Herbal Medicine And Natural Healing

What we do not understand we tend to reject. Herbal medicines, acupressure, acupuncture, natural medication, and healing are some of those. And we dance along because if things cannot be explained by scientific methods, it cannot be true.

Definition of health varies from person to person. To some it means that nothing is really serious, for some it means not getting any worse, for other it is the visit to the doctor every year to get a nod of "all clear". Seldom did it mean zero health problems. And so we get by with taking aspirins and painkillers and live with aches and pains that we associate with certain infective bug, overwork, or ageing.

The problem with chemically formulated drugs and medicines is that, one; it remedies a part of the body but destroys another, often the liver. Two, it has questionable benefits that simple observation will tell you that if the medication prescribed by the physician is not getting the desired result, an alternative prescription will be given (a physician that has a reputation for having a higher batting average will be called as "good" and so will the physicians fees be).

 Third, when a part of the body fails to normally function caused by the drug, it will be termed as side effects. Fourth, when the body acclimatizes to the drug prescribed, we are in effect sentencing our body to a lifetime of medication. Fifth, behind all the advances claimed, it does not really increase the average lifespan. Like the rest of the world, we still are satisfied if we hit the magic mark of seventy years. Sixth, it is so expensive to be a hit and miss thing which often it really is. Scientific claims will be otherwise but everybody can claim. Result though will tell you differently.

For most of us, it has not been recognized that there is an alternative to a life sentence of medication. That there are medications not only to cure whatever ails but to build the reserves and boost the system so that ailments are reversed naturally. When the system is made healthier and reserves are built, we could in part avoid the doctor whose typical remedy is give us drugs, when drugs will not work, chop parts of our body, and prescribe drugs more.

In the ancient world, our forebears have already recognized that there are only two kinds of plants, that which is good for food and that which is better for healing. Even animals know this. Our house pets like dogs, cats, and chickens will forage for a particular grass of herb when they are not feeling well.

Sooner this is vomited and the animal heals. In eastern cultures, these natural methods have been the basis for healing. Their life average expectancy is not longer than seventy years but ours is not longer either. The difference lies in the money, the trouble spent and for the most part, the absence of chronic pains and suffering.

Herbal medicines, natural medication and healing do just that. Relieve the suffering and health anxiety naturally so we have time to enjoy more of life without the drugs that gives temporary eight-hour solutions until the pain strikes again.

Dietary Fiber for Natural Health

When people look at the nutritional content of foods, they tend to concentrate more on calories, protein, fats and vitamins. Most of the time, people forget to consider the dietary fiber content of foods. In recent studies, it was shown that in America alone, less than half of the population gets enough fiber in their diet.

Taking in enough fiber will greatly improve your natural health and well-being. Here are some facts that you have to know about dietary fiber

What is it?
Roughage or dietary fiber is the indigestible part of plants that travels through the digestive tract. In an overview, it helps the body absorb more water and improves elimination of wastes. It also helps in the absorption of nutrients and other chemicals.

There are 2 types of fiber. The soluble fiber is the one responsible for lowering blood cholesterol levels. Because of this, intake of enough soluble fiber will reduce your risk of developing heart diseases and stroke. Insoluble fiber increases bulk that your body needs to maintain the functions of your stomach and intestines. This type of fiber prevents you from experiencing constipation.

What are the benefits of getting enough fiber in your diet?

Bowel Movement and Integrity
Having enough fiber provides you with bulk. It helps you have well-formed and soft stool so wastes can pass easily. With this, you are sure not to have constipation. When you have diarrhea, adding fiber to your diet will help you absorb water and form bulky stools. It is also said that fiber can help relieve patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Having a high fiber diet also reduces your risk of developing hemorrhoids, diverticulosis and diverticulitis. Since fiber helps you pass stool easily. There is no need for straining during defecation. This is one of the ways fiber helps prevent these health conditions.

Regulates Blood Cholesterol Levels
Soluble fiber helps maintain an ideal cholesterol level by reducing the amount of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) in your body. LDL is also called as bad cholesterol. It has also been studied that fiber can also lower your blood pressure. Maintaining a good blood cholesterol level puts you at lesser risk of developing heart diseases.

Regulates Blood Sugar Levels
This is one of the reasons that most diabetic patients add fiber in their diet. Getting enough soluble fiber aids in the absorption of sugar in your body. It helps your body absorb sugar slowly so diabetics can avoid sudden peaks on their blood sugar level. Enough insoluble fiber in your body is also said to prevent development of type 2 diabetes.

Aids in Weight Loss
Eating foods with high-fiber content may require you to chew your food longer than you would any other type of food. Because of this, your body is given enough time to think that you are already full. This would lessen chances of over eating. A high- fiber meal will also lower down hunger cravings because fiber takes a longer time to be digested. You feel full longer when you eat food with high fiber content. Fibrous foods also have fewer amounts of calories in them. So no matter how much fiber you eat, you won't have to worry about the number of calories you are taking in.

Fiber is also said to fight off carcinogenic agents, thus lowering your risk of getting certain types of cancer. If you want to improve your health the natural way, adding more fiber to your meals is a healthy idea.

Probiotics and Natural Health

In the world of medical advancements and improvements, natural health has taken the interests of many health-conscious consumers and practitioners. Probiotics, in particular, have weaved its way in the area of natural health. Many studies have been done to know the effects of probiotics in your body.

Not all bacteria are bad for your health. In fact, a number of good bacteria are present in your body. Probiotics are the good microorganisms similar to those that are present in your digestive system.  When taken in adequate amounts, these will greatly improve your health. You can get probiotics by taking dietary supplements or by consuming foods that have probiotics in them.

There are many benefits and purposes of probiotics. Some of them are as follows:
•    To treat some diseases
•    To boost your immune system
•    To improve general wellness
•    To prevent certain illnesses.

Here are some common health conditions that probiotics are known to help prevent and treat:

•    Diarrhea – The presence of probiotics in your body will greatly improve your digestion. It is said that probiotics are very effective in treating diarrhea that is caused by Rotavirus. Probiotics regulate absorption and improve the time that the food travels through your intestinal tract.

