Healthy Choices When Dining Out
May 23, 2008
Healthy Choices When Dining Out
by: Alison Stevens
Making healthy choices when eating out can be difficult but with a little thought and planning ahead you can maintain your goals!
Chinese restaurants offer a wide variety of broth-based soups, stir-fried specialties (with seafood , tofu, vegetables and lean meat ), steamed fish and vegetable dishes , steamed rice , hot mustard sauce , chow mein , and other menu items that you are free to enjoy for low-fat , low-calorie , choices. Dishes to avoid include anything fried, for example spring rolls and fried wontons, most dishes that include duck, egg foo yung, and fried crisp-skin chicken. Fried rice should be replaced by steamed rice. The all-you-can-eat buffet should always be avoided.
Most Japanese food is healthy and low fat. Sushi and sashimi, nori rolls, udon noodles in broth, yakitori and all suitable healthy meals. Just avoid anything fried like tempura.
Thai food is another low-fat and healthy choice. Their hot and spicy soups are satisfying and extremely low in fat. Thai stir-fries are another excellent choice. Avoid dishes that are simmered in coconut - delicious but high in fat.
Acne: What It Is and What To Do About It
May 22, 2008
Acne: What It Is and What To Do About It
by: Jim Konerko
When your skin pores start to be clogged up with greasy, oily stuff, causing inflammation to occur, a skin condition known as acne results. If left untreated, acne could produce permanent scarring on one’s face, neck, or back. Acne is different from the common pimple that appears on the face, because acne will be inflamed and might turn out to be an infection. Acne can appear as whiteheads (closed pimples) or blackheads (open pimples), which then cause the distinguishing inflammation and possible infection.
When children begin to turn into adults, their levels of hormones causes changes in skin gland size, which causes more oil to be produced by the glands, thus often resulting in acne. The majority of acne is minor and vanishes at the end of teen years, but inflamed, infected acne can result in serious scarring.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no known study that shows particular foods, such as chocolate, cause acne. Proper diet and exercise will result in healthier skin, but will not necessarily prevent acne from appearing.
Understanding Bipolar Disorder
May 21, 2008
Understanding Bipolar Disorder
by: Anne Wolski
Bipolar disorder, once known as manic depression, is an illness where the sufferer alternatively experiences both extreme joy and terrible desolation. Medication and therapy are generally used to stabilize the condition.
Sufferers are often detached, introverted, and emotionally sensitive even though during the manic phase their behaviour takes on a very extroverted form. In some cases the condition may have a fanatical or religious element.
This is a severe mental disturbance and an affective psychosis. It is sometimes referred as bipolar disorder psychosis. Sometimes a sufferer tries to hide emotions such as anxiety or shyness and, in so doing, he or she becomes carried away with their feelings.
Bipolar disorder does not appear to be caused by stress itself but can be affected by outside tensions or abnormal attitudes in their upbringing. It is thought that these things may stimulate the area of the brain which produces chemicals, thus creating the mood swings experienced in bipolar disorder.
What Are Some Natural Asthma Remedies?
May 20, 2008
What Are Some Natural Asthma Remedies?
by: Gray Rollins
Most asthma sufferers are familiar with the inhalers and oral remedies prescribed by their doctors for the treatment of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath that accompany an asthmatic episode. While these medicines are typically effective in the treatment of the condition, there are people who may prefer a more natural approach to asthma relief, for a variety of reasons. Some people want more natural remedies.
Any drug introduced to the body has the potential for unpleasant side effects; short term reactions such as nausea and long term concerns such as potential permanent damage from steroids used to decrease inflammation in the lung tissues. There has been ongoing controversy in the medical community regarding the safety and advisability of steroid use. While these can be life-saving, there is concern that the steroids may cause irreversible damage such as muscle weakness and bone loss. To minimize the frequency of use, the asthma sufferer can make some dietary and lifestyle changes to help reduce the likelihood of an asthma attack.
The Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Diet, Your Health & Your Life!
May 19, 2008
Because I believe diet and exercise are so important, I’m often frustrated with the recommendations I receive. Nutrition and natural health ideas are often so negative (don’t eat this, watch out for that) or so rigorous (be sure to eat some raw, natural, organically grown vegetable I’ve never heard of) or so complicated, I end up ignoring them. And yet, I know diet is critical to my health and well-being, so I made up my own rules. My objective was simplicity, so all of you with greater will-power and more discipline, cut me some slack, OK? For the rest of us, I hope you find them useful.
1. Eat less. I used to eat until I was full, and then snack as a hobby. And, sometimes I still do. But, more and more, I decide when I’ve eaten enough, leave room for a treat later, and simply choose to eat a little less. I think it helps.
2. Drink more water. I used to try to drink 8 glasses a day, but I usually ended up either losing count?or just going to the bathroom a lot. Now, on my way to the table I stop by the sink and grab a glass of water. I figure that’s more water than most people drink, it probably helps me eat less (see Rule #1), and sometimes it reminds me to drink even more. Close enough.
