The Healthy Way to Good Health

The Healthy Way to Good Health

To use an oft-repeated cliché, health is wealth, and if we don’t start safeguarding this, there’s no joy in living. To use another, prevention is better than cure, and these natural health improvement tips work wonders in not only keeping illness at bay, but also in keeping you young and fit.

1. A little exercise holds a lot of benefits: Work out, take a walk, go for a jog in the park, take up a game – exercise in any form provides you with good health the natural way. An hour a day is enough to get you in shape and keep sickness away. Even small things count – take the stairs instead of the elevator and walk a few blocks instead of driving to get there. Relaxation techniques like yoga and Tai Chi also help when you’re trying to lose weight and improve your body’s natural processes.

2. Eating right is the key: You are what you eat; your body is a mirror that reflects all that you take in, both good and bad. So do yourself a favor and include more vegetables and fruits in your diet; cut back on the fats and carbohydrates. Find more energy to sustain you through the day with energy-rich foods like nuts, yoghurt, eggs (the white only if you’re prone to high cholesterol levels), beans and lentils and seeds. If you have a sweet tooth or crave junk food, you don’t have to deny yourself. Satisfy cravings with self-control – eat two bites of a piece of chocolate cake instead of the whole slice or half a slice of pizza instead of three. Do not stuff yourself during any meal; instead, increase the number of meals per day and reduce the quantity you take in during each. Limit your caffeine intake, switch to green tea instead; the latter is rich in anti-oxidants that delay aging and prevent cancer.

3. Fill up with fluids: Our body is 80 percent water, so it’s only natural that you drink as much as you can. Water hydrates your skin and leaves it soft and supple. It also flushes out toxins from your body and cleanses your system.

4. Avoid direct and harsh sunlight: While mild sunshine is good for your Vitamin K levels, too much of it tends to give you sunburns and strokes. Exposure to harmful UV rays in the sunlight causes premature aging of the skin and suppresses your immune system leading to skin cancer and melanoma.

5. Maintain your BMI: Your Body Mass Indicator (BMI) is a good reflector of how trim and fit your body is. The ideal BMI, which is the ratio of your weight (in pounds) to the square of your height (in inches), is 25; a BMI under 18.5 indicates malnutrition while one above 30 labels you obese. So if you’re short, you have a lot of work to do to shed those excess pounds of flesh.

6. Harness the power of positive thinking: The stress and tension of day-to-day life cause more damage than you may realize. Ulcers, migraines, nervous breakdowns and insomnia are just a few of the illnesses associated with someone who’s stressed all the time. It’s not easy to take things easy, but if you work at it, the benefits are worth it. Practice relaxation techniques like yoga and Tai Chi, think positive thoughts and rein in your temper.

7. Massage your body and your mind: A body massage or a hot bath at the end of a long day works wonders in relaxing you. At the same time, treat yourself to a mind massage – give yourself an ego boost from time to time by reassuring yourself that you are good at what you do.

8. Say no to drugs and tobacco: Smoking kills in more ways than one and drugs are a definite way to disaster. Alcohol, while in moderation is not very harmful, tends to become an addiction if you do not hold on to your self-control.

9. Stay pollution free: Easier said than done with most cities and towns being inundated with cars and vehicles polluting the atmosphere. But make it a point to get some fresh air everyday – beat the heat and the crowds by waking up at the crack of dawn and taking a walk in the park. Steer clear of restaurants or public areas that allow smoking.

10. Fasting is good once in a while: Every once a month or so, your body needs time to heal itself from all the abuses you put it through. Undergo a detoxification routine – stay home, eat only fresh fruits and vegetables, drink lots of fluids, sleep, meditate and avoid work for a couple of days. Your whole system is rejuvenated.

11. Medicines don’t always help: Stop popping that pill for every common ailment that afflicts you. A simple headache can be cured by a walk in the fresh air or a cup of hot coffee; a cold is reduced with warm fluids and plenty of rest.

