Showing posts with label Health Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Tips. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
8 Steps To Cure Constipation Naturally
In modern lifestyle, most of us are prone to attract constipation symptoms, but by following any of the above mentioned habits, it can be cured / controlled to a greater extent :)
Really, it works like wonder...
2.Put a teaspoon of ghee in a glassful of warm milk. Drink it when going to bed. It is very helpful in relieving from constipation.
3.Go for morning walk by having 2-3 glasses of warm water. This will prevent constipation and clear bowel movements.
4.Include fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables in your diet. Papaya and sugarcane are especially beneficial. Tomato and beetroot salads are also very useful in constipation relief.
5.Apples are very beneficial in treating constipation. Eat two apples every morning. Bite them with the teeth instead of using a knife to cut them into slices.
6.The simplest home remedy for constipation is to drink a glass of lemon juice in water with a pinch of salt in it. This will treat any kind of constipation you are suffering from.
7.Papaya and guava are also useful in treating constipation. Regular intake of papaya at early morning in an empty stomach prevents constipation.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Philosophy of Wellness
Philosophy of Wellness
(Prof. Dr. Madhavan – Bangalore 98860 67232)
1. Health is one; but diseases are many.
2. People heal themselves with their own mind.
3. A belief that “nothing is impossible” itself is a powerful mind.
4. The body is not a problem; it is a part of the solution.
5. Illness is a message to redirect, recollect and restore your life.
6. There is no disease that does not have the potential to be cured
7. Every cell knows exactly, how to heal.
8. Cure is sure when faith is pure.
9. Diseases come & go; but health always remains.
10. Healing is divine. Body itself make better medicines.
11.Health is personal. Take personal responsibility. Don’t let others handle it.
12.In health, role of body is 20%, rest 80% comes from the mind.
13.Food is living medicine; Medicine is dead food.
14.Healing, holy, holistic - words, all have the same root.
15.Medicine and Meditation also come from the same root.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Friday, July 9, 2010
How to get good sleep?
1. Try relaxation & deep breathing exercises
Put things into perspective before you become upset or angry. Look into some relaxation techniques and deep breathing exercises.
2. Exercise regularly
Exercise increases heart and lung fitness while reducing stress, anxiety and insomnia. It also raises your endorphin levels -- the natural "mood elevators" produced by the brain. Endorphins reduce pain, relax muscles, and produce feelings of well being. As a result, sleep will be deeper and more restful. Even something as simple as brisk walking can have a positive effect, if done regularly.
3. Keep mentally stimulated
Boredom can actually keep you awake! If you’re physically and mentally active, you’re less likely to have poor sleep problem.
4. Eat properly
Limit your intake of fat and fried foods. Avoid eating a large or heavy meal within two to three hours of bedtime. While such a meal can make you feel drowsy at first, you’ll probably toss and turn during the night.
5. Take a warm bath before bed
Just before bedtime (1-2 hours before sleeping), take bath with warm water. This will send blood away from the brain to the skin surfaces, and make you feel relaxed and drowsy. Your body temperature, raised by the warm water, will soon drop if you have a moderately cool bedroom. This will initiate sleepiness and more deep sleep.
6. Establish a bedtime ritual
Establish a bedtime ritual. Read Bhagavad-gita or other good books. Take your mind off the day’s busy-ness by venturing into the sublime thoughts.
Put things into perspective before you become upset or angry. Look into some relaxation techniques and deep breathing exercises.
2. Exercise regularly
Exercise increases heart and lung fitness while reducing stress, anxiety and insomnia. It also raises your endorphin levels -- the natural "mood elevators" produced by the brain. Endorphins reduce pain, relax muscles, and produce feelings of well being. As a result, sleep will be deeper and more restful. Even something as simple as brisk walking can have a positive effect, if done regularly.
3. Keep mentally stimulated
Boredom can actually keep you awake! If you’re physically and mentally active, you’re less likely to have poor sleep problem.
4. Eat properly
Limit your intake of fat and fried foods. Avoid eating a large or heavy meal within two to three hours of bedtime. While such a meal can make you feel drowsy at first, you’ll probably toss and turn during the night.
5. Take a warm bath before bed
Just before bedtime (1-2 hours before sleeping), take bath with warm water. This will send blood away from the brain to the skin surfaces, and make you feel relaxed and drowsy. Your body temperature, raised by the warm water, will soon drop if you have a moderately cool bedroom. This will initiate sleepiness and more deep sleep.
6. Establish a bedtime ritual
Establish a bedtime ritual. Read Bhagavad-gita or other good books. Take your mind off the day’s busy-ness by venturing into the sublime thoughts.
Monday, May 19, 2008
A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty ( Heart Specialist)
A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty ,
Narayana Hrudayalaya ( Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees . The transcript of the chat is given below.
Useful for everyone.
Qn: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart ?
Ans:1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil 2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime 3. Quit smoking4. Control weight 5. Control blood pressure and sugar
Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?
Ans: No
Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?
Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.
Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?
Ans: Yes
Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?
Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.
Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?
Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints .
Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?
Ans: Mother Theresa , who was my patient.
Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?
Ans: Extremely rare
Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age (I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?
Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.
Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart ?
Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.
Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?
Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.
Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?
Ans: Yoga helps.
Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?
Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.
Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?
Ans: All oils are bad .
Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?
Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.
Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?
Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.
Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?
Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.
Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.
Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, edentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.
Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?
Ans: Yes.
Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?
Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child
Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What precautions would you recommend?
Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.
Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?
Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.
Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?
Ans : No.
Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?
Ans : No.
Qn: How would you define junk food?
Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.
Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?
Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.
Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?
Ans : No.
Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?
Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up.
Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?
Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.
Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?
Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.
Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?
Ans: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.
Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?
Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.
Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?
Ans : No.
Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?
Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.
Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?
Ans : No.
Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?
Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.
Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?
Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup s if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) ...
Send it to all your nearest and deares t .......
Narayana Hrudayalaya ( Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees . The transcript of the chat is given below.
Useful for everyone.
Qn: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart ?
