The First Step To Breaking Addiction: Put A Stone In Your Slingshot

As a smoker living in a democratic society you have every right to fill your lungs with smoke. Notice that I said YOUR lungs. Your lungs, throat and mouth are your own personal property and only you have the last word as to how that living tissue will be budgeted and spent. But in fairness, base that decision to put your body at risk on TRUTH and not on skillfully crafted LIES. See clearly through the haze of smoke at what is looking back at you.

TRUTH #1

Smoking is an amazingly clever commercial venture that lures you, the consumer, into giving vast sums of money to corporate executives who are taking home paychecks considerably larger than yours and mine combined. Your habit will continue to keep them in silk ties, summer homes, fast boats and fat portfolios.

TRUTH #2

Tobacco company executives are at this very moment searching for an unsuspecting consumer to replace you when you die. That new consumer may well be your child or your grandchild. Not one of those executives will be there to comfort your loved ones when you go and it is probable that you will be gone years or decades before your time.

TRUTH #3

You may feel the need to continue smoking for important personal reasons and that is your decision. Smoking may be your body's effort to break a shallow breathing pattern. Smoking may be a socially acceptable excuse for taking a break from your long hours of difficult work. The habit may be tangled in with your need for companionship. Man has long socialized around tobacco and alcohol.

TRUTH #4

Smoking has absolutely nothing to do with clear mountain streams, sunny days at the beach, rugged independent cowboys or smiling women in velvet gowns. If you are waiting for cigarette smoke to enhance your sexuality, you are going to be waiting a very long time . . . that is unless you find bad breath, smelly hair, yellow teeth and a hacking cough sexy.

TRUTH #5

Smoking is not "grown-up." It is "grown-gullible." Smoking does not signify to the world that you are now a man (or a woman). It signifies to the world that you have been rounded up and will be run off the cliff with the rest of the herd. No matter how the tobacco companies label you, you are unique, important and irreplaceable. And that’s the truth!

TRUTH #6

Addiction is war and you are hooked on one of the most addictive substances known to man. Nicotine has you by the throat (literally). ADDICTION IS WAR. It is, however, a war that you can and must win. Losing is simply too expensive, too brutally painful and too tragic for you, your family and your country. Fortunately, this is a war that you don't have to fight alone (although you will be the ultimate hero).

When you choose to quit, explore every organization, every online support site and every product available to you. You will also find your doctors to be informative and helpful. If not, find new doctors. You are brave to even attempt to break this stranglehold. You are indeed a David battling a huge and merciless Goliath.

SUGGESTION

While smoking is inseparable from your pulmonary activity and equipment, your breathing nonetheless remains a surprisingly powerful tool (perhaps your slingshot). Mother Nature designed your breathing to bridge your mind, body and spirit so focusing on your breath brings your total being to your defense. Even if you have been seriously addicted for many years you should be able to manage this first small step in the right direction.

Every time, BEFORE YOU REACH FOR A CIGARETTE, sit quietly, eyes closed. Breathe out all your used up stale air by drawing your bellybutton in gently toward your spine. Breathe in by relaxing your bellybutton and sending the fresh new breath into an imaginary small balloon behind your bellybutton. With each outgoing breath, relax the drawstring muscles around your mouth. Relax your jaw hinges and your tongue. Give yourself the luxury of half a dozen breaths. You may still reach for the cigarette (the battle isn’t that easy!) but you have put the first stone into your slingshot.

Live long and prosper. Please.
Author Resource:- Diane Neuman founded The Yoga Workshop in San Francisco where she taught for 11 years. Neuman wrote and illustrated HOW TO GET THE DRAGONS OUT OF YOUR TEMPLE (Celestial Arts). Currently Neuman writes and illustrates a health blog that draws on her 50 years of studying yoga, advanced breathing techniques, stress management and relaxation exercises. To find her blog and learn a new breathing lesson every week, check into http://www.breathingdeepexercises.com/

Choosing a Doctor for Bariatric Surgery - What Questions Should You Ask?

Q1. What types of bariatric surgery do you perform?
There are two primary types of bariatric surgery plus the newer gastric banding surgery.
Bileopancreatic diversion bypass & Roux-en-Y-gastric bypass
In both bariatric bypass surgeries, a small pouch is created by stapling a portion of the stomach. The small intestine is then attached to the stomach so that food bypasses the upper part of the small intestine (the duodenum). This results in significantly reduced food intake and the patient also feels full sooner. With both of these techniques, the patient loses most weight in the first year, and weight loss is usually complete by the end of the second year. Both procedures are permanent and cannot be reversed.
Gastric banding involves placement of a silicone band around the upper stomach to restrict food intake. This slows the passage of food to the lower stomach, resulting in the patient feeling full sooner. This band can be inflated or deflated to reduce or increase the size of the passage between the two stomachs. This surgery is done laparoscopically and has the least recovery time. In some cases, this surgery can be done on an outpatient basis.
While the two bypass surgeries may limit the foods the patient can tolerate, the banding procedure only limits quantity. Over time, patients who undergo gastric banding may be more likely to regain the weight lost.
Read our Bariatric Surgery Glossary for additional information.
Q2. If you prefer one bariatric procedure over the others, could you explain why? What are the factors you use in deciding which to perform?
The Roux-en-Y procedure is the most commonly performed bariatric procedure and produces good weight loss, usually up to 50 to 60 percent of excess weight in the first two years. It is less invasive than the bileopancreatic diversion surgery, can be done laparoscopically in some cases, and recovery time is usually quicker. It has a lower risk of complications and nutritional deficiencies.
Laparoscopic banding (also known as lap band) is the least invasive but requires a great deal of patient compliance to achieve maximum weight loss. Gastric banding also requires frequent doctor follow-up at to adjust the band. It is reversible when weight loss is complete.
Q3. Are there any things that might disqualify me for the surgery?
• Active substance abuse
Active substance abuse is an immediate disqualifier. You must not be actively using any addictive substances, other than physician-prescribed medications, at the time of surgery. You must also be able to abstain from alcohol for a period of time before and after surgery.
• Untreated mental illnesses
Personality disorders such as schizophrenia or depression, are also a cause for disqualification. You must be able to show that you understand the nature of the surgery and the lifestyle changes required, and that you are willing to comply.
• Life threatening disease
If you have a life-threatening disease, such as cancer, that is not likely to improve with weight loss, you may not qualify for bariatric surgery.
• Non-compliance with other medical treatments
A failure to address diabetes or other treatable conditions will also disqualify you.
Q4. What types of ongoing support do you provide for your patients? Do you have support groups at your clinic or do you refer patients somewhere specific?
As with other weight-loss programs, bariatric surgery requires significant lifestyle changes. A support group is important both before and after the surgery. There are support groups in the community, often offered by hospitals or clinics.
Following surgery, the support group will provide you with tips as you learn new behaviors. It will also give you a place to find support for the physical and emotional changes you are going through from others who have also had the surgery.
It is important to remember that you will need a local lap band post-operative care center for your adjustments. If you decide on medical travel instead of a local surgeon, be sure to discuss this post-operative care need with your doctor.
Q5. How long have you been performing bariatric surgery and how many of that specific type of surgery that you are recommending has the doctor performed?
Bariatric surgery is medical specialty that requires training and ongoing continuing education. Look for a doctor who has done many surgeries and don’t be afraid to ask his success rate, including his complication and mortality rates.
Ask your doctor if he has done a residency or fellowship in weight-loss surgery.

Colon Cleansing Diet Before Colonoscopy

Colonoscopy screening is a recommended procedure for those over the age of fifty that screens for colon cancer or other abnormalities. If you've had bleeding from the rectum, a relative with colon cancer, or other health condition that could indicate possible colon problems, a colonoscopy may be recommended even earlier.

In order to prepare for this procedure, it's necessary that you follow a diet that will aid in cleaning out your bowels. The foods, beverages and medications we ingest can affect the way the colon looks, altering the accuracy of a colonoscopy. A colon cleansing diet can help you be best prepared for this procedure.

Homemade Colon Cleansing Diet

A homemade colon cleansing diet can help you completely eliminate the contents of your colon. Foods rich in fiber and lots of pure water are the primary staples you'll need to focus on. High fiber foods and lots of water will help you easily eliminate the contents of your colon.

* Drink filtered or purified water. Use a filtration system that can be attached to your sink or a filtration pitcher to purify your water. Alternatively, you can purchase bottled purified water, although this may be more costly.
* Eat a variety of vegetables. Organic vegetables are preferred because non-organic foods could contain toxins from pesticides. Most vegetables contain fiber, but dark, leafy green vegetables are those with the highest fiber content. Try broccoli, lettuce and squash.
* Choose high fiber fruits. Again, choosing organic is the preferred option. Apples, oranges and berries are particularly high in fiber.
* Try a juice cleanse. If you choose, you can modify this colon cleansing diet by substituting whole, fresh fruit juices in place of fruits.

A homemade colon cleansing diet can be followed for about three days. Your regular diet should be incorporated gradually, to avoid shocking your system and causing gastrointestinal upset.

Following a colon cleansing diet before a colonoscopy benefits you by allowing your provider to achieve the most accurate results from the procedure. In addition, you'll experience many pleasing side effects from following a colon cleansing diet. Your skin will look clear and healthy and you'll find yourself with more energy. You'll be free of constipation, aches and pains and you may even experience weight loss.