•    Vaginal Yeast Infections – A study have shown that there have been great improvements on the cases of patients with Candida (Yeast) infections and who took probiotics than those who didn't. The good bacteria decrease the pH levels of these participants. 
•    Inflammatory bowel disease – Probiotics alter your intestinal environment to prevent the condition from worsening. These good bacteria help prevent a relapse of Crohn's disease and help patients on remission from Ulcerative colitis
•    Constipation – In older individuals, probiotics can help prevent the occurrence of constipation by improving their digestion.
•    Cancer – By boosting your immune system, probiotics can help prevent certain types of cancer.
•    Other diseases such as atopic dermatitis on children, and infections caused by H. pylori and Clostridium Difficile.

With the many benefits of probiotics, it is not surprising that people are easily convinced to take them. Keep in mind though, that probiotics also have some mild side effects, like bloating.

You have to only take them in the right amount. People who have low immune system should consult their doctors first before taking in probiotics. Some good microorganisms, while beneficial to healthy individuals, may not be beneficial to those who already have a low immune system.

Taking probiotics to improve your general health is greatly beneficial. They help you absorb and use the nutrients that are already present in your body like calcium, vitamin B, iron, copper and zinc. Your immune system will also improve when you have an adequate amount of probiotics as they regulate antibodies and lymphocytes, which are known to fight harmful bacteria and protect you from serious illnesses.

Good bacteria are vital to your body. Probiotics will give you all the help you need to improve your natural health, but remember, anything that concerns your health must always be consulted to your doctor. There are no taking chances to a healthy you.

Maintaining A Healthy Colon

Maintaining a healthy colon prevents the body from 65 chronic diseases. Among these are constipation, malnutrition, irritable bowel movement, diarrhea, candida, cardiovascular problems, and cancer.

The colon is the part of the digestive system that drains excess and waste material out from the body. It is around five feet long. Its main function is water, vitamins, and nutrients absorption that goes to the blood stream which is then distributed to all parts of the body to keep it functioning normally. Excess and unneeded, and toxic materials are excreted from the colon as feces.

Overtime, plaque forms in the colons lining making it less efficient in the absorption of materials that the body needs. As the plaque builds up, the colon clogs with decaying materials. The decaying materials stick to the colons lining that in turn breed unhealthy bacteria that form toxins. These toxins are then absorbed into the bloodstream causing various illnesses and diseases. Before the onset of illnesses though, a possible sign of an unhealthy colon is when the body feels sluggish and is having mood swings.

To keep the colon healthy, colon cleansing must be performed at least once a year. Colon cleansing programs scrubs the intestines of decaying materials and flushes it out of the body. It also reduces the plaque that were formed if not totally eliminate them. When that is done, the colon starts absorbing all the nutrients that the body needs and it starts hosting good bacteria that helps the body to stay fit and healthy. Then the body feels energized and active.

To reduce the risk of having an unhealthy colon the following are suggestions that are proven to keep the body healthy.

Drinks water. It is a popular belief that we should drink eight glasses of water daily. Professionals though will agree that that is only the basic requirement. Water is a natural and universal cleaning agent that could be taken in large quantities without ill effects. If ever, the only side effect is a more frequent need to empty the bladder, but even that promotes health too. The flushing out of toxins through the colon the urinary tract and the skin promotes natural health that no amount of medication could replace.

Next to that is eating foods that have high fiber content. Fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber. True there are those that have less but even a little amount of food with fiber content will do the body good overtime. Fibers are natural colon cleansers as they attract materials in the lining of the colon and flush it out with the feces.

There is really no need for high-sounding well-advertised juices, smoothies, and concoctions. Most of them are a waste of money compared to the benefit that they provide, more so if the benefit could be had trough natural means. Maintaining a healthy colon does not take much. All it takes is refraining from overly processed foods, eating instead a variety of fruits and vegetables, drinking liters and liters of water and exercising. 

Natural Health – Learning To Listen To What Your Body Tells You

When a poet and king once sang, "Our bodies are beautifully and wonderfully made oh God", he knew what he was saying. One of the wonderful things that our bodies could do is healing itself. We need intervention from time to time but the body, when treated right has the ability to correct itself. Often, all it takes is to listen to what the body is telling us.

Sure there is nothing much we can do when our body is already shouting for the nearest comfort room or the stomach is rumbling for the next meal. Often times though, when there is pain, like a headache, the normal course of action is to reach out for a bottle of painkiller to mask the pain so we can function.

Listening to what our body is telling us would prevent a lot of illnesses from getting worse. When there is a headache, there is something wrong done to cause the pain. Taking painkillers is a good but temporary solution, the next step though and more permanent is to know what caused the pain. Not being able to identify that will make us grab the painkiller in another six to eight hours. Every ingestion of a tablet or a capsule puts our liver and our colon in danger.

 Chemical residues that were components to its manufacture will stay in the liver and overtime will clog the colon that will produce other more serious illnesses. Learning to listen to the messages that our body tells us is that important.

There are many other things that our body is trying to tell us. Being sleepy, feeling sluggish, increasing weight or weight loss, body temperature, mood swings, blood pressure, and pulse rate are among the few that could be observed and could be measured with certainty. When that happens the body is telling us that something is not working well.

 Taking energy drinks, resting, relaxing, taking antacids are few of the things that are normally done but all these have temporary effects. When the feeling of sluggishness for example persists, no amount of energy drink could restore the body to functioning normally. All the palliative measures taken are temporary solutions that do not cure the illnesses. It only masks the effects and masking the effects could be terribly dangerous.

What cures the illness is the identification of the cause of the pain or discomfort and if it is not a medical emergency, the avoidance of repeating the same thing to happen again. It is a conscious effort to sit back, think a while, and deciding on matters that will work best for the body and those that will not. Taking temporary measures and dependence on it will make matters worse.

When we learn to listen to what the body is telling us, our dependence on costly interventions and help from health care professionals will be minimal aside from lessening the introduction of chemicals to our system.

