Sunday, September 19, 2010

rgergerg

ggsdgsdg

Exercise, even modest exercise, puts stress on nearly every part of your body. That sounds frightening, but it shouldn’t scare you away from exercise. In fact, if the stress of exercise is applied properly, nearly every part of your body will respond by growing stronger and healthier. The result is true fitness. It’s not measured by how fast you can run, how much you can lift, or how big your biceps are. Instead, real fitness is measured by how well your body can withstand stress of all sorts: the stress of exercise, the stress of disease, the psychosocial stresses of twenty-first-century life, and even the stress of the aging process. Exercise can make you fit and healthy. The trick is to know how to exercise properly and then to make it part of your daily life. And the way to start is by understanding how exercise affects your body.

Exercise and Your Body
Even the most committed couch potato has sprinted to catch a bus or an elevator, and all of us can remember how it feels to exercise. Physical exertion makes your heart beat faster and harder. Your breathing also gets faster and deeper. If you’re at it long enough, your skin will get flushed, warm, and damp with perspiration. Your muscles will be taut from effort, and they may ache and stiffen up for some time afterward. If you are really pushing your-self, you may notice some nausea, abdominal discomfort, or light headedness, and you might enjoy high spirits right after you come to a stop, only to feel tired, sleepy, or a bit grumpy later in the day. You don’t have to be an exercise physiologist to know that exercise makes your heart, lungs, and muscles work harder or that your metabolism speeds up, producing extra heat. But even though an occasional burst of exercise may enable you to catch a bus or enjoy a sporting afternoon with the kids, it won’t do much for your health. For fitness and health, sporadic exercise won’t do, but regular exercise will do very nicely indeed. The body responds to the stress of habitual exercise with a remarkable series of adaptations that are collectively known as the training effect.

Exercise and Your Heart
Your heart is incredibly strong, but exercise training will make it stronger and more durable. A healthy heart pumps about five quarts of blood a minute while you are resting quietly. When you dash to make that bus, your heart rate may double or even triple, and the remarkable little muscle will pump out up to twenty quarts of blood a minute. Diseased hearts can’t match this performance, but exercise-trained hearts can do much more. At maximum effort, an athlete’s heart can pump up to forty quarts of blood a minute, and it can sustain a high workload for much longer than the unconditioned heart can. How does regular exercise help your heart? Like your other muscles, your heart muscle gets larger and stronger with exercise. Exercise also makes the heart muscle more efficient, so it needs less oxygen for itself. Exercise training helps human hearts resist arrhythmias, including the abnormal pumping rhythms that can lead to sudden death. And moderate exercise will earn all of these heartfelt improvements for you.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Why You Should Exercise - Part 1

Exercise, even modest exercise, puts stress on nearly every part of your body. That sounds frightening, but it shouldn’t scare you away from exercise. In fact, if the stress of exercise is applied properly, nearly every part of your body will respond by growing stronger and healthier. The result is true fitness. It’s not measured by how fast you can run, how much you can lift, or how big your biceps are. Instead, real fitness is measured by how well your body can withstand stress of all sorts: the stress of exercise, the stress of disease, the psychosocial stresses of twenty-first-century life, and even the stress of the aging process. Exercise can make you fit and healthy. The trick is to know how to exercise properly and then to make it part of your daily life. And the way to start is by understanding how exercise affects your body.

Exercise and Your Body
Even the most committed couch potato has sprinted to catch a bus or an elevator, and all of us can remember how it feels to exercise. Physical exertion makes your heart beat faster and harder. Your breathing also gets faster and deeper. If you’re at it long enough, your skin will get flushed, warm, and damp with perspiration. Your muscles will be taut from effort, and they may ache and stiffen up for some time afterward. If you are really pushing your-self, you may notice some nausea, abdominal discomfort, or light headedness, and you might enjoy high spirits right after you come to a stop, only to feel tired, sleepy, or a bit grumpy later in the day. You don’t have to be an exercise physiologist to know that exercise makes your heart, lungs, and muscles work harder or that your metabolism speeds up, producing extra heat. But even though an occasional burst of exercise may enable you to catch a bus or enjoy a sporting afternoon with the kids, it won’t do much for your health. For fitness and health, sporadic exercise won’t do, but regular exercise will do very nicely indeed. The body responds to the stress of habitual exercise with a remarkable series of adaptations that are collectively known as the training effect.

Exercise and Your Heart
Your heart is incredibly strong, but exercise training will make it stronger and more durable. A healthy heart pumps about five quarts of blood a minute while you are resting quietly. When you dash to make that bus, your heart rate may double or even triple, and the remarkable little muscle will pump out up to twenty quarts of blood a minute. Diseased hearts can’t match this performance, but exercise-trained hearts can do much more. At maximum effort, an athlete’s heart can pump up to forty quarts of blood a minute, and it can sustain a high workload for much longer than the unconditioned heart can. How does regular exercise help your heart? Like your other muscles, your heart muscle gets larger and stronger with exercise. Exercise also makes the heart muscle more efficient, so it needs less oxygen for itself. Exercise training helps human hearts resist arrhythmias, including the abnormal pumping rhythms that can lead to sudden death. And moderate exercise will earn all of these heartfelt improvements for you.

