Thursday, September 30, 2010
Healthtips-Weight Training for Women
You watch as some women walk across a room sensually, seeming to glide effortlessly. Their bodies are lean, beautifully shaped, and sexy. One thing most of these women have in common is they have discovered the importance of weight training for women.
Weight training for women does not create big bulging muscles like develop on a man. Instead you develop a sculpted, lean, and sexy body. You can look like a professional dancer, gymnast, or competitive swimmer. Your body will be noticed.
There are a few very important items you should know as you get started in weight training. First, your nutritional needs are going to change. Where you could eat a simple balanced diet before, now you are going to need to feed the muscles a little differently. You need additional protein to help the muscles repair between workouts. You need to eat enough complex carbohydrates to fuel your workouts.
Another fact about weight training you need to understand is the idea of progressive improvement. You will see many sets of weights designed for women which offer only one weight. You buy a set of 5 pound dumbbells and they are supposed to be good for everything. Do not buy into this idea. You need adjustable weights if you wish to see improvement in your strength and your body shape. Muscles change and adapt only through being challenged progressively. You want to endeavor to increase the weight you are lifting slightly each week.
Beware of one of the biggest myths about weight training. You cannot turn your fat into muscle. You can replace your fat with muscle. You need to take careful control of your diet to lose the fat, while you build lean muscle. The lean muscle will be smaller and look fabulous compared to the fatty tissue you lose. The process is very simple, lose fat, gain muscle.
Weight training can help you lose fat. While weight training for women is not specifically targeted to cause fat loss, you will discover with the increase in lean muscle you metabolism becomes faster and you burn more calories. Assuming you are consuming the same amount of calories you will lose weight.
You might be tempted to only lift weights for body parts you consider to be problem areas. One piece of advice, do not do it. Plan your workouts to cover all parts of your body. Ideally separate your body into upper and lower halves. Do your strength training three days each week. As an example on your first week do upper body weight training on Monday and Friday. On Wednesday to your lower body training. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday should be used to do aerobic training to improve your overall condition and cardiovascular fitness. The next week switch your weight training around. Do lower body on Monday and Friday, with upper body on Wednesday. This schedule gives your muscles time to heal and rebuild.
Weight training for women is an essential part of making your body sensual, lean, strong, and beautiful. It is nearly impossible to sculpt your body to meet the vision you have in mind without weight training.
Get your kids to be in shape
Today fitness is of utmost importance no matter how old you are. And the younger you start, the better it is. With childhood obesity numbers increasing at an alarming rate, parents need to be more vigilant about their child's weight. That, of course, doesn't mean that you enroll your child to the nearest gym. However, make sure that your kid gets enough physical exercise to keep them fit and healthy.
With the onslaught of video games, television and the Internet, as well as academic pressure, most kids avoid going out to play or indulge in physically demanding activities. Here's what you can do to make your child more fit by following these simple health tips that will maintain their fitness levels...
Remember the popular saying, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?' It couldn't be more true with kids. Encourage your child to play and participate in outdoor activities rather than sitting at home watching the idiot box. If your building or society doesn't have a compound, try to make a weekly trip to a garden. Regular play is enough for a child to be physically fit.
It is important that kids are health conscious from an early age. A healthy diet is essential for the child to compensate for the strenuous effort that could deter their physical fitness. Make your child consume essential nutrients in their meals. There are plenty of recipes available today that can make even the most disliked vegetables taste yummy.
Boredom is a common phenomenon among kids due to their fluctuating interest levels. Hence, it is important to add variety in their physical activities. If your child goes cycling everyday, add some variation to it by changing the cycling track or the bike itself. You could also involve family members for a fun day of cycling.
Children like to hang around with friends even more than adults. And the more the merrier. Organise regular picnics with your child's group of friends and their parents where each parent can take the kids out once every few days. Think of fun filled activities that involve physical movement, too. Children will automatically engage in games when friends are around. This is among the easiest and best ways to ensure fitness in children.
Nobody loves snacking as much as children. They indulge in snacks more often than proper meals so it is advisable to opt for healthy and nutritious snacks. Make sure you prepare these snacks in different and innovative ways that makes the child enjoy what he/ she eats.
So what do you think? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments section, we'd love to hear from you!'