24 Potent Foods To Lose Weight And Fight Fat

It would be unrealistic to think you could successfully lose weight and enjoy what you’re eating with a mere handful of foods, no matter how delicious, nutritious and satisfying they may be. 

They’ll lend different tastes and textures to every meal and provide a wide range of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other vital nutrients. Naturally, each one is high in fiber, low in fat and safe when it comes to sodium content, too.

Many have crunchiness and flavor we’ve come to desire in snack and nibbling foods. If you’re like most of us, you may have a real junk food snacking habit – a habit you’re going to have to change in order to slim down. Many of the foods in this section may be worthy substitutes.

1. Barley

This filling grain stacks up favorably to rice and potatoes. It has 170 calories per cooked cup, respectable levels of protein and fiber and relatively low fat. Roman gladiators ate this grain regularly for strength and actually complained when they had to eat meat.

Studies at the University of Wisconsin show that barley effectively lowers cholesterol by up to 15 percent and has powerful anti-cancer agents. Israeli scientists say it cures constipation better than laxatives -  and that can promote weight loss, too.

Use it as a substitute for rice in salads, pilaf or stuffing, or add to soups and stews. You can also mix it with rice for an interesting texture. Ground into flour, it makes excellent breads and muffins.

2. Beans

Beans are one of the best sources of plant protein. Peas, beans and chickpeas are collectively known as legumes. Most common beans have 215 calories per cooked cup (lima beans go up to 260). They have the most protein with the least fat of any food, and they’re high in potassium but low in sodium.

Plant protein is incomplete, which means that you need to add something to make it complete. Combine beans with a whole grain – rice, barley, wheat, corn – to provide the amino acids necessary to form a complete protein. Then you get the same top-quality protein as in meat with just a fraction of the fat.

Studies at the University of Kentucky and in the Netherlands show that eating beans regularly can lower cholesterol levels.

The most common complaint about beans is that they cause gas. Here’s how to contain that problem, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Before cooking, rinse the beans and remove foreign particles, put in a kettle and cover with boiling water, soak for four hours or longer, remove any beans that float to the top, then cook the beans in fresh water.

3. Berries

This is the perfect weight-loss food. Berries have natural fructose sugar that satisfies your longing for sweets and enough fiber so you absorb fewer calories that you eat. British researchers found that the high content of insoluble fiber in fruits, vegetables and whole grains reduces the absorption of calories from foods enough to promote width loss without hampering nutrition.

Berries are a great source of potassium that can assist you in blood pressure control. Blackberries have 74 calories per cup, blueberries 81, raspberries 60 and strawberries 45. So use your imagination and enjoy the berry of your choice.

4. Broccoli

Broccoli is America’s favorite vegetable, according to a recent poll. No wonder. A cup of cooked broccoli has a mere 44 calories. It delivers a staggering nutritional payload and is considered the number one cancer-fighting vegetable. It has no fat, loads of fiber, cancer fighting chemicals called indoles, carotene, 21 times the RDA of vitamin C and calcium.

When you’re buying broccoli, pay attention to the color. The tiny florets should be rich green and free of yellowing. Stems should be firm.

5. Buckwheat

It’s great for pancakes, breads, cereal, soups or alone as a grain dish commonly called kasha. It has 155 calories per cooked cup.

 Research at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences shows diets including buckwheat lead to excellent blood sugar regulation, resistance to diabetes and lowered cholesterol levels. You cook buckwheat the same way you would rice or barley. 

Bring two to three cups of water to a boil, add the grain, cover the pan, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

6. Cabbage

This Eastern Europe staple is a true wonder food. There are only 33 calories in a cup of cooked shredded cabbage, and it retains all its nutritional goodness no matter how long you cook it.

 Eating cabbage raw (18 calories per shredded cup), cooked, as sauerkraut (27 calories per drained cup) or coleslaw (calories depend on dressing) only once a week is enough to protect against colon cancer. And it may be a longevity-enhancing food. Surveys in the United States, Greece and Japan show that people who eat a lot of it have the least colon cancer and the lowest death rates overall.

7. Carrots

What list of health-promoting, fat-fighting foods would be complete without Bugs Bunny’s favorite? A medium-sized carrot carries about 55 calories and is a nutritional powerhouse. The orange color comes from beta carotene, a powerful cancer-preventing nutrient (provitamin A).

Chop and toss them with pasta, grate them into rice or add them to a stir-fry. Combine them with parsnips, oranges, raisins, lemon juice, chicken, potatoes, broccoli or lamb to create flavorful dishes. Spice them with tarragon, dill, cinnamon or nutmeg. Add finely chopped carrots to soups and spaghetti sauce – they impart a natural sweetness without adding sugar.

8. Chicken

White meat contains 245 calories per four ounce serving and dark meat, 285. It’s an excellent source of protein, iron, niacin and zinc. Skinned chicken is healthiest, but most experts recommend waiting until after cooking to remove it because the skin keeps the meat moist during cooking.

9. Corn

It’s really a grain – not a vegetable – and is another food that’s gotten a bum rap. People think it has little to offer nutritionally and that just isn’t so. There are 178 calories in a cup of cooked kernels. It contains good amounts of iron, zinc and potassium, and University of Nebraska researchers say it delivers a high-quality of protein, too.

The Tarahumara Indians of Mexico eat corn, beans and hardly anything else. Virgil Brown, M.D., of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, points out that high blood cholesterol and cardiovascular heart disease are almost nonexistent among them.

10. Cottage Cheese

As long as we’re talking about losing weight and fat-fighting foods, we had to mention cottage cheese.

Low-fat (2%) cottage cheese has 205 calories per cup and is admirably low in fat, while providing respectable amounts of calcium and the B vitamin riboflavin. Season with spices such a dill, or garden fresh vegetable such a scallions and chives for extra zip.

To make it sweeter, add raisins or one of the fruit spreads with no sugar added. You can also use cottage cheese in cooking, baking, fillings and dips where you would otherwise use sour cream or cream cheese.