Effects of Sleep Loss - Part 1

The activities we engage in instead of sleeping may be related to our poor sleep. We also know that more people are relying on medications for sleep and wakefulness. To know more about  your sleep, you should ask yourself the following questions: 
  • Under what conditions is it difficult to sleep?
  • At what time during the night is it difficult to sleep?
  • How many times during the night do you wake up?
  • What wakes you up?
  • How often do you have problems sleeping?
Also be aware of any sleepiness you feel in the daytime, your bedtime and wake time, and periods when you expect to be awake. Note how any or all of these answers affect your ability to function and enjoy life. Here are some additional questions to help you understand how your sleep affects you: 
  • Having difficulty concentrating or making decisions?
  • Experiencing drowsiness when you drive or are engaged in other activities?
  • Feeling moody or irritable with others?
Physiology behind sleep
These questions are just examples used to illustrate the importance of sleep and how lack of sleep can affect our mental abilities, personality, mood, and safety. It is also important to discuss how our body regulates sleep. Sleepiness is physiologically regulated by the following two primary processes:
   1.   The body’s circadian rhythm causes an increase in sleepiness twice during a 24-hour period.
   2.   The physiological need for sleep, which is increased by sleep loss and sleep disruption.

Explanations of sleep physiology
The need for sleep and the circadian rhythm interact to determine the level of sleepiness and alertness. The body needs these two processes to initiate sleep and to remain asleep. There are multiple factors, however, that can physically and psychologically prevent us from falling asleep.
Our muscles need to relax so that muscle tone in our head and  neck and other regions of the body is at its most natural relaxed  state, and our breathing patterns change (become slower) during different stages of wakefulness and sleep. Physiologically, we also need to have comfortable temperature and noise levels as well as being free from thirst, hunger, pain, or physical discomfort. In summary, if environmental and physiological conditions are not conducive to sleep, in terms of temperature, heart rate, noise, light, and physical comfort, then sleep is less likely to happen.

The occurrence rates for sleep disturbance are high because sleep is very sensitive to stress and emotional upset. Major life events and minor life events that accumulate negatively impact our sleep. We spend increased amounts of time problem solving, analyzing, and worrying, and these behaviors often intrude on our nighttime sleep. We spend time in bed engaging in these behaviors, which are mentally stimulating behaviors and fragment or disrupt our sleep.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Facts About Dehydrated Skin - Part 2

 
The second part in the dehydrated skin series continous with the right products. You should first check to make sure that you are using products that harmonize best with yourskin type. If you feel they’re too drying or you experience flaking, check with the sales consultant or skin technician. They may ask you to make modifications to your ritual or suggest making product changes. For, example, you may want to switch from a gel to a lotion cleanser. Here are things that you should know:
  • If your skin feels tight at midday, consider switching your foundation or powder to one with more moisture and less oil-absorption.
  • Too many salon treatments are simply too much of a good thing. Back off on the frequency. Every six weeks is often enough, and you may want to reduce visits to the salon for peels even further. Talk with your aesthetician to evaluate if your skin dryness is caused by the frequency of peels, your skin care products, or another factor all together. Medications. Many kinds of medication can cause dehydration. Find ways to get off the medication. If this isn’t possible, be sure to take care of the other causes listed here and properly follow all the steps of your daily cleansing routine, and your skin should respond well.
  • Even the common cold or flu can dehydrate your skin. If you’ve been through a more challenging illness, such as cancer, the chemotherapy or radiation treatments can dehydrate your skin. Maintain your daily skin care ritual even when you’re under the weather.
  • Polution seems to be just about everywhere these days but pollution can dehydrate your skin. To remedy, avoid the other triggers in this list, maintain your daily skin care ritual, and exfoliate regularly.
  • Apply moisturizer before your flight. Transfer some toner that contains a humectant into a spray bottle and spritz your face during the flight. You can also use purified water for your spritz. (Aim carefully. The person next to you may not want an unexpected spritz!) Make sure that your toner contains humectants and doesn’t contain any alcohol.
  • Alcohol is a diuretic and draws fluids from the body, lowering the body’s water content. When you’re hung over after drinking, it’s because your body was dehydrated by alcohol. If you have dehydrated skin, it’s best to avoid alcoholic beverages.
  • Smoking dries out the body both internally and externally. This affects both smokers and people subjected to second-hand smoke. The only solution is to stop smoking.
  • Both regular and diet sodas contain sodium and are acidic. Drinking these results in dehydrated skin. Avoid sodas and increase your intake of purified water. Carbonated water contains dissolved carbon dioxide, which is highly acidic, so avoid other bubbly drinks as well. 
  • Do whatever it takes to get a good night’s sleep. Go to bed earlier to ensure a full night’s rest, or take an afternoon nap if you can’t get all your sleep in at night.
  • Eat better!

Unshakable Self-Confidence - Free eBook

If you don't already have a certain measure of self-confidence, it's difficult to become more confident. Don't you need inner strength in order to build your confidence?
It may seem so at first glance, but fear not. This guide will walk you through a simple process to build your confidence.












Fat Burning Fairy Tales - Free eBook

Separating FACT from FICTION. The top 12 fat loss myths revealed!
If you are serious about achieving high quality, long lasting improvements in your body composition, a patient and gradual approach is truly the only way to get there. 

Dopamine Part 3 - How Does Dopamine Affect Us?

Hormones and Obesity
As we get older, dieting will almost always get harder. This is because we’re losing our brainpower that controls hormone production, and hormones play a critical role in weight control. One prominent hormone is insulin, which helps the body turn food into fuel. Insulin is created in the pancreas along with glucagon and somatostatin, two other hormones that aid in digestion and support our metabolism. Incretin is a bioidentical form of glucagon stimulation for the pancreas and blood sugar reversal. Growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor 1 will accomplish the goals of somatostatin. In the end both hormones have amazing effects on weight loss (as much as 10 to 15 pounds a year), with improvement in metabolism, appetite reduction, increase in muscle mass, and better blood sugar regulation.

