pain.

I cannot guarantee that there is an herb that will cure every ailment but if you are thorough and consistent when it comes to checking for cures and pain relieve of a given ailment, you will surely be able to receive some assistance in both pain relieve and hopefully becoming healthier.

In conclusion, the body is a very complex unit. When part of the body becomes unhealthy it usually triggers a response of pain in one sense or another. If you are careful to use herbal pain remedies, your body will stay healthier and may actually repair the damage that is causing the pain and not just mask it.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/660/Zachary-Ling Read More..

Fear of Fat The Medical Evidence

At any given time, millions of Americans are dieting. Why? Mainly for appearance' sake—to fit, without bulging, into a culture that worships the svelte and trim. But there may be a more cogent reason for shedding pounds: to improve health and live longer.

In 1985, a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) declared that obesity is a disease and a potential killer. The panel deplored what might be termed "the rounding of America." The nation now has a "high prevalence" of obesity among adults, the panelists said. And the increasing incidence of obesity in childhood and adolescence, they warned, will result in greater numbers of obese adults in the future.

Anyone 20 percent or more overweight—now the standard definition of obesity—should try to reduce, the NIH panel urged. That advice, it said, applied to 34 million obese Americans, or one out of every five adults. For some people, the panel said, even five excess pounds can threaten health.

At the same time, the panel's chairman, Jules Hirsch, M.D., of Rockefeller University, acknowledged that his group relied primarily on a "feeling for the data" in citing the figure of 20 percent above standard weight as the point at which a person ought to reduce. That's because hard information about the nature and consequences of obesity is still skimpy. Nor is there any consensus yet about just what is a person's "desirable weight."

How Much Should You Weigh?

To find out their ideal weight, Americans for more than 40 years have turned to the height/weight tables published by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

The most recent Metropolitan desirable-weight tables, published in 1983, use combined data from 25 insurance companies that followed more than 4 million policyholders for between one and 22 years. The tables (tables missing due voluntary work) show the range of weights that were associated with lowest mortality among the policyholders. The weights shown are based on what people weighed at the time their insurance policies were issued. No attempt was made to monitor their changing weight as the years passed.

The NIH panel relied on the Metropolitan Life data, plus several other studies, in concluding that "obesity . . . has an adverse effect on longevity." In defining obesity, the panel began with a concept of ideal weight—the midpoint of the Metropolitan tables' desirable weight range for a person with a medium frame. If you weigh 20 percent more than that, you are obese and should reduce, the panel declared.

Unfortunately, the Metropolitan Life weight tables are far from a perfect indicator. For one thing, weight alone doesn't always reflect obesity, which is a measure of body fatness. Muscular athletes, for example, may be well over normal weight but not at all obese.

The percentage of your body weight that is in the form of fat is a better indicator of obesity than weight alone. However, measuring the percentage of body fat requires specialized equipment. The most accurate method requires immersion in a tank of water, which is awkward and expensive. A moderately accurate technique involves using calipers to measure the thickness of certain fleshy areas. Physicians and patients customarily rely on straight weight as an indicator.

Most of the data in the Metropolitan weight tables comes from white middle-class males—not a representative sample of the general U.S. population. The tables apply to people aged 25 to 59 and therefore don't cover younger adults or the growing number of people over 60.

Perhaps most important, the Metropolitan tables make no allowance for aging. They assume that a 50-year-old man, for example, should weigh the same as he did at 20. And that may be a mistake.

Reubin Andres, clinical director of the Gerontology Research Center at the National Institute on Aging, analyzed the insurance data from which Metropolitan Life derived its tables and found that the desirable weight-for-height varied markedly with age. He then devised a new weight table providing weight ranges associated with lowest mortality by age group.

Remarkably, he found that the desirable weights for men and women of a given age and height were about the same.

Compared to the Metropolitan tables, Andres's table "permits" heavier weights for the middle-aged and elderly—but it's more restrictive for young people. The message of Andres's table is that average healthy individuals who are not overweight early in adulthood should not worry about putting on some extra pounds as they move into middle age. Andres has pointed to more than a dozen other studies also suggesting that middle-aged and older people live longer at weights the Metropolitan tables would consider too high.

Weight gain with age is certainly common in this country. Can some weight gain also be beneficial, as Andres contends? The NIH panel didn't think so. The panel mentioned Andres's work in its report but endorsed the Metropolitan tables as a guide for calculating desirable weights. However, a significant minority of obesity experts believe that the Metropolitan tables are too restrictive when they are applied to older people.

Obesity and Health Risks

When medical scientists speak of obesity raising the risk of mortality, they're mainly referring to the association between obesity and heart disease—the leading killer of Americans. It's not clear whether obesity per se directly promotes heart disease. What is certain is that obesity makes it much more likely that proven risk factors for heart disease will be present. Weight-related risk factors include hypertension (high blood pressure), high blood cholesterol levels, and diabetes. The NIH panel cited the following figures:

* Hypertension occurs about three times as often in overweight people as in those who are not overweight. Among adults aged 20 through 44, individuals 20 percent or more overweight are 5.6 times as likely as others to have hypertension.
* High blood cholesterol levels occur more than twice as often in overweight people.
* The prevalence of diabetes is nearly three times as high in the overweight.

Many studies have shown that weight loss can significantly improve all three of those heart-disease risk factors. If you're overweight and you have any of these risk factors or a family history of them, then losing weight should be a priority. Maintaining proper weight seems to be especially important for young males, obesity experts agree.

