Lifestyle Choices

MSM

A naturally occurring organic form of sulphur, known as MSM, has been found to have remarkable health benefits, including better hair, nails and skin, and allergy relief. MSM (which stands for methylsulfonylmethane) is a source of the essential mineral sulphur which is one of the minerals most crucial to life. It is involved in a multitude of key body functions including pain control, inflammation, detoxification and tissue building. (more…)

Many disease processes involve inflammation, often characterised by swelling, redness, pain and heat.

These include all the `itis’ diseases — arthritis, dermatitis, colitis, nephritis and hepatitis, as well as asthma and others not often associated with inflammation, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in which parts of the brain become inflamed. Inflammation also lies at the root of atherosclerosis, the common cause of thrombosis, heart attacks and strokes. In addition, it is an underlying cause of irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, now suffered by eight million people in Britain. (more…)

A number of different terms are commonly used to describe the various types of nerve pain encountered. The main terms used are neuralgia (meaning pain resulting from injury to a nerve, particularly in the face), sciatica (pain mediated by the sciatic nerve, running from the lower part of the spine down each leg), and neuritis (inflammation in any nerve).

Nerve pain—aching, tingling, pins and needles, and a stabbing or burning sensation are the most common—can be caused by a number of factors, both physical and psychological, but the main ones are circulatory insufficiency, poor posture, wrong diet, stress, and over-exertion. Natural therapies can ease discomfort and accelerate the recovery process. (more…)

Keep a Diary

Each day, confide in your diary. This is a way of expressing your feelings. You may not always have friends with you, but your diary can take the place of friends for the time being. Write freely about what most bothers you. Make a list of things you are most grateful for each day. Looking at the good side will help you to have a balanced view of yourself, the world and your future. If you have not made it a habit to keep a diary, start one today. It is therapeutic. (more…)

Alcohol

Depression sometimes drives people to drink and sometimes alcohol abuse leads to depression. In any case, drowning your sorrows will not help you overcome depression in the long run. Some seek out their doctors for sleeping tablets. Merely taking sleeping tablets will not relieve one of depressive symptoms. There are many depressed patients with chronic insomnia. Despite being given sleeping tablets, their insomnia does not get better. What they need are antidepressant medications. Long-term, regular use of sleeping tablets may result in dependence and tolerance whereby there is a need to take higher and higher doses to achieve the same effect. Hence the depressed person should not just look to sleeping tablets but should seek psychiatric help and obtain antidepressant medications instead. (more…)

Scientists have also discovered the next defective gene to contribute to an increase in breast cancer susceptibility, which they naturally called BRCA-2. The incidence of BRCA-2 appears to be slightly less than BRCA-1. BRCA-2 is autosomal dominant also and resides on the thirteenth chromosome. Initially, it was believed that the presence of the BRCA-2 gene defect did not appear to increase risk for ovarian cancer. (more…)

However, if your cancer treatment is completed and you feel an unexplainable anxiety even though your trials are apparently over, read on.

These feelings are common and occur, in part, because the end has come to the frequent visits with your various doctors, which can serve to comfort—giving you the tangible evidence that someone is watching over you and your health. But, aside from that, you may be struggling with the fear of recurrence that many women experience at this time. Remember, during the treatment planning process, you want to develop a plan to optimize your chance of cure and to carry out that plan. When done, it is time for you to go on with your life. (more…)

The following is a list of lifestyle adjustments that could improve the quality and length of your life:

• Go for a regular medical check-up.
• Keep a record of your and your family’s medical history.
• Avoid pollution as far as possible.
• Try to live in a crime-free area.
• Have your home and workplace tested for radon.
• Live within 50 km of a hospital or emergency unit.

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Just as all of us first have to learn how to write and practise writing, a good lifestyle does not develop overnight. Nor do we all write in the same way but there are basic letter shapes and the direction in which we write (from left to right) that form the basis of our style. Thus your lifestyle will not necessarily conform to what I am going to suggest below nor will it be like other people’s lifestyles.

Try to make your lifestyle “legible” for your children because the sooner one starts to write, the smaller the chance that a good style will cause a cramp. (more…)

Arrange for Early Psychiatric Appointment

The most important thing you can do for the depressed person is to help him get a psychiatric referral. This could be self initiated or made by a doctor at a polyclinic or by the general practitioner. Early treatment leads to early recovery from the illness.

Patients may feel apprehensive about contacting the clinic. If so, you may wish to assist in making an appointment and accompanying the depressed person to the doctor. (more…)

You Are Not Alone

Many teens suffer from depression, therefore you are not alone. There are effective treatments and hence no depression is a hopeless case. You need to be patient with yourself. It takes time for the mind to heal just as it takes time for the body to heal. Wishing that the depression will disappear is not going to work. It will not go away immediately but it will, eventually. Continuing with treatment and therapy will ensure that that day will come even sooner. In the meantime, try to relax yourself, sort out your feelings and thoughts, and allow your mind and emotions to recover. (more…)

For the protection of your family, watch for the unsuspected dangers that lurk in your kitchen

“The standard of food hygiene in this I country must be raised.” That statement has been voiced in the press, on the radio, in Parliament, even on the village green, with increasing frequency during the past few years. And rightly so, for it concerns us all. But it is the housewife particularly who has it in her power to see that the standard is raised. (more…)

Many parents hold to the foolish idea that money is the important thing in life. As a result they neglect their children and fail to spend sufficient time in their training. This is a serious mistake. Money is always useful, but material wealth alone will never guarantee a happy home. In fact, it might have the opposite effect.