11. Figs

Fiber-rich figs are low in calories at 37 per medium (2.25” diameter) raw fig and 48 per dried fig. A recent study by the USDA demonstrated that they contribute to a feeling of fullness and prevent overeating. Subjects actually complained of being asked to eat too much food when fed a diet containing more figs than a similar diet with an identical number of calories.

Serve them with other fruits and cheeses. Or poach them in fruit juice and serve them warm or cold. You can stuff them with mild white cheese or puree them to use as a filling for cookies and low-calorie pastries.

12. Fish

The health benefits of fish are greater than experts imagined – and they’ve always considered it a health food.

The calorie count in the average four-ounce serving of a deep-sea fish runs from a low of 90 calories in abalone to a high of 236 in herring. Water-packed tuna, for example, has 154 calories. It’s hard to gain weight eating seafood.

As far back as 1985, articles in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a clear link between eating fish regularly and lower rates of heart disease. The reason is that oils in fish thin the blood, reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

Dr. Joel Kremer, at Albany Medical College in New York, discovered that daily supplements of fish oil brought dramatic relief to the inflammation and stiff joints of rheumatoid arthritis.

13. Greens

We’re talking collard, chicory, beet, kale, mustard, Swiss chard and turnip greens. They all belong to the same family as spinach, and that’s one of the super-stars. No matter how hard you try, you can’t load a cup of plain cooked greens with any more than 50 calories.

They’re full of fiber, loaded with vitamins A and C, and free of fat. You can use them in salads, soups, casseroles or any dish where you would normally use spinach.

14. Kiwi

This New Zealand native is a sweet treat at only 46 calories per fruit. Chinese public health officials praise the tasty fruit for its high vitamin C content and potassium. It stores easily in the refrigerator for up to a month. Most people like it peeled, but the fuzzy skin is also edible.

15. Leeks

These members of the onion family look like giant scallions, and are every bit as healthful and flavorful as their better-known cousins. They come as close to calorie-free as it gets at a mere 32 calories per cooked cup.

You can poach or broil halved leeks and then marinate them in vinaigrette or season with Romano cheese, fine mustard or herbs. They also make a good soup.

16. Lettuce

People think lettuce is nutritionally worthless, but nothing could be farther from the truth. You can’t leave it out of your weight-loss plans, not at 10 calories per cup of raw romaine. It provides a lot of filling bulk for so few calories. And it’s full of vitamin C, too. Go beyond iceberg lettuce with Boston, bibb and cos varieties or try watercress, arugula, radicchio, dandelion greens, purslane and even parsley to liven up your salads.

17. Melons

Now, here’s great taste and great nutrition in a low-calorie package! One cup of cantaloupe balls has 62 calories, on cup of casaba balls has 44 calories, one cup of honeydew balls has 62 calories and one cup of watermelon balls has 49 calories. They have some of the highest fiber content of any food and are delicious. Throw in handsome quantities of vitamins A and C plus a whopping 547 mgs of potassium in that cup of cantaloupe, and you have a fat-burning health food beyond compare.

18. Oats

A cup of oatmeal or oat bran has only 110 calories. And oats help you lose weight. Subjects in Dr. James Anderson’s landmark 12-year study at the University of Kentucky lost three pounds in two months simply by adding 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of oat bran to their daily food intake and nothing else. Just don’t expect oats alone to perform miracles – you have to eat a balanced diet for total health.

19. Onions

Flavorful, aromatic, inexpensive and low in calories, onions deserve a regular place in your diet. One cup of chopped raw onions has only 60 calories, and one raw medium onion (2.15” diameter) has just 42.

They control cholesterol, thin the blood, protect against cholesterol and may have some value in counteracting allergic reactions. Most of all, onions taste good and they’re good for you.

Partially boil, peel and bake, basting with olive oil and lemon juice. Or sauté them in white wine and basil, then spread over pizza. Or roast them in sherry and serve over paste.

20. Pasta

The Italians had it right all along. A cup of cooked paste (without a heavy sauce) has only 155 calories and fits the description of a perfect starch-centered staple. Analysis at the American Institute of Baking shows pasta is rich in six minerals, including manganese, iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium and zinc. Also be sure to consider whole wheat pastas, which are even healthier.

21. Sweet Potatoes

You can make a meal out of them and not worry about gaining a pound – and you sure won’t walk away from the table feeling hungry. Each sweet potato has about 103 calories. Their creamy orange flesh is one of the best sources of vitamin A you can consume.

You can bake, steam or microwave them. Or add them to casseroles, soups and many other dishes. Flavor with lemon juice or vegetable broth instead of butter.

22. Tomatoes

A medium tomato (2.5” diameter) has only about 25 calories. These garden delights are low in fat and sodium, high in potassium and rich in fiber.

A survey at Harvard Medical School found that the chances of dying of cancer are lowest among people who eat tomatoes (or strawberries) every week.

And don’t overlook canned crushed, peeled, whole or stewed tomatoes. They make sauces, casseroles and soups taste great while retaining their nutritional goodness and low-calorie status. Even plain old spaghetti sauce is a fat-burning bargain when served over pasta, so think about introducing tomatoes into your diet

23. Turkey

Give thanks to those pilgrims for starting the wonderful tradition of Thanksgiving turkey. It just so happens that this health food disguised as meat is good year-round for weight control.

A four-ounce serving of roasted white meat turkey has 177 calories and dark meat has 211.

Sadly, many folks are still unaware of the versatility and flavor of ground turkey. Anything hamburger can do, ground turkey can do at least as well, from conventional burgers to spaghetti sauce to meat loaf.

Some ground turkey contains skin which slightly increases the fat content. If you want to keep it really lean, opt for ground breast meat. But since this has no added fat, you’ll need to add filler to make burgers or meat loaf hold together.

Four ounces of ground turkey has approximately 170 calories and nine grams of fat – about what you’d find in 2.5 teaspoons of butter or margarine. Incredibly, the same amount of regular ground beef (21% fat) has 298 calories and 23 grams of fat.