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
5 ways to work out at home
Not only does it give you privacy, but also a certain level of convenience and a relaxed ambience. You could exercise alone or call a friend over but always check with your doctor before starting an exercise program. Here are a few simple things you could do.
Stair climbing
If you have a staircase at home, you can get a great workout by simply climbing the stairs. To start, step up onto the first stair, and then back down. Repeat this move on the first stair ten times. Then walk up the first two stairs, and then back down. Repeat this ten times. You will definitely feel the burn by the end of this step routine. If you feel winded or dizzy, start slow. Stick with the first three stairs, and gradually build up your endurance over the weeks and months to come.
Laundry lifts
A laundry basket full of clothes can be more than a household chore .It can also serve as an arm exercise apparatus. Hold the basket above your head, and lift upwards and back down. Do this at least three times. If it is too heavy for you, all you have to do is take out some clothes. This exercise will work your shoulders, upper arms and upper back muscles. Vary this workout by lying flat on your back, and lifting the basket up and down from your chest.
Commercial break exercise
If you are a couch potato, then commercial break exercise bursts are right for you. When a commercial comes on, get up for a burst of intense exercise. Do some sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks, or crunches. Get your heart rate up. When the show comes back, you can go back to it. Continue the cycle throughout your shows.
Rolling chair presses
If you have an office chair with wheels then you can do some arm workouts right at your desk. Just hold onto the edge of your desk while you are seated in the chair, and use your arm muscles to pull yourself close to the desk, and then push yourself back away. This will work your biceps.
Marching dishes
Life is busy, so try to multi-task if you don't have time to fit in a proper workout. When you are stuck in front of the sink doing dishes, march in place. You should try to incorporate exercise into your daily tasks whenever possible.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Healthtips-Hypopituitarism
Hypopituitarism
The pituitary is a small gland located at the base of the brain, roughly in the space between your eyes. It is responsible for the regulation and secretion of a number of different hormones both in adults and in children. These are described in detail below.Hypopituitarism is a condition in which the pituitary gland does not produce enough of one or more of these hormones. This condition may occur because of disease in the pituitary gland or hypothalamus (a part of the brain that controls the pituitary gland). When there is low or no production of all the pituitary hormones, the condition is called hypopituitarism. Hypopituitarism can occur at any age.
The pituitary gland sends signals to other glands to produce hormones (for example, it makes thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH - which regulates production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland). The hormones released by the pituitary and other glands have a significant impact on important bodily functions, such as growth, reproduction, blood pressure, and metabolism (the physical and chemical processes of the body). When levels of one or more of these hormones are not properly balanced, the body's normal functions can be affected.
The pituitary gland produces several hormones like Adrenocorticotropic hormone, Follicle-stimulating hormone, Growth hormone, Prolactin, Thyroid-stimulating hormone, Antidiuretic hormone.
n hypopituitarism, the level of one or more of these pituitary hormones is insufficient. The lack of hormone results in a loss of function of the gland or organ that it controls.
Hypopituitarism Treatment
Treatment primarily involves hormone replacement therapy.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Making goals and choosing your diet
There is a reason why there shouldn’t be any quick fixes. Weight loss should be a lifestyle change of healthy eating and activity, otherwise, don’t bother at all. Looking good and feeling good is such a cliché but it’s true. When your weight goes on a yo-yo, not only will you contend with methods that don’t seem to work, you’ll also be dealing with the baggage of going through hope and depression all over and over again, and how long can you keep that up? Nobody wants to live that way!
For starters, there are online sources you can visit to find out what your ideal weight should be based on your height. Get your BMI and you’ll even be able to calculate how many calories you should be taking in every day to maintain your current weight. From there, you’ll be able to find out how many you should subtract in order to lose weight.
Stand in front of the mirror and give yourself a good, long look. If you don’t like what you see, imagine how you’d want yourself to look like in months to come. Be realistic and don’t let what society dictates pressure you. Not everyone has the built and bone structure to be a model. At some point in time, those of us who’ve been overweight would simply just be overjoyed at never having to wear spandex and sweatpants ever again! Not everyone can be built to ever fit into small-sized tops. Believe me, fitting into medium ones is an achievement, as well.
And since we are on the topic of honesty, anyway, we might as well discuss finding the right diet for you. Now, here’s one path where there are so many choices, and medically approved, too. From calorie-counting to no-carb, low-carb, veggie and fruit-only diets, there’s bound to be one that will fit your needs.