Although a good bank account might be a fine asset to any well-trained young person, it could be a menace to one who has never had adequate training. When such a person inherits a large fortune, he may quickly lose it on useless investments. Or as it sometimes happens, he may try to dominate those around him by giving or withholding money. In the end no one is happy. (more…)

This group of diseases is extremely common and no one goes through life without some infection of the skin at one time or another. In hot countries it is even more of a problem. An infection is caused by tiny organisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi and can spread from one person to another. They are microscopic. An infestation, on the other hand, is caused by small creatures that can generally be seen with the naked eye. (more…)

What does cooking do to food? When properly carried out, it greatly improves the flavor. Cooking changes the chemical composition and often makes the foods more digestible. The heat helps to destroy many harmful germs. But do not overlook the fact that one serious type of food poisoning known as botulism may arise from the use of vegetables that have not been properly canned or preserved.

Under proper, germ-free conditions many foods can be preserved indefinitely, such as in canning. However, one should be careful when opening a can not to introduce germs into the food from outside. Carefully wash the container before opening it. (more…)

It is equally important that every home be provided with adequate facilities for the proper disposal of wastes. Those who live in large cities usually have this provided for them unless some emergency intervenes. But people who live in more isolated areas may have to provide their own facilities. How they handle this problem may determine in a large measure the kind of health they and their families will enjoy.

Proper sanitary disposal of body wastes is one of the first laws of health. Wherever human beings live, there are flies. And flies flourish on waste materials. They often carry dangerous germs and bring misery into many homes because of the diseases they continually spread around.

In large modern cities there are usually adequate facilities to meet these needs. In villages and smaller towns, whatever system is available may be woefully inadequate. People living on farms and those who own mountain cabins and beach cottages are often in need of advice as to how to meet these particular needs. The same is true on campgrounds and other places where people may stay for a few days or weeks at a time. Usually, the more isolated the area, the greater the need. (more…)

Stop Killing Yourself, Dad!

Men, let’s stop putting off that all-important medical checkup. Why not make an appointment right now? Better still, let your wife make it for you. She has even more to lose than you have in this. It is time to see your doctor.

Stop driving yourself so hard. You need more rest. Don’t try to whip up those jaded nerves and flagging muscles by using stimulants. These only cover up the problem. They never solve it. Alcohol, especially when taken to excess, is definitely harmful. The man who is wise will leave it alone.

For the same reason it is better not to smoke, particularly if you are looking forward to enjoying a long life free from disease. It is no secret that cancer of the lung is becoming more common every day. Men seem to be particularly susceptible to this disease. Those who get it are almost always heavy smokers. Primary cancer of the lung hardly exists among those who do not smoke. (more…)

Which is the stronger sex? That depends on what we mean by strength. If we refer to the ability to survive, there is no doubt that women have most of the advantages. Today they are outliving their husbands by six, eight, and ten years or more. This is true all over the world.

Ever since childbirth infections have been brought under control, the picture has been changing in favor of the women. It would seem that the ladies have more flexibility in their systems. They have more stamina. Their biological resources are greater than those of the men.

This difference begins very early in life, perhaps before the child is born. This is probably nature’s way of preserving the race. Nowhere is the female superiority more clearly in evidence than in pregnancy. A woman at that time seems to have special reserves of strength. Not only must her heart and lungs care for her own needs, but also for those of her baby. Every organ in her body is geared to work that much more efficiently. Later in life those same female hormones apparently protect her from degenerative diseases which are so much more likely to cripple her husband. (more…)

It is easy to adapt all of the recipes and meal plans. Here are some simple suggestions for making the recipes vegetarian:

• Replace the meat or fish in a recipe with Portobello mushrooms or aubergine, but remember that this will raise the carbohydrate levels in the recipe. You will also need to take extra whey-protein drinks and maybe increase your intake of nuts and high protein snacks to keep your protein levels high enough.

• Cook with tofu instead of the meat or fish. However, tofu has a quarter as much protein per gram as meat and a third as much as most fish. This means that not only should you replace the meat or fish in a recipe with a higher amount of tofu, but you should also add whey-protein powder to the recipe or supplement your meal with a whey-protein shake.

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Elderly people have trouble sleeping for the same reasons as people from other age groups. But there are additional factors.

• Chronic illnesses. The elderly often suffer from chronic mental and physical illnesses that make it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. For example: An enlarged prostate is often associated with a frequent need to urinate. Dementia may be associated with confusion and heightened fear after dark (known as sundowning). Painful conditions such as bone fractures due to osteoporosis (especially in women), arthritis and vascular disease can make sleeping difficult. Depression, quite common in the elderly population, often causes insomnia as well.
• Medication. Older people have stronger reactions to medication. Notable effects that these medications such as tranquillizers and hypnotics, have on the elderly include frequent nightmares, insomnia and hypersomnia.

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