A little common sense mixed with a little effort is all it takes to stay healthy and happy.

By-line:

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of Care Plans. She invites your questions and writing job opportunities at her personal email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

Malic Acid and Magnesium in Fibro

Malic Acid and Fibromyalgia by Source: Nutritional News ImmuneSupport.com 12-01-1995 Fibromyalgia Syndrome (fibromyalgia) is a condition which affects principally middle-aged women, characterized by a syndrome of generalized musculoskeletal pain, aches, stiffness, and tenderness at specific anatomical sites. This condition is considered primarily when there are no obvious causes. Since it was first described, fibromyalgia has become recognized as a fairly common rheumatic complaint with a clinical prevalence of 6 to 20%. Additionally, fibromyalgia has been associated with irritable bowel syndrome, tension headache, mitral valve prolapse, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Numerous treatment modalities have been attempted to treat patients with fibromyalgia, but unfortunately the results have been poor, due to a lack of understanding of the condition’s etiology. In recent years, evidence has accumulated to suggest that fibromyalgia is the result of local hypoxia to the muscles. For instance, patients with fibromyalgia have low muscle-tissue oxygen pressure in affected muscles, and to a lesser degree the same is true of other tissues. Muscle biopsies from affected areas showed muscle tissue glycolysis is inhibited, reducing ATP synthesis. This stimulates the process of gluconeogenesis, which results in muscle tissue breakdown and mitochondrial damage. Additionally, low levels of the high-energy phosphates ATP, ADP, and phosphocreatine were found. It is hypothesized that in hypoxic muscle tissue, glycolysis is inhibited, reducing ATP synthesis. This muscle tissue breakdown, which has been observed in muscle biopsies taken from fibromyalgia patients, is hypothesized to result in the muscle pain characteristic of fibromyalgia. Malic acid is both derived from food sources and synthesized in the body through the citric acid cycle. Its importance to the production of energy in the body during both aerobic and anaerobic conditions is well established. Under aerobic conditions, the oxidation of malate to oxaloacetate provides reducing equivalents to the mitochondria through the malateaspartate redox shuttle. During anaerobic conditions, where a buildup of excess of reducing equivalents inhibits glycolysis, malic acid’s simultaneous reduction to succinate and oxidation to oxaloacetate is capable of removing the accumulating reducing equivalents. This allows malic acid to reverse hypoxia’s inhibition of glycolysis and energy production, possibly improving energy production in fibromyalgia, and reversing the negative effect of the relative hypoxia that has been found in these patients. Because of its obvious relationship to energy depletion during exercise, malic acid may be of benefit to healthy individuals interested in maximizing their energy production, as well as those with Fibromyalgia, or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. As a result of the compelling evidence that malic acid plays a central role in energy production, especially during hypoxic conditions, malic acid supplements have been examined for their effects on fibromyalgia. Subjective improvement in pain was observed within 48 hours of supplementation with 1200-2400 mg. of malic acid, and this improvement was lost following the discontinuation of malic acid for 48 hours. While these studies also used magnesium supplements, due to the fact that magnesium is often low in fibromyalgia patients, the rapid improvement following malic acid, as well as the rapid deterioration after discontinuation, suggests that malic acid is the most important component. This interesting theory of localized hypoxia in fibromyalgia, and the ability of malic acid to overcome the block in energy production that this causes, should provide hope for those afflicted with fibromyalgia. The potential for malic acid supplements however, reaches much farther than fibromyalgia. Additionally, many hypoxia-related conditions such as respiratory and circulatory insufficiency, are associated with deficient energy production. Therefore, malic acid supplements may be of benefit in these conditions. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has also been found to be associated with fibromyalgia, and malic acid supplementation may be of use in improving energy production in this condition as well. Lastly, malic acid may be of use as a general supplement, ensuring an optimal level of malic acid within the cells, and thus, maintaining an optimal level of energy production. Reprinted with permission from Nutritional News, December 1995. By: http://www.ImmuneSupport.com