Ans:1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil 2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime 3. Quit smoking4. Control weight 5. Control blood pressure and sugar
Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?
Ans: No
Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?
Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.
Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?
Ans: Yes
Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?
Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.
Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?
Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints .
Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?
Ans: Mother Theresa , who was my patient.
Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?
Ans: Extremely rare
Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age (I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?
Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.
Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart ?
Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.
Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?
Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.
Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?
Ans: Yoga helps.
Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?
Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.
Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?
Ans: All oils are bad .
Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?
Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP, Treadmill test after an echo.
Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?
Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to a coronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.
Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?
Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.
Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.
Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, edentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.
Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?
Ans: Yes.
Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?
Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child
Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What precautions would you recommend?
Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.
Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?
Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.
Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?
Ans : No.
Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?
Ans : No.
Qn: How would you define junk food?
Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.
Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?
Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.
Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?
Ans : No.
Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?
Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up.
Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?
Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.
Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?
Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.
Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?
Ans: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.
Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?
Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.
Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?
Ans : No.
Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?
Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.
Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?
Ans : No.
Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?
Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.
Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?
Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkup s if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) ...
Send it to all your nearest and deares t .......
PC Users : Must Do
This info' is sure to help PC users very much.
During a recent visit to an optician, one of my friends was told of an exercise for the eyes by a specialist doctor in the US that he termed as 20-20-20." It is apt for all of us, who spend long hours at our desks, looking at the computer screen. I Thought I'd share it with you. 20-20-20 Step I :- After every 20 minutes of looking into the computer screen, turn your head and try to look at any object placed at least 20 feet away. This changes the focal length of your eyes, a must-do for the tired eyes. Step II :- Try and blink your eyes for 20 times in succession, to moisten them. Step III :- Time permitting of course, one should walk 20 paces after every 20 minutes of sitting in one particular posture. Helps blood circulation for the entire body. Circulate among your friends if you care for them and their eyes. They say that your eyes r mirror of your soul, so do take care of them, they are priceless................ Otherwise our eye would be like this.....
During a recent visit to an optician, one of my friends was told of an exercise for the eyes by a specialist doctor in the US that he termed as 20-20-20." It is apt for all of us, who spend long hours at our desks, looking at the computer screen. I Thought I'd share it with you. 20-20-20 Step I :- After every 20 minutes of looking into the computer screen, turn your head and try to look at any object placed at least 20 feet away. This changes the focal length of your eyes, a must-do for the tired eyes. Step II :- Try and blink your eyes for 20 times in succession, to moisten them. Step III :- Time permitting of course, one should walk 20 paces after every 20 minutes of sitting in one particular posture. Helps blood circulation for the entire body. Circulate among your friends if you care for them and their eyes. They say that your eyes r mirror of your soul, so do take care of them, they are priceless................ Otherwise our eye would be like this.....
The main causes of liver damage
The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause. 2. Not urinating in the morning. 3. Too much eating. 4. Skipping breakfast. 5. Consuming too much medication. 6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener. 7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit. 8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store. We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule." Because : Evening at 9 - 11 pm : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on health. Evening at 11pm - 1 am : is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state. Early morning 1 - 3 am : detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state. Early morning 3 - 5 am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process. Morning 5 - 7am : detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel. Morning 7 - 9 am : absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30 am , for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10 am rather than no meal at all. Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause. 2. Not urinating in the morning. 3. Too much eating. 4. Skipping breakfast. 5. Consuming too much medication. 6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener. 7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit. 8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store. We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule." Because : Evening at 9 - 11 pm : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on health. Evening at 11pm - 1 am : is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state. Early morning 1 - 3 am : detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state. Early morning 3 - 5 am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process. Morning 5 - 7am : detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel. Morning 7 - 9 am : absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30 am , for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10 am rather than no meal at all. Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.
BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS
BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS
1. No Breakfast People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.
2. Overeating It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
3. Smoking It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
4. High Sugar consumption Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
5. Air Pollution The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
6. Sleep Deprivation Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells. 7. Head covered while sleeping Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.
8. Working your brain during illness Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
10. Talking Rarely Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. No Breakfast People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.
2. Overeating It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
3. Smoking It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
4. High Sugar consumption Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
5. Air Pollution The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
6. Sleep Deprivation Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells. 7. Head covered while sleeping Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.
8. Working your brain during illness Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
10. Talking Rarely Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
SAVE THE EARTH:
SAVE THE EARTH: (Source: http://in.promos.yahoo.com/earthday/gogreen.html)
Change your drinking habits…
Polystyrene stays around for several hundred years after you’ve disposed of it. The next time you’re at the coffee machine, try not to drink from a polystyrene cup. Improvise, use a mug, use a vase, use your imagination if you have to.
Be an infrequent flyer…Pollutants from air travel contribute only 3-4% of all greenhouse gases worldwide, but are the fastest growing source of potential trouble for the Earth’s atmosphere. So next time your boss suggests a business trip, you suggest a video conference.
No butts…It takes 10 years for a cigarette butt to biodegrade. They’re not only litter, but they also cause many animals to die annually from inadvertently eating them. And isn’t it time you stopped smoking anyway?
Go on a staple diet…
If each one of the UK’s ten million office workers used one less staple a day, nearly 100 tonnes of steel would be saved every year. If you’ve fallen out with anyone at work, imagine the bridge you could build with that.
Just say no…
Each year more than 50 million trees and 75 billion litres of water are used to create more than 7 million tonnes of junk mail, over 40% of which is thrown away unopened. The next time a company sends you any, call them to remove your address from their list.
Go public…
For every mile travelled, public transport uses about one half of the fuel consumed by cars and about a third of that used by sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and light trucks. So what are you waiting for? The bus?
Show your true colours…Stacked end to end, printer cartridges thrown away in one year would more than circle the planet. But you don’t have to go to the ends of the earth to recycle them.
It’s not fair…Of the nearly $3.8 trillion of all goods exchanged globally, Fairtrade accounts for less than 1%. It’s enough to make you unhappy. Eat more Fairtrade bananas and you won’t be.