Hormones Help Control Addiction
The loss of brainpower and subsequent food addiction is your obesity code; your brain is sending signals to choose junk foods to feed your energy needs. Meanwhile, your body’s metabolism slows, meaning you process all this extra food at a slower rate, leading to more weight gain and fatigue. Over time, you might start looking for other ways to boost your energy, substituting other addictions for food including cigarettes,  recreational drugs (such as cocaine or crystal meth), or prescription medications.

Leptin
The hormone leptin is also important for beating obesity. Leptin is secreted by the fat tissue in our bodies and regulates our appetite. The more leptin present, the less hungry we are. It may be possible that our appetite was established in our brains just after birth and may then be set for the rest of our lives. The amount of leptin in our systems in those first few weeks of life is controlled by genetics, not by what we are fed.

Natural Treatments
While increasing your levels of dopamine is essential, several nutrient supplements can reduce total body fat and create a lean body when combined with the proper diet and exercise program.
  • Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) facilitates weight loss and reduces the amount of additional fat cells from being deposited in existing body fat.
  • Preliminary studies suggest that garcinia cambogia (HCA) may reduce the conversion of carbohydrates into stored fat by inhibiting certain enzyme processes, as well as suppressing appetite and inducing weight loss.
  • The precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) has been shown to reduce appetite and to promote weight loss.
  • Phenylalanine, a precursor to adrenaline, alleviates obesity by stimulating the body’s brown adipose tissue to “burn up” regular adipose tissue. It also helps to release cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that increases your sensation of fullness.
  • 7-KETO is a bioidentical hormone related to dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and may  also work to promote weight loss.
  • Essential fatty acids (EFA), such as gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), facilitate weight loss.
  • Fish oils facilitate loss of fat, raise serotonin, and decrease appetite.
  • Vitamin D and magnesium control metabolic syndromes and help you lose weight.
  • Increasing calcium metabolism results in better fat metabolism and helps speed up weight loss.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Stretching Tips - Free eBook

This free ebook is filled with tips, tricks and tactics to help you stretch properly so you get the most out of your time spent stretching!
If you stretch properly before and after a session at the gym, you will decrease your chances of serious injury and avoid soreness and pain. Stretching is not an activity meant to to cause pain: its whole purpose is to avoid pain. 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Dopamine Part 2 - How Does Dopamine Affect Us?

Aging Leads to Obesity
Just as lower brain energy affects the rest of the body, the rest of the aging body affects brain energy. Before you start any diet regimen, get a full checkup to see if there are other possible contributing factors to your weight gain. Medications, including some that are prescribed for depression and epilepsy, can increase appetite, so be sure to ask your physician if your weight gain is a side effect from any medication you may be taking.

Cardiopause/vasculopause:
Changes in blood flow affect the brain, which results in a reduced metabolic rate. 

The immune system:
The loss of immunity causes increased infection, which challenges the brain and results in brain trauma. Once the brain is injured, it craves carbohydrates. While you are experiencing these cravings, it is difficult to manage food selections properly. The loss of thyroid hormone can also alter your metabolic rate. 

Male aging sexuality:
The loss of testosterone results first in abdominal obesity and then in total body obesity as muscle turns to fat. 

Female aging sexuality:
The loss of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone results in roughly 10 pounds of weight gain per decade beginning at about age 30. 

Muscular skeletal aging:
The loss of growth hormone results in a decreased ability of the body to convert fat to muscle, the loss of muscle and bone, and the loss of physical strength. The loss of control of the parathyroid hormone bursting results in an increase of parathyroid hormone throughout the body and a loss in calcitonin, which can affect bone density, which can alter food selection. Remember, frail bones, frail brain, frail body, and frail life. When we are in a malnourished state, we crave unhealthy, calorie-dense foods such as french fries, potato chips, sweets, and pasta. Changes in bone density also impact overall health and emotional stress; when we become frail and feeble, we lose motivation for a healthy lifestyle and begin to make bad food choices.

Metabolic Syndrome
A common illness related to obesity is metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms including impaired insulin sensitivity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and a large waist size. It’s amazing how the medical community talks about metabolic syndrome without connecting it to the aging body. Once you unlock the power of the AgePrint, you will understand that metabolic syndrome is a brain chemical disorder of dopamine.
A recent study found that when overweight patients with metabolic syndrome were put on diets similar to the one we recommend, the results were remarkable. These diets were designed to give participants 500 fewer calories than their daily caloric need while increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains and reducing consumption of red meat, sweets, and refined grains. During the study, the participants had higher HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), lower triglycerides, lower blood pressure, greater weight loss, and more improved fasting glucose than those not on the diet.

Go To Next Dopamine Part 3 

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Facts About Dehydrated Skin - Part 1

Today, millions of people lay claim to having dry skin. And there are certainly thousands of skin care products formulated and marketed especially for dry skin. Yet, as a genetic skin type, dry skin by itself doesn’t exist. What does exist is the skin condition of dehydrated skin. If you are an oil-dry skin type, you may or may not be dehydrated. Anyone with any skin type can have dehydrated skin. Your skin feels dry and tight. When you smile, it seems like your face cracks. Your skin tone has changed from bright and clear to ashen and dull. It’s likely that your skin is dehydrated. Unfortunately, none of the dry-skin moisturizers and treatments alone can correct dehydrated skin. They can only help. Correcting dehydrated skin requires you to change your environment and make lifestyle changes.