Many individuals who have tried a colon cleansing diet to prepare for a colonoscopy have enjoyed the benefits so much so that they incorporate the principles of a colon cleansing diet into their daily lives or undertake a colon cleanse periodically to achieve the many benefits that can be obtained.

A colon cleansing diet before colonoscopy is an effective way to prepare for the procedure. Many individuals prefer a colon cleansing diet to other preparations, such as an enema. While it's a matter of personal choice, it's worth your time to try a colon cleansing diet for yourself. Author Resource:- At Megavista Health, we focus on positive, holistic health and nutrition. Learn about the many benefits you can experience from a colon cleansing diet by visiting www.megavista-health.com

Berhenti Makan Setelah Jam 7. Benarkah?

Ada pendapat yang mengatakan kalau malam hari aktifitas tubuh sudah berkurang dan mendekati jam tidur, maka sebaiknya berhenti makan. Pendapat ini tidak sepenuhnya bisa diikuti. Mengapa? Karena

1. Justru kebanyakan orang, terutama yang hidup di perkotaan berolahraga selepas jam kerja. Berarti aktivitas tubuh menjelang malam semakin tinggi.
   
2. Meskipun jumlah kalori yang terbakar saat tidur lebih rendah....yang lebih menjadi concern adalah sumber energi yang terbakar saat beristirahat. Apakah lemak atau gula?
   
3. Jenis makanan tertentu bisa dikonsumsi, bahkan dalam jumlah yang mencukupi, di antaranya: sayur-sayuran, salad, protein putih (ikan, ayam, putih telur, tempe, tahu, kacang kedelai) dalam penyajian rendah kalori (tanpa penambahan minyak, santan, mentega, margarin, aneka tepung, gula pasir).

Pendapat berhenti makan setelah jam 7 biasanya dilakukan oleh mereka yang tidak berolahraga secara teratur, sehingga alih-alih mencoba membakar kalori lebih banyak mereka memilih menghemat kalori yang masuk. Cara seperti ini biasanya malah tidak sehat, membuat kita semakin mudah gemuk, dan semakin lemas.

20 Steps To Maximize The Productivity

Salah satu elemen terfundamental yang harus dimiliki agar sukses yang ingin dicapai semakin cepat ter – realisir adalah produktivitas. Untuk mendapatkan produktivitas yang optimal maka

1. RESTFUL. Agar produktivitas kerja bisa optimal maka kondisi tubuh harus senantiasa fit / fresh. Untuk mendapatkan kondisi ini, istirahat haruslah cukup. Tubuh manusia sama ibaratnya dengan mesin, yang perlu segera diistirahatkan setelah digunakan untuk jangka waktu tertentu.

2. REVIEW. Apapun yang telah dilaksanakan, senantiasa diadakan review untuk mengetahui APAKAH sudah terlaksana sesuai dengan perencanaan atau APAKAH keluar dari jalur / rambu – rambu yang telah ditentukan. Disamping itu, juga untuk mengetahui tingkat progressive dari keberhasilan. 3. EXERCISE. Melalui latihan – latihan yang berkesinambungan, selain akan bisa meminimalkan kegagalan tetapi juga menemukan kiat – kiat yang ter – efektif untuk mendapatkan yang terbaik.

4. BREAKFAST. Agar produktivitas optimal, dibutuhkan energy yang constant. Untuk itu, breakfast harus dijadikan suatu kebiasaan sebelum mengawali suatu pekerjaan.

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5. LEARNING. Proses pembelajaran adalah proses yang tanpa batasan usia, jabatan atau status sosial. Tanpa adanya kemauan untuk mau meningkatkan potensi diri melalui proses pembelajaran ini maka seseorang akan lemah daya saingnya, yang mana dampak akhirnya adalah menurunnya produktivitas.

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6. PRIORITIZED. Agar hasil lebih optimal dan menghindari stress yang tidak seyogianya timbul maka buatlah skala prioritas yang jelas sebelum mengawali apapun yang akan dikerjakan.

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7. SCHEDULE. �Buatlah jadwal harian, mingguan, bulanan yang jelas dan laksanakan serta evaluasi hasilnya.

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8. DO THE MOST UNPLEASANT. Agar senantiasa semangat menyelesaikan pekerjaan sampai tuntas, maka awalilah penyelesaian pekerjaan yang tidak disukai pada rangking pertama dan setelah itu baru yang disukai.

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9. WORK SMART. �Selalulah bekerja secara cerdik, yang senang team work dan saling membagi tugas yang disesuaikan dengan kompetensi masing – masing. Ingat, yang dibutuhkan bukanlah SUPERMAN tetapi adalah SUPER TEAM.

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10. MESSAGES. Pesan – pesan yang disampaikan, haruslah jelas dan dimengerti oleh semua pihak. Jangan menyampaikan� pesan yang biasnya besar dan tidak akurat pada sasaran yang ingin dicapai.

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11. NO ALCOHOL. Agar setiap keputusan senantiasa efektif dan bijaksana hasilnya maka satu – satunya minuman (* Alkohol) yang mana bisa menghilangkan kesadaran, haruslah sesegera mungkin disingkirkan.

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12. DILIGENT. Dengan rajin mengerjakan tugas dan tanggungjawab maka hasil yang dicapai akan lebih optiomal.

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13. FOCUSED. Apapun yang ingin dicapai, harus dikerjakan se – fokus mungkin, yang mana dampak langsungnya selain akan meminimalkan persentase kegagalan tetapi juga akan meningkatkan persentase keberhasilan.

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14. PURE WATER. Agar kinerja senantiasa optimal maka kesehatan harus senantiasa dijaga dan dirawat dengan selalu rutin meminum air murni.

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15. PRIORITIZED LIST. Dafar prioritas kerja harus senantiasa dibuat agar kelelahan dan kejenuhan kerja bisa diminimalis.

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16. SMILE. Tidak kalah pentingnya, apapun yang sedang dan telah dikerjakan selalu tersenyum.

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17. ENJOY. Nikmatilah pekerjaan itu bagaikan menjalani rekreasi maka selain beban akan menjadi berkurang, hasil yang dicapai juga akan optimal.

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18. RELAX. Pada waktu kerja, kerjalah se – serius mungkin� tetapi pada waktu santai, santailah se – relax mungkin maka semua beban akan sirna dari pundak kita.

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19. QUALITY SLEEP. Tidur yang cukup, selain akan menjaga stamina tubuh tetapi juga akan meningkatkan semangat kerja.

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20. BE THANKFUL. Terakhir selalulah berterima kasih dan bersyukur karena diantara sekian manusia yang mencari pekerjaan, kita adalah salah satu orang paling beruntung karena telah mendapatkan pekerjaan. Three Rules of Work : Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. ALBERT EINSTEIN.

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* Untuk konsultasi gratis, silakan email ke : dm.peterlim@gmail.com atau 0812 600 2482

Improved RNA interference kits launched by Imgenex

RNA interference (RNAi) is the process of mRNA degradation that is induced by double-stranded RNA in a sequence-specific manner. RNAi has been observed in all eukaryotes, from yeast to mammals. The RNAi pathway is thought to be an ancient mechanism for protecting the host and its genome against viruses and rogue genetic elements that use double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in their life cycles. They have also been shown to play a role not only in mRNA and dsRNA stability/degradation, but also in regulation of translation, transcription, chromatin structure, and genome integrity. In plants and animals, RNA silencing has been adapted to play a critical role in regulation of cell growth and differentiation using a class of small RNAs. In the RNA interference process, the dsRNAs get processed into 20-25 nucleotide (nt) small RNAs by an RNase III-like enzyme called Dicer. Then, the small RNAs assemble into endoribonuclease-containing complexes known as RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs), unwinding in the process. The small RNA strands subsequently guide the RISCs to complementary RNA molecules, where they cleave and destroy the cognate RNA (effecter step). Cleavage of cognate RNA takes place near the middle of the region bound by the siRNA strand. The small RNAs that provide target specificity to the silencing machinery includes short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), repeat-associated siRNAs (rasiRNAs), and microRNAs (miRNAs) and is distinguished by their origin. siRNAs are processed from dsRNA precursors made up of two distinct strands of perfectly base-paired RNA, while miRNAs originate from a single, long transcript that forms imperfectly base-paired hairpin structures. siRNAs were originally identified as intermediates in the RNAi pathway after induction by exogenous dsRNA; however, endogenous sources of siRNAs have now been recognized. The endogenous siRNAs are derived from repetitive sequences within the genome, and are termed repeat-associated siRNAs, or rasiRNAs. miRNAs were discovered through their critical roles in development and cellular regulation, and represent a large class of evolutionarily conserved RNAs. miRNAs have always been recognized as being of endogenous origin. RNA interference has emerged as a natural mechanism for silencing gene expression over the past decade. This ancient cellular antiviral response can be harnessed to allow specific inhibition of the function of any chosen target genes, including those involved in causing diseases such as cancer, AIDS, and hepatitis. It is already proving to be an invaluable research tool, allowing much more rapid characterization of the function of known genes. More importantly, the technology considerably bolsters functional genomics to aid in the identification of novel genes involved in disease processes. Last but not the least the technology can be harnessed as a novel therapeutic agent and is suitable for combating viral diseases, cancers and inflammatory diseases.
Imgenex (San Diego) recently launched the pSuppressorAdeno construction kit for adenovirus mediated gene knockdown. The kit provides the ability to infect a broad range of cell types, including many primary cell lines as well as dividing and nondividing cells, according to a company official. The kit also offers the flexibility to validate sequences using the nonviral expression plasmid prior to construction of adenoviruses, notes Sujay K. Singh, Ph.D., president and CEO of Imgenex, which markets plasmid-based RNA interference (RNAi) products. “One of the greatest advantages is the ability of recombinant adenovirus vectors to reduce gene expression both in vitro and in vivo,” he adds. RNAi, initially considered a bizarre attribute of petunias and later a gene-silencing mechanism in worms, is creating a stir as one of the hottest new technologies in molecular biology. It is revolutionizing the field of functional genomics.
Author Resource:- IMGENEX India Pvt Ltd. the only biotech company in Orissa and one of its kinds in Eastern India. IMGENEX India started in Oct as an outsourcing branch of IMGENEX Corporation, San Diego, USA. Find out more information about RNA interference.

