Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts

How Not Drinking Enough Water Could Be Killing You:The Ultimate Water Therapy For A Healthy"You".

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“Water makes up about two-thirds of who we are, and influences 100 percent of the processes in our body,” says CamelBak hydration expert Doug Casa, PhD. 

That probably explains why we feel better when we’re drinking enough of it. To learn exactly how water is helping us, as well as some creative ways to use it, check out these reasons why you should go hydrate right now.


Water is a Potent Medicine:

Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, who trained in medicine at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School of London, discovered the healing powers of water and the link between dehydration and chronic illness 17 years ago. 


Dr. Batmanghelidj  was serving a jail sentence as a political prisoner in Iran, and during his imprisonment, he used the only medicine available to him, which was water, to successfully treat 3,000 fellow prisoners who were suffering from stress-induced peptic ulcers.

Things That Happen To Your Body When You Don’t Drink Enough Water:

  • Drinking plenty of water will help you reduce the chances of getting kidney stones, gastrointestinal and urinary tract cancer, and heart attack.
  • The lack of water slows your metabolism.
  • You will have to put more effort when doing your regular activities.
  • Increased appetite.
  • You look older and your skin is wrinkled.
  • Lack of water causes mood swings.
Benefits fo drinking water:
  • It could aid weight loss.
  • It keeps things moving, digestion-wise.
  • It might protect against some types of cancer.
  • Drinking it may help prevent headaches, naturally.
  •  It keeps our kidneys working.
  • It helps us think more clearly.
  • It cleans non-toxically.
  • When frozen, it provides pain and swelling relief for soft tissue injuries.
  •  It’s been linked to heart health.


How to Maximize the Benefits of Water Therapy

To reap the health benefits of warm water, drink it every morning plain or with a lemon for taste. Drinking straight hot water can potentially be damaging to tissue in the mouth and esophagus. 
After boiling water, be sure to let it cool for a few minutes before you start consuming.  Also, check with your physician before drinking warm water if you’re on any medications that could impact the efficacy.
Drinking water in the morning is simple to put into practice, and virtually free. However, there are some important rules to remember. The basic protocol recommend by experts is as follows:
  • Upon waking drink 5-6 glasses of water.
  • Do not eat or drink anything else for 1 hour prior to and after drinking the water.
  • Do not consume any alcoholic beverages the night before.the better the quality of water you consume, the better the results you’ll experience from water therapy.
  • At first, it may be difficult to drink 1.50 liters of water at one time, however, you will gradually get accustomed to it.
When starting out, you may want to make it easier by modifying the tactic slightly, as follows: Drink 4 glasses, then pause for 2 minutes, then drink the last 2 glasses.

Posted By The Medical FactsSaturday, September 05, 2015

How eating sugar could be killing you:7 Terrible Things That Happen If You Eat Too Much Sugar.



If sweet is sweet then what is sugar? Diabetes, cancer, dementia, depression, acne, infertility, heart disease. Doesn’t sound too sweet.

The WHO used to recommend that you get no more than 10% of your daily calories from sugar, but now they're considering lowering that to 5%. 

For an average, healthy adult, that would mean 25 grams, or about six teaspoons of sugar per day. (That's a little less than what you'd get from 10 Hershey's Kisses. A single can of Coke has 39 grams of sugar.)

1. Added Sugar Contains No Essential Nutrients and is Bad For Your Teeth:

Added sugars (like sucrose and high fructose corn syrup) contain a whole bunch of calories with NO essential nutrients.


The connection between sugar and cavities is perhaps the best established. "Tooth decay occurs when the bacteria that line the teeth feed on simple sugars, creating acid that destroys enamel," Anahad O'Connor explains at The New York Times

2. Added Sugar is High in Fructose, Which Can Overload Your Liver:

Because of the unique way we metabolize fructose, it creates a stress response in the liver that can exacerbate inflammation. High doses of sugar can make the liver go into overdrive. 
                               

That's one reason excess fructose is a "key player" in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, where fat accumulates in the liver in the absence of alcohol abuse.

For people who are inactive and eat a Western diet, large amounts of fructose from added sugars get turned into fat in the liver.

