Because all of us have been brought up eating junk food, well most of us, it is not easy to change our eating habits. Your eating habits have developed since childhood based on what your mothers or fathers cooked and what your psychological make-up was during that time.

The foods you eat and crave help keep pass trauma and present anxiety in check. Food helps make you feel good when you start to feel bad. Eating is a natural defense mechanism that the brain-body uses to keep you from going crazy.

So, you see, it is very difficult to change our eating habits. When we do, we start to feel bad. We start to feel uncomfortable, we feel pain, we have withdrawal symptoms, and we may feel sick. Is it any wonder that any of us ever succeed in changing our eating habits?

I consider every thing that has been packaged to be junk food. There are a few exception and you need to read ingredient labels carefully. Very few food manufacturers and even restaurants prepare food with your health in mind. Of course, they want to satisfy you, but they don’t use foods that are in your best interest.

Most people eat junk food 85% of the time and then eat good food the other 15%. It should be the reverse of this - eat good food 85% and junk food 15% of the time.

To have better health, here are some foods to stop eating. Eliminate these foods over the next two to three weeks.

· Milk (non-fat or no-fat also) - is a mucus and acid forming food. Milk creates mucus in the body and makes the lymph liquid (we will talk about lymph later) in your body acidic, which attracts parasites and other pathogens. (In the place of milk almond milk or goats milk)

Cancer thrives in a body that is acidic.

o Bread - white bread is also acid and mucus forming. It is also more difficult to pass through the colon and gives rise to constipation.

Sugar the #1 food additive. Sugar is in most of all the products that you buy.

· Sodas (regular or diet)- are extremely high in sugar or artificial sugar - 7 teaspoons per can. Most people drink over 35 gallons per year. Sugar is a body poison and leads to many disease - diabetes, obesity, tooth decay and osteoarthritis and so on.

o Sugar, also, depletes your B-vitamins and calcium and magnesium from your bones and teeth.

o In addition, since sodas are in aluminum cans, aluminum can go into the soda because most sodas contain phosphoric acid. Aluminum has been associated with senility and Alzheimer disease.

o Calcium is also leached from your body to neutralize the phosphoric acid. (Its healthier to drink juices of all kinds)

There is just no way around it. Sodas suck health right out of your body.

· Regular salt (NaCl) - excessive salt intake is related to high blood pressure, edema, and imbalances in the minerals in your lymph liquid. Sodium, Na, in salt attracts water so the more sodium you eat that more water your body will hold. (Use sea salt, it has 25% less sodium, use low salt soy sauce, and herbs to flavor your food)

o Most people eat too much salt - over 10,000 milligrams per day. We only need around 200-300 mg per day.

o Excess salt is also in involved with kidney problems, cardiovascular disease, stomach cancer, and excess sensitive to stress.

o Get your Sodium from eating vegetables that are high in sodium. When you get your salt from vegetables it is organic salt, which does not have the same effect in your body as inorganic salt from a shaker. You need a lot of organic salt or Na in your body. Your stomach is a Na organ. It needs organic salt, Na, to keep its lining from being eaten by the hydrochloric acid in your stomach - an ulcer.

o Foods high in organic sodium are apples, apricots, asparagus, greens, red cabbage, carrots, celery, dulse, egg yolks, figs, fish, raisins, prunes, and lentils.

For the next two weeks try adding the following foods to your eating habits.

· lecithin - is 30-40% choline, which is used throughout your body. This is why you want to include it in your diet.

o choline is one of the main chemicals in our cell membrane.

o It is used in our brains to create the neurotransmitter acytlcholine, which is required for thinking and memory. Consider lecithin brain food.

o It is used by the liver, which helps to prevent a fatty liver. A fatty liver prevents you from losing weight around your belly.

o it helps to break up fats into tiny goblets so that they are easily digestible and will reduce your cholesterol.

o it helps to keep cholesterol from clinging to your artery walls.

· flax seed oil - is an essential oil, omega 3. This means your body does not make it and it is necessary for you to eat it so that you can live without illness or pain.

o it helps to detoxify the liver

o it stimulates the production of bile. Remember that bile helps to breakdown fat so that the liver can better metabolize it.

o stimulates the body to burn fat.

o apple juice and apples - are high in vitamin A, in Potassium and have other minerals that strengthen the blood. They contain malic and tartaric acids, which keep the liver healthy and promote good digestion. Apples help you to lose weight by providing fiber and keeping you regular.

o fiber - you need 30-35 grams of fiber every day. Most people only get up to 10-15 grams. Fiber is one foods that reduce your transient time in the colon. Fiber helps to keep your colon clean, reduce cholesterol, remove toxins from your body and eliminate constipation.

There you have it. If you can accomplish these changes in one year, you will notice a big difference in the way you feel and the health that you have.

April 27th, 2009 by admin | No Comments »

Doctors and scientists from the Irvine university of California have recently discovered a new method of lowering blood pressure. This method is based on electroacupuncture, which seems to have a significant effect in lowering blood pressure. The method has been tested on rats, by inducing low electric stimulation at the front of their legs, and their blood’s pressure after the treatment was 40 percent lower than before(their blood pressure had been artificially increased before). This opens new doors for hypertension treatment, maybe it will even replace the traditional medical treatments with this ancient method.

These are all the methods that were tested:

Needles were inserted into:

- Pericardium 5-6, and they were rotated every 10 to thirty minutes. While this procedure was performed, the rats’ blood pressure was being raised by doctors.