Pollen allergy may be the reason for your sneezing in spite of a change in seasons

About Hay Fever

In the various seasons (spring, summer, and fall) during the year, pollen grains are dispersed from trees, weeds, and grasses. These pollen grains travel on air currents to fertilize other plants. Inhaling pollen, in some people, can trigger seasonal allergic rhinitis which is also called pollen allergy or hay fever. In this condition the mucous membranes in the nasal passages inflame, which causes swelling, sneezing, itching, irritation and a runny nose.

Allergy seasons are:

• May - July/August – Grass pollen:
• Feb – June – Tree pollen (depending on whether allergic to early or late flowering trees)
• August – September – Nettle/weed pollen

Hay fever symptoms can continue all the year round and may also occur from indoor allergens like house dust mites, pets and possibly indoor moulds.

Hay fever is actually an attempt by the body to rid itself of allergens but the immune system overreacts and releases chemicals which cause inflammation, causing:

• Itchy, watery, red eyes
• Frequent sneezing
• Constantly dripping nose

Sufferers, when afflicted with this condition, have to struggle to breathe through their nose. Symptoms are often quite bad in young people and tails off in later years as the body adapts. Studies have shown that hay fever can severely affect the quality of life, disturb sleep patterns, impair daytime concentration and work performance.

What is pollen allergy?

Pollen once released from trees, weeds and grasses, ride on air currents with a mission to disperse and fertilize other plants. However, they rarely reach their targets. On the way they get into human noses and throats, triggering allergic reactions.

Pollen is one of the most pervasive things that can cause an allergy and cannot be avoided. Many allergy causing foods, drugs, or animals can be largely avoided but insects and household dust are inescapable. However, short of staying indoors, there is no foolproof method of evading windborne pollen. Nonetheless, ways have been established that help ease the symptoms of hay fever. Moreover, scientists are working to find better approaches to allergy treatment.

Research has helped provide a better understanding of the causes of allergy, improve the methods for diagnosing and treating allergic reactions and thereby eventually preventing them. The common signs and symptoms of pollen allergy are:

• Sneezing, the most common, may be accompanied by a runny or clogged nose
• Itching eyes, nose, and throat
• Allergic shiners (dark circles under the eyes caused by restricted blood flow near the sinuses)
• The "allergic salute" (in a child, persistent upward rubbing of the nose that causes a crease mark on the nose)
• Watering eyes
• Conjunctivitis (is inflammation of the membrane that lines the eyelids, causing red-rimmed eyes)

In a pollen-sensitive person, as soon as the allergy-causing pollen lands on the mucous membranes of the nose, a chain reaction occurs that leads the mast cells in these tissues to release histamine. This potent chemical dilates the small blood vessels in the nose; causing the fluids to escape through the expanded vessel walls, which in turn results in swelling of the nasal passages as well as nasal congestion. On the other hand, histamine also causes itching, irritation, and excess mucus production. Similarly, other chemicals like prostaglandins and leukotrienes also contribute to allergic symptoms.

Some people with pollen allergy also develop asthma, a serious respiratory condition, which can eventually become chronic. Symptoms include coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath due to a narrowing of the bronchial passages and excess mucus production.
Author Resource:- Webmaster associated with hay fever related site. This site provides various information headache and pollen allergy.Resources are available on site headclinic.co.uk

Herbs to Lower Cholesterol, Cholesterol Lowering Herbs

High cholesterol can be found in any person. Still, at more risk are people who lead stressful lives but also maintain unhealthy diets. In order to lower your cholesterol level, the best thing to do is eat foods that are low in fat content (especially one kind of fat – saturated fat) but also to increase the amount of physical activity. Cholesterol lowering herbs are generally available for people who do not start taking prescription drugs to lower cholesterol immediately. This article will also give you some examples of herbs that lower cholesterol.

Cholesterol is responsible for causing fatty deposits to harden and accumulate in the arteries. These fatty deposits harden to form a substance called plaque, which blocks the artery and prevents blood from flowing and reaching organs such as the brain. Blocked arteries are responsible for strokes and heart disease.

Herbs that lower your blood cholesterol levels are actually a fairly new science. In today’s society, increased LDL cholesterol has become a major health issue. New ways to lower cholesterol naturally are researched by people of all over the world due to this. Because of the lack of side effects and contraindications, natural supplements to lower cholesterol levels are often preferred to their drug counterparts.

Other herb products that lower cholesterol include plant stanols and sterols. these are naturally occurring substances found in some plants. Stanols can also be found in dietary supplements or are added to margarine, orange juice as well as in dressings. According to research findings, plant stanols help reduce cholesterol, and being similar in structure to cholesterol, help in blocking absorption of cholesterol from the intestines.

Since ages guggul has been the companion of mankind saving him from many diseases. Botanically known as Commiphora mukul, it is a wonderful herb that is responsible for treating so many ailments that man suffers. The powerful action of guggulu helps in lowering down the levels of triglycerides and cholesterols there by managing the proper ratio of High density lipoproteins to low density lipoproteins. In a study it was proved that guggulu helps in lowering the cholesterol levels by 15 to 28 % and triglycerides level by 20 to 30 %.

Garlic. Garlic is a cholesterol lowering herb that is slowly but heavily gaining popularity. It has been shown through medical reports that it can increase the HDL cholesterol levels while lowering LDL levels. Studies have also shown that garlic can reduce both triglycerides and cholesterol by up to 15 percent. In one study, people who were given 800 milligrams (about one clove) of garlic daily experienced lower cholesterol levels as well as lower blood pressure.

Artichoke leaf is another herb that helps lower cholesterol levels. This herb works by limiting the synthesis of cholesterol in the body. Artichokes are also known to contain cynarin that supposedly increases bile production in the liver and speeds the flow of bile from the gallbladder, which together increases the excretion of cholesterol Author Resource:- Read about guggul, lower cholesterol naturally and treatment for obesity

Teaching Your Children To Eat Their Vegetables

As a parent, one of the responsibilities I have is to teach my children to eat healthily. Since children learn from a young age to see vegetables as friend or foe, how they are presented to them will largely shape kids' perceptions. Teaching children to love vegetables will have a tremendous impact on the type of eaters they become. Certainly, a pizza party from time to time is one thing, but allowing your child to eat pizza for every meal is another. While children's multi-vitamins are a great supplement to healthy eating, there are some elements of the "real deal" that just cannot be substituted. Veggies are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes. I try to make sure that a couple of the five fruits and/ or vegetables I serve my children each day are raw, since enzymes and vitamin C are damaged by heat. There was a time it was difficult for me to get my oldest daughter to eat her vegetables at dinnertime. Her doctor suggested I serve her food that looked more "simple." I had been trying to slip vegetables into stir fries while my daughter, apparently, preferred steamed broccoli with a little butter or cherry tomatoes. Other great snacks are sliced cucumber, green bell peppers, and baby carrots. Remember, salad dressing on the side is your friend. Another way I have tried to foster my children's love for fruits and veggies has been to encourage an attitude of experimentation, which is pretty easy to do if you expose your child to the produce aisle. Children may think broccoli looks like alien brains, but chances are that they will beg you to taste star fruit or show them how to crack a coconut. This is how my son discovered his peculiar love for radishes. The main thing is getting to know your child's preferences and accomodating them, within reason. Oftentimes, my children will become instantly famished the minute I start making dinner. This is an opportune time to firmly state, "It's an apple or wait." I try to offer them a couple of choices when possible, and while I am unwilling to make a different meal for every member of the family, I might ask, "Who wants zucchini and who wants yellow squash?" or, "Who wants green beans, and who wants salad?" And, my children feel as though they have a choice. (Also, I buy ready-to-eat salad, because it's always an available back-up in the event a picky eater decides avocados just became nasty.) Chances are, teaching your child to love vegetables will pay off in terms of better health and digestion, a better attitude, and fewer missed days of school. My kids may not thank me now, but they will likely get a kick out of asking me, "Would you prefer your peas mashed or whole, Mom?" in my elderly years.

Author Resource:- The online project Good Health Today congregates articles of specialists in health in order to give you the best advice in this important area of life. See more at www.goodhealthtoday.net. Also visit our partner at Brazilian Forum

Article From Article Health And Fitness

Anti Stress Nutrition

Millions of people today go through the same condition with mental stress everyday and unfortunately most of the people just try and deal with it alone. But there is an effective solution out there. Green tea can curb the stress levels, and infuse the body with essential nutrients at the same time. People will find that the considerable benefits of green tea range much farther then just stress. While the thing is true, mental stress is the number one reason why people drink green tea. Green tea actually has the ability to help release toxins from their body. This drink promotes a calm, relaxed feeling. Once people have experienced this bliss their stress levels will drop tremendously.

