Tips To Keep Your Body Fit: August 2012

Monday 27 August 2012

Diabetes prevention: 3 tips for taking control

1.There are many benefits to regular physical activity. Exercise can help you:

Lose weight
Lower your blood sugar
Boosts your sensitivity to insulin — which helps keep your blood sugar within a normal range

Research shows that both aerobic exercise and resistance training can help control diabetes, but the greatest benefit comes from a fitness program that includes both.

2.Get plenty of fiber

It's rough, it's tough — and it may help you:

Reduce your risk of diabetes by improving your blood sugar control
Lower your risk of heart disease
Promote weight loss by helping you feel full

Foods high in fiber include fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

3. Go for whole grains

Although it's not clear why, whole grains may reduce your risk of diabetes and help maintain blood sugar levels. Try to make at least half your grains whole grains. Many foods made from whole grains come ready to eat, including various breads, pasta products and many cereals. Look for the word "whole" on the package and among the first few items in the ingredient list.

Tips to trear rashes on face

If the rashes on the face become very bad and you find that it is spreading all over your body and getting out of your control, then you should consult your doctor. If your face itches because of the rash, you can use some olive oil on the rash. This will cool it and give you some relief. You can also apply baking powder on the area where you have the rash. Aloe Vera gel is also very effective in such cases and soothes the skin. This can be used overnight for best results. Cod liver oil and Vitamin E oil are other things which are very good to treat the rash on your face.
Make a cup of calcium water by adding Calcium Gluconate into one cup of water. You can soak a towel in this water and then lay it on your rash. You can also use oatmeal to reduce the rashes on your face. Simply cook one cup of oatmeal and then cool. This can be applied to the rashes on the face for almost instant relief. You should avoid touching the rash constantly since this will only irritate the skin there. If you do happen to touch your face, you should immediately wash your hands with soap. You should also practice some simple steps to keep your rash safe from irritations. You should stop using soap and instead look for a gentler option. Also, you should avoid scrubbing your face since this will only irritate the skin and make it painful. You simply should not use any cosmetics or creams directly on the rash and follow good skin care habits. You should also not use your cosmetics over the rash. When washing your face, avoid using very hot water. Warm water is a better option and you should use this. Keeping your rash covered is not a good idea. Instead you should allow the rash to be exposed to the fresh air, thus allowing it to heal faster. However, when you go out you always use an umbrella or a wide brimmed hat that covers your face and ensures that direct sunlight does not fall on it.

Sunday 26 August 2012

50 Ways To Boost Your Brain

Solve puzzles and brainteasers.
Cultivate ambidexterity. Use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, comb your hair or use the mouse. Write with both hands simultaneously. Switch hands for knife and fork.
Embrace ambiguity. Learn to enjoy things like paradoxes and optical illusions.
Learn mind mapping.
Block one or more senses. Eat blindfolded, wear earplugs, shower with your eyes closed.
Develop comparative tasting. Learn to properly taste wine, chocolate, beer, cheese or anything else.
Find intersections between seemingly unrelated topics.
Learn to use different keyboard layouts. Try Colemak or Dvorak for a full mind twist!
Find novel uses for common objects. How many different uses can you find for a nail? 10? 100?
Reverse your assumptions.
Learn creativity techniques.
Go beyond the first, ‘right’ answer.
Transpose reality. Ask “What if?” questions.
SCAMPER!
Turn pictures or the desktop wallpaper upside down.
Become a critical thinker. Learn to spot common fallacies.
Learn logic. Solve logic puzzles.
Get familiar with the scientific method.
Draw. Doodle. You don’t need to be an artist.
Think positive.
Engage in arts — sculpt, paint, play music — or any other artistic endeavor.
Learn to juggle.
Eat ‘brain foods’.
Be slightly hungry.
Exercise!
Sit up straight.
Drink lots of water.
Deep-breathe.
Laugh!
Vary activities. Get a hobby.
Sleep well.
Power nap.
Listen to music.
Conquer procrastination.
Go technology-less.
Look for brain resources in the web.
Change clothes. Go barefoot.
Master self-talk.
Simplify!
Play chess or other board games. Play via Internet (particularly interesting is to play an ongoing game by e-mail).
Play ‘brain’ games. Sudoku, crossword puzzles or countless others.
Be childish!
Play video games.
Be humorous! Write or create a joke.
Create a List of 100.
Have an Idea Quota.
Capture every idea. Keep an idea bank.
Incubate ideas. Let ideas percolate. Return to them at regular intervals.
Engage in ‘theme observation’. Try to spot the color red as many times as possible in a day. Find cars of a particular make. Invent a theme and focus on it.
Keep a journal.