3. Sugar Can Give You Cancer:

A handful of studies have found that high-sugar diets are associated with a slightly elevated risk of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers. 

                   

The link may be because high-sugar diets are associated with obesity and diabetes, both of which increase the likelihood someone will develop pancreatic cancer.

4.The Insulin Resistance Can Progress to TypeII Diabetes:
One study that followed 51,603 women between 1991 and 1999 found an increased risk of diabetes among those who consumed more sugar-sweetened beverages - that's soda, sweetened ice tea, energy drinks, etc. 

And a massive review of previous research involving 310,819 participants supported this result, concluding that drinking lots of soda was associated not just with weight gain but with the development of type 2 diabetes.

5. Sugar is a Leading Contributor to Obesity in Both Children and Adults:

Not surprisingly, people who consume the most sugar are by far the most likely to become overweight or obese. This applies to all age groups.


"The complexity of our food supply and of dietary intake behavior, and how diet relates to other behaviors, makes the acquisition of clear and consistent scientific data on the topic of specific dietary factors and obesity risk especially elusive," concluded one 2006 review. 

Still, a more recent review cautioned, "we should avoid the trap of waiting for absolute proof before allowing public health action to be taken."

6. Due to its Effects on Hormones and the Brain, Sugar has Unique Fat-Promoting Effects:

Not all calories are created equal.
Different foods can have different effects on our brains and the hormones that control food intake.
Studies show that fructose doesn’t have the same kind of effect on satiety as glucose.

In one study, people drank either a fructose-sweetened drink or a glucose-sweetened drink.
Afterward, the fructose drinkers had much less activity in the satiety centers of the brain and felt hungrier

7. It Ain’t The Fat… It’s SUGAR That Raises Your Cholesterol and Gives You Heart Disease:

Studies show that large amounts of fructose can raise triglycerides, small, dense LDL and oxidized LDL (very, very bad), raise blood glucose and insulin levels and increase abdominal obesity… in as little as 10 weeks.


  
Conditions associated with excess sugar consumption, like diabetes and being overweight, are also already known risk factors for heart disease, and recent research suggests that eating too much sugar might stack the odds against your heart health - especially if you are a woman.







Posted By The Medical FactsSunday, August 30, 2015

Natural Ways To Fight Migraine And Headache

Headaches are really annoying and can be severe at times. No matter what the cause is, headaches can have several bad effects on your health and should be treated soon. There are several natural ways that can help you in combating headaches and migraines. So you don’t have to depend on over the counter medications and can treat your headache at home with the following easy tricks: 
 
Image Source: mirror.co.uk

1. Massage 

Massage can be quite effective when it comes to headaches. Rub your temples or massage your neck, back, shoulder and head for temporary relief. "You feel better for a little while, but then you have to have it again and again," says Salwa H. Hanna, MD, owner, founder, and medical director of the Headache Clinic of Denver. As per a study, people with migraines had less frequent migraines when they went through six weekly massage classes. 

2. Stretching 

Try these three stretches: neck range of motion (chin forward, upward, and toward each shoulder); shoulder shrugs (shrug up, up and forward, and up and back); and neck isometrics (press palm into forehead and hold; press hand on each side of the head). Stretch twice a day that involves 20 minutes per session. Hold each stretch for 5 seconds and repeat the stretch for 3-5 times. 

3. Meditation 

We all are aware of the benefits of meditation. As per a study meditation helped reducing the frequency of migraines and improved the tolerance power of pain. Try going for techniques that involve mind-body connection. 

4. Heat and Cold 

Anybody can use this trick including pregnant women. Put some heat at your back to alleviate neck tightness. However for a pulsating headache, use icing technique instead of heating one. It reduces the pain by reducing the temperature of the blood passing through your Dura (the lining of the brain). 

5. Yoga 

Camel pose in yoga can help you ease your headache. As per a study, the participants faced less frequent migraines and less painful attacks when they did regular yoga as compared with hose who did not do. It can also help you reducing your anxiety. 