Whether people are at work or home, they will be more focused on their tasks. One thing that is essential to know about mental stress is that it creates poor nutrition. For instance if people are in a rush and can not cook breakfast, then people most likely will take a doughnut, Pop-Tart or something else similar that can be eaten on the run. Green tea is proven to have a substantial amount of anti-oxidants in it that can protect the body during stressful times, and can also help to promote effective weight loss by giving the body the tools to burn fat.

Green tea if taken during depression, it delivers the best stress nutrition out there that comes from a natural source. Nine different vitamins are present in green tea and a substantial amount of minerals and amino acids to help combat several challenges. This gives stress reliever green tea a broad avenue to work against many disorders, discomforts, and diseases. Green tea is recommended to any people who need to lower their mental stress levels. In the process people will soon find out that a domino effect will occur. It will be as though everything around someone slowed down thanks to the benefits of green tea. Stress nutrition actually deals with different types of foods, which help people to deliver their body the indispensable nutrients, vitamins and minerals to win the battle against stress.

Stress nutrition is essential for humans because it greatly effects are based on the natural components contained in foods delivered to them by Mother Nature. It is not about taking artificially formed substances with dubious side effects in order to get stress relief; the only thing people have to do is to know the right foods to consume. Strength of this stems from the timely matching of the active food components and the needs of human body in case of systematic stress.

In a serious stressful situation people commonly need to react fast in order to find out the most accurate solution. Usually the so called tension or flight response takes place, which is marked by the heart beating faster, drawing blood away from the stomach and extremities of the body, dilating the pupils of the eyes. Two important bodily hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, are released into the blood system. All those biological changes should be supported by the respective nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Author Resource:- Read more on Bronchitis Home Remedies and Home remedies for body odor

Childhood Nutrition - Taking a Closer Look at the Mixed Messages We Send Our Kids

Children's nutrition is a loaded subject. At no other time in our lives is building a solid foundation for health more important. Yet, at no other time in our lives are we so completely at the mercy of others making decisions for us. That means it's up to the grown-ups in a child's life to understand the importance of healthy food (and beverage) choices in order to introduce healthy habits to their children. Easier said than done! It seems as though, in the case of children's nutrition specifically, the simplicity of healthy choices becomes muddled with strange connotations of what a "happy childhood" should be and what our oftentimes skewed views of food are as adults. Our society is familiar with the concept of an early window of opportunity to teach children things like foreign languages or a skill, like playing a musical instrument. We've heard that children are at peak developmental stages very early in life, and therefore we should maximize their opportunities by teaching them these advanced concepts at early ages. Whether you agree or not, have applied it with your children or not, it's a socially acceptable concept that seems to make sense to most people. It's peculiar that, as a society, we don't yet understand that the very same principles apply to the health of a child. The early developmental years are a critical time for creating a solid foundation for nutritional health, as well as movement and mindset. What we feed our children (or what we passively allow them to eat or others to feed them), and what we teach our children about nutrition NOW will impact their health for the rest of their lives. Our family is certainly not perfect in any way, including our nutritional choices. But, we stick to a few basic principles overall in an ongoing, concerted effort to make the healthiest choices possible. We apply the simple Wellness Formula to all of our lifestyle choices, including the nutritional ones. The Wellness Formula describes how health is created and how sickness is allowed to develop. In order to create optimal health and function, we must make pure and sufficient choices. As described by Wellness expert, Dr. James Chestnut, these are things that meet our body's innate genetic requirements for health. The two types of choices that move us unequivocally away from health are toxic and deficient ones. Toxic choices are things that work against our body's efforts to create health - they are not requirements for health. In applying this to children's nutrition, we simply talk about what food choices the body truly needs in order to build a strong, healthy body and a brilliant mind, as opposed to which choices are interfering with our body's efforts and are leading to a loss of health. Kids get this. There are building blocks for health, and then there are things that come by and destroy what you've been building. You get to choose. Another concept that works around here is, "fill up with health first". It's not about saying you can "never" have that cookie or that birthday cake or that less-than-healthy food choice. It's about making sure you've given your body what it needs first - the raw materials for building health. If you know you're going to be eating something more toxic later in the day, then make sure you fuel up with lots of healthy choices first, that's all. It's also about teaching responsibility and accountability to kids when it comes to their health. There are limitations to matter! They can't fill up with health first, then choose toxic garbage every single day. That's too much for our physiology to overcome. A toxin is a toxin, no matter how much broccoli preceded it! As grown-ups, we sure do pass on some odd beliefs and customs to our younger generation regarding food. One example is how we talk about food. When a food choice obviously doesn't create any health, and in fact moves us away from health, should we really be calling it a "treat"? Isn't that completely mixed messaging we're sending our children (and ourselves)? It's not a treat if it's contributing to chronic illness! Let's call it like it is. How about a "tasty toxin"! (Thanks to Dr. Chestnut for that little gem!) Sure, it tastes great... and you should go ahead and enjoy it in that moment once you've made the choice. But let's be perfectly clear - it's not good for you and making that choice with any regularity has devastating consequences over time. That's the crux right there. If we truly understood the consequences of the choices we're making on behalf of our children, we'd choose differently. If we clearly understood the consequences of that toxic choice, maybe we'd pass on it. If we clearly understood the consequences of making that pure and sufficient choice, maybe we'd make it more often. Another odd ritual that we're passing along to our children is that every gathering or social event seemingly must revolve around food. And, all too often, it's not the healthiest food we provide a group of children. In all fairness, maybe it's just where we live... maybe this doesn't happen where you live. Sadly, I doubt it. At school, it always shocked me that the powers-that-be found it necessary to dole out completely toxic food for every "special" event or activity. Returned all your library books? Here's a toxic piece of garbage. Learning do math with manipulatives? Let's use toxic candy to count with then, of course, eat afterward! Pizza for this, candy or cupcakes for that... it was never ending! Poisoning someone should never be a reward! At a recent after school group activity for my daughter, I saw this strange messaging being passed along from the grown-ups again. The message that everything involves food... "treats". The kids met an hour after classes were over to do a one-hour walk with the intention of picking up trash. One hour. In that tiny bit of time, the kids had been fed snack crackers and juice boxes - both completely laden with high fructose corn syrup, sugar, artificial colors, and a variety of toxins. I thought, "Seriously! Was that really necessary?" Would anyone have starved in that one hour? How about teaching them something about health and giving them water to hydrate their bodies while they walked. That's the equivalent of an adult going to the gym for an hour and not being able to get through it without a junk food snack! How ridiculous! They had plenty of time to eat their after school snacks before the walk, and dinner was just around the corner. Why did they even need any food, let alone a group feeding of toxins? We wonder why childhood obesity is sky rocketing like we've never seen before! We're teaching kids that even a healthy activity involves being "rewarded" with garbage! I see the same thing at every sporting, athletic, team event or class I've taken the kids to. There's always a grown-up waiting to "reward" with junk. Strange. We somehow think we're depriving children of some rich experience of childhood if we don't provide them with these tasty toxins. We think, "But they're kids... they're supposed to have cake and ice cream and candy and treats... it's part of their world, it's part of childhood... every kid has it!" It's a dangerous mindset to pass along. I'm certainly in favor of allowing children to have those tasty toxins once in awhile. But let's get real. The frequency of these toxic feedings is insane! We're not depriving a child of anything but a healthy future and their full potential when we allow this type of thinking to prevail. We're kidding ourselves if we think this doesn't set the stage for every chronic illness we suffer from today. It gives me absolutely no peace of mind when I hear people say, "We had all that stuff when we were kids, and look at us now!" Exactly. Look at us now. Chronic illness is pandemic. Our lifestyle choices are destroying us. Again, we don't have to say "never" to our children. But, we can help them make better choices that are still fun and enjoyable. In addition to making healthier choices, like making homemade, less-toxic sweets or buying non-toxic ice cream and snacks, we could also teach kids that something as simple as fruit is really actually pretty good. It's amazing how delicious a bowl of mixed, fresh fruit can be when there's no junk around to scarf down! We could also teach them they don't actually require food at every turn! Depriving a child. Give me a break! (Maybe it helps us justify eating our junk!) Another component to the childhood nutrition issue that I find completely strange is that we allow other parents to make nutritional choices for our children. (Like the coaches, teachers, and the various leaders I referred to above.) We wouldn't allow other adults to just hand out a round of antibiotics or pain relievers to a group of children, would we? Of course not, that's absurd! Whether or not we give drugs to our children is a choice left up to the parents. What we fail to realize when it comes to food is that food choices have a very real effect on our physiology, just like a drug does. Food will either move us toward health, or away from it. Until my children are old enough and responsible enough to make healthy choices on their own, consistently, their health and safety is still MY responsibility as a parent. I'm not sure why we've crossed that line in our culture, with grown-ups freely passing out toxins to other people's children, for the sake of "childhood privileges"! How very strange. Even more strange, and shameful, is that a child trying to make healthier choices is often made fun of and ostracized for not choosing the junk... not just by peers, but by grown-ups, no less! What's a kid to do when everything revolves around food... and the food's not healthy? It's a tough world we're bringing them up in! Now, if a child has a diagnosed allergy or food sensitivity of some sort, suddenly grown-ups all stand at attention and handle that situation seriously and with respect. Unfortunately, we fail to recognize that ALL children have food sensitivities. We all have negative responses to toxins like artificial sweeteners and colors, high fructose corn syrup, refined white sugar and flour, and so on. We just don't show the outward signs quite as quickly. Those sensitivities to toxins are not being taken seriously. Until we take a closer look at the real consequences of our children's food choices, and clear up our own distorted beliefs about food and childhood experiences, our children will continue to develop the same devastating chronic illnesses that were once reserved only for adults. Childhood is the ideal time to begin a journey of healthy choices and a healthy mindset. As a parent, it's part of our job to teach our children to make healthy choices and to keep them safe. No more excuses. This is too important. It's time to wear the nutritional pants in your family! If we keep doing what we've been doing, we'll keep getting what we've been getting... sicker kids. That can change. All it takes is adding healthier choices, one simple choice at a time.