10 Tips to healthy eating and physical activity

Start your day with breakfast.

Breakfast fills your "empty tank" to get you going after a long night without food. And it can help you do better in school. Easy to prepare breakfasts include cold cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit, whole-grain waffles or even last night's pizza!

Get Moving!

It's easy to fit physical activities into your daily routine. Walk, bike or jog to see friends. Take a 10-minute activity break every hour while you read, do homework or watch TV. Climb stairs instead of taking an escalator or elevator. Try to do these things for a total of 30 minutes every day.

Snack smart.

Snacks are a great way to refuel. Choose snacks from different food groups - a glass of low-fat milk and a few graham crackers, an apple or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins, or some dry cereal. If you eat smart at other meals, cookies, chips and candy are OK for occasional snacking.

Work up a sweat.

Vigorous work-outs - when you're breathing hard and sweating - help your heart pump better, give you more energy and help you look and feel best. Start with a warm-up that stretches your muscles. Include 20 minutes of aerobic activity, such as running, jogging, or dancing. Follow-up with activities that help make you stronger such as push-ups or lifting weights. Then cool-down with more stretching and deep breathing.

Balance your food choices - don't eat too much of any one thing.

You don't have to give up foods like hamburgers, french fries and ice cream to eat healthy. You just have to be smart about how often and how much of them you eat. Your body needs nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fat and many different vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and A, iron and calcium from a variety of foods. Balancing food choices from the Food Guide Pyramid and checking out the Nutrition Facts Panel on food labels will help you get all these nutrients.

Get fit with friends or family.

Being active is much more fun with friends or family. Encourage others to join you and plan one special physical activity event, like a bike ride or hiking, with a group each week.

Eat more grains, fruits and vegetables.

These foods give you carbohydrates for energy, plus vitamins, minerals and fiber. Besides, they taste good! Try breads such as whole-wheat, bagels and pita. Spaghetti and oatmeal are also in the grain group.
Bananas, strawberries and melons are some great tasting fruits. Try vegetables raw, on a sandwich or salad.

Join in physical activities at school.

Whether you take a physical education class or do other physical activities at school, such as intramural sports, structures activities are a sure way to feel good, look good and stay physically fit.

Foods aren't good or bad.

A healthy eating style is like a puzzle with many parts. Each part -- or food -- is different. Some foods may have more fat, sugar or salt while others may have more vitamins or fiber. There is a place for all these foods. What makes a diet good or bad is how foods fit together. Balancing your choices is important. Fit in a higher-fat food, like pepperoni pizza, at dinner by choosing lower-fat foods at other meals. And don't forget about moderation. If two pieces of pizza fill you up, you don't need a third.

Make healthy eating and physical activities fun!

Take advantage of physical activities you and your friends enjoy doing together and eat the foods you like. Be adventurous - try new sports, games and other activities as well as new foods. You'll grow stronger, play longer, and look and feel better! Set realistic goals - don't try changing too much at once.

5 Ways To Control High Blood Pressure

If you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure (a systolic pressure — the top number — of 140 or above or a diastolic pressure — the bottom number — of 90 or above), you might be worried about taking medication to bring your numbers down.

Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you may avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication.

Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down.

1. Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline

Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. Losing just 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) can help reduce your blood pressure. In general, the more weight you lose, the lower your blood pressure. Losing weight also makes any blood pressure medications you're taking more effective. You and your doctor can determine your target weight and the best way to achieve it.

Besides shedding pounds, you should also keep an eye on your waistline. Carrying too much weight around your waist can put you at greater risk of high blood pressure. In general:

Men are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 40 inches (102 centimeters, or cm).
Women are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 35 inches (89 cm).
Asian men are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 36 inches (91 cm).
Asian women are at risk if their waist measurement is greater than 32 inches (81 cm).