6. Relaxation 

Relaxation involves deep breathing, listening to soothing music and mental imagery process. It can help in reducing your headache frequency. A study that involved a group of 90 people found that relaxation improved their sleep more effectively than acupuncture. 
[Source: health.com]

Posted By The Medical FactsSunday, February 02, 2014

Stay Fit And Build More Abs In Less Time

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If you want to build your abs in less time and with fewer problems, then try this. Develop your abs with the help of a medicine ball (of 8-10 pounds is optimal) and by following 3 exercise circuit. Work up to 3 circuits. These exercises, if followed regularly, will help you build your abs without any problems. Girls can also try these exercises to build their abs. These exercises are: 

1. DOUBLE CRUNCH

Image Source: menshealth.com
STARTING POSITION: Lie on your back keeping your hips and knees bent and your feet off the floor. Place your hands lightly on your chest. Now, place the ball between your knees and proceed. 
MOVE: As you lift your shoulders off the floor, exhale and bring your knees towards your chest. Grab the medicine ball and bring it to your chest and inhale. 
FINISH: Then, return to your starting position. Again place the ball in the same position and repeat the procedure. Alternate the ball positions for the entire set. For 2 sets, do 8-12 repetitions. 

2. SEATED TWIST

Image Source: menshealth.com
 STARTING POSITION: Sit on the floor keeping your back straight but leaning a bit towards the floor, exactly as you would be in the “up” position of sit-up. Bend your knees at 90 degree, your heels about 15 inches apart resting on the floor. 
MOVE: Keep and hold the ball to your chest and, then rotate your torso to your left and keep the ball on the floor behind you. Turn around to the right, pick up your ball and then rotate left and place it behind you. 
FINISH: It should be repeated 8-12 times, then do 8-12 more starting with a rotation to your right, that’s one set. Keep your head in line with your torso through out the procedure. Do it as quickly as possible. 

3. REVERSE CRUNCH WITH KNEE DROPS

Image Source: menshealth.com
STARTING POSITION: Again lie on your back resting your hands on the floor on your sides. Bend your hips and knees at 90 degrees and feet off the floor. Place the ball between your knees. Keep your lower back on the floor through out the entire procedure. 
MOVE: Pull your knees to your chest while contracting you abdominals. Then, return them to the starting position. 
FINISH: Drop your knees to your left and come back to starting position. Then lower your knees to the right and again back to starting position. Do alternate sides for each repetition. 
[Source: menshealth.com

Posted By The Medical FactsSaturday, October 19, 2013

Wake Up Yoga

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What everyone does after a good night’s sleep is either grab a newspaper and tea cup or get into the hassles of the day .Waking up doesn’t have to be something you do begrudgingly after pressing the snooze button ten times.If used wisely,the few minutes between being in the dreamland and waking up can be made into something you want to do.It’s always good to experiment something new.Here I have  one of the most beneficial  practices to do the moment you wake up.It’s called ‘the wake up yoga’.It’s healthy,healthy and healthy.

What is wake up yoga?

It’s a set of morning yoga poses which includes a series of stretches and twists.

The main advantages are

* They can also be done on your bed immediately after you wake up.
* Yoga will stimulate your body and mind with the fresh oxygen you take up reaching your brain cells through the increased blood circulation.
* Your thoughts  become clear.
* You will be energized on the inside and can remain calm all day.
* Your internal organs function more efficiently.
* Your skin gets rejuvenated and results in younger looking glow.
* Yoga speeds up the metabolism ,so that you can eat more and burn more calories thus keeping you fit.

Here are some of the wake up yoga poses. Give them a try.

1)WARM UP
Warming up is kickstart to your daily exercise regime.It maximises the blood flow to your muscles and increases flexibility of tendons.Be sure to find some way that’s easy and enjoyable.Try out climbing the stairs up and down,or a few  situps.But make sure you don’t overdo them. The best way to prevent overuse injuries to the muscles and joints is to build warm-up's intensity slowly, so tissues become conditioned to stresses and then respond to them with increased strength and flexibility.

2)SPINAL TWIST
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It’s an easy way to boost your digestive system,relieve back pain,discomforts of sciatica etc.