Buying turkey has become easy. It’s no longer necessary to buy a whole bird unless you want to. Ground turkey is available fresh or frozen, as are individual parts of the bird, including drumsticks, thighs, breasts and cutlets.

24. Yogurt

The non-fat variety of plain yogurt has 120 calories per cup and low-fat, 144. It delivers a lot of protein and , like any dairy food, is rich in calcium and contains zinc and riboflavin.

Yogurt is handy as a breakfast food – cut a banana into it and add the cereal of your choice.

You can find ways to use it in other types of cooking, to – sauces, soups, dips, toppings, stuffings and spreads. Many kitchen gadget departments even sell a simple funnel for making yogurt cheese.

Yogurt can replace heavy creams and whole milk in a wide range of dishes, saving scads of fat and calories.

You can substitute half or all of the higher fat ingredients. Be creative. For example, combine yogurt, garlic powder, lemon juice, a dash of pepper and Worcestershire sauce and use it to top a baked potato instead of piling on fat-laden sour cream.

Supermarkets and health food stores sell a variety of yogurts, many with added fruit and sugar. To control calories and fat content, buy plain non-fat yogurt and add fruit yourself. 

Apple butter or fruit spreads with little or no added sugar are an excellent way to turn plain yogurt into a delectable sweet treat.

Natural Health – Balance, Variety, And Common Sense

Every day one or two health foods are flooded into the market claiming superior health benefits. Almost every month, bookstores will stock up on books that sell health and dieting programs. On the TV, exercise programs and exercise machines are advertised to keep healthy and fit. The fact is all of these works, the question is, is it really needed?

The Exotic Sounding Foods
You would have heard of the Acai berry, fig leaves, bitter melon, green tea, and so many other exotic sounding foods. Do they work? They do, but so does other foods. There is nothing wasted on Gods earth.

The proof of that is when the excitement for these foods wanes, another food will crop up, the benefits overstated, and orders will start coming in increasing the demand, spiking prices for the products until a new one appears. Is it worth it? Well, that depends on how deep the wallet is. The truth is that every food that is natural has its own benefit that when examined closely will always reveal special properties that are waiting for an advertiser's attention.

The properties then could be highlighted depending on current health and commercial climate. The carrot consumed like crazy some years back due to it beta-carotene property is now relegated to the background in place of "new food discoveries". In today's stiff commercial competition, the point to remember is that when it sounds too good to be true, then probably it is not.

The Fad Foods
Everybody loves to have a good figure and wants six-pack abs, everybody, and why not. When the figure is good, employment is easier to find, earning potential increases, the body feels light, looks so much healthier, younger, and energized.

What is wrong with fad foods is that it is not telling us the whole truth. If Halle Berry for example gave birth last week and appear today on TV with the same figure, everybody will be curious. The TV host knows that and so the question that would be asked is the diet that keeps her figure "bathing suit" perfect. Whatever answer Halle Berry gives will get the audience's attention and telephone will start ringing for orders.

 What will not be mentioned is that stars maintain a host of dieticians, physicians and exercise guru's working for the sole purpose of keeping the image of the star and maintaining it. The diet may be true but it is only a part of the whole regimen of things observed to make the star look good on camera. Rests also are monitored, exercises are supervised let alone food intake, to keep the star healthy.

Eat, exercise, rest, and work.
The natural things that we do provided it is kept on a good balance are always the best. It has kept people alive for thousands of years; it will keep the person healthy for many more. Eat a variety of food. All food is good provided the person eats variety and strives for a balanced diet. Exotic sounding and foreign delicacies and specialties are not required nor needed. Food grown in every region is sufficient and balanced for the needs of people living in that region. The key in maintaining natural health is balance, variety, and common sense.

Natural Foods To Eat To Stay Healthy

Over the years, people have become more and more conscious about which food to eat to stay healthy. Over the years too, several recommendations have been advised.

 To this end, books were written, keep fit programs were sold and advice followed. The average lifespan though stayed the same, seventy years, much the same as centuries ago.

What are the foods to eat to stay healthy? Everything but in moderation

Doesn't it sound very much like what the Hebrew book says?" Lifespan of seventy years", "all food have been cleansed", "avoid gluttony?" Through all these years, this has never been challenged.

This fact remained sure and true. If ever, several adverts have already claimed superior benefits of their weight reducing, health-inducing product.

 What the adverts succeeded at was over-selling and over- highlighting their claims but never challenged this fact.

 But that is always true with commercialism. In this age where cents and dimes are often the rule of the day, there is no compunction to oversell a product to the point of using scare tactics for the targeted consumer to get their attention and possibly draw out their wallets and part with their money.

Do not fall for fad foods. If they were true, some of them should have stayed on in the market and have grown in market share as far as food choices are concerned.

Nothing has and nothing will, because the price paid is too high for the benefit received and people eventually could see through that.

Instead eat food that tastes good. Eat all foods that are recommended in the good old food chart. The body needs sodium, it helps cleanse the body and prevent diseases.

The body needs fat. Fat insulates us from the elements and helps keep our body lubricated as machines are lubricated.

 Fat also keeps our skin supple and feeling younger. Have protein in the diet, you cannot do with less of it especially when in the healing and during the growing up years.

Calories are needed to maintain energy levels so is sugar. But then everything has to be taken in the right amounts and quantities. Everything in moderation

The problem is not the food; the problem is the attitude towards food. It is the preference of one food group over the other that keeps the system unbalanced and wanting of nutrients that weakens the body.

It is the lifestyle that prevents us or allows excuses not to eat right but have fast food as the usual recourse.

Aside from the food groups that have been classified by science, there are only two types of food in nature that are provided to us.

One is food for nutrition, the other are food for medicine and healing. Examples of these are garlic, turmeric and other herbs too many to mention.

 Every food has its own function and counter action. Spinach has oxalic acid and oranges have counter effects bad for certain blood types, eating raw exposes us to certain microorganisms etc. Nonsense, every food has properties different and tends to counter balance another food.

In an effort to sell a product, a brand, or an idea, what results is a scare that effects in limiting us with food choices often to those that we do not enjoy.