Make the switch…A computer left running over night uses enough energy to print up to 10,000 copies. Is this the end of overtime as we know it?
Pull together…If 10% of the world’s mobile phone owners unplugged their phone chargers once the phone is fully charged, it would reduce energy consumption by an amount equivalent to that used by 60,000 European homes. So pull the plug and start saving energy.
Work from home…
Working from home or changing the work schedule and working flexible hours may reduce congestion and therefore improve air quality. Who’d have thought that going to work could be like a breath of fresh air?
Do the write thing…
A typical plastic pen can take up to up to 1,000 years to degrade. So keep on writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and…
BEYOND THE CALENDAR: Leave the car at home. Using one litre of gas produces 2.4 kg of CO 2. Bike, roller-blade, take the subway, or take the bus to reduce air pollution and save fuel. If you must drive, travel by the most direct route, consolidate trips by running several errands at once, carpool, and turn off the car while you wait to reduce emissions and conserve gasoline.Give away your old desktop. Before you toss your old electronics, look for programs that take used equipment for schools and other organizations.
Manage your power at work. During the day use power management features on office equipment to decrease the power used when copiers, printers, computers, etc. are idle or in stand-by mode. And at the end of the day or when equipment isn’t being used, turn it off or unplug it.
Slow down and tune up. Save money and CO 2 emissions – as well as staying safe - by not speeding. Driving 16 kph slower can decrease gas use by 20%. Just 8 kph less can decrease greenhouse gas emissions in one year by nearly 10 tonnes. Additionally, keeping your tires properly inflated can decrease gas consumption 6%, and keeping your engine tuned can save 15 to 50%!
Skip the raking. Lawns need less fertilizer and less water if you leave grass clippings on the lawn after you mow. And if you use a push mower instead of a power mower, you can get in shape and reduce CO 2 emissions by 30 kg per year!
Skip the mowing. Let your lawn grow a little higher and only cut off 1/3 of its height when you do mow. Cutting grass too short can stress the lawn causing it to need more water and fertilizer. Leaving the grass high is healthier for the grass and even helps keep down the weeds. Better yet, skip mowing altogether by landscaping your yard using native plants and low maintenance ground covers that conserve water and don’t require mowing!
Drive a fuel-efficient car. Driving a car that gets 12.5 km/litre instead of 8.5 km/litre can save 900 litres of gas and 2 tonnes of CO 2 in just one year of driving (assuming about 24000 km of driving annually).
Turning the thermostat up just 1.5 degrees Celsius in summer and down 1.5 degrees in winter can save over 400 kg of CO 2 emissions every year. U se a fan instead of air conditioning to keep cool. And if you’re cold, put on a sweater before you turn up the heat.
Buy local. Those exotic and out-of-season fruits and vegetables cost fuel, energy, and packaging to get to you. A kiwi fruit flown from New Zealand to the UK creates 5 times its own weight in CO 2 emissions.Buy products in reusable and recyclable packages. Choose products that use less packaging and packaging which can be recycled or reused. Better yet, buy products that are themselves made of recycled content and can be reused and recycled. Use less water. Turn off the tap while you soap up, brush your teeth, or shave. A leaky faucet can waste more than 100 litres of water a month. Use rainwater or graywater to water the plants. Get out of the shower a minute earlier and save 500 litres of water a month. A family of four showering 5 minutes a day uses 2600 litres of water a week – the equivalent of a 3 year supply of drinking water for just one person. Just by installing aerator faucets and low-flow showerheads, the same family could save 1000 litres a week.
Lights out. Simply turning off unneeded lights in a building can reduce the energy used for lighting by up to 45%.
Fight energy vampires. Don’t just turn the TV off, unplug it. If it has a remote control to turn it back ‘on,’ it’s not really ‘off.’ In an average home, nearly 75% of the electricity used to power electronics is consumed by products that are switched ‘off.’ Those blinking lights on your VCR mean energy is being used, even if the machine is 'off.'
Really turn it off. The power-saving sleep mode uses 60 to 80 percent less energy than full-power mode, but unplugging or turning off your inactive computer uses 100% less energy than full-power mode. Turning off your computer every night saves energy, extends the computer’s life, and cuts down on computer failures.
Change a light. Find the 5 lights you use most and replace the traditional bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). CFLs use 1/3 or less energy than a traditional bulb and can last 6-15 times as long. After this simple change, your next electricity bill should be ‘enlightening.
Bring a lunch box. You can reduce the amount of packaging you throw in the garbage by packing food items in reusable containers.
Bag it! Use a reusable cloth bag on your next shopping trip. When 10% of all Kmart customers in Australia said “no” to plastic bags, over 5 million plastic bags were removed from the waste stream. If you get plastic bags at the market, re-use them on your next shopping trip or in your home, and when you’re finished with the bags see if your community or market recycles them.
Talk to your plants. Talking produces CO 2 which your plants use to grow. In exchange, some plants can remove up to 87% of toxic indoor air in just 24 hours and one plant can provide clean air for 9 square meters of space. For example, 15 to 20 ivy and spider plants can refresh all the air in a 160 square meter home.
Plant a tree – two for one. Trees absorb CO 2, clean the air, and produce oxygen. A tree can absorb as much as 360 kg of CO 2 a year, removing an average of 4.5 kg of other air pollutants too. Two trees can produce 240 kg of oxygen a year – enough for one person to breathe easy.
Beautify the landscape. Besides improving property values, placing trees around your home can reduce energy use in the summer by as much as 50% and winter heating bills by 25%.
Recycle that soda can. A TV set can run for 3 hours on the energy saved by recycling just one drink can.
Mind the gap. 15 families filling their kettle with only as much water as they need when boiling water, could save one tonne of CO 2 emissions in a year.
If every UK home recycled just half their rubbish, the UK’s annual CO2 emissions could be reduced by six million tones.
Join the pool! If just once a week, everyone who regularly drives to work alone got a lift with someone else, traffic could be reduced by 12% - 15%!