2. Exercise regularly

Regular physical activity — at least 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week — can lower your blood pressure by 4 to 9 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). And it doesn't take long to see a difference. If you haven't been active, increasing your exercise level can lower your blood pressure within just a few weeks.

If you have prehypertension — systolic pressure between 120 and 139 or diastolic pressure between 80 and 89 — exercise can help you avoid developing full-blown hypertension. If you already have hypertension, regular physical activity can bring your blood pressure down to safer levels.

Talk to your doctor about developing an exercise program. Your doctor can help determine whether you need any exercise restrictions. Even moderate activity for 10 minutes at a time, such as walking and light strength training, can help.

But avoid being a "weekend warrior." Trying to squeeze all your exercise in on the weekends to make up for weekday inactivity isn't a good strategy. Those sudden bursts of activity could actually be risky.

3. Eat a healthy diet

Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure by up to 14 mm Hg. This eating plan is known as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.

It isn't easy to change your eating habits, but with these tips, you can adopt a healthy diet:

Keep a food diary. Writing down what you eat, even for just a week, can shed surprising light on your true eating habits. Monitor what you eat, how much, when and why.
Consider boosting potassium. Potassium can lessen the effects of sodium on blood pressure. The best source of potassium is food, such as fruits and vegetables, rather than supplements. Talk to your doctor about the potassium level that's best for you.
Be a smart shopper. Make a shopping list before heading to the supermarket to avoid picking up junk food. Read food labels when you shop and stick to your healthy-eating plan when you're dining out, too.
Cut yourself some slack. Although the DASH diet is a lifelong eating guide, it doesn't mean you have to cut out all of the foods you love. It's OK to treat yourself occasionally to foods you wouldn't find on a DASH diet menu, such as a candy bar or mashed potatoes with gravy.

4. Reduce sodium in your diet

Even a small reduction in the sodium in your diet can reduce blood pressure by 2 to 8 mm Hg. The recommendations for reducing sodium are:

Limit sodium to 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day or less.
A lower sodium level — 1,500 mg a day or less — is appropriate for people 51 years of age or older, and individuals of any age who are African-American or who have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease.
To decrease sodium in your diet, consider these tips:

Track how much salt is in your diet. Keep a food diary to estimate how much sodium is in what you eat and drink each day.
Read food labels. If possible, choose low-sodium alternatives of the foods and beverages you normally buy.
Eat fewer processed foods. Potato chips, frozen dinners, bacon and processed lunch meats are high in sodium.
Don't add salt. Just 1 level teaspoon of salt has 2,300 mg of sodium. Use herbs or spices, rather than salt, to add more flavor to your foods.
Ease into it. If you don't feel like you can drastically reduce the sodium in your diet suddenly, cut back gradually. Your palate will adjust over time.

5. Limit the amount of alcohol you drink

Alcohol can be both good and bad for your health. In small amounts, it can potentially lower your blood pressure by 2 to 4 mm Hg. But that protective effect is lost if you drink too much alcohol — generally more than one drink a day for women and men older than age 65, or more than two a day for men age 65 and younger. Also, if you don't normally drink alcohol, you shouldn't start drinking as a way to lower your blood pressure. There's more potential harm than benefit to drinking alcohol.

If you drink more than moderate amounts of it, alcohol can actually raise blood pressure by several points. It can also reduce the effectiveness of high blood pressure medications.

Track your drinking patterns. Along with your food diary, keep an alcohol diary to track your true drinking patterns. One drink equals 12 ounces (355 milliliters, or mL) of beer, 5 ounces of wine (148 mL) or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor (45 mL). If you're drinking more than the suggested amounts, cut back.
Consider tapering off. If you're a heavy drinker, suddenly eliminating all alcohol can actually trigger severe high blood pressure for several days. So when you stop drinking, do it with the supervision of your doctor or taper off slowly, over one to two weeks.
Don't binge. Binge drinking — having four or more drinks in a row — can cause large and sudden increases in blood pressure, in addition to other health problems.