The limiting of food choices keeps on evolving that if everything that is heard or advertised is listened to, nothing is worthy of eating anymore.

Every region on earth will always provide a balanced food source for that region. Foods grown in the US are different from those grown in China.

 But when examined closely, the tastes may change but the same balancing effect in the diet is present, anywhere in the world.

That should tell us something. The earth provides everything for our enjoyment and health. Anyone who is not trying to sell anything will say the same thing, "that we should eat all the food groups in correct quantities and proportions".

That way we enjoy life, that way we stay truly healthy.

Fat Burning Foods

Each one of the following foods is clinically proven to promote weight loss. These foods go a step beyond simply adding no fat to your system – they possess special properties that add zip to your system and help your body melt away unhealthy pounds. These incredible foods can suppress your appetite for junk food and keep your body running smoothly with clean fuel and efficient energy.

You can include these foods in any sensible weight-loss plan. They give your body the extra metabolic kick that it needs to shave off weight quickly.

A sensible weight loss plan calls for no fewer that 1,200 calories per day. But Dr. Charles Klein recommends consuming more that that, if you can believe it – 1,500 to 1,800 calories per day. He says you will still lose weight quite effectively at that intake level without endangering your health.

Hunger is satisfied more completely by filling the stomach. Ounce for ounce, the foods listed below accomplish that better than any others. At the same time, they’re rich in nutrients and possess special fat-melting talents.

Apples

These marvels of nature deserve their reputation for keeping the doctor away when you eat one a day. And now, it seems, they can help you melt the fat away, too.

First of all, they elevate your blood glucose (sugar) levels in a safe, gentle manner and keep them up longer than most foods. The practical effect of this is to leave you feeling satisfied longer, say researchers.

Secondly, they’re one of the richest sources of soluble fiber in the supermarket. This type of fiber prevents hunger pangs by guarding against dangerous swings or drops in your blood sugar level, says Dr. James Anderson of the University of Kentucky’s School of Medicine.

An average size apple provides only 81 calories and has no sodium, saturated fat or cholesterol. You’ll also get the added health benefits of lowering the level of cholesterol already in your blood as well as lowering your blood pressure.

Whole Grain Bread

You needn’t dread bread. It’s the butter, margarine or cream cheese you put on it that’s fattening, not the bread itself. We’ll say this as often as needed – fat is fattening. If you don’t believe that, ponder this – a gram of carbohydrate has four calories, a gram of protein four, and a gram of fat nine. So which of these is really fattening?

Bread, a natural source of fiber and complex carbohydrates, is okay for dieting. Norwegian scientist Dr. Bjarne Jacobsen found that people who eat less than two slices of bread daily weigh about 11 pounds more that those who eat a lot of bread.

Studies at Michigan State University show some breads actually reduce the appetite. Researchers compared white bread to dark, high-fiber bread and found that students who ate 12 slices a day of the dark, high-fiber bread felt less hunger on a daily basis and lost five pounds in two months. Others who ate white bread were hungrier, ate more fattening foods and lost no weight during this time.

So the key is eating dark, rich, high-fiber breads such as pumpernickel, whole wheat, mixed grain, oatmeal and others. The average slice of whole grain bread contains only 60 to 70 calories, is rich in complex carbohydrates – the best, steadiest fuel you can give your body – and delivers  surprising amount of protein.

Coffee

Easy does it is the password here. We’ve all heard about potential dangers of caffeine – including anxiety and insomnia – so moderation is the key.

The caffeine in coffee can speed up the metabolism. In nutritional circles, it’s known as a metabolic enhancer, according to Dr. Judith Stern of the University of California at Davis.

This makes sense, since caffeine is a stimulant. Studies show it can help you burn more calories than normal, perhaps up to 10 percent more. For safety’s sake, it’s best to limit your intake to a single cup in the morning and one in the afternoon. Add only skim milk to tit and try doing without sugar – many people learn to love it that way.

Grapefruit

There’s good reason for this traditional diet food to be a regular part of your diet. It helps dissolve fat and cholesterol, according to Dr. James Cerd of the University of Florida. An average sized grapefruit has 74 calories, delivers a whopping 15 grams of pectin (the special fiber linked to lowering cholesterol and fat), is high in vitamin C and potassium and is free of fat and sodium.

It’s rich in natural galacturonic acid, which adds to its potency as a fat and cholesterol fighter. The additional benefit here is assistance in the battle against atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and the development of heart disease. Try sprinkling it with cinnamon rather than sugar to take away some of the tart taste.

Mustard

Try the hot, spicy kind you find in Asian import stores, specialty shops and exotic groceries. Dr. Jaya Henry of Oxford Polytechnic Institute in England, found that the amount of hot mustard normally called for in Mexican, Indian and Asian recipes, about one teaspoon, temporarily speeds up the metabolism, just as caffeine and the drug ephedrine do.

“But mustard is natural and totally safe,” Henry says. “It can be used every day, and it really works. I was shocked to discover it can speed up the metabolism by as much as 20 to 25 percent for several hours.” This can result in the body burning an extra 45 calories for every 700 consumed, Dr. Henry says.

Peppers

Hot, spicy chili peppers fall into the same category as hot mustard, Henry says. He studied them under the same circumstances as the mustard and they worked just as well. A mere three grams of chili peppers were added to a meal consisting of 766 total calories. The peppers’ metabolism-raising properties worked like a charm, leading to what Henry calls a diet-induced thermic effect. It doesn’t take much to create the effect. Most salsa recipes call for four to eight chilies – that’s not a lot.

Peppers are astonishingly rich in vitamins A and C, abundant in calcium, phosphorus, iron and magnesium, high in fiber, free of fat, low in sodium and have just 24 calories per cup.

Potatoes

We’ve got to be kidding, right? Wrong. Potatoes have developed the same “fattening” rap as bread, and it’s unfair. Dr. John McDougal, director of the nutritional medicine clinic at St. Helena Hospital in Deer Park, California, says, “An excellent food with which to achieve rapid weight loss is the potato, at 0.6 calories per gram or about 85 calories per potato.” A great source of fiber and potassium, they lower cholesterol and protect against strokes and heart disease.

