Entries Tagged 'Health' ↓

Health, especially in people nearing the second half of their life, improves greatly if you lose a few unwanted pounds. In some instances, you can actually reverse or even cure disease or chronic illness through weight reduction and improved eating. The body is a miraculous machine; unfortunately, most people treat their cars better than they do their bodies. Nobody would ever think of putting disease fuel into a car that requires unleaded gas, yet we put all kinds of unhealthful foods into our bodies every day

Diseases Are Created
So often we think of disease as an unfortunate condition that we “catch” much in the same way that we catch colds or airborne viruses. But that’s not true. Diseases like Type 2 diabetes are created and manufactured inside us. What we eat has a direct affect on how our body reacts, how it stores fat and how it wards off ills. Sugar grows cancer. Eating sweets or sugar-producing foods can provide the chemical makeup some bodies respond to and encourage cancer growth. Likewise, minimizing these foods can help ward off cancer, diabetes and many other diseases.

People have reactions to certain types of foods that are not related to the chemicals or fats those foods contain, either. Food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities are three separate food reactions that may be very dangerous to your health, can affect weight loss or weight maintenance efforts, and may even cause death. Indigestion, nausea, skin rashes, and sinus congestion can all be indications of food allergies. Your inability to lose weight when you know you are doing everything right is another indication that sensitivities may be present. Even reactions to non-caloric items like onion or artificial sweeteners may cause your body to retain unwanted fat by metabolically slowing down. Simple food sensitivity tests can be performed by a family doctor. This test is highly recommended to help determine which foods should be avoided or, at least, minimized if you have any reason to believe that this may be an issue for you.

Know Your Body
If we listen, our body will usually tell us just about everything we need to know in order to nutritionally fortify it properly. When you learn more about your body and how you feel, good health and longevity is much more achievable. Drinking at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily will help you stay hydrated and flush fats & toxins from your body at the same time. Continue reading →

I spent seven years helping patients with kidney disease and related heath challenges as a physician in a high-level, high pressure nephrology practice in Boca Raton, Florida. Today, I’m proud to be helping people in a different, even more rewarding way, by teaching them to heal themselves through Bikram yoga.

Although financially rewarding, my medical practice allowed me no personal life, and the stress was taking a toll on me. I took a break and began researching yoga as a means for both physical and emotional fitness. Always interested in health and fitness, I worked out every day, spending at least three days a week with a personal trainer and playing tennis several times a week. I found that lifting weights, however, made me look bulky.

Someone told me about Bikram yoga, so I found a local studio and gave it a try. It was the most challenging physical activity I had ever experienced in my life. The hour and a half practice consists of 26 poses done in a room heated to about 106 degrees. The poses require such concentration that your mind is forced to rest the entire class. In the end, you feel cleansed both physically and emotionally. I was hooked immediately. I call it Approach to Fitness and Health.

I began my own personal practice of Bikram and in October 2006 opened my own Bikram studio in Lighthouse Point, Florida and completed the nine-week training to become a certified Bikram instructor. As a physician, I carefully studied the medical benefits of Bikram and have seen firsthand how my own students have been able to shed pounds, reduce stress and eliminate dependency on medications.

For centuries, the great yogis of the world have known the power of using the breath to heal and calm the body; therefore, all forms of yoga are wonderful for improving health. I’ve personally found, however, that Bikram offers some unique and lasting benefits.

Bikram yoga, the Yoga College of India, was founded by Bikram Choudhury, who developed this form of yoga after suffering a depilating injury. At 17, he injured his knee during a weight-lifting accident. European doctors told him he would never walk again. Having practiced yoga since the age of 4 and retired as the All-India National Yoga Champion, he did not accept their pronouncement and had himself carried back to his yoga master, Bishnu Ghosh. Six months later, his knee had totally recovered. Ghosh was a celebrated physical culturist and the first to scientifically document Yoga’s ability to cure chronic physical ailments and heal the body.
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Did you know that in a recent 2005 poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), women suffer from sleep problems than men? The National Sleep Foundation is an excellent resource to learn about sleep, sleep disorders and suggestions on how to fall asleep. The body has a biological clock called circadian rhythms that regulate your sleeping g habits. Sleep deprivation can lead to bad days, bad moods, overeating, wasting time, frustration, lack of concentration and possibly other serious health conditions. Therefore, it is essential that you i maintain good sleeping habits. Your five senses can help you fall asleep. Here is how:

Touch
Touch is one of the most important components to good sleep. Your skin is the largest organ of your body!
• Cozy up in bed with soft (flannel or silk) pajamas, sheets and comforters.
• Keep it clean. A clean body clean bed and clean room can also help you sleep.
• Use your bed just to sleep.
• Snuggle with a stuffed animal.
• Treat yourself to a warm, relaxing bath if you have had a stressful day. A bath can help you unwind.
• Make sure the temperature in your room is comfortable for you.