Cancer Health

Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight: Don't just look at the scale; check your waist measurement as a crude measurement of your abdominal fat, Collins says. She recommends that men's waists be no larger than 37 inches and women's waists be 31.5 inches or less.
Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day: You can break that into 10- to 15-minute blocks, and even more activity may be better, notes Collins.
Avoid sugary drinks and limit consumption of energy-dense foods: It's not that those foods directly cause cancer, but they could blow your calorie budget if you often overindulge, notes Collins, who suggests filling up on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes such as beans: Go for a variety of colors (like deep greens of spinach, deep blues of blueberries, whites of onions and garlic, and so on). Most Americans, says Collins, are stuck in a rut of eating the same three vegetables over and over.
If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women per day: Watch your portion size; drinks are often poured liberally, notes Collins. Willett adds that the pros and cons of moderate drinking is something that women may particularly need to consider, weighing the heart benefits and increased breast cancer risk from drinking.
Limit red meats (beef, pork, lamb) and avoid processed meats: Limit red meats to 18 ounces per week, says Collins, who suggests using chicken, seafood, or legumes in place of red meat. Collins isn't saying to never eat red meat, just do so in moderation.
Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with sodium: Don't go over 2,400 milligrams per day, and use herbs and spices instead, says Collins. She adds that processed foods account for most sodium intake nowadays -- not salt you add when cooking or eating.
Don't use supplements to protect against cancer: It's not that supplements are bad -- they may be "valuable" apart from cancer prevention, but there isn't evidence that they protect against cancer, except for vitamin D, says Collins.
It's best for mothers to breastfeed babies exclusively for up to six months and then add other foods and liquids: Hospitals could encourage this more, Collins says.
After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention. Survivors include people undergoing cancer treatment, as well as people who have finished their cancer treatment.

Saturday 18 August 2012

Sexual Health

Protect Your Sexual Health

Take steps toward a healthy, satisfying sex life

Sexuality is part of being human. Love and sexual intimacy contribute to healthy relationships, and to our happiness.

Research has shown that sex is more important to happiness than money. After analyzing data from 16,000 people, English researchers estimated that the happiness gained from increasing intercourse from once a month to once a week is equivalent to the happiness generated by getting a $50,000 raise.

Along with the positive aspects of sexuality, however, there are illnesses that can affect your sexual health. But by taking precautions, you can stay well.

Among the issues that can affect your sexual health are:

Birth control
Impotence and desire issues
Sexually transmitted diseases
Body image
Sexual satisfaction

How Your Health Affects Your Sex Life

Experts agree: There is an important relationship between overall health, overall lifestyle, and sexual satisfaction. Research also suggests that certain physical conditions that go along with obesity also affect sex drive, further dampening the desires of those who are overweight.

The good news: You can make some lifestyle changes to enhance your libido, experts say. Those changes include:

If you're overweight, lose a little weight (even 10 pounds) to stimulate sex hormones.
Eat more nutritious foods, which control cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Choose heart-healthy foods such as grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and lean sources of dairy and protein.
Exercise regularly. To strengthen your heart and help build endurance, add a few high-intensity bouts to your fitness routine. Strength training is also a good idea, to build shapely muscle and to keep your body strong enough to handle all your day-to-day activities (including sex).
Get enough rest. It's hard to be in the mood for love when you are exhausted!
Keep a positive attitude. Accept your body, whatever its size, and believe in your sensuality.

Get Help If You Need It

Although small changes in lifestyle -- along with some healthy "self-talk" -- can go a long way toward improving both drive and desire, if you still are experiencing sexual problems, professional help may be in order.

It's not as simple as getting a prescription for Viagra; sexual problems may be physical or psychological in nature, and can affect both men and women.

If the problems are persistent, or cause distress for you or your partner, it's time to see your doctor for evaluation and treatment.

Asthma Tips

Free Asthma Hints and Tips

Knowing the cause of your asthma takes you one step closer to finding a cure. Become aware of your breathing when you are well. (Take as much time as you need for this awareness)

FEEL your breathing

LISTEN TO your breathing

feel your breathing when you are CALM and RELAXED

feel your breathing when you are MOVING or EXERCISING

Has your breathing changed?
How deep is it now ?
How do you feel when your breathing rate changes? (MEMORISE THESE FEELINGS)
Listen to your breathing when you have your symptoms, eg: Asthma Attack, wheeze, shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing, blocked nose.

COMPARE this breathing against symptom free breathing.

WHAT DO YOU NOTICE?