Preparation and toppings are crucial. Steer clear of butter, milk and sour cream, or you’ll blow it. Opt for yogurt instead.

Rice

An entire weight-loss plan, simple called the Rice Diet, was developed by Dr. William Kempner at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The diet, dating to the 1930’s, makes rice the staple of your food intake. Later on, you gradually mix in various fruits and vegetables.

It produces stunning weight loss and medical results. The diet has been shown to reverse and cure kidney ailments and high blood pressure.

A cup of cooked rice (150 grams) contains about 178 calories – approximately one-third the number of calories found in an equivalent amount of beef or cheese. And remember, whole grain rice is much better for you than white rice.

Soups

Soup is good for you! Maybe not the canned varieties from the store – but old-fashioned, homemade soup promotes weight loss. A study by Dr. John Foreyt of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, found that dieters who ate a bowl of soup before lunch and dinner lost more weight than dieters who didn’t. In fact, the more soup they ate, the more weight they lost. And soup eaters tend to keep the weight off longer.

Naturally, the type of soup you eat makes a difference. Cream soups or those made of beef or pork are not your best bets. But here’s a great recipe:

Slice three large onions, three carrots, four stalks of celery, one zucchini and one yellow squash. Place in a kettle. Add three cans crushed tomatoes, two packets low-sodium chicken bouillon, three cans water and one cup white wine (optional). Add tarragon, basil, oregano, thyme and garlic powder. Boil, then simmer for an hour. Serves six.

Spinach

Popeye really knew what he was talking about, according to Dr. Richard Shekelle, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas. Spinach has the ability to lower cholesterol, rev up the metabolism and burn away fat. Rich in iron, beta carotene and vitamins C and E, it supplies most of the nutrients you need.

Tofu

You just can’t say enough about this health food from Asia. Also called soybean curd, it’s basically tasteless, so any spice or flavoring you add blends with it nicely. A 2½ ” square has 86 calories and nine grams of protein. (Experts suggest an intake of about 40 grams per day.) 

Tofu contains calcium and iron, almost no sodium and not a bit of saturated fat. It makes your metabolism run on high and even lowers cholesterol. With different varieties available, the firmer tofus are goof for stir-frying or adding to soups and sauces while the softer ones are good for mashing, chopping and adding to salads.

Fat Burning Basics

If you’re overweight, you are not a bad person. You’re simply overweight. But it’s important to lose the extra pounds so you’ll look good, feel healthier and develop a sense of pride and self-esteem. Once you’ve lost the fat, you’ll need to maintain your weight.

In this blog, you’ll discover how to lose 10 pounds a month – a nice, safe loss of about two or two-and-a-half pounds a week – painlessly. You’ll feel satisfied and more energetic than in the past without feeling deprived.

Most Americans pack on those extra pounds by eating the wrong things. Changing these poor eating habits is the key to long-term success. Knowledge – along with the right food – is the key.

When humans lived in caves, they didn’t know anything about preserving and storing food. They spent all their waking time and energy hunting and gathering food. When they had it, they gobbled it down fast. Instead of storing food in pantries or cupboards, they stored energy in their bodies in the form of fat to burn during periods when there was little or nothing to eat.

Each year, it was absolutely vital for them to put on a good layer of fat during the warm sprint and summer months. That was the only way they could guarantee their survival during the lean and mean winter months.

And since women bore the young, they needed more energy to sustain themselves and their babies, and that meant they were usually heavier.

Even though we no longer live in caves, we have inherited and maintained this basic mechanism for fat storage from our hunting and gathering ancestors.

Each one of us is born with a certain number of fat cells. How many of these fat cells you possess depends on genetics. If you have a lot of fat cells, maybe your ancestors were the biggest people in the tribe, which was a good thing because they had the best chances of survival.

You can never get rid of fat cells, but – unfortunately – you can add to them. Depending upon what you eat, your body will manufacture new far cells. And like those you were born with, they never go away.

That doesn’t mean you’re doomed to be fat once you put on extra pounds. It is possible to shrink fat cells. That’s what happens when you lose weight. You burn up the fat stored in those big fat cells. Think of them as balloons. Burning off the fat inside them has the save effect as letting the air out of a balloon.

A good weight loss program requires a certain amount of intake restriction – the consumption of fewer calories. You burn off the fat by eating less fat and becoming more active.

To guarantee a lifetime of weight-control success, you have to change the type of foods you eat, so that you ingest less fat and still get the vitamins, minerals, trace elements, protein, fat and carbohydrates your body needs to thrive.

Extremely low-calorie diets may help you shed pounds quickly, but they’ll lead to failure in the long run.

That’s because humans are genetically protected against starvation. During food shortages, our bodies slow down our metabolisms and burn less energy so we can stay alive.

A part of our brain called the hypothalamus keeps us on an even weight keep by creating a “set point.” That’s the weight where we feel comfortable. The hypothalamus determines this point based on the level of consumption it’s used to. It seeks to keep our weight constant, even if that point is over what it should be.

When we drastically cut back our food intake, the brain thinks the body is starving, and in an effort to preserve life, it slows the metabolism. Soon the pounds stop coming off. Consequently, we grow hungry and uncomfortable and then eat more. And then the diet fails.

How can you compensate for this metabolic slow-down? The answer is that you have to change the nutritional composition of the foods you eat. You will have to cut down on total calories – that’s absolutely basic to weight loss. More important, however, is reducing the percentage of total calories you are getting from fat.

That’s how you’ll avoid starvation panic in your system. At the same time, you reduce the amount of fat in your food, replacing it with safe, low calorie, nutrient-rich plant foods. This will convince your brain that your body is getting all the nutrition it needs.

In fact, you’ll be able to eat more food and feel more satisfied while consuming fewer calories and fats.

Plant foods break down slowly in your stomach, making you feel full longer, and they are rich in vitamins, minerals, trace elements, carbohydrates and protein for energy and muscle-building. This allows your body to burn off its excess stored fat.