Unbottle stored energy. A typical plastic water bottle can take 1,000 years to biodegrade. The amount of energy saved from recycling one plastic bottle can power a 60-watt lightbulb for 6 hours. T he energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can power a TV for 20 minutes.
Recycle again – and again, and again! A piece of paper can be recycled 4 to 6 times before its fibres break down. Every year Americans throw away enough office paper to cover the entire country of Belgium.
Lights out! Light pollution disrupts the biological rhythms of nocturnal animals. You can help by turning off unnecessary lights. In 2002, the Czech Republic enacted the world’s first national law against light pollution.
Don’t flush - recycle! Whether you change your car oil at home or go to the local garage, make sure your used oil is being disposed of properly. Oil flushed down household, municipal and industrial drains is the largest source of ocean oil pollution, releasing over 1,300,000,000 litres of oil annually.
Don’t turn over a new leaf… use both sides of the paper and recycle when you're done. Paper requires a surprising amount of energy and wood to produce and much of it ends up in waste piles all too soon. The average office employee can use as much as 10,000 sheets of paper a year, creating a stack of used paper over a meter high. Printing first drafts, faxes, e-mails, and other items on the back side of previously used paper as well as making double-sided copies can significantly reduce office paper use and is even more efficient than simply recycling.
Don’t print that. Recycling 1 tonne of paper saves:
-- 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil
-- 4,100 kilowatts of energy. Enough to power a home for 5 months.
-- 2.4 cubic meters of landfill space
-- 25 kg of air pollution
Charge it. Re-charge your batteries. Batteries make us mobile. They run games, machines, and tools… then end up leaking toxic chemicals into the earth. Rechargeable batteries require less toxic chemicals to make and do not end up in waste dumps so quickly. And whatever you use, recycle. Check on local recycling and safe disposal programs for everything from the batteries in your mobile phone to the batteries in your car.
Where’s the beef? About 18,000 litres of water are saved for every half kilogram of beef we don’t eat. That’s more water than we use in 200 five minute showers.
Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost! In general, nothing in a landfill decomposes - from plastic bags to hot dogs. The conditions needed for decomposition – the right temperature, the right balance of carbon/nitrogen/oxygen, etc. – do not occur in a closed system, which most landfills are. If you can keep something out of a landfill – do.
Keep it cool. Take care of your fridge and you take care of the planet. Save easy money just by raising the temperature in your fridge half a degree Celsius. Place the fridge in a cool spot (away from the stove and sunny spots). Keep the door closed and make sure the seals on the door are working. Twice a year, a quick dusting of the condenser coils in the back saves electricity too.
Watch what you eat. Belches and farts are made up of gases like CO 2 and methane – the first and second-most abundant greenhouse gases. About a fifth of the world’s methane emissions come from livestock. Scientists have developed a vaccine to help cows control their ‘emissions’. You can just cut down on the beans tonight.
Close the curtains at night. Blinds and curtains over windows help keep heat from escaping.
Keep some water in your fridge and skip waiting for it to cool down while you run the tap.
Cover up. Using lids when you cook can reduce the energy needed by up to 90%.
Water, water everywhere…. Give your plants a drink at night instead - so the heat of the day won’t evaporate the water.
Change your drinking habits…
Polystyrene stays around for several hundred years after you’ve disposed of it. The next time you’re at the coffee machine, try not to drink from a polystyrene cup. Improvise, use a mug, use a vase, use your imagination if you have to.
Be an infrequent flyer…Pollutants from air travel contribute only 3-4% of all greenhouse gases worldwide, but are the fastest growing source of potential trouble for the Earth’s atmosphere. So next time your boss suggests a business trip, you suggest a video conference.
No butts…It takes 10 years for a cigarette butt to biodegrade. They’re not only litter, but they also cause many animals to die annually from inadvertently eating them. And isn’t it time you stopped smoking anyway?
Go on a staple diet…
If each one of the UK’s ten million office workers used one less staple a day, nearly 100 tonnes of steel would be saved every year. If you’ve fallen out with anyone at work, imagine the bridge you could build with that.
Just say no…
Each year more than 50 million trees and 75 billion litres of water are used to create more than 7 million tonnes of junk mail, over 40% of which is thrown away unopened. The next time a company sends you any, call them to remove your address from their list.
Go public…
For every mile travelled, public transport uses about one half of the fuel consumed by cars and about a third of that used by sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and light trucks. So what are you waiting for? The bus?
Show your true colours…Stacked end to end, printer cartridges thrown away in one year would more than circle the planet. But you don’t have to go to the ends of the earth to recycle them.
It’s not fair…Of the nearly $3.8 trillion of all goods exchanged globally, Fairtrade accounts for less than 1%. It’s enough to make you unhappy. Eat more Fairtrade bananas and you won’t be.
Make the switch…A computer left running over night uses enough energy to print up to 10,000 copies. Is this the end of overtime as we know it?
Pull together…If 10% of the world’s mobile phone owners unplugged their phone chargers once the phone is fully charged, it would reduce energy consumption by an amount equivalent to that used by 60,000 European homes. So pull the plug and start saving energy.
Work from home…
Working from home or changing the work schedule and working flexible hours may reduce congestion and therefore improve air quality. Who’d have thought that going to work could be like a breath of fresh air?
Do the write thing…
A typical plastic pen can take up to up to 1,000 years to degrade. So keep on writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and writing and…
BEYOND THE CALENDAR: Leave the car at home. Using one litre of gas produces 2.4 kg of CO 2. Bike, roller-blade, take the subway, or take the bus to reduce air pollution and save fuel. If you must drive, travel by the most direct route, consolidate trips by running several errands at once, carpool, and turn off the car while you wait to reduce emissions and conserve gasoline.Give away your old desktop. Before you toss your old electronics, look for programs that take used equipment for schools and other organizations.
