Thursday, September 2, 2010

5 Cheap & Effective Ways to Boost Your Immune System

By Harvey Green

How to boost immune system response, is on many minds these
days. It can make the difference between illness and
wellness. You body is constantly fighting off invasions from
many sources. This protection mechanism keeps your entire
body working properly. When it is not properly functioning,
you may be subject to many illnesses. There are a lot of
methods to help the body's defenses. Here are just a few.

Proper intake

Everything that you take into your body will affect your
defenses. Good things in, will equate to good things out.
Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. Substitute good fats
and oils for bad. Do not eat too many meat items. Limit your
salt intake. Try to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.

Nothing is more important than your water intake. Your
natural defenses cannot perform well without this liquid. It
also makes it possible to digest and metabolize your food.
Drink water often. Drink it throughout your day. You may
think that tea, soda, and coffee count toward your daily
water intake. They do not. In fact, they can take away from
it. They have a diuretic action on the body. This removes
water and minerals from you. Many of these are vital
electrolytes, like potassium and magnesium.

Healthy tea

Green tea has received a lot of attention in the press.
White tea is also becoming popular. Both contain many
important antioxidants that keep your defense in top gear.
Tea acts similar to an antibiotic. It helps to prevent
bacteria form attacking tissue. It may decrease your risk of
some kinds of cancers. It may also be of benefit to those
with rheumatoid arthritis. Although white tea is supposed to
be more effective, green tea has many benefits, too.

Echinacea therapy

Echinacea is frequently used for infections and flu. The
action of echinacea is on a cellular level. It stimulates
cells that are responsible for fighting infection. It also
helps to produce chemicals that stimulate the healing
process. You can take echinacea in liquid or capsules. It is
usually take for two to three weeks at a time. It is best to
take it with food, also. This may help to eliminate an
aftertaste.

Garlic

Garlic oil and garlic have a positive effect on your
fighting cells. When they attack, they secret enzymes that
can cause inflammation. Asthma and rheumatoid arthritis are
examples. Garlic secretes chemicals that act against this
inflammation. Allergy problems may be helped this way. The
inflammation of other conditions may also be reduced.

Olive leaf

Olive leaf extract is used to help your body's defenses. It
aids cells with its chemical secretions. It also provides
many important antioxidant enzymes. It is supposed to act
similar to an antibiotic. It may also possess antiviral and
anti-fungal properties, too.



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Saturday, August 28, 2010

8 Ways To Lose Weight Fast

Here are some ways to lose weight fast.

1 - Take everything one step at a time. Begin simply by paying more attention to what you are eating, slowly cutting back on the bad foods and implementing more healthy foods into your diet. Once you have this under control, the next step is to add exercise to your plan. If you do not like exercising, take this one step at a time as well by implementing only 15 to 30 minutes at a time, at first.

2 - Choose foods and activities that you enjoy. If you do activities that you get enjoyment out of, you will find them to be much more successful than trying to exercise in ways that you do not enjoy. The same goes for foods that you implement in your diet: Choosing foods that you enjoy will help you enjoy your diet rather than craving bad foods.

3 - Build muscle. You lose calories based on your weight. Muscles, surprisingly enough, burn calories more quickly than fat does, pound for pound. Work out with weights to build muscle and lose weight, and then allow your extra lean muscle mass to burn more calories for you on a long term basis.

4 - Reduce your carbohydrates. Do not cut your carbohydrates out completely, because your body needs carbohydrates for energy. Cut out some of the white breads and pastas from your diet, though, to cut down on the carbohydrates that you consume. What carbs you do need to eat, you can replace with whole wheat and brown carbs for better health.

5 - Set realistic, measurable and attainable goals. Put deadlines on your goals, making them measurable. Make them realistic by choosing goals that you know you can attain. Set long term and short term goals and you will more readily achieve your expectations regarding quick and healthy weight loss.

6 - Give up the bad stuff. It may surprise you how unhealthy it is to eat candy, cookies, cakes and other sweets, and to drink soda and sugar laden drinks. Cut these bad goodies out either completely, or at least 80% of the time and the pounds will shrink away without you having to do much else to make the weight loss happen.

7 - Have a suitable breakfast. Most of your calories should be consumed early on in the day, and breakfast is no exception. Eat a nice breakfast to give your metabolism a good foundation to run from for the remainder of the day.

8 - Control portions by leaving something behind. Make sure your portions are correct based on the actual serving size of your food, and then make sure not to clear your plate completely. Exercising portion control will give you better control over what you put into your body for easy and achievable weight loss.

Implement these tips one by one and in no time at all you will begin to see a significant difference in your weight.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Skin Care Myths Explained

By Lee Peterson

There are so many myths about proper skin care, that it's
scary. From old wife's tales about preventing stretch marks
during pregnancy to what's mandatory for proper cleansing,
the falsehoods that are taken for granted have most
dermatologists shaking their heads in discord. According to
many skin care specialists, some of these myths can actually
lead to skin damage. Here we dispel five of the common fishy
tales regarding skin care.

1. Prepare your skin for summer sun on a tanning bed.
Tanning beds are dangerous because of the concentrated UVA
rays they emit. These are the same rays you get from the sun
that cause premature aging and skin cancer. Getting a light
tan on the sun bed does not protect your skin from further
damage, it just means you have already exposed it to harmful
rays. Tanning does not produce more melanin in the skin, it
just brings it to the surface.

2. Application of olive oil can prevent pregnancy stretch
marks.
Stretch marks are caused when the sub-surfaces of the
dermis split, usually due to expansion of the skin beyond
its elasticity ability. This can occur during pregnancy or
because of excessive weight gain. There are no topical
preparations that will prevent this scarring from occurring.
A healthy diet, hydration and regular exercise are the best
ways to ensure your dermis remains healthy and retains its
elasticity.