 Lie on your back and bring both knees in toward your chest. Holding your left knee into your chest, let your right leg straighten out on the floor. Bring your bent left knee across your body, keeping your shoulder blades on the floor. Turn your head to look over your left shoulder to complete your twist. Hold for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Bring both knees into your chest and repeat on the other side.

3)CORE WORKOUT
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This pose helps to strengthen your thighs and abdominal muscles.It also unlocks the manipura chakra(the energy trapped within the abdominal area)thus bringing out a sense of wellbeing.

Place both your feet on the mattress. Lift up both legs, keeping your knees bent and in line with the hips. Your shins should make a 90-degree angle with your thighs. Place your palms beneath the back of your head and interlace your fingers. Inhale slowly and deeply. As you exhale, lift your head up from the mattress. Don't try to bring your chin to your chest. Instead, just try to lift your head straight up. At the same time, squeeze the bolster tightly with your thighs. Stay in this pose for 3 - 5 seconds, inhale and release.

4)LEG STRETCH
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It releases tension on your foot joints,hamstrings and all other hip muscles.

* Stretch out your legs and keep them about hip-width apart. Lift up your right leg, then grab your calf with both hands. You can either keep the leg straight or bend it slightly. Spread your toes apart a few times. Point your toes at the ceiling, then point them at the wall behind your head. Repeat these  6 - 8 times. Then circle your ankle slowly in both directions a few times or until you're satisfied. Try to keep your upper body completely relaxed.

* Grab a scarf or belt, and place the middle part of it on your sole. Hold the ends of the scarf with both hands, pull your leg back as close to your head as possible and stay in this pose for a few long breaths. Do this very slowly.

* Now hold the ends of the scarf with only your right hand while stretching out your left arm sideways. Slowly move your leg as far to the right as you can without lifting your left hip from the mattress. Stay in this position for 4 - 6 long breaths. Use your left arm to help anchor the left side of your body down. 

* Bring your right leg back to the neutral position. Transfer the ends of the scarf to your left hands,  stretch out your right arm sideways. Slowly tip your right leg to the left until it reaches the mattress. Allow your right hip to lift up but keep your right shoulder down. Turn your head to the right. Stay in this twist for 4 - 6 long breaths. Bring the leg back to the neutral position, release and repeat.

5)EAGLE ARMS
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This pose can stimulate more blood circulation to your upper body.

Push yourself up to a seated position. You can either sit cross-legged, or sit on your shins with your knees together and your bottom on your heels. Stretch out both arms in front of you. Cross your right arm over your left and bend your elbows. Make a 90-degree angle, with your right elbow resting in the crook of your left arm. Intertwine your hands with each other until your palms touch. Your upper arms should be about the same height as your shoulders. Try to sit up very straight; don't slouch or lean to one side. Stay in this position for about 30 seconds to a minute. Release and redo the pose with your left arm on top of your right.

6)COW POSE
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It’s a gentle exercise for spine and neck.

Remain in a "tabletop" position. Make sure your knees are set directly below your hips and your wrists, elbows and shoulders are in line and perpendicular to the floor. Center your head in a neutral position, eyes looking at the floor. 
 As you inhale, lift your sitting bones and chest toward the ceiling, allowing your belly to sink toward the floor. Lift your head to look straight forward.  Exhale, coming back to neutral "tabletop" position on your hands and knees. Repeat 10 to 20 times. 

7)CAT POSE
Image source
Remain in a "tabletop" position. Make sure your knees are set directly below your hips and your wrists, elbows and shoulders are in line and perpendicular to the floor. Center your head in a neutral position, eyes looking at the floor. 

 As you exhale, round your spine toward the ceiling, making sure to keep your shoulders and knees in position. Release your head toward the floor, but don't force your chin to your chest.  Inhale, coming back to neutral "tabletop" position on your hands and knees.It’s often paired with cow pose.

8)CHILD’S POSE
Image source
Kneel on the floor. Touch your big toes together and sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips.  Exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs. Broaden your sacrum across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward the navel, so that they nestle down onto the inner thighs. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis while you lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck. Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor.It’s a resting pose.Stay in the pose from 1 to 3 minutes.

[Source : paramapoonya]

Posted By The Medical FactsFriday, August 02, 2013