Author Resource:- Dr. Colleen Trombley ("Dr Mom Online") is a leading expert in Natural Health & Wellness. Discover why the healthiest, busiest women turn to Dr. Mom for practical tips regarding healthy lifestyle, nutrition, fitness & exercise, diet & weight loss, raising healthy kids, effective stress management, and more. Request your FREE special report revealing Dr. Mom's personal formula for success, "The Wellness Formula" at children's nutrition and health

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TULANG SEHAT BEBAS OSTEOPOROSIS

Osteoporosis atau penyakit keropos tulang adalah salah satu penyakit yang menimpa tulang karena berkurangnya massa dan kepadatan tulang. Akibat dari osteoporosis adalah tulang-tulang menjadi rapuh dan mudah patah akibat kepadatan tulang berkurang. Tulang sendiri merupakan salah satu bagian penting dari tubuh kita. Tulang merupakan rangka yang menunjang tubuh kita sehingga kita dapat beraktivitas. Dapat dibayangkan bila penunjang tubuh ini rapuh, keropos dan mudah patah, akibatnya adalah rasa sakit pada tulang, gangguan untuk bergerak bahkan menyebabkan kelumpuhan dan cacat permanen. Berikut ini beberapa saran yang dapat Anda terapkan agar tidak mengalami penyakit tulang keropos ini.

Konsumsi Kalsium

Kalsium merupakan unsur pembentuk tulang dan gigi. Maka, agar kepadatan tulang terus terjaga, penting untuk mengkonsumsi kalsium yang banyak terdapat dalam susu. Sayangnya, seiring bertambahnya usia, kemampuan untuk menyerap kalsium semakin berkurang. Maka, sebaiknya Anda membiasakan diri atau anak Anda untuk minum susu setiap hari sejak usia dini. Karena penyebab osteoporosis adalah kurangnya asupan kalsium pada usia muda.

Kaum muda, seringkali mereka berpikir tidak perlu lagi mengkonsumsi susu yang dianggap sebagai makanan anak kecil. Atau karena berpikir tulang tidak dapat tumbuh lagi sehingga mereka enggan minum susu. Memang, pada umumnya tulang berhenti tumbuh saat usia 16-18 tahun, tetapi bukan berarti kita tidak perlu lagi memperhatikan kesehatan tulang, karena fungsi tulang sangat penting bagi tubuh.

Kalsium yang dibutuhkan tiap orang berbeda, bergantung pada berat badan dan aktivitas yang dijalankan. Pada ibu hamil dan menyusui, kalsium yang dibutuhkan lebih banyak. Tabel berikut akan menjelaskan jumlah kalsium yang dibutuhkan berdasarkan usia.

Usia	Kebutuhan Kalsium
Kurang dari 1 tahun	210 - 270 mg
1 tahun - 3 tahun	500 mg
4 tahun - 8 tahun	800 mg
9 tahun - 18 tahun	1300 mg
19 tahun - 50 tahun	1000 mg
lebih dari 50 tahun	1200 mg

Kebutuhan Kalsium Berdasarkan Usia

Catatan : Satu gelas susu mengandung sekitar 500 mg kalsium.

Foto tulang jika diperbesar ribuan kali maka akan terlihat kepadatan tulang

Kalsium tidak hanya terdapat pada susu, makanan lain seperti ikan teri, sup tulang, sayuran hijau seperti bayam dan kacang-kacangan adalah salah satu sumber dari kalsium. Karena kalsium tidak dapat dihasilkan tubuh kita, maka penting untuk minum susu dan mengkonsumsi makanan yang mengandung kalsium.

Vitamin D

Agar kalsium yang berasal dari susu dan makanan dapat diserap sempurna, diperlukan vitamin D. Tentu akan sangat disayangkan, bila kita banyak mengkonsumsi makanan yang mengandung kalsium tetapi tidak dapat diserap dengan sempurna, sehingga akhirnya tubuh mengambil kalsium yang ada pada tulang. Akibatnya, tulang menjadi rapuh.

Untuk mendapatkan vitamin D sebenarnya tidak sulit. Sinar matahari pagi (antara jam 06.00 sampai jam 09.00 pagi) dan sore (setelah jam 16.00) adalah salah satu sumber vitamin D. Dalam lapisan kulit tubuh kita sebenarnya terdapat vitamin D non aktif dan dengan pancaran sinar matahari vitamin D ini dapat aktif dan berguna bagi tubuh.

Selain dari sinar matahari, vitamin D juga dapat diperoleh dari makanan seperti ikan (misal: ikan salmon dan sarden), kuning telur, hati, susu, keju dan produk olahan susu lainnya.

Olahraga

Selain mengkonsumsi kalsium, penting untuk melakukan olahraga secara teratur agar dapat memperkuat tulang dan menambah kepadatan massa tulang. Sama seperti otot, tulang juga perlu dilatih agar dapat menciptakan tulang yang kuat.

Olahraga yang dapat dilakukan untuk melatih tulang adalah dengan melakukan olahraga yang memberikan gaya tekan pada tulang, gaya renggang dan gaya pelintir. Gaya tersebut dapat merangsang pertumbuhan tulang sehingga tulang menjadi sehat. Anda dapat mencobanya dengan bersepeda, joging, jalan kaki atau naik turun tangga.

Selain dengan mengkonsumsi kalsium, vitamin D dan berolahraga, akan lebih baik bila Anda mencoba hidup sehat dengan menghentikan kebiasaan merokok. Rokok, kopi, alkohol, teh, dan cola dapat menghambat penyerapan kalsium. Sebaliknya, konsumsilah makanan bergizi yang memenuhi 4 sehat 5 sempurna.

Kebiasaan Merusak Tulang

Hilangkan juga kebiasaan yang dapat membuat pertumbuhan tulang terganggu atau membuat struktur tulang menjadi rusak. Kebiasaan buruk yang dimaksud adalah:

• Membungkukkan badan yang dapat menyebabkan saraf yang melewati tulang belakang terjepit sehingga menimbulkan sakit pinggang.
• Memakai sepatu hak tinggi untuk waktu yang lama. Saat menggunakannya, terjadi perenggangan pada jaringan lunak sekitar sendi mata kaki sehingga dapat merusak struktur jaringan lunak ini.
• Membawa tas berat. Dapat memperparah kondisi tulang apabila kita memiliki kelainan pada tulang.
• Membunyikan jari. Bunyi terjadi akibat gesekan jaringan lunak di sekitar sendi jari. Proses yang terjadi berulang-ulang ini akan mengakibatkan gangguan di jaringan lunak tersebut.

Kesehatan tulang seringkali terabaikan, karena rasa sakit umumnya baru terasa bila tulang sudah rapuh atau ketika tulang dinyatakan keropos. Proses pengambilan kalsium dari tulang sering disebut silent disease karena terjadi tanpa tanda-tanda atau gejala. Maka, terus perhatikan kesehatan tulang Anda, hindari osteoporosis, agar dapat terus lancar beraktivitas sampai usia lanjut.

MENGATASI TEKANAN DARAH TINGGI

Tekanan Darah

Sebelum membahas mengenai tekanan darah tinggi atau hipertensi, ada baiknya Anda mengenal terlebih dahulu tentang tekanan darah. Saat Anda melakukan pemeriksaan fisik atau pemeriksaan klinis ke dokter, biasanya ada alat khusus yang digunakan oleh dokter untuk memeriksa tekanan darah. Alat untuk memeriksa tekanan darah disebut sphigmomanometer atau dikenal juga dengan tensimeter. Ada tensimeter digital dan ada juga tensimeter air raksa yang masih umum digunakan untuk pemeriksaan klinis.

Memeriksa Tekanan Darah

Saat memeriksa tekanan darah, ada dua angka yang biasanya disebut misalnya 120/80. Apa yang dimaksud angka-angka tersebut?

Sistolik Angka pertama (120) yaitu tekanan darah sistolik, yaitu tekanan saat jantung berdenyut atau berdetak (sistol). Sering disebut tekanan atas.

Diastolik Angka pertama (90) yaitu tekanan darah diastolik, yaitu tekanan saat jantung beristirahat di antara saat pemompaan. Sering disebut tekanan bawah.

Dokter akan melakukan pemeriksaan tekanan darah dengan menyuruh Anda duduk atau berbaring, karena itu posisi terbaik untuk mengukur tekanan darah. Lalu dokter biasanya akan mengikat kantung udara pada lengan kanan kecuali pada lengan tersebut terdapat cedera. Setelah itu, dilakukan pengukuran tekanan darah. Perbedaan antara tekanan sistolik dan diastolik disebut tekanan denyut.