Smell
In addition to touch from cozy fabrics, smell, too, is important in inducing sleep. Scented bath water, body lotions, oils, candles, sprays and scents to spread on bedsheets and pillows can help induce sleep, especially if they arouse a sense of relaxation and calm.
• For your body—Scented body wash, soap, shampoo, body lotion, body oil, bath powder, deodorant and body sprays.
• For your room—Scented sprays, air fresheners, scented plug-ins, incense, candles and fragrance lamps.
• For your sheets and other fabrics—Scented sprays, perfumes, detergent, fabric softeners and sachets. Some relaxing scents and essential oils to keep in mind when shopping are chamomile, lavender, neroli, rose, marjoram, jasmine, melissa, sandalwood and ylang-ylang, in addition to many others.
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Spring has arrived and you have spent several months diligently working at your New Year’s resolution, yet you have not met with the success you envisioned. You wake up feeling tired, swollen, a few pounds heavier, not losing weight, and are ready to call it quits on the helpful advice you read in Balance Magazine’s last issue. Rather than blaming stress or your willpower, you may want to consider blaming your thyroid.

The thyroid is part of the body’s endocrine sys­tem, which helps regulate and control a person’s metabolism. It is a butterfly shaped gland laying on top of your windpipe on the bottom your neck. The thyroid gland is responsible for secret­ing the hormone known as thyroxin. This hor­mone is important to helping maintain a healthy state of balance in your body. The thyroid gland is involved in all body functions, and therefore, thyroid dysfunction may be represented in vari­ous ways clinically, unique to each of us. As in all endocrine disease, if there is an imbalance or ill­ness, our thyroid may not be producing the appropriate amount of hormone.

Hypo and Hyper-Thyroidism

There are two types of thyroid imbalances, each having their own specific symptoms to look out for. Hypothyroidism is the most common thy­roid imbalance, and the one most women often believe they have. It is caused by inflammation of the gland, called Autoimmune Thyroiditis, or Hashimoto’s disease, after Dr. Hakaru Hashimoto, who wrote his medical thesis on the disease in 1912. Continue reading →

There are a tremendous amount of responsibilities that fill the lives and schedules of women everyday. Working, cooking, shopping, cleaning and taking care of a family can put a tremendous amount of stress on our bodies and minds. Aside from women’s responsibilities to others, we also have the task of keeping up to date with our body’s unique health care needs as we grow and change. During puberty, pregnancy and menopause women need to take special care of themselves and seek advice throughout each stage of life from their doctor as well as their dentist. Hormonal fluctuations in a woman’s body affect a variety of tissues, including gum tissue, which increases susceptibility to periodontal dis­ease.

The “Silent” Killer

Periodontal disease results from bacteria and toxins in dental plaque that forms on teeth. If this plaque is not immediately removed, it hardens into tartar and must be removed by a dentist. The bacteria in plaque infects the gums and causes redness and inflammation, which destructs the tissues and bone that support teeth. If you notice inflammation or symptoms such as persistent bad breath, gums that bleed easily when brushed, separation between gums and teeth, development of pus between teeth and gums and tenderness, contact your dentist immediately. Common causes of periodontal diseases include tobacco, hormones, genetics, stress, medications, poor personal hygiene, nutrition and systemic diseases.

Women need to be aware that natural changes in their hormones and health can greatly affect various systems throughout their body. Many people are not aware of the connection between hormonal changes and periodontal disease, which is referred to as a “silent disease.” Often many women do not realize they have a periodontal disease until it reaches an advanced state. However, at each stage of life there are steps women can take to prevent periodontal disease.

Beginning with the early stages of growth and development, when a young woman’s body matures and produces elevated levels of progesterone and estrogen, hormones can begin to increase gums sensitivity.
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The advent of Penicillin at the turn of the 20th century ushered in a new era of health care, eradicating diseases that once proved deadly However,millions of bacteria are still all around us,and even thriving inside our bodies.

Good and Bad Bacteria.
Bacteria can be separated into two categories— those that harm and those that heal. Harmful, invading bacteria are responsible for making us ill with yeast infections and other chronic illnesses like acne and psoriasis; these conditions are generally treated with a strong course of antibiotics, meant to kill off the bacteria in your body. Antibiotics, however, can’t discriminate against the bacteria that are invading your body and those that are protecting it. Bacteria such as Lactobacillus Acidophilus live in your intestines, mucous membranes and other areas of the body, where they promote digestion and defend their “territory” against invading harmful bacteria.

The immune system is our body’s natural defense system that keeps us healthy, made up of natural killer cells, lymphocytes, and macrophages; collectively, this network functions primarily against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.

In some cases, the use of antibiotics can even hinder immune function. For example, in one study, children who took amoxicillin for an ear infection suffered two to six times the recurrent rate of ear infections than those children who took a placebo. The physical symptoms caused by bad bacteria appear much more quickly than the good bacteria can get to the site of infection to take up the fight, making most people reach for an antibiotic. Continue reading →

There is a revolution going on in medicine,about which most Americans and many of their doctors are unaware. It has to do with something called insulin resistance.

Your body needs the hormone insulin to handle carbohydrates, foods your digestive system breaks down to sugar. Recently, researchers discovered that people who are overweight make plenty of insulin, but their bodies become resistant to its effects. Consequently, they have to make five or six times the normal amount to handle certain carbohydrates. And that’s a big problem. Too much insulin, whether taken as medication or produced by the body, consistently makes people fat.

Researchers have been zeroing in on the foods that trigger excessive insulin secretion. As you would expect, the culprits are carbohydrates, but not all carbs—only ones that flood the bloodstream with too much glucose too fast. Scientists measured the effects of various carbs on blood glucose and rated them on a scale called the glycemic index. A few diet book authors spotted this research and published lists of the glycemic indexes as guides for weight loss. Continue reading →