Why You Need to Stop Smoking

It is good enough to get motivated from stopping smoking, you need a powerful, personal reason to quit. Choose a reason that is strong enough to outweigh the urge to light up. There are many terrible effects of smoking that we need to know in order for us to get motivated to stop smoking.

One is the pictures of a rotten lungs if we do not stop smoking..And If all those pictures of rotten lungs were not enough to scare us to stop smoking, maybe, looking at the benefits would be more appropriate for us.

* If we stop smoking, our blood pressure drops after 20 minutes. The temperature of our hands and feet begin to normalize.

* The level of carbon monoxide in our blood drops to normal level within eight hours after we cease smoking.

* Within two up to three months after we kick the habit, the function of our lungs is raised by 30% and our circulation improves.

* We automatically reduce our risk of getting heart disease within 24 hours after stopping.

* If we are able to stave off smoking for an entire year, we decrease our risk for coronary heart disease to only half that of a smoker.

* Within five up to fifteen years after we have kicked the habit, we greatly reduce our risk of having a stroke. In fact, our risk lowers to the same level as a non-smoker.

* We become less susceptible to cancer in the following areas: esophagus, mouth, throat, pancreas, bladder, and kidney.

* After a decade of quitting smoking, our risk of getting lung cancer would decrease greatly, to the point that it is just the same as a non-smoker.

* Shortness of breath, coughing, sinus congestion, and fatigue diminish in the span of one up to nine months.

* The Cilia, little strand-like structures in the lungs that is in charge of mucus removal, starts to function normally within a span of one up to nine months. This improves their capacity to cleanse the lungs, which decreases the chances for infection.

* Dragon breath—bad breath due to smoking—is eliminated permanently.

* The risk of getting gum disease is diminished when we stop smoking.

* When we stop smoking, we stop our nails from turning yellowish.

* Quitting smoking removes the cause of our stained teeth.

* When we stop smoking, we reduce our risk of getting premature wrinkles.

* Kicking the smoking habit will normalize our smelling ability.

* You would become more energetic and active.

* We would not easily run out of breath when we do strenuous activities.

* When we quit smoking, we would take more pleasure from doing exercises.

How to choose the best and natural skin care products?

How do you maintain your skin? With many products available in both local and online market. It is hard to believe what's the best skin care product for you. It is hard to choose and stick with one product. To help you to choose the best skin care product, here are some brief discussion about basic guidelines that can help you to choose and pick the right product for you.

1. You have to know and understand your skin type. Advice from dermatologist is needed, to know your skin type. Evaluate your skin type if it's oily or dry skin. If it's oily, it appears as shiny all over most of the time while dry skin shows itchiness due to lack of moisture. If your skin experienced the combination of these two types – oily in the forehead, nose, and chin while staying rough on the cheeks – you may have what it called combination skin.

2. Do Some Advice from Friends. Do you have friends with great and healthy skin? or know people that works in beauty and skin industry? If so, take advice from them. Their great skin should be testament enough to the quality you can expect from the skin care products they recommended.

3. Informed you skin care products. Different Skin care products are compose of different substances. Some may be wholly organic while others make use of preservatives and chemicals. Vitamins, minerals, oils, and a whole lot of other skin care ingredients find their way inside your jars of moisturizers, bars of soaps, and tubes of creams.You should know this thing to prevent chemical reaction before you use it.

4. Make a Skin Care Product Reviews. To make reviews are a great technique to ensure the quality of certain skin care products. Statistics and Calculation used by manufacturing companies can only tell you so much. Log on with some forums, community and groups to check what real people have to say about certain products. Look for the objective skin care reviews that expose and discuss the good and the bad about products.

Your Aging Parents

Some parents are afraid to get old, aging parents can be very difficult. Daughters and Son's are eases troubles by keeping a record of definite information regarding and concerning parent's health. Aging or getting old can be very difficult for your parents especially if they have always been independent. As a responsible daughters and son to your aging parents, caring for your aging parents is very important. Be sure to be patient and know the following details in case a medical emergency arises and they can save precious time and speed up treatment:

* Information about Lifestyle habits. Smoking, living on a diet high in cholesterol and sodium, and drinking can all influence your parents' health. If you have any knowledge of pertinent lifestyle habits that can affect treatment, be sure to inform the attending physician.

* Information about Birth dates. Often medical records and insurance information are cataloged according to birth date. This can improve communication in an emergency or a crisis. This is also very critical since a lot of treatment procedures and medications nowadays are age-specific. If you do not know your parents' exact age, at least you can figure it out using their birth dates. Keep this information handy by writing it down on a note card or recording it in your phone.

* Information on Major medical problems. This includes such conditions as diabetes or heart disease as these can interfere with the possible procedures or medications that can be administered to your parents.

You need to keep a record of the things that being said about in case of medical emergencies. Be updated so that your parents can receive accurate medical treatment, prompt and suitable health condition.

Secrets of Eternally Youthful Skin

Nightingale droppings, azuki beans, rice bran, seaweed, silkworm cocoons, shark liver oil, mandarin wood vinegar, and sake---Japanese women believe that these are the secrets for achieving smooth, white, and eternally youthful skin.