Apa yang dimaksud dengan tekanan darah? Tekanan darah yaitu tekanan yang dialami darah pada pembuluh arteri ketika darah di pompa oleh jantung ke seluruh anggota tubuh manusia. Tekanan darah dibuat dengan mengambil dua ukuran dan biasanya terdapat dua angka yang akan disebut oleh dokter. Misalnya dokter menyebut 140-90, maka artinya adalah 140/90 mmHg. Angka pertama (140) menunjukkan tekanan ke atas pembuluh arteri akibat denyutan jantung atau pada saat jantung berdenyut atau berdetak, dan disebut tekanan sistolik atau sering disebut tekanan atas. Angka kedua (90) menunjukkan tekanan saat jantung beristirahat di antara pemompaan, dan disebut tekanan diastolik atau sering juga disebut tekanan bawah.

Setelah mengetahui tekanan darah, pasti Anda ingin mengetahui apakah tekanan darah Anda termasuk rendah, normal atau tinggi. Berikut ini penggolongan tekanan darah berdasarkan angka hasil pengukuran dengan tensimeter untuk tekanan sistolik dan diastolik:

Tekanan Darah	Sistolik (angka pertama)	Diastolik (angka kedua)
Darah rendah atau hipotensi	Di bawah 90	Di bawah 60
Normal	90 - 120	60 - 80
Pre-hipertensi	120 - 140	80 - 90
Darah tinggi atau hipertensi (stadium 1)	140 - 160	90 - 100
Darah tinggi atau hipertensi (stadium 2 / berbahaya)	Di atas 160	Di atas 100

Mengapa Tekanan Darah Meningkat?

Apa yang menyebabkan tekanan darah bisa meningkat? Sebagai ilustrasi, jika Anda sedang menyiram kebun dengan selang. Jika Anda menekan ujung selang, maka air yang keluar akan semakin kencang. Hal itu karena tekanan air meningkat ketika selang ditekan. Selain itu, jika Anda memperbesar keran air, maka aliran air yang melalui selang akan semakin kencang karena debit air yang meningkat.

Hal yang sama juga terjadi dengan darah Anda. Jika pembuluh darah Anda menyempit, maka tekanan darah di dalam pembuluh darah akan meningkat. Selain itu, jika jumlah darah yang mengalir bertambah, tekanan darah juga akan meningkat.

Penyebab Darah Tinggi

Ada beberapa hal yang bisa menyebabkan seseorang memiliki tekanan darah tinggi. Ada faktor penyebab tekanan darah tinggi yang tidak dapat Anda kendalikan. Ada juga yang dapat Anda kendalikan sehingga bisa mengatasi penyakit darah tinggi. Beberapa faktor tersebut antara lain:

• Keturunan

  Faktor ini tidak bisa Anda kendalikan. Jika seseorang memiliki orang-tua atau saudara yang memiliki tekanan darah tinggi, maka kemungkinan ia menderita tekanan darah tinggi lebih besar. Statistik menunjukkan bahwa masalah tekanan darah tinggi lebih tinggi pada kembar identik daripada yang kembar tidak identik. Sebuah penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada bukti gen yang diturunkan untuk masalah tekanan darah tinggi.

• Usia

  Faktor ini tidak bisa Anda kendalikan. Penelitian menunjukkan bahwa seraya usia seseorang bertambah, tekanan darah pun akan meningkat. Anda tidak dapat mengharapkan bahwa tekanan darah Anda saat muda akan sama ketika Anda bertambah tua. Namun Anda dapat mengendalikan agar jangan melewati batas atas yang normal.

• Garam

  Faktor ini bisa Anda kendalikan. Garam dapat meningkatkan tekanan darah dengan cepat pada beberapa orang, khususnya bagi penderita diabetes, penderita hipertensi ringan, orang dengan usia tua, dan mereka yang berkulit hitam.

• Kolesterol

  Faktor ini bisa Anda kendalikan. Kandungan lemak yang berlebih dalam darah Anda, dapat menyebabkan timbunan kolesterol pada dinding pembuluh darah. Hal ini dapat membuat pembuluh darah menyempit dan akibatnya tekanan darah akan meningkat. Kendalikan kolesterol Anda sedini mungkin. Untuk tips mengendalikan kolesterol, silahkan lihat artikel berikut: kolesterol.

• Obesitas / Kegemukan

  Faktor ini bisa Anda kendalikan. Orang yang memiliki berat badan di atas 30 persen berat badan ideal, memiliki kemungkinan lebih besar menderita tekanan darah tinggi.

• Stres

  Faktor ini bisa Anda kendalikan. Stres dan kondisi emosi yang tidak stabil juga dapat memicu tekanan darah tinggi.

• Rokok

  Faktor ini bisa Anda kendalikan. Merokok juga dapat meningkatkan tekanan darah menjadi tinggi. Kebiasan merokok dapat meningkatkan risiko diabetes, serangan jantung dan stroke. Karena itu, kebiasaan merokok yang terus dilanjutkan ketika memiliki tekanan darah tinggi, merupakan kombinasi yang sangat berbahaya yang akan memicu penyakit-penyakit yang berkaitan dengan jantung dan darah.

• Kafein

  Faktor ini bisa Anda kendalikan. Kafein yang terdapat pada kopi, teh maupun minuman cola bisa menyebabkan peningkatan tekanan darah.

• Alkohol

  Faktor ini bisa Anda kendalikan. Konsumsi alkohol secara berlebihan juga menyebabkan tekanan darah tinggi.

• Kurang Olahraga

  Faktor ini bisa Anda kendalikan. Kurang olahraga dan bergerak bisa menyebabkan tekanan darah dalam tubuh meningkat. Olahraga teratur mampu menurunkan tekanan darah tinggi Anda namun jangan melakukan olahraga yang berat jika Anda menderita tekanan darah tinggi.

Mencegah dan Mengatasi Darah Tinggi

Untuk mencegah darah tinggi bagi Anda yang masih memiliki tekanan darah normal ataupun mengatasi darah tinggi bagi Anda yang sudah memiliki tekanan darah tinggi, maka saran praktis berikut ini dapat Anda lakukan:

• Kurangi konsumsi garam dalam makanan Anda. Jika Anda sudah menderita tekanan darah tinggi sebaiknya Anda menghindari makanan yang mengandung garam.
• Konsumsi makanan yang mengandung kalium, magnesium dan kalsium. Kalium, magnesium dan kalsium mampu mengurangi tekanan darah tinggi.
• Kurangi minum minuman atau makanan beralkohol. Jika Anda menderita tekanan darah tinggi, sebaiknya hindari konsumsi alkohol secara berlebihan. Untuk pria yang menderita hipertensi, jumlah alkohol yang diijinkan maksimal 30 ml alkohol per hari sedangkan wanita 15 ml per hari.
• Olahraga secara teratur bisa menurunkan tekanan darah tinggi. Jika Anda menderita tekanan darah tinggi, pilihlah olahraga yang ringan seperti berjalan kaki, bersepeda, lari santai, dan berenang. Lakukan selama 30 hingga 45 menit sehari sebanyak 3 kali seminggu.
• Makan sayur dan buah yang berserat tinggi seperti sayuran hijau, pisang, tomat, wortel, melon, dan jeruk.
• Jalankan terapi anti stres agar mengurangi stres dan Anda mampu mengendalikan emosi Anda.
• Berhenti merokok juga berperan besar untuk mengurangi tekanan darah tinggi atau hipertensi.
• Kendalikan kadar kolesterol Anda.
• Kendalikan diabetes Anda.
• Hindari obat yang bisa meningkatkan tekanan darah. Konsultasikan ke dokter jika Anda menerima pengobatan untuk penyakit tertentu, untuk meminta obat yang tidak meningkatkan tekanan darah.

COKLAT EMBUAT HIDUP LEBIH SEHAT

Sejarah Coklat

Para ahli botani menyetujui bahwa pohon coklat atau kakao (Theobroma cacao) sudah tumbuh di daerah Amazon dan lembah Orinoko di Amerika Selatan sejak ribuan tahun yang lalu. Bangsa Maya yang pertama kali mengolah pohon coklat. Kebiasaan ini juga dibawa ketika mereka pindah ke dataran Yukatan. Bangsa Aztek kemudian memperkenalkan coklat yang pahit sebagai minuman. Biji coklat dicampur dengan jagung ataupun anggur yang telah difermentasi lalu disajikan pada cangkir yang terbuat dari emas. Kaisar Aztek yang bernama Montezuma memiliki kebiasaan minum coklat lebih dari 50 cangkir coklat per hari.

Penjajah asal Spanyol yang bernama Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) saat menjajah wilayah tersebut pada awalnya tertarik pada cangkir emas dibanding isinya yaitu minuman coklat. Namun dia juga mengamati bahwa bagi Bangsa Aztec, kakao atau biji coklat juga digunakan sebagai uang. Karena itu, ia segera mendirikan beberapa perkebunan coklat. Perkebunan yang disebut sebagai "emas berwarna coklat" ini berkembang dan hasilnya digemari, sehingga Spanyol mengendalikan perdagangan coklat pada abad ke-18. Kemudian coklat diperkenalkan ke daratan Eropa dan dijadikan bahan campuran kue.