Dehydrated skin is dry to the touch and it may itch. You might have flaky patches and rough spots, and you might see blotchy patches when you look in the mirror. Your skin tone lacks vibrancy and radiance. If your skin remains dehydrated for too long, keratinization can occur. The dead skin cells build up on the surface of your skin until they coat it, making it nearly impossible for moisturizer to reach your skin. Your skin gets more dehydrated. With keratinization come congestion and breakouts. Your skin is crying out for moisture. The good news is that dehydration is only a temporary condition, no matter what your age. Your skin can quickly rehydrate and can start to function as healthy skin once again

Moisture Deprivation
To solve the problem of dehydration, you first need to know what’s causing it. Something, perhaps several things, in your environment, health situation, or lifestyle is making your skin dry. Some of the causes listed here are simple to correct, and some take more effort.
  • You need to drink at least eight glasses, or 64 ounces, of water every day. This is in addition to other beverages you drink during the day, such as tea, coffee, or juice. You may want to eliminate these other beverages entirely, as these beverages can further dehydrate your skin and contribute to other skin conditions, such as acne.
  • These systems keep the atmosphere dry, which removes moisture from your skin. Use room humidifiers to keep air moist. If you can afford it, install a humidifier on your home furnace. The cost starts at about $350.00 and goes up from there. If you use room humidifiers, make sure you clean them every week so that mold and fungus don’t grow in them. Circulating moist mold and fungus in the air can createeven more health problems.
  • You can’t make the air outside more humid, but you can use humidifiers indoors. Fill a pottery crock with water and place several around your house. Refill when the water has evaporated.
  • Overuse of exfoliants dries out skin, making it rough and red. Use your exfoliant less frequently. Use a very light touch with scrub exfoliants, and only use the kind with polyurethane beads or cornmeal.
  • Overuse of topical prescription medications for skin, such as Retin-A, benzoyl peroxide, or hydroquinone. They can make skin dry, red, and inflamed. Cut back on use to every other day or every third day until your skin normalizes and redness is healed.

    Go To Next - Facts About Dehydrated Skin - Part 2

      Saturday, September 11, 2010

      Dopamine Part 1 - How Does Dopamine Affect Us?

      Brain power is the fire that keeps your mind alive, awake, alert, and aware. However, when your brain is not producing enough dopamine, brainpower diminishes and you spiral down into a low-energy state. Without the brainpower that dopamine provides, you’ll notice that your body begins to slow down in every imaginable way. At first, you might feel fatigue, look pale, or even experience light- headedness. Then more complicated symptoms arrive, including a decreased libido, sexual dysfunction, weight gain, and difficulty performing the most routine tasks. You may also experience a decreased level of energy for physical activity or even self-destructive thoughts. Feeling tired all day is often too much to bear. Fatigue is a serious medical problem and a huge age accelerator. We seem to know this inherently because when we feel tired, we tend to respond; to compensate for a loss of energy, we unknowingly find ourselves self-medicating with food. Your brain and body begin to crave the energy they lack, and you become attracted to foods that will offer a similar energy rush, namely sugary foods, simple carbohydrates, and caffeine. Before you know it, you’ve gained weight and are literally addicted to these junk foods; without them, you will feel the symptoms of withdrawal. And each time you turn to them, you’ll need larger quantities to keep your energy and dopamine levels high.

      Fatigue
      The fact is a simple one: as you age, you will feel tired. Your dopamine production slows, your metabolism decreases, and you lose energy. Feeding your energy need with food only slows you down more. When fatigue is combined with illness and general aging, you have a recipe for disaster. The good news is that your energy can be restored so you won’t feel as tired.

      Low Dopamine Levels
      Low dopamine levels affect every pause in your body. This is one of the most powerful age accelerators, sending a code to the rest of the systems in your body that it’s time to stop functioning. Lack of dopamine can cause a cascade of poor health in every part of your body. The following pauses may be triggered by conditions that result from a dopamine deficiency:

      Cardiopause:
      The aging heart affects the rhythm of your heart by disrupting its electrical signals. The weight gain and fatigue that result because of a lack of dopamine raises your blood pressure, causing strain on the heart as it has to work harder than it used to. What’s more, poor food choices because of this lack of dopamine can lead to fatigue, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, further affecting the vascular system by clogging blood vessels all over your body, leading to plaque and blockages, and stroke.

      Immunopause:
      The immune system is like the sanitation engineers of the body, going around and cleaning up the garbage that makes you sick. When it’s compromised by excess weight caused by a lack of dopamine, it loses the ability to do this job properly. This is where all the diseases start: sinusitis, arthritis, dermatitis, to name a few. The excess fat interferes with the immune system’s ability to fight viruses and bacteria and to recognize and regulate our own cell overgrowth. Our bodies are constantly making precancerous cells that we have to control as we try to grow and repair. Obesity also accelerates every form of cancer in every organ, be it your brain, bladder, prostate, ovaries, colon, lungs, or thyroid.

      Menopause:
      A lack of dopamine might actually accelerate the onset of menopause so that heavier women may begin menopause earlier. Remember, hormonal loss is a major age accelerator, so early menopause would begin a second cascade of spiraling health as well as the more recognizable symptoms and conditions. For example, you may experience either hair loss or increased hair growth, often in unsightly spots, particularly the face. Excessive weight gain, fatigue, disturbed sleep cycles, depression, anxiety, and addiction can each cause a loss of sexual interest and feelings of low self-worth. All this is a result of a dopamine deficiency. Early menopause may also occur in women who are too thin.

      Andropause:
      For men, obesity resulting from a lack of dopamine can make detecting prostate cancer more difficult and results in a faster loss of genital size, sexual dysfunctions of all types, and loss of libido.