Speaking from experience, however, I’ve found that I’m a bit more partial to the classic, old-schoolcalorie counting diet. Often, referred to as the “numbers game” diet, it stands with logic that you shouldn’t eat more than you can burn. And you know what? If managed well, you’ll be surprised by how much food (tasty, filling, REAL food) you can eat with this method.
With calorie counting, you can find out how many calories you should consume to maintain your weight. A fast tip is to deduct five hundred calories from that and you’re set to lose one to two pounds per week. That’s a minimum of four pounds and a maximum of eight pounds a month!
While there’s no contest here that fad diets do work (and work extremely well), what I’ve found is that it’s pretty much a standalone weight loss lifestyle change in itself. You had better be prepared to be able to maintain it for a long, long time or contend with all those pounds creeping back in. For example, losing a lot weight via a vegetarian diet is all well and good. It’s healthy and it works fast. But – can you really do it for the long term (think years)? Because if at some point you find out that you just love meat and carbs too much to every give it up, you’re going to have a real problem there.
As fast as you’ve lost the weight, you’ll gain it back, too – complete with the spandex and sweatpants in the process.
Again, honesty and consistency is key.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Healthtips-Foods that help sleep better
There are certain nutrients in salmon, as well as in beans, yogurt, and spinach that help you sleep better.
Salmon
The healthy fats in this fish (namely docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA for short) may boost levels of the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin.
Beans
Beans and other legumes provide a nice sampling of B vitamins, including B6, B12, and folic acid, all of which help the body regulate sleep cycles and produce relaxing serotonin. In fact, studies have shown that boosting B vitamins may help people with insomnia.
Low-fat yogurt
Yogurt is a good source of calcium and magnesium – two important sleep-supporting minerals that together help you fall asleep faster and ratchet up your deep-sleep time. And skimping on both may lead to muscle cramps, higher stress levels, and worse sleep.
Spinach
Dark leafy greens are a great source of iron – a nutrient that may help protect against the sleep robber known as restless legs syndrome.
Healthtips-Does eating green leafy vegetables protect us from type 2 diabetes?
In August an interesting article was published in the British Medical Journal about whether eating fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The findings of the research, a meta-analysis of six separate studies, seemed to suggest that eating green leafy vegetables (GLV) does indeed reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. To be precise it was reported that eating an additional 122g of GLV is associated with a 14% reduction in risk.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Healthtips-migrane
What is a migraine headache?
A migraine headache is a form of vascular headache. Migraine headache is caused by vasodilatation (enlargement of blood vessels) that causes the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around the large arteries of the brain. Enlargement of these blood vessels stretches the nerves that coil around them and causes the nerves to release chemicals. The chemicals cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery. The increasing enlargement of the arteries magnifies the pain.
Migraine attacks commonly activate the sympathetic nervous system in the body. The sympathetic nervous system is often thought of as the part of the nervous system that controls primitive responses to stress and pain, the so-called "fight or flight" response, and this activation causes many of the symptoms associated with migraine attacks; for example, the increased sympathetic nervous activity in the intestine causes nausea,vomiting, and diarrhea.
- Sympathetic activity also delays emptying of the stomach into the small intestine and thereby prevents oral medications from entering the intestine and being absorbed.
- The impaired absorption of oral medications is a common reason for the ineffectiveness of medications taken to treat migraine headaches.
- The increased sympathetic activity also decreases the circulation of blood, and this leads to pallor of the skin as well as cold hands and feet.
- The increased sympathetic activity also contributes to the sensitivity to light and sound sensitivity as well as blurred vision.
Visit a doctor immediately. Unless you take medicines you may not get immediate relief.
Healthtips-earpain
What Is External Otitis?
The medical terms for swimmer's ear are external otitis or otitis externa. Swimmer's ear is an infection of the ear canal (the tubular opening that carries sounds from the outside of the body to the eardrum) that can be caused by many different types of bacteria or fungi. It usually develops in teens and young adults whose ears are exposed to persistent, excessive moisture.People who get external otitis often have been diving or swimming for long periods of time. This can bring infectious bacteria directly into the ear canal. External otitis occurs most often during the summer months — when more people are participating in water activities.People who don't swim can also develop external otitis by scratching their ear canals when they try to clean their ears. This is especially true if they use cotton-tipped applicators or dangerously sharp small objects, like hair clips or bobby pins. Sometimes, in a person with a middle ear infection (otitis media), pus collected in the middle ear can drain into the ear canal through a hole in the eardrum and cause otitis externa to develop.