Pada pertengahan abad ke-19, Swiss memulai mengembangkan dan memasarkan coklat sebagai makanan ringan. Sehingga coklat yang tadinya hanya sebagai minuman kemudian berkembang menjadi makanan ringan yang dapat mencair di lidah. Swiss juga menjadi terkenal sebagai negara penghasil coklat terbaik.

Kemudian para pengusaha yang cerdas seperti Hershey, Kohler, Lindt, Nestlé, Peter, Suchard, dan Tobler —nama mereka menjadi merk coklat ternama saat ini— membuat kontribusi yang besar untuk industri coklat. Mereka menemukan mesin pengolahan coklat yang lebih efisien maupun menemukan metode pengolahan coklat yang lebih baik.

Coklat untuk Gairah Seks dan Simbol Cinta

Alasan mengapa banyak orang memberikan coklat untuk orang tersayang adalah karena coklat sering dianggap sebagai makanan cinta. Hal ini disebabkan karena coklat memiliki tekstur yang lembut dan akan lumer secara perlahan saat dikulum dalam mulut. Ini memberikan kesan sensual bagi orang yang memakannya. Selain itu, coklat dapat memberikan efek nyaman, rileks dan dapat meningkatkan gairah seksual.

Rasa nyaman yang ditimbulkan setelah menikmati coklat bukan hanya perasaan saja, karena coklat mengandung ratusan zat yang memungkinkan terjadinya reaksi kimia di otak. Zat-zat inilah yang merangsang aktifnya serotonin di otak yang selanjutnya akan memicu perasaan nyaman seseorang. Selain itu, zat terbanyak yang terkandung dalam coklat adalah theobromine yang dapat menstimulasi jaringan saraf dan jantung yang membuat kita terjaga dan bersemangat. Efek ini juga bisa diperoleh dari kafein pada kopi atau teh. Manfaat lainnya dari theobromine adalah dapat meredakan batuk.

Terkandung pula phenylethylamine yang berfungsi membantu penyerapan dalam otak dan menghasilkan dopamine yang akan menyebabkan perasaan gembira, meningkatkan rasa tertarik dan dapat menimbulkan perasaan jatuh cinta. Itulah alasan lain mengapa coklat sering diberikan sebagai hadiah tanda cinta.

Manfaat Coklat untuk Kesehatan

Coklat dengan kandungan kakao (biji coklat) lebih dari 70% juga memiliki manfaat untuk kesehatan, karena coklat kaya akan kandungan antioksidan yaitu fenol dan flavonoid. Dengan adanya antioksidan, akan mampu untuk menangkap radikal bebas dalam tubuh. Besarnya kandungan antioksidan ini bahkan 3 kali lebih banyak dari teh hijau, minuman yang selama ini sering dianggap sebagai sumber antioksidan.

Dengan adanya antioksidan, membuat coklat menjadi salah satu minuman kesehatan. Fenol, sebagai antioksidan mampu mengurangi kolesterol pada darah sehingga dapat mengurangi risiko terkena serangan jantung juga berguna untuk mencegah timbulnya kanker dalam tubuh, mencegah terjadinya stroke dan darah tinggi. Selain itu kandungan lemak pada coklat kualitas tinggi terbukti bebas kolesterol dan tidak menyumbat pembuluh darah.

Coklat juga mengandung beberapa vitamin yang berguna bagi tubuh seperti vitamin A, vitamin B₁, vitamin C, vitamin D, dan vitamin E. Selain itu, coklat juga mengandung zat maupun nutrisi yang penting untuk tubuh seperti zat besi, kalium dan kalsium. Kakao sendiri merupakan sumber magnesium alami tertinggi. Jika seseorang kekurangan magnesium, dapat menyebabkan hipertensi, penyakit jantung, diabetes, sakit persendian dan masalah bulanan wanita yaitu pra menstruasi (PMS). Dengan makan coklat akan menambah magnesium dalam asupan gizi harian yang menyebabkan meningkatnya kadar progesteron pada wanita. Hal ini mengurangi efek negatif dari PMS.

Coklat untuk Kecantikan

Manfaat lain dari coklat adalah untuk kecantikan, karena antioksidan dan katekin yang ada di dalamnya dapat mencegah penuaan dini, maka tidak heran bila saat ini berkembang lulur coklat yang sangat baik untuk kecantikan kulit.

Jenis Cokelat Paling Sehat

Banyak jenis coklat yang tersedia di pasaran. Ada yang harganya mahal, ada pula yang harganya murah. Apa saja perbedaannya? Berikut ini perbandingan jenis coklat dan manfaat masing-masing.

• Dark Chocolate

  Dark Chocolate memiliki kandungan biji coklat (kakao) yang paling tinggi yaitu paling sedikit 70% mengandung kakao. Dark chocolate memiliki kandungan kakao atau biji cokelat terbanyak, tanpa banyak gula dan tanpa lemak jenuh atau minyak sayur terhidrogenasi (HVO).

• White Chocolate

  Sedangkan white chocolate hanya memiliki 33% kandungan coklat atau kakao, sisanya adalah gula, susu dan vanila. Kandungan gula inilah yang dapat memberikan efek negatif, seperti kerusakan gigi dan penyakit diabetes.

• Milk Chocolate atau Coklat Susu

  Milk chocolate atau coklat susu merupakan campuran kakao dengan susu dan ditambah gula. Coklat jenis ini juga sangat digemari karena rasanya yang nikmat.

Hati-hati Makan Sembarang Coklat

Kesalahan yang sering dilakukan pada saat memilih coklat adalah memilih coklat "bermerk" yang murah atau sangat murah. Coklat demikian memiliki kandungan kakao (biji coklat) sedikit yaitu rata-rata kurang dari 20%, bahkan ada yang kurang dari 7%. Coklat jenis ini juga memiliki kandungan gula yang tinggi, kandungan lemak jenuh tinggi dan keburukan lainnya seperti minyak sayur terhidrogenasi (HVO) sehingga mengakibatkan kerusakan gigi dan gangguan kesehatan seperti penyakit diabetes.

Produk coklat lainnya yang juga berbahaya dan buruk untuk kesehatan khususnya yang berupa fondant (biasanya digunakan untuk mendekorasi kue) dan praline. Fondant sebenarnya mengandung 100% pemanis dan praline juga sama buruknya.

Sebisa mungkin pilihlah coklat dengan kandungan gula sedikit agar Anda dapat menikmati manfaat besar yang dimiliki coklat. Anda akan merasakan manfaat jika Anda mengkonsumsi cokelat dengan kandungan kakao atau biji coklat yang tinggi. Selamat menikmati coklat Anda!

Leg Exercises by: Clinton Walker III

A well defined and developed body is important for the overall health and look of a body. How many times have you seen a guy with a big upper body and tooth pick legs. This not only looks bad, it can lead to injuries and cause stress on the knees and hamstring injuries. Leg exercise helps with the overall development of your body. You should devote an equal amount of time performing leg exercises as you do your upper body. To achieve a well defined, strong, and balanced legs you must incorporate several leg exercises. Your leg exercise workout must have different exercises from different angles to develop all the parts for your Legs. Developing strong legs is crucial to preventing injuries to other muscles during exercises.

To get the best results you need to do 6-10 reps of each leg exercise. Choose a weight that you can do up to 10 for three sets. Once you can do 10 then move to a higher weight for maximal results. You can build up your Leg muscles by doing a variety of leg exercises with and without weight.

Choose at least 2 exercises from The Entire Thighs and Quadriceps group. Always do leg curls for hamstrings. Every week or so change exercises within each group.

Here are a group of the best leg exercises

Entire Thighs

Leg press

Sitting on a leg press machine, position your feet together against the crosspiece about should-width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Grasp the handle grips or sides of the seat. Bend your knees and lower the weight as far as possible without changing the position of your hips. Do not lower the weight so far that your hips start to curl up off the seat! Then slowly push the weight back up using your heels, not your toes. Do not lock your knees at the top, but rather take the weight to just before lock. Then being to lower the weight again SLOWLY. You can change your foot positions to vary the angle on the muscle.

Squat

This is the best leg exercise for size, power, and overall development of your leg, it can also be the most dangerous. Make sure you have proper form when performing this exercise.

Hack squat

Step up with dumbbells

Place a barbell on your shoulders like you would if you were doing Barbell Squats. Step up onto a flat bench with your left leg. Then step up with your right leg so you are now standing on the bench. Step down with your left leg, then your right leg. Repeat, starting with your right leg this time. Be careful not to fall! Use lighter weights. Can also be done with two dumbbells in your hands instead of a barbell

Quadriceps

Dumbbell lunges

Place a barbell on your shoulders like you would if you were doing Barbell Squats. Step up onto a flat bench with your left leg. Then step up with your right leg so you are now standing on the bench. Step down with your left leg, then your right leg. Repeat, starting with your right leg this time. Be careful not to fall! Use lighter weights. Can also be done with two dumbbells in your hands instead of a barbell

Leg extension

Using a leg extension machine, sit in the seat and hook your feet under the padded bar. Adjust the pad and/or the seat so that your knees hang off the end of the seat and the footpad rest on the lowest part of the shins. Grasp the handles on the machine or the edges of the seat to keep your hips from lifting up as you perform the exercise. Extend your legs until knees are straight, making sure you remain seated flat on the machine. Raise the weight all the way, lock and hold briefly, then slowly lower the weight back to the starting position. Get the full range of motion and feel the muscle being worked during the entire movement. Do not SWING the weight up!