      Osteopause:
      Fat seeps into your bones during the development of osteoporosis, replacing normal bone. As a result of obesity, your bone structure thickens, making it all the more difficult to lose weight. Your skeletal structure was not meant to hold excess weight, and without a proper level of dopamine, you’ll feel the pain this burden causes on your back, knees, and hips, accelerating arthritis.

      Dermatopause:
      An increased size literally stretches your skin, damaging its texture. As anyone who has gained and lost weight knows, stretch marks are a constant reminder of your once larger size. Couple obesity with smoking, and dry skin and even psoriasis often show the world that your dopamine voltage is off.

      Go to Next Dopamine Part 2 

      Wednesday, September 8, 2010

      NEW pics

      newline


      Sleep and Sleep Disorders Part 3 - Function of sleep

      What does sleep loss do to our bodies? Our immune system becomes less efficient and productive with reduced sleep. Our ability to fight off infection under increased stress levels can become compromised.

      For instance, increased reports of cold- and flu-like symptoms are reported at college health clinics in response to surveys about high stress-response levels (commonly presented as sleep loss). It is during deep (Stage 4) sleep when our immune system regenerates. Stage 4 sleep is also the time when growth hormone (the hormone responsible for growth and metabolism) is released, thus implicating the importance of a good night’s sleep for children.
       
      Problems caused by sleepiness
      The biological systems of our body follow a natural rhythm of activity and rest. Many of these cycles are activated during the stages of sleep, usually deep sleep (Stages 3 and 4) or dream (REM) sleep. Overall, all cycles follow an approximate 24-hour schedule. When an individual’s 24-hour schedule becomes skewed or altered due to work, travel, or personal habits, the timing of the sleep in terms of bedtime and wake time is offset. For instance, when traveling across time zones, we will experience a change in our sleep schedule. This change may present as either a delay (sleep occurs at a later time) or advancement (sleep occurs at an earlier time) in our sleep time. Last, our natural drive for sleep is strongest during the day and nighttime between the hours of 1:00 and 4:00. This feeling of sleepiness that occurs during the hours between 1:00   P.M.   and 4:00 P.M. is often misinterpreted as sleepiness resulting from having lunch. Taken together, problem sleepiness occurs if we alter our schedule of activity and sleep at a time when the drive for sleepiness is the strongest. Treatment efforts address this change or desynchronization of our normal wake-sleep rhythms by scheduling naps, implementing light physical activity to the schedule and utilizinglight therapy at varying times during the day to promote either sleepiness or wakefulness.
       
      What does sleepness mean?
      We are generally aware of our level and ratings of sleepiness.  We are all familiar with stories of businesspeople traveling and  staying up late to prepare for a big presentation. Or there is the  scenario of young adults and teens altering their sleep schedules  with in-house socializing (e.g., instant messaging) by staying up into the late hours of the night. Additional examples include patients who are recovering from medical procedures who may easily awaken from experiencing pain or restlessly shifting positions  while dipping in and out of sleep during the night. In each of these  scenarios, poor sleep is experienced, and if these sleep patterns remain unabated, the individual is at risk for mood alterations and  performance and health consequences.  A mounting sleep debt, regardless of the process that triggered it, has the same result: decreased performance efficiency, mood instability, and poor health and disease and disorder formation. Our defensive response to the challenges we face with poor sleep is weakened and remains that way. Poor sleep, especially when continuously experienced, lowers the immune system response. Couple poor sleep with exposure to environmental toxins, disease and infection exposure, and/or mental or physical stress, and we may see how the immune system can significantly be lowered.  It could be argued that the most common signs of sleepiness are not just ignored; rather, we do not know how to detect these signs. These signs are commonly reported as feeling the need to close the eyes, experiencing sensations of relaxed muscles, reduction in breathing (it starts to slow down), restless legs, and feeling chilled. Ultimately, daytime sleepiness is the consequence of poor, short sleep.

      Monday, September 6, 2010

      Sleep and Sleep Disorders Part 2 - Understanding Sleep

      This is the second part of Sleep and Sleep Disorders

      Understanding Sleep
      Sleep is considered now to be an  active state of being; the mind is a 24-hour mind, and it does stop  working, a surprising fact of which we often are not aware. We spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping in this active state. Although the specific function of sleep still eludes researchers, many substantiated theories point to the necessity of good-quality  sleep to our existence and overall well-being.  Different brain cell chemicals and neurotransmitters regulate  our sleep-wake states by acting on a variety of cells in the brain. Sleep-wake functioning is analogous to a light switch with on and off features. A type of switch setting systematically turns on sleep,  including turning on different types of sleep, and systematically turns off each sleep stage correspondingly. This switch setting easily explains how our sleep progresses from light sleep to deep sleep and then transcends to dream, or REM, sleep. The neurochemical signaling begins when we fall asleep. An exact sleep chemical is still considered to be controversial, yet a number of studies suggest adenosine, which is a nucleoside, binds to cells and causes a cascade of events that promote drowsiness.

      Adenosine levels in the blood increase during waking hours and have a cumulative effect throughout the day, causing drowsiness.  During sleep, adenosine levels decline, promoting wakefulness toward the end of the nocturnal period. The cycle begins again once we are awake. It is not surprising that stimulants such as caffeine cause wakefulness because caffeine competes for the same receptors to which adenosine binds. If more receptors have caffeine bound to them, sleepiness is less likely to happen.
       