Manage your power at work. During the day use power management features on office equipment to decrease the power used when copiers, printers, computers, etc. are idle or in stand-by mode. And at the end of the day or when equipment isn’t being used, turn it off or unplug it.
Slow down and tune up. Save money and CO 2 emissions – as well as staying safe - by not speeding. Driving 16 kph slower can decrease gas use by 20%. Just 8 kph less can decrease greenhouse gas emissions in one year by nearly 10 tonnes. Additionally, keeping your tires properly inflated can decrease gas consumption 6%, and keeping your engine tuned can save 15 to 50%!
Skip the raking. Lawns need less fertilizer and less water if you leave grass clippings on the lawn after you mow. And if you use a push mower instead of a power mower, you can get in shape and reduce CO 2 emissions by 30 kg per year!
Skip the mowing. Let your lawn grow a little higher and only cut off 1/3 of its height when you do mow. Cutting grass too short can stress the lawn causing it to need more water and fertilizer. Leaving the grass high is healthier for the grass and even helps keep down the weeds. Better yet, skip mowing altogether by landscaping your yard using native plants and low maintenance ground covers that conserve water and don’t require mowing!
Drive a fuel-efficient car. Driving a car that gets 12.5 km/litre instead of 8.5 km/litre can save 900 litres of gas and 2 tonnes of CO 2 in just one year of driving (assuming about 24000 km of driving annually).
Turning the thermostat up just 1.5 degrees Celsius in summer and down 1.5 degrees in winter can save over 400 kg of CO 2 emissions every year. U se a fan instead of air conditioning to keep cool. And if you’re cold, put on a sweater before you turn up the heat.
Buy local. Those exotic and out-of-season fruits and vegetables cost fuel, energy, and packaging to get to you. A kiwi fruit flown from New Zealand to the UK creates 5 times its own weight in CO 2 emissions.Buy products in reusable and recyclable packages. Choose products that use less packaging and packaging which can be recycled or reused. Better yet, buy products that are themselves made of recycled content and can be reused and recycled. Use less water. Turn off the tap while you soap up, brush your teeth, or shave. A leaky faucet can waste more than 100 litres of water a month. Use rainwater or graywater to water the plants. Get out of the shower a minute earlier and save 500 litres of water a month. A family of four showering 5 minutes a day uses 2600 litres of water a week – the equivalent of a 3 year supply of drinking water for just one person. Just by installing aerator faucets and low-flow showerheads, the same family could save 1000 litres a week.
Lights out. Simply turning off unneeded lights in a building can reduce the energy used for lighting by up to 45%.
Fight energy vampires. Don’t just turn the TV off, unplug it. If it has a remote control to turn it back ‘on,’ it’s not really ‘off.’ In an average home, nearly 75% of the electricity used to power electronics is consumed by products that are switched ‘off.’ Those blinking lights on your VCR mean energy is being used, even if the machine is 'off.'
Really turn it off. The power-saving sleep mode uses 60 to 80 percent less energy than full-power mode, but unplugging or turning off your inactive computer uses 100% less energy than full-power mode. Turning off your computer every night saves energy, extends the computer’s life, and cuts down on computer failures.
Change a light. Find the 5 lights you use most and replace the traditional bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). CFLs use 1/3 or less energy than a traditional bulb and can last 6-15 times as long. After this simple change, your next electricity bill should be ‘enlightening.
Bring a lunch box. You can reduce the amount of packaging you throw in the garbage by packing food items in reusable containers.
Bag it! Use a reusable cloth bag on your next shopping trip. When 10% of all Kmart customers in Australia said “no” to plastic bags, over 5 million plastic bags were removed from the waste stream. If you get plastic bags at the market, re-use them on your next shopping trip or in your home, and when you’re finished with the bags see if your community or market recycles them.
Talk to your plants. Talking produces CO 2 which your plants use to grow. In exchange, some plants can remove up to 87% of toxic indoor air in just 24 hours and one plant can provide clean air for 9 square meters of space. For example, 15 to 20 ivy and spider plants can refresh all the air in a 160 square meter home.
Plant a tree – two for one. Trees absorb CO 2, clean the air, and produce oxygen. A tree can absorb as much as 360 kg of CO 2 a year, removing an average of 4.5 kg of other air pollutants too. Two trees can produce 240 kg of oxygen a year – enough for one person to breathe easy.
Beautify the landscape. Besides improving property values, placing trees around your home can reduce energy use in the summer by as much as 50% and winter heating bills by 25%.
Recycle that soda can. A TV set can run for 3 hours on the energy saved by recycling just one drink can.
Mind the gap. 15 families filling their kettle with only as much water as they need when boiling water, could save one tonne of CO 2 emissions in a year.
If every UK home recycled just half their rubbish, the UK’s annual CO2 emissions could be reduced by six million tones.
Join the pool! If just once a week, everyone who regularly drives to work alone got a lift with someone else, traffic could be reduced by 12% - 15%!
Unbottle stored energy. A typical plastic water bottle can take 1,000 years to biodegrade. The amount of energy saved from recycling one plastic bottle can power a 60-watt lightbulb for 6 hours. T he energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can power a TV for 20 minutes.
Recycle again – and again, and again! A piece of paper can be recycled 4 to 6 times before its fibres break down. Every year Americans throw away enough office paper to cover the entire country of Belgium.
Lights out! Light pollution disrupts the biological rhythms of nocturnal animals. You can help by turning off unnecessary lights. In 2002, the Czech Republic enacted the world’s first national law against light pollution.
Don’t flush - recycle! Whether you change your car oil at home or go to the local garage, make sure your used oil is being disposed of properly. Oil flushed down household, municipal and industrial drains is the largest source of ocean oil pollution, releasing over 1,300,000,000 litres of oil annually.