Can I Prevent External Otitis?
You may be able to prevent external otitis by using acid alcohol drops after you've finished swimming for the day. (You shouldn't use these drops if you have ear tubes or a hole in your eardrum.consult your doctor before using this) It's also a good idea to dry your ears thoroughly with a clean towel after swimming, bathing, or showering.
You may be able to prevent external otitis by using acid alcohol drops after you've finished swimming for the day. (You shouldn't use these drops if you have ear tubes or a hole in your eardrum.consult your doctor before using this) It's also a good idea to dry your ears thoroughly with a clean towel after swimming, bathing, or showering.
Keep all objects out of your ear canals — including cotton-tipped applicators or bobby pins and even earplugs — unless your doctor has told you it's OK to use them.
How Long Does It Last?
If it's treated with prescription ear drops, external otitis is usually cured within 7 to 10 days, but you'll probably need to keep water out of the infected ear for a longer period. Your ear pain actually may increase for the first 12 to 24 hours after treatment begins. After that time, the pain should lessen.External otitis is not contagious, so you don't have to limit your contact with friends as long as you're feeling well enough to socialize.
Should I Call My Doctor?
You should call your doctor if you have any of the following:
- pain in an ear with or without fever
- persistent itching of the ear or in the ear canal
- loss of hearing or decreased hearing in one or both ears
- discharge from an ear, especially if it's thick, discolored, bloody, or bad-smelling
These are all signs that you may have external otitis.
How Is External Otitis Treated?
If you think you have external otitis, you should see your doctor. This is the fastest way to relieve the ear pain and to prevent the spread of infection.Your doctor's treatment for external otitis will depend on how severe the pain and the infection are. For most all outer ear infections, your doctor may prescribe only eardrops containing antibiotics or maybe mixed with corticosteroids. These will help fight the infection and reduce swelling of the ear canal. For full treatment, eardrops are usually given several times a day for 7 to 10 days.If the opening into your ear is narrowed by swelling, your doctor may clean your ear and insert a cotton wick into your ear canal to help carry eardrops into the ear more effectively. If you have a severe infection, he or she may give you antibiotics to take by mouth as well. Your doctor may take a culture of the discharge from your ear to help identify what type of germ is causing the infection.
What Can I Do to Make Myself Feel Better?
Place a warm cotton cloth or heating pad against your ear to help relieve the pain. You may also take acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
At home, follow your doctor's directions for using eardrops and take all oral antibiotics as prescribed (don't stop taking these even if you feel better; it's important to take the full course of any antibiotics your doctor prescribes). To avoid contaminating the infected ear, your doctor will probably tell you to keep your head out of water for several days or weeks — even while showering or shampooing! This can be tough, but your doctor can give you suggestions on how to do this, such as using a shower cap or cotton earplugs coated with petroleum jelly (removed after the shower is finished).If your ear pain is not relieved by over-the-counter pain medications, your doctor may order a stronger prescription pain reliever. You'll use this only for a short time — until the eardrops and antibiotics begin to work.Reviewed by: Steven P. Cook, MD Date reviewed: November 2009
Yoga and Beauty
Yoga increases the physical strength but also the grace and beauty of the face. Yogic practices bring beauty of figure, graceful carriage, melodious voice, glowing face and charming smile.
If practiced regularly, Yoga asanas help men and women to acquire a figure that enhances their beauty and gives them flexibility. Individuals practicing, Yoga have a peculiar glow on their faces.
Yoga creates a certain aura around that individual, which attracts other people towards them. Many film stars, industrialists and other famous personalities have taken to Yogic practices over time to make themselves fit and beautiful according to the demands of their profession.
To look beautiful one has to remain free of all worries. Yoga helps an individual to gain these qualities.
Healthtips-Yoga for Weight control
Yoga has ability to reduce weight. Through different asanas of Yoga we can easily reduce extra fat from our body. Some of the asanas stimulate sluggish glands to increase their hormonal secretions. For example, the thyroid gland has a big effect on our weight as it affects body metabolism.