      Sleep Stages
      Sleep architecture refers to the various stages in the sleep-wake cycle, typically defined by a brainwave (EEG) recording. In healthy individuals without sleep problems, these stages occur in a regular pattern throughout a 24-hour period. Sleep is of two types, dream or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep that occurs every 1.5 hours throughout the sleep interval, or 18 percent to 25 percent of the  sleep period. 7,8 REM periods vary from a number of minutes to an  hour or more. REM sleep has a characteristic physiological pattern distinguished by the lateral saccadic (left to right) rhythm of the  eyes, absence of muscle movement (atonia), and heightened cardiovascular arousal.
      Non-REM (NREM) sleep occupies a greater portion of the sleep period. NREM is further subdivided into stages 1, 2, 3, and 4, with corresponding physiological activity to each.
      Stage 1 is considered light sleep and is estimated to be approximately 5 percent of the sleep period.
      Stage 2 sleep is about 60 percent of the sleep interval and is considered formally to be sleep.
      Stages 3 and 4 sleep are often collapsed together and are classified as deep sleep, a physiological event characterized by slow brain wave patterns and increased immune system activity. Non-REM makes up approximately 10 percent to 15 percent of the sleep period. A night of sleep is characterized as a predicted pattern beginning with the initiation of sleep onset (Stage 1) and progression to Stages 2, 3, and 4. Within 90 minutes after sleep onset, the first REM episode (generally four to five REM episodes per night) occurs. Following this sleep period, the cycle repeats itself, with at least four cycles of sleep per night. An excess or deficit in the amount of a type of sleep (e.g.,no REM), a misordering of the timing of sleep (e.g., sleep begins with REM), or an intrusion into sleep represent conditions for further study to determine if a sleep disorder exists.

      Benefits of Weight Training for Women

      It seems obesity has become an accepted part of life. And, yet, despite this acceptance we see women going to the gym day in and day out and spending quite a bit of their life on the treadmill. While this helps to burn off some of the calories you will be consuming or have consumed during the day, there seems to be a hesitation when it comes to weight lifting and it seems women would choose to spend their time on the treadmill or elliptical machine rather than spend time with resistance training. But why? I believe it’s partially to do with fitness magazines that seem to endorse cardio training as a preference over resistance training. And while some activity is better than no activity, aerobic training cannot beat resistance training for the goals of fat loss, slowing down of the aging process, and combating osteoporosis.

      While aerobic exercise is often touted as targeting fat loss, this can be a bit misleading as intensity, duration, and caloric consumption can be changing factors that unless you’re calculating METs, you can get quite wrong on guessing or just believing what the treadmill is telling you in calories burned. What is often not said is how resistance ramps up metabolism and this leads to an overall caloric burn situation in which, depending on intensity and duration, can last up to 48 hours. No amount of treadmill work is going to increase your caloric expenditure in such an intense way. With an increase in metabolism comes a nice boost in energy levels. Resistance training also leads to an increase in muscle tone. An increase in muscle tone is often referred to as ‘toning’ (the term toning is a misnomer).

      Osteoporosis is not an uncommon occurrence in the female gender. It is well known but it seems not often said that weight bearing exercise helps to increase the density of bone and helps to stave off osteoporosis. Speaking of staving off age-related issues, growth hormone is released during resistance training. The nice thing about this is growth hormone helps in immune function, helps keep energy levels elevated, and slows the aging process. So while aging may not be our friend, resistance training can fight off some of the negatives of aging.

      Having been around women of all ages for most of my life and a good part of my life spent around the subject of diet and exercise, I often hear the concern of hypertrophy (or muscle growth) and that woman are afraid that they will look like a bodybuilder. It should be clarified that women lack the amount of testosterone in their body to make this happen. And for that amount of muscle growth and accumulation to occur takes years and decades of planned training and a very large surplus of calories.

      There also seems to be a lot of confusion on intensity. Intensity is defined as the closeness to ones one rep maximum. Obviously heavy lifting is going to be subjective to who is talking about the subject but there is no reason why women need to lift light weights for high repetitions. I think of light weights as those pink and purple dumbbells that seem to be so popular in fitness magazines geared towards women. A good repetition range would be in the 8-12 area. Keep in mind that the muscle does not recognize whether you are lifting a dumbbell, a barbell, a sandbag, or using a machine. And for those women that feel intimidated to venture into the seemingly male-dominated free weight area, machines are a very viable method. Not to mention that when using machines they are nearly fool proof and, for the most part, very safe to use.

      A last thought on the pink and purple dumbbells—I find them insulting. I think when we see women in fitness magazines using and endorsing such light weights, it is undermining the strength of women. Unless there is a true physical limitation or a serious under training that keeps the female gender from picking up some chrome dumbbells or pushing something heavier than the first plate on a machine, there is no reason to portray women as not having the strength to get involved in strength training. Progress is the key here and this is only achieved by increasing resistance. I believe women should embrace their inner confidence, get strong, and get lean in the process. I can’t think of any woman that wouldn’t raise their hand if I asked, “Who wants to feel stronger, exude more confidence, and look better?”

      I trust you’ll be raising your hand?


      Author:
      Joshua Morgan

      Sunday, September 5, 2010

      About Us

      About Us
      We are health and fitness enthusiasts and believe that simple daily exercises, if done regularly can go a long way in benefiting us in our health care and fitness. Because of our tight daily schedule we are unable to find time for our daily health and fitness regime. We will share the most useful and beneficial information on health care and fitness i.e. info about diets, physical exercises, mental well-being, fitness exercises, general health related problems, hair care, skin care etc.
      We will put genuine and correct information on various health related problems and conditions on this site for the benefit of the readers.
      Do come and share your knowledge and views with others by way of your comments.
      You are welcome to subscribe to the feed for the latest update on the site, but you are also welcome to write articles on this site. Please see this or contact Us for more info

      Regards

      Write For This Site?