Don’t turn over a new leaf… use both sides of the paper and recycle when you're done. Paper requires a surprising amount of energy and wood to produce and much of it ends up in waste piles all too soon. The average office employee can use as much as 10,000 sheets of paper a year, creating a stack of used paper over a meter high. Printing first drafts, faxes, e-mails, and other items on the back side of previously used paper as well as making double-sided copies can significantly reduce office paper use and is even more efficient than simply recycling.
Don’t print that. Recycling 1 tonne of paper saves:
-- 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil
-- 4,100 kilowatts of energy. Enough to power a home for 5 months.
-- 2.4 cubic meters of landfill space
-- 25 kg of air pollution
Charge it. Re-charge your batteries. Batteries make us mobile. They run games, machines, and tools… then end up leaking toxic chemicals into the earth. Rechargeable batteries require less toxic chemicals to make and do not end up in waste dumps so quickly. And whatever you use, recycle. Check on local recycling and safe disposal programs for everything from the batteries in your mobile phone to the batteries in your car.
Where’s the beef? About 18,000 litres of water are saved for every half kilogram of beef we don’t eat. That’s more water than we use in 200 five minute showers.
Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost! In general, nothing in a landfill decomposes - from plastic bags to hot dogs. The conditions needed for decomposition – the right temperature, the right balance of carbon/nitrogen/oxygen, etc. – do not occur in a closed system, which most landfills are. If you can keep something out of a landfill – do.
Keep it cool. Take care of your fridge and you take care of the planet. Save easy money just by raising the temperature in your fridge half a degree Celsius. Place the fridge in a cool spot (away from the stove and sunny spots). Keep the door closed and make sure the seals on the door are working. Twice a year, a quick dusting of the condenser coils in the back saves electricity too.
Watch what you eat. Belches and farts are made up of gases like CO 2 and methane – the first and second-most abundant greenhouse gases. About a fifth of the world’s methane emissions come from livestock. Scientists have developed a vaccine to help cows control their ‘emissions’. You can just cut down on the beans tonight.
Close the curtains at night. Blinds and curtains over windows help keep heat from escaping.
Keep some water in your fridge and skip waiting for it to cool down while you run the tap.
Cover up. Using lids when you cook can reduce the energy needed by up to 90%.
Water, water everywhere…. Give your plants a drink at night instead - so the heat of the day won’t evaporate the water.
Fresh vs. Frozen $$$
Fresh vs. Frozen
Q. I've always thought fresh is best when it comes to fruits and vegetables, but now my daughter tells me frozen foods have more nutrients. Who's right?
A. You're both right. It's true that fresh fruits and vegetables tend to taste better and have more nutritional value than frozen or canned. But that's not always the case.
Fresh is best when it really is farm-fresh and ripe. However, many commercial fruits and veggies are picked before peak ripeness -- which also means before their nutritional peak -- to avoid spoilage during transport and storage. And just a few days after harvest, fruits and vegetables begin to lose some of their nutritive goodness. What's more, the longer they sit on the shelf -- during transport, in the supermarket, and in your fridge -- the fewer nutrients they have left to pass on to you. On the other hand, fruits and vegetables intended for freezing are usually picked closer to the peak of ripeness and are flash-frozen immediately after harvest. The processing does deplete some nutrients, but it locks in the rest for up to 12 months. So in some instances, frozen fruits and veggies may actually have more of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
Quick Tip: To help retain the highest levels of vitamin C, don't thaw frozen veggies before cooking. Studies show that vegetables cooked directly from frozen retain more vitamin C than vegetables that are thawed first.
Q. I've always thought fresh is best when it comes to fruits and vegetables, but now my daughter tells me frozen foods have more nutrients. Who's right?
A. You're both right. It's true that fresh fruits and vegetables tend to taste better and have more nutritional value than frozen or canned. But that's not always the case.
Fresh is best when it really is farm-fresh and ripe. However, many commercial fruits and veggies are picked before peak ripeness -- which also means before their nutritional peak -- to avoid spoilage during transport and storage. And just a few days after harvest, fruits and vegetables begin to lose some of their nutritive goodness. What's more, the longer they sit on the shelf -- during transport, in the supermarket, and in your fridge -- the fewer nutrients they have left to pass on to you. On the other hand, fruits and vegetables intended for freezing are usually picked closer to the peak of ripeness and are flash-frozen immediately after harvest. The processing does deplete some nutrients, but it locks in the rest for up to 12 months. So in some instances, frozen fruits and veggies may actually have more of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
Quick Tip: To help retain the highest levels of vitamin C, don't thaw frozen veggies before cooking. Studies show that vegetables cooked directly from frozen retain more vitamin C than vegetables that are thawed first.
To Microwave or Not to Microwave???
To Microwave or Not to Microwave???
Q. Does microwaving really zap all the vitamins and minerals from vegetables? If so, what's the best way to cook them?
A. The jury's still out on this one. Although some studies suggest the microwave is to blame for sucking nutrients out of your food, others point a finger at the water in which they are cooked. For most fruits and vegetables, any type of cooking lowers the nutrient content. So for now, a good rule of thumb is: less is more.
Leave skins on whenever possible. Many fruits and vegetables hold most of their antioxidants in their skins. Simply wash well before cooking/eating.
Lightly steam vegetables instead of boiling, sautéing, or roasting. Better yet, go raw with a fresh salad.
If you prefer to blanch your veggies, dip them into boiling water for the least amount of time possible. The exception is the red tomato. Cooking actually increases its level of lycopene -- an antioxidant thought to help prevent certain types of cancer, heart disease, and vision loss.
Quick Tip: Drizzle your vegetables with a bit of olive oil to help your body better absorb the vitamins and minerals.
Ref : www.realage.com/NutritionCenter/Articles.aspx?aid=10488
Q. Does microwaving really zap all the vitamins and minerals from vegetables? If so, what's the best way to cook them?
A. The jury's still out on this one. Although some studies suggest the microwave is to blame for sucking nutrients out of your food, others point a finger at the water in which they are cooked. For most fruits and vegetables, any type of cooking lowers the nutrient content. So for now, a good rule of thumb is: less is more.