Jnana Yoga - Yoga For The Intelligent
May 19, 2008
Jnana Yoga - Yoga For The Intelligent
by: Sharon Hopkins
Jnana means the knowledge. This yoga is the yoga for the intelligent and selected people. This yoga is the ultimate goal of all the other varieties of yoga. This yoga teaches you to look at the world as it is without any ignorance and bias. You can achieve this state by practicing rigorous mental discipline and virtue. This yoga is also called Raja Yoga or the king of all the yogas, since it is of the highest variety and rules over all the other varieties. This is the Yoga that Patanjali has described in his Yoga Sutras.
This yoga is made up of eight parts of which five are external and the other three are internal. Two of its parts, viz yama and niyama deal with types of behaviour that the student of yoga should avoid like lying, cheating, stealing etc. and those behaviours that he should cultivate like cleanliness, non-collection etc. Asanas and Pranayama are the next two parts of this yoga. Asanas are the physical movements that help in developing the suppleness of the body and thus cure any diseases. You can control your breath by using pranayama which increases the capacity of the lungs to take in air and thus increases the vitality of the body. The next part Pratyahara denotes the withdrawal of the sense organs from objects of enjoyment. The remaining three parts deal with intense mental concentration.
How To Treat Arthritis Naturally
May 18, 2008
How To Treat Arthritis Naturally
by: Gray Rollins
Arthritis isn’t anything to joke about and those who suffer from it need effective arthritis treatments. If you have arthritis, you know how painful a condition it really is. The problem with finding suitable arthritis treatments is two-fold. First, the arthritis treatments that get prescribed ultimately depend on the initial diagnosis, which is why it’s so important to discuss the situation with a medical practitioner. And second, many suffers cannot tolerate the side effects of NSAIDS or surgery and for this group, natural arthritis treatments really are their only options.
Natural arthritis treatments encompass any type of treatments that do not involve the use of NSAIDS or COX-2 Inhibitors. If you suffer from arthritis and you’ve tried these types of treatments without success, it may be time for you to research natural treatments for your arthritis. Here are a few to consider.
Physical/Heat/Massage/Relaxation Therapy
How To Quit Smoking - The Nicotine Patch
May 17, 2008
How To Quit Smoking - The Nicotine Patch
by: Brandon C. Hall
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known. Study after study shows that one can get addicted to nicotine as quickly as cocaine and other illegal drugs that we generally associate with crippling addictions. It is for this reason, of course, that is can be so difficult to quit smoking. One top of this physical addiction - that is, the body’s craving of nicotine - there is a psychological component: because smoking is both legal and socially acceptable in many situations, it can be difficult to avoid it completely. Any attempt to quit smoking, therefore, should involve a comprehensive plan that deals with both the physical and psychological side of the addiction. One way to address the physical addition to nicotine, to leave yourself free to concentrate on the psychological aspects of your addiction, is to use a nicotine patch.
The nicotine patch is one of the oldest, and certainly best-known, medical aids to quitting smoking. Patches are placed on the skin, and work by releasing a slow and steady supply of nicotine into the bloodstream. The idea is that the patch helps wean your body off nicotine - instead of nicotine being immediately absent from your system when you quit smoking, it is gradually reduced.
Treatment Options For People With Lung Cancer
May 16, 2008
Treatment Options For People With Lung Cancer
by: Gray Rollins
Several lung cancer treatments are currently available and the determination as to which one is prescribed depends on the lung cancer stage that has been diagnosed, the location of the cancer, and the patient’s health. The most common treatments for lung cancer include Surgery, Radiation, Chemotherapy, and Targeted Therapy.
Surgery
Surgery involves cutting away a cancerous tumor and a portion of the tissue that has surrounded the tumor. Sometimes the surgical treatment involves removal of the entire affected lung. Surgery is often effective, but recovery time can be long. Because the surgeon will have to cut through the rib cage to get to the lungs, there will be pain and bed rest for one to two months after the procedure.
In addition to traditional surgical methods, other types of surgical procedures can be used depending on the location of the tumor and also the patient’s physical condition. A craniotomy, which is basically surgery performed through a hole made to the skull can be prescribed to tumors located in the brain. For small tumors, a procedure whereby a video camera is inserted into a tiny incision helps the surgeon zero in on a tumor. Because the incision is small, pain is generally reduced.
Antioxidants - Your Best Defense Against Disease and Aging
May 15, 2008
Studies support the benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. This is due to their high antioxidant value. Why are antioxidants so important? Because they have a proven track record of fighting free radicals.
Your body is being constantly attacked by very harmful substances known as free radicals or oxygen radicals. Free radicals can destroy your cells, tissues and organs.
Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that are naturally formed inside our bodies by the process of oxidation. They are normal by products of everyday functions like digestion and physical activity. Free radicals also come from outside sources, such as smoking, environmental pollution, and synthetic chemicals that are added to our water and food.
We are also all exposed daily to polluted air, ingest oxidized or partially rancid foods, and oxidizing radiations from the sun and various electrical appliances.
Free radicals lack one electron making them chemically unstable. To stabilize themselves, they attack any other substance within reach and steel an electron from it. This process creates a new free radical, which repeats the process, producing a “domino effect.” When this reaction is uncontrolled, it can generate millions of free radicals within seconds.