Asanas like shoulder stand and the fish posture are particular for the thyroid gland. These asanas increase fat metabolism thereby converting fat to muscle and energy, and you will not only loose fat but also have a better muscle tone and vitality.Yoga deep breathing helps in increasing the oxygen intake to the body cells, including the fat cells. This results into burning up of fat cells.
Another amazing aspect of Yoga is that it reduces anxiety. Yoga plays an important role in making us more calm and cool.
The knowledge and power, from Yoga also makes us aware of problems like obesity, which may prevent the individual from overeating. Such is the magic of Yoga that you tend to attain a balanced weight i.e. if your weight is normal, it will remain the same where as in case of underweight, you will gain weight.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Broccoli protects against arthritis
Initial laboratory research at University of East Anglia (UEA) has shown that a compound in broccoli called sulforaphane blocks the enzymes that cause joint destruction in osteo arthritis – the most common form of arthritis.
Broccoli has previously been associated with reduced cancer risk but this is the first major study into its effects on joint health.
The project will explore how sulforaphane may act to slow or prevent the development of osteoarthritis. It will prepare the way for the first patient trials and could lead to safe new ways of preventing and treating this painful disease.
Sulforaphane is a bioactive compound found in cruciferous vegetables, particularly broccoli.
Eating broccoli leads to a high level of sulforaphane in the blood, but scientists don't yet know if the sulforaphane gets into joints in sufficient amounts to be effective.
This is one of the things that the UEA team hopes to discover.
Ginger effective for muscle pain relief
Though a favorite remedy of Chinese medicine practitioners for centuries, ginger has not been studied widely as a pain reliever.
Some research, however, has shown that ginger may have anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties similar to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
In one study, four to 36 weeks of daily ginger doses (30 to 500 mg.) achieved reductions in knee pain from osteoarthritis.
Researchers from the University of Georgia and Georgia College and State University examined the efficacy of multiple days of ginger doses for relieving experimentally induced muscle pain from 18 eccentric muscle exercises.
For the study, student volunteers were tested on 11 consecutive days while taking ginger supplements. Seventy-four students were divided in three groups given either raw ginger, heated ginger or placebo.
The authors hypothesized that pain ratings after exercise would be lower in the ginger group compared to placebo subjects.
Results from the subjects' responses data showed that both raw and heat-treated ginger lowered muscle pain intensity after eccentric exercise by 25 and 23 percent, respectively.
Heat treating ginger, therefore, did not increase the analgesic benefit.
The study has been reported in The Journal of Pain.
Surgical weight loss cuts cardiovascular risk
Significant weight loss not only improves daily life of morbidly obese woman but also decreases the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Studies on people who have undergone the procedure have found that in addition to facilitating physical weight loss and lowering body fat, bariatric surgery also improves other health parameters, including heart rate, hypertension, and insulin sensitivity, and often result in resolution of type 2 diabetes.
However, the effect of bariatric surgery on key lipoprotein markers for CVD has not been thoroughly investigated.
So, Bela Asztalos at Tufts'' Human Nutrition Research Center and his colleagues analyzed the plasma samples for a number of lipids and lipoproteins and other markers for CVD in 19 obese female volunteers who underwent gastric bypass surgery prior to and after one year following surgery, as well as in samples from19 age-matched lean female control subjects. As expected, the baseline concentrations of triglycerides, glucose and insulin were significantly higher in obese than in normal-weight women, whereas HDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I levels were significantly lower.
Following an initial reduction of HDL at one month post surgery, most likely resulting from an early marked negative energy balance, plasma lipids and lipoproteins changed beneficially over the course of the year. Eventually they showed significant improvements comparable to individuals taking statin drugs (concentration of total HDL –C increased by nearly 25 pc while the large, cholesterol-rich a-1 HDL particles, inversely associated with risk for CVD in previous studies, increased by as much as 177 pc over baseline levels).
These increases coincided with reductions in body mass index, body adiposity, plasma triglycerides, and the LDL/HDL ratio. It is worth noting that the improvements of the HDL profile were significantly correlated with the improvements in glucose homeostasis indicating that lipid and glucose metabolisms are closely linked.
Study indicated that beyond the decreases of body weight and fat mass, and the known beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, weight loss/bariatric surgery can improve a number of lipid parameters associated with cardiovascular health and decreased risk for CVD in these weight-reduced patients.
The study appears in the August Journal of Lipid Research.
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