Leave skins on whenever possible. Many fruits and vegetables hold most of their antioxidants in their skins. Simply wash well before cooking/eating.
Lightly steam vegetables instead of boiling, sautéing, or roasting. Better yet, go raw with a fresh salad.
If you prefer to blanch your veggies, dip them into boiling water for the least amount of time possible. The exception is the red tomato. Cooking actually increases its level of lycopene -- an antioxidant thought to help prevent certain types of cancer, heart disease, and vision loss.
Quick Tip: Drizzle your vegetables with a bit of olive oil to help your body better absorb the vitamins and minerals.
Ref : www.realage.com/NutritionCenter/Articles.aspx?aid=10488
Tips and tricks to make your veggies extra nutritious :-)
All They're Cooked Up to BeTry out these other tips and tricks to make your veggies extra nutritious:
1) Skip the thaw. Cooking straight from frozen retains more vitamin C. (See the top "C" fruit and vegetable sources.)
2) Spice them up. Adding cumin, ginger, and these four herbs will boost the antioxidant punch of both raw and cooked veggies.
3) Drizzle a little. Olive oil, that is. Your body better absorbs the nutrition in veggies when eaten with a bit of fat. (Check out this article for tips on using healthy fats to help you eat less.)
1) Skip the thaw. Cooking straight from frozen retains more vitamin C. (See the top "C" fruit and vegetable sources.)
2) Spice them up. Adding cumin, ginger, and these four herbs will boost the antioxidant punch of both raw and cooked veggies.
3) Drizzle a little. Olive oil, that is. Your body better absorbs the nutrition in veggies when eaten with a bit of fat. (Check out this article for tips on using healthy fats to help you eat less.)
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Is Your Diet Giving You Wrinkles?
Is Your Diet Giving You Wrinkles?
Written by RealAge, Inc., peer-reviewed by Dr. Axel Goetz,
Wrinkles may be an inevitable part of aging, but that doesn't mean fighting them is useless. Protecting your skin from exposure to ultraviolet radiation is the most significant thing you can do to prevent wrinkles, sagging, and discoloration. And, some people try invasive techniques, such as chemical peels, Botox, dermal fillers, or surgery.
But those efforts are all done from the outside. What about protecting your skin from the inside? Shield Your Skin
• spend less time outdoors
• clean your skin gently each day and wear moisturizer
• wear sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses
Can something as simple as modifying what you eat and drink help you smooth the lines on your face or prevent future wrinkles?
Erase wrinkles NO, look younger YES
Studies show that what you eat, or don't eat, has a definite effect on the health of your skin. As the outermost barrier of the body and your largest organ, the skin is continuously exposed to various sources of stress, including many environmental factors. So, although a new diet won't clear away all your wrinkles or halt skin aging, nutrition can make a huge difference not only in how you look, but also how you feel. This in turn will influence how young or old you may appear to be.
Food fight... against aging
Researchers are just beginning to explore the extent of diet's role in the skin aging process. One recent study revealed that people whose diets are rich in vegetables, beans, olive oil, nuts, and multigrain breads are less likely to wrinkle than those who feast on red meat, butter, and sugary foods.
Experts suspect that antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E and the minerals zinc and selenium may keep wrinkles at bay by reducing the amount of potentially damaging free radicals produced by skin cells. One study revealed that a supplement that included a combination of these antioxidant vitamins helped protect the skin from aging due to solar UV exposure.
Another study suggests that for light-skinned people, consuming a diet rich in carotenoids offers similar UV protection and also may contribute to healthy skin coloring.
To achieve a healthy, youthful glow, turn away from the sun and turn to carotenoid-rich foods such as cantaloupe, apricots, carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and other fruits and vegetables that have deep green, yellow, orange, and red hues. A multivitamin may provide your skin further protection against aging.
In addition, several research reviews have revealed that botanical antioxidants show promise as an effective means of protecting skin cells against ultraviolet radiation; this is another good reason to eat at least four servings of fruits and five of vegetables each day.
Some Healthy Food Choices for Your Skin and Body
Choose Nutrients Supplied
Vegetables
Spinach, leaf lettuce, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes Vitamin A (carotenoids)
Tomatoes, bell peppers Vitamin C
Fruits
Papayas, mangoes, cantaloupe Vitamin A (carotenoids)
Oranges, grapefruits Vitamin C
Other Foods
Fortified whole-grain cereals (check label) Vitamins B, D, zinc, selenium
Nuts, sunflower seeds Vitamin E, zinc
Salmon, tuna Vitamins D, E, calcium, omega-3 oils, selenium, protein
Vegetable oil Vitamins D, E
Low-fat milk Vitamin A (retinol), calcium, zinc, selenium
Eggs Vitamins A (retinol), E, B, zinc
Legumes, dried beans Vitamins B, zinc
Find more skin-healthy food selections with the RealAge Vitamins and Nutrients Best Bets.
Visit the water fountain of youth—several times a day!
Imagine what happens to a plant when it goes without water for too long. It begins to droop, then it becomes dry and brittle. Watering the plant may bring it back, but it will likely have damaged leaves. Water works similarly within people. By drinking water, you moisturize your skin from the inside out, helping to maintain its elasticity and suppleness—less drooping, less drying, and less damage. Monitoring such things as your thirst and energy levels, as well as the concentration of your urine, is a good way to assess whether you're getting enough to drink. Alcoholic beverages and caffeinated drinks such as coffee, tea, and colas don't count; they have a diuretic effect that may deplete your body's water supply. Exercise and low humidity climates also can affect your body's water level. Remember to drink extra water each day to account for these factors.