      We at HealthPub encourage writers to contribute by writing on a health related subject of HealthPub as per their choice of topic. We welcome you to write and share your knowledge with our readers and create an identity for yourself on the web.

      Terms And Guidelines:

      • The article should be written exclusively for HealthPub.co.cc.
      • The article should be original, genuine and not copied from some other online or offline source so as to maintain the high quality and standard of the site.
      • The article should not be reproduced on any other blog/site, or anywhere else on the web including your own site/blog.
      • Once published the article/post becomes the property of this website i.e www.healthpub.co.cc
      • The article should be informative, educative and should be valuable for the readers.
      • The article should be written in English.
      • At the end of the article please add a small paragraph so as to involve the readers into a discussion on the topic and invite them to put their valuable comments.
      • The article should not be less than 500 words.
      • No affiliate codes, referral links or advertisements should be inserted into the articles.
      •  We reserve the right to edit the article, if required, wherever and whenever necessary.
      What Do You Get?
      • In return we will reward you with full credit for the post.
      • We will provide link to your site/blog.
      • Becoming an official writer of HealthPub
      What To Do?
      Write an article on the topic of your choice on Health and Fitness. After completing check for any errors that you might have overlooked and that’s it.
      Send the article to us for review along with a very brief detail about yourself, your site/blog name, the URL of your site/blog, description of your site/blog.
      You can contact us via contact form on the site for submitting the articles.
      For any clarification feel free to contact us.
       
      Best Regards,

      Health Benefits of Soy - Part 2

      This is the second part of the post:  Health benefits of soy


      Carbohydrates
      Carbohydrates in soy, though present in only low levels, consist primarily of fiber and the oligosaccharides raffinose and stachyose. The presence of the oligosaccharides can lead to flatulence in human beings due to their lack of alpha-galactosidase, the enzyme necessary for oligosaccharide digestion. However, the low level of carbohydrates in soybeans and their poor digestibility is responsible for the low glycemic index of soybeans and many soy products. Furthermore, research has suggested that the oligosaccharides in soybeans may support intestinal health by acting as a probiotic and stimulating the growth of beneficial bacteria.

      Vitamins and Minerals
      Soybeans are a quality source of several vitamins and minerals including folate, calcium, zinc, and iron. Folate, an essential B-vitamin, is present in raw, green soybeans at a level of 165 llgll 00 g of soybeans. A 100 g portion of raw soybeans also contains 197 mg calcium (-20% of the RDA), 3.55 mg iron (-20% of the RDA for women and -40% of the RDA for men), and 0.99 mg zinc (-10% of the RDA). The bioavailability of these minerals from soy is an area of increasing research interest. Recent studies indicate that calcium-fortified soymilk is an excellent source of calcium and that soybean ferritin, a source of iron, is readily bioavailable. Additionally, zinc absorption has been reported to be similar between meat and soy proteins. In contrast, it has been reported that non-heme iron and zinc are more poorly absorbed from soy protein than from beef protein and that there is a decline in calcium bioavailability when meat protein is replaced by isoflavone-free soy protein.

      Saponins
      Saponins are glycoside compounds with a triterpenoid or steroid structure attached to water-soluble mono-or oligosaccharides found in a wide variety of plants. The saponins present in soy, called soyasaponins, are found in a variety of concentrations ranging from 0.6-6.5% dry weight depending on soy variety, growing conditions, and degree of maturity. Soyasaponins have been classified into two main groups, Group A and Group B, based on their aglycone structure. Though soyasaponins are generally considered to have a low bioavailability, they have been shown to have a multitude of biological actions and potential health benefits.

      Soy Isoflavones
      Though soy has been shown to have a variety of health benefits related to both the protein and isoflavone components of the soybean, it is generally thought that most of the beneficial effects of soy are due to its isoflavones.

      Metabolism
      It is generally accepted that the glycoside forms of the soy isoftavones are poorly absorbed intact. Therefore, after consumption, the soy isoftavone glycosides must undergo metabolism in the intestinal tract prior to absorption. The soy isoftavones may either be absorbed or further metabolized by intestinal bacteria to such metabolites as p-ethyl phenol, O-desmethylangolensin, and equol. Equol production is of particular interest because it has been implicated in a variety of health benefits; however, only about 30% of the population produces equol. The bioavailability of the isoftavones is highly variable and may depend upon a number of factors including form of soy intake, intestinal microftora populations, and inter-individual differences. The metabolism, absorption, and bioavailability of soy isoftavones are thoroughly reviewed elsewhere.

      Sleep and Sleep Disorders Part 1 - What Is Sleep?


      What is sleep?
      Sleep is defined as a series of complex, natural physiological rhythms. We spend one-third of our lives sleeping.

      We achieve the sleep that we do based on our need for sleep and the time of night when we get sleepy. Behaviors can influence sleep patterns. Depending on what these behaviors are, they can actually interfere with or promote sleep.
      We have allowed a flurry of responsibilities and obligations to impede upon our sleep time. From a physiological perspective, it does not take much to induce sleep, yet our sleep is being thwarted by our voluntary activities and behaviors (e.g., vent size coffees that are consumed at varying times during the day and evening,
      Internet surfing, socializing); these behaviors accentuate the extended wakefulness.