Sports Recreation: Relieve Stress And Have Fun

The world we live in is growing increasingly fast-paced, stressful, and filled with responsibility.  Because of this, everyone needs some time to relax and have some recreation.  Our modern way of life also tends to be sedentary, and the meals we eat are often not very healthy.  Exercise is a very important component in renewing us. 

For these reasons, sports recreation activities are some of the best recreation we can choose.  There are many options for hobbies to provide sports recreation.  You may even want to learn some new recreational sports skills.

Courses to learn new sports recreation skills can be found online and in larger cities.  You can learn and participate in team sports through the local Y and other organizations.  Team sports recreation activities you might like to participate in include softball, baseball, basketball, and sometimes soccer for younger people.  Another team sport you might enjoy is bowling.  Regardless of your skill level you can find a bowling team to have fun with.

Individual sports recreation activities you can learn and participate in include golf, tennis, running, aerobic dance, gymnastics, and horseback riding.  Don't overlook bicycling and weight training too.  Many of these sports can be learned at the local Y as well.  For some of these, you'll want to have a friend to play against or share the experience with.  Many runners, for instance, like to run with a friend.  And games like tennis and handball really need cooperation for best results.

If you'd rather, you can learn about sports recreation skills online.  You can find courses to teach almost any sport or activity you can think of including underwater hockey, fly-fishing, and para-gliding in the Alps!  Of course, unless you can get some hands-on experience you'll only have the theories of the sport.  Still, online courses are a good way to get a taste of different sports and recreational activities you might someday want to try out.

A really fun sports recreation game you might get a chance to play is ping pong.  Ping pong, or table tennis as it is sometimes called, is played on a table with rubber coated paddles and extremely lightweight plastic balls.

 You must hit the ball with your paddle so that it strikes the table and clears the net before your opponent strikes it and bounces it back to you.  One way to become more adept at ping pong and increase your chance of winning is to sometimes hit the ball harder than at other times.  This keeps your opponent guessing what you will do next.

Sports recreation activities are a great way to get exercise and relieve stress.  They are also a lot of fun.  Whether with friends or alone, everyone needs a favorite sports recreation to take part in.

9 Irresistible Flirting Tips

You do not have to be compelled to engagement a show big name look-alike to sizzle furthermore dazzle the female. All you crave is a factual engaging yearning grin additionally a couple of irresistible flirting suggestion.

   1. For females, we preen or groom ourselves subconsciously once we are involved to a person - by smoothing sip our hair or ensemble, checking our lipstick, or straightening a tie. Combine your grooming gesture as well as a leer plus a gaze. You might likewise thrust your hair to only nearby - a amalgamation 1-2 hammer of preening in addition to a sparkle of neck.

   2. A authentic, dear grin is you are numerous influential. Behavior experts imagine that a leer makes you additional appealing plus approachable. Guys, if a female lock eyes furthermore smiles with you three or additional times inside an evening, you have been supplied an unmistakably apparent indication that she is concerned. Make your converted, if you don’t, any individual to boot will.

   3. Gaze the eyes and the someone you are flirting along furthermore since a filled five to six seconds, beam along with afterward seep your repair. Do this leastwise thrice inside a ten to fifteen-minute decades.
 Your target involves to identify you’re flirting as well as him; creating eye conversation is a common evidence of honesty.

   4. One of the added triumphant flirting method a female may possibly engage is to divulge her neck. A chief tilt, the classic hair flick, or the over-the-shoulder peep attracts men’s concentration, opens up your neck, in addition to affords you the chance to lock eyes. The over-the-shoulder converted is extra-effective given that it’s sexy in addition to transports an indication to your target that they are value a re-evaluation.

   5. Members of both sexes are subconsciously involved to scarlet, moist lips for they evidence adolescence, sexual activity in addition to fertility. Red in addition increases a man’s spirit rate. How to make the most it? Wearing a scarlet lipstick presents women’s lips not major a immature color however further a plenty evident
beam also whiter teeth. Using a super-shiny palate gloss makes your lips gander moist in addition to kissable. Men or females should lick their lips subtly (you do not yearn to glimpse similar to you’re aiming out since a porno flick) or bite the diminished tongue - both are absolutely helpful flirting lifestyle.

   6. Men should platform tall and the shoulders gripped back in addition to squared; women folk are biologically concerned to additional powerful kinsfolk. Feel unengaged to obtain unsleeping various apartment.

   7. For ladies, crossing furthermore uncrossing their legs is a guaranteed flirting formula procedure, principally if you’re wearing expensive heels. A lady crossing her legs gives the look seductive to persons in addition to it makes one another hunger to check supplementary. Slipping the heel out of your shoe furthermore dangling it on your toes is an additional trick. The arch of a foot convey a sexual experience furthermore mimics a woman’s curves, along with makes a man’s sympathy race.

   8. Once you as well as your flirting target start off chatting, consequent step is to maximize the attraction. How? Smile along with debate eye communique?, attentiveness the whole lot of your interest on what on earth they utter. No only is other fascinating than a person who yields you an entire announcement.
 Employ the nod as well as boss tilt way. Smiling with sniggering are center at this take - it the right away puts the variant personality worriless. Making low-level communication by brushing the shoulder or elbow is an extra useful flirting recipe.

   9. People mirror each other’s body tongue - gesticulations, flue quantity, posture, etc as they’re desirous. Very subtly mirror your flirting target’s activities - if she leans transports, lean forward; if he scratches his principal, prickle your principal. When you mirror someone’s demeanor, they’ll kick off to consider, imagine furthermore rely on for the reason that even though the two of you are to bear.

Men’s flirting kinds go off to a small degree moreover, they manifest their social status plus moves that may perhaps contains flashing notes, babbling as regards to their occupations, motor vehicles, also variegated toys because the immense boys apart from the emblem spoken higher than.

Look for the reason that the signals higher than, specifically extended eye verbal exchange, low-level touching, snorting, as well as you will without a doubt realize that a woman folk is flirting with you.