The bottom line: you'll get out what you put in
It may not be a sure cure for crows' feet, brow furrows, or laugh lines, but improving a few food and behavior choices could save your skin. Although studies specific to wrinkle prevention are currently limited, a
host of other studies reveal that the same vitamins and nutrients
that may protect your skin also are beneficial to the health of your eyes, teeth, nails, bones, and circulatory system. So, if a more youthful appearance is what you seek, then skin is only a portion of the equation. By eating a diverse diet, including five servings of vegetables per day, you can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger. And adding more antioxidants and essential oils can bring out a healthier and younger-looking you. RA
Healthy Tips
• Look for foods containing vitamins A and C, zinc, lean proteins, and essential fatty acids. These are great for healthy skin.
• Leave the skin on fruits and vegetables (wash well) and eat raw or lightly cooked for optimal nutrition.
• Minimize intake of simple or high glycemic-index carbs, such as enriched bread or flour products, processed and refined foods, candy, and soft drinks. These are often nutrient poor and high in sugar.
• Include complex or low-glycemic index carbohydrates, such as whole-grain breads and cereals, and legumes.
http://www.realage.com/RealBeauty/Articles.aspx?aid=10334
Written by RealAge, Inc., peer-reviewed by Dr. Axel Goetz,
Wrinkles may be an inevitable part of aging, but that doesn't mean fighting them is useless. Protecting your skin from exposure to ultraviolet radiation is the most significant thing you can do to prevent wrinkles, sagging, and discoloration. And, some people try invasive techniques, such as chemical peels, Botox, dermal fillers, or surgery.
But those efforts are all done from the outside. What about protecting your skin from the inside? Shield Your Skin
• spend less time outdoors
• clean your skin gently each day and wear moisturizer
• wear sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses
Can something as simple as modifying what you eat and drink help you smooth the lines on your face or prevent future wrinkles?
Erase wrinkles NO, look younger YES
Studies show that what you eat, or don't eat, has a definite effect on the health of your skin. As the outermost barrier of the body and your largest organ, the skin is continuously exposed to various sources of stress, including many environmental factors. So, although a new diet won't clear away all your wrinkles or halt skin aging, nutrition can make a huge difference not only in how you look, but also how you feel. This in turn will influence how young or old you may appear to be.
Food fight... against aging
Researchers are just beginning to explore the extent of diet's role in the skin aging process. One recent study revealed that people whose diets are rich in vegetables, beans, olive oil, nuts, and multigrain breads are less likely to wrinkle than those who feast on red meat, butter, and sugary foods.
Experts suspect that antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E and the minerals zinc and selenium may keep wrinkles at bay by reducing the amount of potentially damaging free radicals produced by skin cells. One study revealed that a supplement that included a combination of these antioxidant vitamins helped protect the skin from aging due to solar UV exposure.
Another study suggests that for light-skinned people, consuming a diet rich in carotenoids offers similar UV protection and also may contribute to healthy skin coloring.
To achieve a healthy, youthful glow, turn away from the sun and turn to carotenoid-rich foods such as cantaloupe, apricots, carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, and other fruits and vegetables that have deep green, yellow, orange, and red hues. A multivitamin may provide your skin further protection against aging.
In addition, several research reviews have revealed that botanical antioxidants show promise as an effective means of protecting skin cells against ultraviolet radiation; this is another good reason to eat at least four servings of fruits and five of vegetables each day.
Some Healthy Food Choices for Your Skin and Body
Choose Nutrients Supplied
Vegetables
Spinach, leaf lettuce, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes Vitamin A (carotenoids)
Tomatoes, bell peppers Vitamin C
Fruits
Papayas, mangoes, cantaloupe Vitamin A (carotenoids)
Oranges, grapefruits Vitamin C
Other Foods
Fortified whole-grain cereals (check label) Vitamins B, D, zinc, selenium
Nuts, sunflower seeds Vitamin E, zinc
Salmon, tuna Vitamins D, E, calcium, omega-3 oils, selenium, protein
Vegetable oil Vitamins D, E
Low-fat milk Vitamin A (retinol), calcium, zinc, selenium
Eggs Vitamins A (retinol), E, B, zinc
Legumes, dried beans Vitamins B, zinc
Find more skin-healthy food selections with the RealAge Vitamins and Nutrients Best Bets.
Visit the water fountain of youth—several times a day!
Imagine what happens to a plant when it goes without water for too long. It begins to droop, then it becomes dry and brittle. Watering the plant may bring it back, but it will likely have damaged leaves. Water works similarly within people. By drinking water, you moisturize your skin from the inside out, helping to maintain its elasticity and suppleness—less drooping, less drying, and less damage. Monitoring such things as your thirst and energy levels, as well as the concentration of your urine, is a good way to assess whether you're getting enough to drink. Alcoholic beverages and caffeinated drinks such as coffee, tea, and colas don't count; they have a diuretic effect that may deplete your body's water supply. Exercise and low humidity climates also can affect your body's water level. Remember to drink extra water each day to account for these factors.
The bottom line: you'll get out what you put in
It may not be a sure cure for crows' feet, brow furrows, or laugh lines, but improving a few food and behavior choices could save your skin. Although studies specific to wrinkle prevention are currently limited, a
host of other studies reveal that the same vitamins and nutrients
that may protect your skin also are beneficial to the health of your eyes, teeth, nails, bones, and circulatory system. So, if a more youthful appearance is what you seek, then skin is only a portion of the equation. By eating a diverse diet, including five servings of vegetables per day, you can make your RealAge as much as 4 years younger. And adding more antioxidants and essential oils can bring out a healthier and younger-looking you. RA
Healthy Tips
• Look for foods containing vitamins A and C, zinc, lean proteins, and essential fatty acids. These are great for healthy skin.
• Leave the skin on fruits and vegetables (wash well) and eat raw or lightly cooked for optimal nutrition.
• Minimize intake of simple or high glycemic-index carbs, such as enriched bread or flour products, processed and refined foods, candy, and soft drinks. These are often nutrient poor and high in sugar.
• Include complex or low-glycemic index carbohydrates, such as whole-grain breads and cereals, and legumes.
http://www.realage.com/RealBeauty/Articles.aspx?aid=10334
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