- The rats’ forelimbs, without any stimulation or twist, for 30 minutes.

Also, the pericardium 5-6 was electrically stimulated with frequencies ranging from 2 to 100 hertz.

During these tests the changes in blood pressure were continuously monitored, and the results carefully recorded. The most successful in lowering blood pressure were those tests which involved manual and electrical acupuncture, which had serious effects in lowering blood pressure, lasting up to one hour, and ranging from 33 to 36 percent. The best results were recorded at the rats which had been stimulated by electroacupuncture, especially at those treated at the electroacupuncture frequency of 2 hertz.

However, the best results were recorded at the rats stimulated at the heart (6-7) and stomach (36-37). Their blood pressure was lowered up to 44 percent for the heart stimulation, and 36 percent for the stomach.

An important observation that doctors made was that this electroacupuncture treatment can only lower blood pressure for the hypertensive people, it has no effect for healthy people.

We can only that these treatments involving acupuncture will soon be available to everyone, because they represent a very good way to lower blood pressure.

April 26th, 2009 by admin | No Comments »

While everyone is well aware that proper diet and exercise are paramount to good health, still many people find it too much of an inconvenience to watch what they eat and to exercise. These people may feel that the benefits that they may get from all that effort is not worth the hassles of watching calories, cutting fat, running about, and moving weights around. But what if there was a benefit, and I mean a real good benefit, associated with proper diet and exercise? Maybe that would at least make those who don’t worry about diet and exercise give a little more thought to it.

Well, as if the already known benefits of proper diet and exercise aren’t enough to make some people want to incorporate them into their lives, perhaps the following information from Purdue University and Science Daily will be enough incentive to get them off their duff’s and give it a try.

According to Dennis Savaiano, dean of Purdue’s school of consumer and family sciences and professor of foods and nutrition, ‘poor diet and lack of exercise are responsible for just as many cases of cancer as cigarette smoking’.

He says, “approximately one third of cancer cases are related to smoking, one third is related to poor diet and lack of exercise, and one third is related to genetic or other factors”.

Most people are already well aware of the ill health effects of cigarette smoking, but the percentage of obesity and the rate of poor diet in America is a cause for serious concern. It is estimated that 65% of Americans are overweight with 30% being at least clinically obese. This is further escalated by the fact that 15 to 20% of the children in America are considered overweight. The main reason for this alarming statistic overall is the rate of poor diet seen in America.

Savaiano, who is chairman of the Food and Nutrition Science Alliance, along with several other members of the organization, recently reviewed scientific studies on diet and cancer. The group has since issued a statement urging Americans to change their diets in order to help reduce the number of cancer related deaths.

While Savaiano notes that some types of cancer are influenced more by diet than others, nutrition and food scientists agree that these four methods are practical ways to lower the risk of cancer:

* Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.
* Avoid highly processed foods that are high in fat and sugar.
* Limit or avoid consumption of alcohol.
* Get in some moderate or vigorous exercise daily.

Much of the reason why people have trouble getting into a healthy lifestyle can be attributed to lack of knowledge on how to start with exercise programs and proper diet plans, and to marketing which is mostly geared toward foods that are high in fat and excess calories and low in nutritional value. Not much marketing is done to promote fruits and vegetables or whole grains.

Long hours at work also attribute to less meal preparation and more fast food and takeout food purchases. It will take some effort on your part, but making healthier food choices and exercise a part of your life can and most likely will give you rewards that no amount of money can buy.

April 25th, 2009 by admin | No Comments »

Bacterial Vaginitis is an inflammation of the vagina which is caused by excessive growth of the bacteria called Gardnerella vaginitis, already present in the vagina. Gardnerella vaginitis is not solely responsible for this problem. When these different species of bacteria are imbalanced the vaginal discharge gives out a foul odor. Excess discharge and foul odor are the most common symptoms of this disease.

Even though the exact cause is unknown this disease mainly spreads through sexual intercourse, douching, use of intrauterine birth control device (IUD). It is one of the most common types of vaginal infection found in women. Even though there are quick remedies and medicines for this disease, if not treated on time it can be very dangerous. It may cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), endometritis, cervcitis, pregnancy complication and post-operative infection.

Home Remedies for Bacterial Vaginitis

• A good hygiene becomes very important if you want to stay away from bacterial vaginitis.
• Wear clean and properly washed underwear because the detergent residue may just cause an itching problem.
• Always wipe from front to back whenever you visit the toilet or otherwise to avoid the transfer of germs from rectal to genital area.
• If you have a bathtub see to it that it is properly cleansed as it is one of the favorite places for germs to reside.
• Have a warm bath, if possible without soap as it may cause irritation to the genital tissue. Soap removes natural oils from your body and also makes you defenseless against the germs. This aggravates your problem of vaginal infection.
• Drink at least four ounces of pure cranberry juice everyday to fight this bacterial disease.
• Having eight-ounces of yoghurt everyday keep women away from frequent problems of bacterial vaginitis or vaginosis. The acidophilus bacteria present in the yoghurt helps in creating a healthy bacterial environment.
• If the vagina is swollen you can use plain tea bag soaked in water, cooled in refrigerator to be applied externally to prevent itching. The tannin in tea gives a soothing touch.
• You can also use cold compress which alleviates the swelling and itching of the vagina. The cooling factor squeezes the blood vessels and prevents it from swelling and turning red.
• Avoid tight clothes and try to wear cotton panties which absorb moisture and provide good air circulation.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

April 24th, 2009 by admin | No Comments »