This is the best leg exercise for toning the quads an adding strength around the knees.

Lateral Squat

Double leg power jump

Cross your arms over your chest. With your head up and your back straight, position your feet at shoulder width. Squat down until your upper thighs are parallel, or lower, to the floor. Jump straight up in the air as high as possible, using thighs like springs. Immediately squat down and jump again. Can also be done with a barbell on your upper back or with dumbbells hanging at your sides.

Hamstrings

Leg Curl

Lie face down on a leg-curl machine and hook your heels under the roller pad. Your legs should be stretched out straight so that the pads rest on the back of your ankles. Grasp the handles under the bench for support. Remaining flat on the bench, curl your legs up until your hamstrings are fully contracted. Release and lower the weight slowly back to the starting position. Concentrate on using a full range of motion and do not SWING the weight up. You can point your toes to intensify the burn in your hamstrings.

This is probably the best leg exercise for your hamstring area

Green Tea and Its Relation to Promoting Periodontal Health by: Zyra Robinson

Since ancient times, green tea has been popular in Asian cultures like China and Japan. It is their beverage of choice because of its medicinal benefits. Its popularity has surged in the western hemisphere largely because of its proven ability to treat ailments such as headaches and depression. Dentist Burbank supports the scientific research regarding green tea and its health benefits. It has proven effective in fighting cancer, lowering high cholesterol levels, dealing with cardiovascular problems, ensuring immune infection, and preventing arthritis, among others. What makes green tea special is that it is rich in catechin polyphenols (epigallocathechin gallate or EGCG), which is an effective antioxidant. Green tea is known to prevent cancer and weight loss. It also inhibits abnormal formation of blood clots.

Dental Burbank believes that the study published by the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) about green tea consumption should be taken seriously. Given the close links between dental health and overall health, it has been found that green tea also helps promote healthy teeth and gums by fighting periodontal diseases. According to Dentists Burbank, there are lots of information regarding the study done before by Japanese researchers when they analyzed 940 men focusing on their periodontal health. They found out that people who drank green tea regularly obtain good periodontal health.

There were three indicators examined regarding periodontal diseases. When green tea was consumed during the study, it was discovered that the periodontal pocket depth, attachment loss of gum tissue and bleeding on probing of the gum tissues (three indicators) decreased its potential on having periodontal disease. According to Cosmetic Irvine, the research has shown that the catechin, which is an antioxidant in green tea, helps promote good periodontal health. Catechin interferes in the body's inflammatory response to periodontal bacteria. Because of this type of antioxidant, there is less chance of getting chronic inflammatory disease (periodontal disease) that affects gums and bones that support the teeth. DDS Irvine agreed with what Dr. David Cochran, DDS, PhD, President of the AAP and Chair of the Department of Periodontics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, when he said: "That is why it is so important to find simple ways to boost periodontal health, such as regularly drinking green tea - something already known to possess certain health-related benefits."

Green tea helps promote periodontal health and prevents diseases closely associated with in periodontal diseases. This is because green tea interferes with our body's response to periodontal bacteria. There are, however, concerns regarding the harmful effects of drinking green tea because it also has caffeine. Although it contains caffeine, which sometimes lead to insomnia (the only negative side effect reported), the caffeine content in tea is relatively small. Coffee, on the other hand, has more caffeine in its content compared to tea. Tea, therefore, is safe to drink. This is a beverage that is easy to find. It gives a lot of health benefits not only to our overall health but also to our dental health.

Squats Are Good, Old School Makes You Great by: Gregory Meyers

Fall of 1972 and as a young coach, right out of college, I get my first coaching job in a small, Indiana town. I walk into a weight room that was just like so many others back then. We had a multiple station Universal machine and a quad/ham Universal machine complete with a wrist roll attachment. The multi-station machine had the usual stations; bench press, leg press with adjustable seat, a dip station located on the back of the leg press, a military press, a pull up/chin up station, a lat pulldown and an adjustable sit up board, complete with ankle pads. A very impressive weight room for that day and age. No free weights yet because very few football coaches knew much about free weights outside of bench pressing and dumbbells. And certainly no football coaches were doing free weight squats. Squats racks were unheard of back then, at least in high school circles. Most of the programs being used back then were cleened from muscle mags and body builders which we all now realize were a completely different world from football.

The first really good source of strength development for us came from two areas, track and field and olympic style lifters. The only problem with olympic style lifting was very few coaches could actually teach it and most school administrators were scared to death of liability so throwing weights around and overhead was a real sell. None the less, high school programs progressed through the Nautilus phase and any number of other isolation machines and into the free weight programs that became very popular across the country. Teaching proper technique became a high priority because athletes who got injured in the weight room were not the end product we wanted. Boyd Epley at Nebraska began an association of strength coaches called the National Strength and Conditioning Association, I believe in the beginning, and it became a prime source, and still is today, for coaches to learn and eventually even get certified. Now we have all types of certification available which also created another problem for high school programs because now, if you weren't certified, administrators might not let you work in the weight room, but that's another story for another day.

I progressed also with the times and attended as many clinics and talked to as many strength coaches as I could to make sure I knew the best techniques and programs for my athletes. I struggled with the squat and the dead lifts for my athletes as it seemed that is where we had the most technique problems and sometimes, injuries. We eventually went to dead lifts off of small platforms to prevent the stress at the bottom of the lift bringing heavy weight off the floor. The curvature of the spine was always a problem, forcing athletes to not round their backs. And, with the squats, we always fought technique, keep the back flat, don't let the chest sink. I think one of the best coaches for techniques back in those days was Dr. Greg Sheperd of Bigger, Faster, Stronger fame and who is still going strong today. But it always seemed to me that when my athletes failed in the squat, it was not because of leg strength but because of lower back and core strength. "Core strength", now that became the new catch phrase about ten years ago. Coaches began preaching, good core strength meant solid overall strength and the trunk would be as strong as the branches.With good core strength, more leg development could be achieved. That made perfect sense to me because of my own observations in my weight room of how our athletes failed. So, I began to focus on core development and any guru I could find to help me. We eventually developed a good program and our athletes made significant gains based on extra amounts of core strength exercises which did indeed carry over into their squats. The only draw back was the time element. With high school athletes, the vast majority of them want to get stronger and better but as easy as they can while only about 20% of your athletes want to spend the time it takes to make those major gains.

A problem, yes, but one we can usually work out. So, I seemed pretty set in my ways and we continued to do the extras. Then the holy grail came my way. I kept watching those world's strongest man competitions and had the opportunity to meet, on a few occasions, Bill Kazmeier. If you don't remember, Bill was the first guy in modern times (with great respect to those old world strong men like Paul Anderson who didn't get the exposure todays strong men get but were every bit as sensational) to do super human feats. Watching him lift and pull was outstanding. And when he talked about training he often times referred to the old methods. Now he still did squats and bench from what I observed, but the odd object lifting he did was great. I became a fan of old school training. Old school just means using odd objects such as tires, sandbags, stones, ropes and logs. All those items that in the old days, were the majority of tools available to strong men, not to mention the thousands of high school boys who grew up on farms. I remember spending many a summer getting ready for high school football and pitching watermelons, bales of hay, sacks of potatoes and running, jumping and climbing all over the barn and yard. Talk about strength development. Body weight lifting is still one of the best methods available to athletes to gain strength and something we can cover in another story.

But as I got more and more interested in it, I began to implement it into our work outs, at first as a diversion but later, as part of our daily routines. And that made all the difference in the world. I have always joined my athletes in whatever programs I design for them. I think the best way to relate to someone is to do the same things they are doing. Now, I ain't no spring chicken any more, but once I started this training, I could feel the difference. Talk about those fancy concepts like rear chain development and cross training and cardio, man, you get it. With my athletes flipping tires and squatting and lifting sandbags from the ground and stones and logs, oh my goodness! The back development alone is worth the effort. We now spend more time in old school methods than we do in the weight room. Using old school, the entire body gets bombed. When you're training the entire body with so many lifts and in so many different planes, it blast the body. Your athletes become so much stronger in every position that injuries are lessened and their athleticism grows as well as their durability. I like that durability because no matter how good your athlete is, he can't help you if he's on the bench injuried. I think this training helps tremendously with that problem.

The other thing about old school training is the time element, and I have already mentioned that with high school athletes time commitment can be a problem. With this training, you can get a lot more accomplished in less time and it can be a lot more fun. We always make a competition out of something, a tire flip relay race, a stone carry, a timed hold, whatever. It works. You'll utilize standard techniques also such as zercher carries, farmers carry, sled pulls, shouldering, "get ups", rope pulls and more. We have developed many techniques and programs to assist anyone who is interested. You can check out much more of our program by visiting us at http://www.osscoach.com. There you'll find programs and implements and techniques to your heart's content. Many of the tools we use you can get for free such as tires and logs. And, if you happen to be at a school where money is tight, much of this program can be achieved with those free items and a little ingenuity on your part. Contact us and let us help you develop the athletes you need or just develop yourself. This training is also tremendous for first responders, such as police, fire and emergency personnel. If you guys fail, people get hurt or die. This training will enable you to be the best you can be (with apologies to the Army).

Visit us on the web at http://www.osscoach.com and see how we can help. We also have some very first class affiliates on our site. Whatever you need, we'll get it for you. Thanks for listening.