      Teens and children have also extended the wake day to include homework, athletics, and Internet use. Taken together, record numbers of children, teens, young adults, adults, and the elderly are living each day in a sleep-deprived state.
      The most likely outcome is excessive daytime sleepiness resulting in personality changes (e.g., irritability), memory and concentration difficulties, safety concerns (employment and automobile accidents), and an overall decrement in quality of life.
      Unfortunately, we have become used to reducing our sleep time and/or experiencing fragmented sleep, which is not optimal. It is simply not healthy. The sleepiness felt day in and day out ac- cumulates over time, resulting in poor functioning and reduced quality-of-life ratings. For example, a person is more likely to be- come irritable and moody when sleep deprived compared to some-one who experiences restorative sleep on a daily basis.

      In addition to sleepiness, the quality and quantity of sleep must also be addressed. Ratings of   poor, good,   or   excellent   or   light, fair,   or deep   are some ways to describe how quality and quantity of sleep may be classified. If your sleep is disturbed, you are more likely to rate the quality of your sleep as poor, and if you are sleeping less than your ideal number of hours of sleep, you are most likely going to rate your quantity of sleep as poor. If you do not know the number of hours your body requires for restorative sleep, there is an easy way to figure it out. Think back to the last time you took a vacation. Ignore the first few nights of sleep (it is generally catch-up sleep), what was the length of your sleep? Generally, this   question is a good heuristic to follow to determine your personal sleep need. In summary, if you experience less than good or fair sleep on a consistent basis, you most likely will experience excessive daytime sleepiness.

      Go To: Sleep and Sleep Disorders Part 2 

      pics



      Topnav:







      navbar:







      navhov:




      homepage top:




      featuredtop:




      icon:




      headline:





      icontime:




      iconcomments:


      icontags:

      Soy for Skin Care

      Both photocarcinogenesis and extrinsic skin aging have been attributed to the damaging effects of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Soy isoflavones have also been reported to support skin health by additional mechanisms, which mayor may not be related to their antioxidant properties. Treatment of human fibroblasts with a soy isoflavone extract significantly reduces UV-induced matrix metalloproteinase-l secretion. Additionally, treatment with two different soy extracts, one containing approximately 20% isoflavones and one containing about 11% isoflavones plus 14% soy saponins, also enhances fibroblast collagen synthesis.

      Overall, various components of soy, including isoflavones, saponins, and peptides, may have a variety of beneficial effects on skin health. The mechanisms of these effects appear to be varied and may include antioxidant potential, suppression of inflammatory processes, production of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, and suppression of enzymes involved in ECM breakdown.

      Topical Application
      Topical applications of soy and soy isoflavones have potential protective effects against photocarcinogenesis.

      Dietary Consumption
      Administration of the soy extract significantly improves parameters of skin roughness and nonsignificantly reduced transepidermal water loss, fine wrinkles, and UV radiation-induced thickening of the outer layer of skin.

      PICS
























      Saturday, September 4, 2010

      sdfsdf

      ssdfsdf

      Health Benefits of Soy - Part 1

      Dietary soy consumption has been shown to have beneficial effects on several aspects of human health. Soy consumption has been reported to modestly improve plasma lipid profiles, improve bone health, reduce menopausal symptoms, enhance cognitive function, and potentially reduces the risk of breast and prostate cancers. The health benefits of dietary soy have been attributed to its isoflavones as well as to the biological actions of its constituent proteins. The amount of soy to consume in order to achieve appreciable health benefits has long been a topic of debate. Initial estimates were based on Asian population intakes because the incidences of breast and prostate cancer have been historically lower in Asian populations compared to the United States and Europe; however, determining soy protein and isoflavone intake was problematic. Recently, it has been determined that typical soy intake by older Japanese adults is approximately 6-11 g soy protein and 25-50 mg soy isoflavones, though it is uncertain if this amount provides maximum health benefits.

      The potential health benefits of soy have led to its inclusion in an ever-growing number of cosmetic products. The vast majority of these products are designed for topical application; however, it is becoming clearer that proper nutrition and a variety of dietary ingredients impact dermatological health. This chapter will discuss some basic information on soy and its biological actions and will elucidate the evidence regarding the potential benefits of soy and soy isoflavones for dermatological health. Additionally, we will discuss our own studies designed to explore the potential benefits of dietary soy for skin, hair, and nail appearance.

      Nutritional Components of Soy
      Soy is rich in macronutrients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and it contains a variety of micronutrients such as calcium, iron, zinc, riboflavin, and folate. These will be discussed briefly below; however, more detailed reviews are available.

      Protein
      Soybeans are best known as a rich source of nonanimal protein. The nutritional quality of soy protein has been extensively studied and reviewed. Metabolic studies of nitrogen balance have been used to assess protein quality. When nitrogen balance, digestibility, and net protein utilization were examined, no differences were found between beef and soy proteins. Additionally, these investigators found no differences between these protein sources in the amount of nitrogen intake needed to maintain nitrogen equilibrium. Other studies have reported that both soy protein concentrate and isolated soy protein are capable of maintaining nitrogen balance.

      Fat
      Soybeans typically contain more dietary fat than other legumes; however, the fats in soybeans are of the healthy varieties. Raw and mature soybeans contain approximately 20 g of fat in a 100 g portion. Of the fat present in soybeans, approximately 15% is saturated, 24% is mono- unsaturated, and 61% is polyunsaturated; therefore, approximately 85% of the fat in soy is of the healthy, unsaturated kind. The predominant unsaturated fats found in soy include linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, two essential fatty acids. Together with the monounsaturated oleic acid, these fatty acids make up nearly all of the unsaturated fat in soybeans. Alpha-linolenic acid is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is metabolized in the body to form eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, two fatty acids with numerous reported health benefits.

      Go to : Health Benefits of Soy Part 2 

       
      Design by Wordpress Theme | Bloggerized by Free Blogger Templates | coupon codes