Your breathing is always deeper and harder to control when you have symptoms

more chest movement
tendency to breathe more through your mouth

THEREFORE WHEN YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS

keep your mouth closed
try to relax your breathing
don't fight your breathing
try to gradually reduce your breathing to the rate you had when you were well

CHILDREN
Always encourage your children to breathe through their nose even when playing strenuous games. Nasal breathing can reduce the loss of carbon dioxide.
CHILDREN MUST NOT MOUTH BREATHE

EXERCISE AND SPORT

Always breathe through your nose during any activity. If you have to open your mouth to breathe or you loose control of your breathing STOP, normalize or take control of your breathing, then resume the activity.
Do not try to overbreathe when exercising.

WHY YOU SHOULD BREATHE THROUGH YOUR NOSE (always breathe gently)

Breathing through your nose will

help reduce the volume of air you breathe
It will warm, moisten and filter the air before it reaches your lungs ( if your nose is blocked use the following technique)

UNBLOCKING YOUR NOSE 5 EASY STEPS

blow your nose
take in a normal breath
breath out ( pinch your nostrils closed with your fingers) "DON'T OPEN YOUR MOUTH"
hold this breath approximately 5 seconds longer then when you first experience the need to breathe
Now breathe gently through your nose ( Do not gulp air through your mouth)

N.B. you may need to repeat this process until your nose clears

SOME BASIC BREATHING RULES TO FOLLOW

Do not sleep on your back. (it deepens your breathing)
Breathe through your nose. (in and out)
When you have symptoms try to relax your breathing and return it to normal.
Generally try to breathe slightly less volume of air at all times.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Yoga Good For Health

This section provides you with various articles related Yoga and other technics to manage your daily life.

This section provides you with informative articles on Yoga. Simple technics and tips to maintain good health. Before starting to work on Yoga, one has to understand yoga better. For attaining a healthy life, physical excercises, yoga technics need to be practiced with utmost care. These should however be practiced under the supervision of a trained person.

You can find Helpful articles on Yoga, easy to follow yoga Tips and Technics. Introduction to Yoga and its benefits to attain healthy life. Simple and easy to follow physical excercises help you in your daily routine.
Articles for stress relief and eye strain below gives you easy to follow tips and technics to overcome stress and also treat your eyes. These technics result in stress relief and treatment to your eyes.

Inverted Asanas for longevity: Remove toxins and slow down ageing by learning inverted asanas
Benefits of Sarpasana: Reduce upper back pain and relieves muscular tension
Benefits of Samasthithi asana: Samasthithi asana helps you cultivate a balanced stance towards the world
Benefits of Vrikshasana: This yogic posture helps improve concentration and builds mind power
Benefits of Bharadwaj asana: This asana gives a good twist to the lower, mid and uppder back
Yoga Do's and Dont's: Yogic exercises have to be practiced with caution.
Benefits of Pranayama: Pranayama is a kind of meditation that creates awareness, controls the unsteady mind, refreshes the brain.
Introduction to Yoga: Yoga is a system of physical excercise and natural healing. Our ancient sages have suggested eight stages of Yoga to secure purity of body, mind and soul and final communion with God.

Get A Flatter Tummy

The secret to a firmer, flatter tummy is to combine abdominal exercise with a sensible low-fat diet. For the best results, mix up your routine with exercises that target the various muscles that make up the abdominal region.

To tone and strengthen your upper abdominals, the basic crunch is your best choice. Perform this exercise with your knees bent and back flat on the floor. Raise your chest and shoulders several inches from the ground, exhaling as you come up and inhaling as you release.

To work the oblique, the muscles on the side of the stomach, perform the crunch at alternating angles, reaching with the shoulder (not the elbow) across the body to the opposite knee. Repeat on the other side.

To work the lower abdominals, bring the knees up towards the chest, forming a 90 degrees angle with the body. Using only the lower abdominals and not the legs or hip, bring the knees slightly towards the chest as you exhale. Return to the starting position. Remember this is a very small movement, so don’t try to bring the knees up to the face. Start with 10 repetitions of each exercise and gradually increase your repetitions to 25 as your abdominals become more conditioned.

Unlike other muscles, the abdominals can be exercised every day. They don’t need a rest day in between workouts because they are not as prone to fatigue or injury, and there is no fear of them getting too big.
Crunches performed slowly and with control provide better results than fast repetitions or quick pulsing movements.

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