3. Increasing the SPF means you can stay out in the sunshine
much longer.
This is truly an unsafe belief. A sunscreen
with an SPF of 15 will block approximately 94% of UV rays.
Increasing to an SPF of 40 will only block 97% of UV rays.
Increasing the SPF does not significantly increase the
protection. What's more important is to ensure the sun block
you purchase protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Another
must is to apply the protection before you venture out in
the sun and then reapply sun screen every couple of hours,
regardless of whether you got wet or not.

4. You don't need sunscreen if you have dark skin. A darker
skin tone, whether a Mediterranean olive-toned complexion or
the skin tone of a person of color, does not give the person
extra protection from the sun. It only means that they have
an increased level of melanin. Although this does decrease
the risk of skin cancer from the harmful UVA and UVB rays of
the sun, it is only a slight decrease, and people with
darker skin tones must use sunscreen and take the same
precautions as those with a fairer complexion.

5. Eating chocolate will give you acne. Acne is not caused
by anything you eat. Acne occurs when the dead cells that
your skin sheds stick together and block gland openings.
This causes a back up of the oils that naturally occur in
your skin. Bacteria on the skin react to this and make the
condition worse. One type of food is not going to cause
acne, but a healthy diet will promote a healthier skin and
body.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Indian Food - The Misconceptions And Truths

By Rajeev Sinha

There are many myths and misconceptions about Indian food.
Lets just take a quick look at a few of them. This could be
interesting.

All Indian food is spicy: Though Indian cooking is hot and
spicier when compared with European or Western cooking,
there are lots of regions in India where the food is bland,
even sweet. In case you want to try something less-hot, go
taste some Gujarati dishes.

Gujarati cuisine has a touch of sweetness in almost all of
its dishes. Traditional South Indian cooking (except Andhra
Pradesh) is generally less-spicier than other regions in
India. Kashmiri cuisine also incorporates sweet tasting
dishes in its menu. So when someone tells you Indian cooking
is spicy, don't entirely believe them.

Most of Indian recipes are Vegetarian: Well, not entirely
true. While many sections of India are strictly vegetarian,
the array of non vegetarian food available in this part of
the world is immense.

Many of the Hindus while vegetarian have traversed to the
other side and there's a great population of non vegetarians
in India. Muslims and Christians in India also consume meat,
while Hindus do not eat them as they considered it sacred.

There is no variety in Indian cooking: Many, especially
foreigners and first time visitors to India, are of the
opinion that Indian food doesn't have so much of choices.
Indian cuisine is probably one of the most varied
food-culture on the planet!

This is actually a misconception around the world and even
in India. Chicken Tikka did not originate in India. It was
brought into India by the Mughals and has its origins in
Persia.

Indian food is all about Curry: Curry is something that was
again made popular by British-South Asian ethnic groups.
While Curry abroad may refer to a thick and spicy gravy
dish, India takes a different meaning altogether. In South
India, Curry may refer to a vegetable side-dish that is
often served with rice.

You will also find that in certain Indian regions, food is
served on a banana leaf or an areca nut leaf. These
traditions have been passed on to families since many
generations and many modern Indian continue to follow then
regardless of caste differences.

For further information and video recipes please visit the
buzzing food community at ifood. If you are an Indian food
lover you can also take a look at
(http://www.ifood.tv/r/indian/recipes) Indian Recipes and
(http://www.ifood.tv/network/south_indian/recipes) South
Indian Recipes.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

A List Of High Fiber Foods

By Beth Hoover

Fiber is a critical part of the diet. Ironically your body
isn't able to digest fiber so it passes right through your
body. Fiber food is necessary because it keeps your colonic
tract healthy and keeps your body regular.

Put simply, its main job is to scrub your guts. Here is a
high fiber food listing to help you get started with your
healthy lifestyle! You may also need to know that fiber can
help you control your blood sugar and can even lower your
cholesterol. Oh and it also releases poisons from your body.

Almonds

Cashews

Flax seeds

Garbanzo beans, well cooked

Kidney beans, well cooked

Lentils, red cooked

Lima beans, cooked 1 cup

Gooseberry

Elderberry

Grapes

Grapefruit

Kiwi fruit

Rhubarb

Pawpaw

Papaya

Peanuts

Pistachio nuts

Pumpkin seeds

Soybeans

Sunflower seeds

Walnuts

Apple

Crabapple

Hawthorn

Pear

Apricot

Peach

Nectarines

Plum

Cherry

Blackberry

Raspberry

Mulberry

Strawberry

Cranberry

Blueberry

Barberry

Currant

Melon

Watermelon

Figs

Dates

Olive

Jujube

Pomegranate

Lemon

Lime

Key Lime

Mandarin

Orange

Sweet Lime

Tangerine

Avocado

Guava

Kumquat

Lychee

Passion Fruit

Tomato

Banana

Gourd

Bitter Gourd

Bottle Gourd

Cashew Fruit

Cacao

Coconut

Custard Apple

Jackfruit

Mango

Pineapple

Carrot

Wheat-bran cereal

Oatmeal

Whole wheat bread

Rice

Corn tortilla

Enriched pasta

Bulgur

Whole wheat spaghetti

Wheat flakes

Barley

Wheat bran muffin

Fig bars

Whole wheat tortilla

Couscous

Graham crackers

Pita bread

Enriched white rice

Try to add fiber to your diet steadily so that your body has
time to adapt to the rise in fiber content. Fiber has also
been shown to help with a weight loss plan, nevertheless, be
certain to talk with your health practitioner prior to
beginning any diet regimen or if you have got any illness
that may require less fiber. This is the best way to make
sure you stay healthy, especially since your physician knows
tons about you.