Recent evidence from several countries also suggests that where you're fat may be more important than how fat you are. So-called male-type obesity—the bulging abdomen sometimes known as beer belly or executive spread—seems to pose more of a threat than fat lower down around the hips and buttocks ("female type" obesity). Bulging bellies appear to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Risk seems to increase sharply when the waist-to-hip ratio exceeds 1.0 in men and 0.8 in women. (In other words, men are at risk when their waist is larger than their hips; women are at risk when their waist measures more than 80 percent of their hips).

Why is abdominal fat worse? Researchers speculate that fat cells there may be more metabolically active, perhaps pumping more fat into the bloodstream and onto the artery walls.

Most of the population studies that have linked obesity to heart disease have focused on men, since they're much more likely to develop heart disease than women are. While obese women may or may not face the same heart-disease threat as men, they do face a cancer risk. Compared to nonoverweight women, obese women have a greater incidence of cancer of the gallbladder, uterus (including both cervix and endometrium), and ovaries. Postmenopausal obese women also have a heightened risk of breast cancer. Researchers believe that the uterine and breast cancers in obese women may result from the higher estrogen levels resulting from their obesity (fat stores can convert certain male adrenal hormones into female hormones). On the other hand, postmenopausal osteoporosis occurs less often among the obese for this same reason.

Obesity is also associated with several types of cancer in men: cancer of the colon, rectum, and prostate. Gallstone formation occurs much more often in obese people—especially women—than in others. The prevalence of arthritis and gout is also high among the obese.

Beyond its physiological effects, obesity can cause embarrassment and humiliation. The NIH panel even went so far as to say that the psychological burden of obesity may be "its greatest adverse effect."

While better health and greater longevity might be the reward of normal weight, the road there from obesity is paved with difficulties and potential health hazards of its own.

Diets and Exercise

About 30 years ago, an authority on the treatment of obesity had this to say: "Most obese persons will not stay in treatment of obesity. Of those who stay in treatment most will not lose weight and of those who do lose weight, most will regain it." The evidence behind that pessimistic assessment hasn't changed much. The problem facing dieters can be summed up this way: Losing weight is hard, but keeping it off is much harder.

There are complex and unresolved disputes about why people become overweight and remain that way despite strenuous efforts to reduce. Most experts believe that obesity results from an interaction among many factors—genetic, social, psychological, environmental, and hormonal. A number of explanations have been offered for how obesity occurs. Two hypotheses currently receiving a good deal of attention are the fat-cell theory and the set-point theory.

The fat-cell theory of obesity holds that a high-calorie diet in childhood leads the body to produce excessive numbers of fat cells, which a person then carries for life. Diet and exercise can help shrink these fat cells. But studies show that the number of fat cells can't be diminished—though they can still increase, especially in cases of extreme obesity.

According to the set-point theory of obesity, each of us is "programmed" to maintain a certain weight—much as a home's temperature is regulated by a thermostat. What we regard as an attempt to lose weight our body regards as famine—and responds accordingly. Shrunken fat cells, crying out to be filled, urge us to eat more. The body further defends its "set point" weight by lowering its metabolic rate, the rate at which energy is used by normal bodily processes. If valid, the set-point theory may help explain why diets often fail. After a person has shed a few pounds, losing weight becomes increasingly difficult, requiring more drastic calorie reductions. However, some proponents of the set-point theory believe that vigorous exercise can alter the body's "set point."

Regardless of the mechanism of obesity, resorting to fad and crash diets can cause serious illness and even death. Even ordinary dieting can cause frustration and depression. Weight-loss drugs can cause serious side effects. And the all-too-common "yo-yo" cycle of weight loss followed by weight gain may leave you worse off than before.

Some studies, mainly involving test animals, suggest that yo-yoing may actually cause some of the health problems that are blamed on obesity itself. In addition, people may regain increasingly more weight in successive cycles—and studies suggest that the regained weight contains an increasingly higher percentage of fat.

Since losing weight and keeping it off is so difficult, the best approach to managing obesity is to avoid it in the first place. People who really want to lose weight
must forget about "going on a diet." Instead, they must undertake a permanent change in eating and living habits.

Your weight reflects the balance between calories ingested and calories expended. But many people still believe that overweight results solely from overeating. So when trying to lose weight, they usually limit themselves to dieting, and fail to achieve the desired result. Studies indicate that combining exercise with dieting may be the most effective way to lose weight and keep it off. As one report put it, overweight people can be thought of as underexercised rather than overfed.

Some people believe—mistakenly—that exercise increases appetite, making it even harder to limit eating. Actually, moderate exercise usually has very little effect on appetite.

Others contend that the modest calorie loss through exercise isn't worth the effort. Take jogging, they say: If one hour of jogging bums up only 500 calories, you need to jog for seven hours to lose one pound of body fat (3500 calories). That's true. But it's also true that jogging one-half hour a day for two weeks gives you those seven hours—and a one-pound loss. By jogging one-half hour per day for one year, while keeping food intake constant, you'd shed 26 pounds—far more than most crash diets promise, let alone deliver.

Ideally, when you diet you should lose fat, not muscle. Without exercise, you'll lose both. Dieters who also exercise lose weight mostly as fat.

If you're overweight, exercise can help you be healthier even if your caloric intake keeps you at the same weight. Besides improving muscle tone, exercise appears to help in reducing high blood pressure, lowering blood cholesterol levels, and improving blood sugar levels
in diabetics, even when no weight loss occurs. Those changes, in turn, reduce the risk of heart disease.
Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/authors/716/Luis-Treacy Read More..