Contrary to many modern Western beauty techniques, Japanese skin care relies heavily on its roots in ancient remedies passed down from generation to generation and made widely popular by the geisha who epitomized the image of flawless beauty. These beauty treatments have a strong focus on anti-aging and fighting sun damage, both of which are detrimental to having the smooth white skin so prized by the Japanese. By reinventing these ancient beauty techniques and giving them a high tech edge, they have given women around the world a new way to regain their skin's youthful bloom. Touted by celebrities such as Gwen Stefani, these beauty treatments are now likely to be found in a salon or store near you.

But what makes these seemingly bizarre treatments so effective? The answer lies in the ingredients themselves. The Japanese have discovered long ago that using organic natural ingredients was more beneficial to the skin than using chemical-based products. Even today, this continues to be a central theme in the country's billion dollar beauty industry, lead by cosmetics giants Shiseido, Kanebo, and SK-11.

Here are a few examples of the interesting ingredients that are used in these beauty products and treatments.

* Rice bran – Known as nuka, the outer layer of the rice kernel is an effective exfoliant as well as being rich in oil and an antioxidant called phytic acid. This helps improve blood circulation and stimulate cell turnover, preventing blemishes and wrinkles, and giving the user the rosy-white skin prized by the Japanese. Rice bran also contains squalene (an organic compound more commonly harvested from shark liver), a hydrocarbon used as a natural moisturizer.


* Azuki beans (also spelled as adzuki) – Also used in many desserts and other food items, the azuki beans are ground into a powder and used as a gentle exfoliant to cleanse the skin, unclog the pores, and get rid of excess oil. When mixed with a little warm water, the resulting paste can also be used as a facial mask.


* Wakame – This type of seaweed is a popular ingredient not only in miso soup, but also as a detoxifying, smoothing, firming, and anti-aging product. Today, this is a component of many face creams, soaps, and masks.


* Nightingale Droppings - A traditional whitening agent, powdered nightingale guano is combined with water and used as a face pack. In the Japanese language, it is called uguisu no fun. It is almost odorless, and contains an enzyme called guanine that appears to gently bleach the skin while smoothing and toning the complexion.


* Silkworm cocoon (Mayutama) – These are also used as an exfoliant, and are cut to fit on the fingertips and used like a dry sponge. Silkworm cocoons contain a protein called sericin, a silk protein which helps balance the skin's amino acid content and stimulates the epidermis.

Steps to Healthy Pregnancy

Sometimes womens are afraid of getting pregnant due to some implications that may occur. When women discover that she was pregnant, that is the start of asking a question about what are the things to do to be safe during pregnancy. You are thinking of what to do or what activities to change during pregnancy. Here are the five steps that might help you to guide to a healthy pregnancy.

1. Exercise: this is good for you and for developing a baby. Most important is to know what will be the best exercise for you learn. There are some activities that you should avoid during pregnancy to ensure the safety of baby. It is important to visit a doctor to discuss and get recommendations of what kind of activities or exercise you have to do.

2. Careful of what you eat: It is really important to know what foods you will eat during pregnancy, it is important to eat well balanced and healthy diet. Make sure you eat vegetables, fruits, milk, fish and dairy foods.

3. Dont drink alchol and do not smoke: Some women go on drinking and smoking. Based on the study, women who drinks heavily on a regular basis during pregnancy are known to be at greater risk of giving birth to a baby.

4. Checkup Regularly: Pregnant women should go to the doctors to check up regularly. To ensure that there is no implication during pregnancy.

5. Rest: Resting is very important, do not allow yourself to be over fatigue. Sleep well.

Teenagers healthy lifestyle

Not all teenagers are physically fit and not really living a healthy lifestyle. In terms of adopting healthy eating habits, teenager prefer eating fad foods that virtually have no nutritional value. In a case of drinking, teenagers also try to drink that contains liquor instead of healthy drinks. Parents don't know what are the actual foods and drinks eaten by there daughters and son when they are out of home. Diet, sleep, dental hygiene, emotional health, social health and exercise are just few of the issues of the teenagers.

These are some attitude for teenagers to develop with:

Exercise Actively and daily
Get properly eight hours of sleep every night.
Please do not use drugs.
Do not Smoke.
Drink in moderation and never binge drink in front of your teen.
Eat a healthy food, make a diet plan.
Drink eight glasses of water per day.

Healthy Weight Loss

Are you stress to loose some pounds and weight? Some people tried everything and seems that it doesn't work. There's a lot of ways to tackle this problem. There are many programs that tackles about weight loss and only some are effective.

Here are some of my healthy Weight loss tips that is effective for me:

Start on Exercise Plan: One of the best thing to exercise is to walk. It helps to reduce calories and fats.

Eat several Small meals a day: Control about your eating, if you knew that the food can increase your calories then don't eat that food. Manage your eating habit from morning to evening. Start A diet plan.

Do some Sport Activities: People need about 60 minutes of physical activity a day but that it doesn't mean 60 solid minutes at a stretch. Shorter, repeated bursts of activity during the day can help burn calories, too. In fact, any physical activity counts.

Headaches Often

Are you suffering headaches? Most people all over the world does experienced headaches every day. Different kinds of headaches apper and they all have different symptoms and causes. Every person who had experienced headaches will have a unique pain. There are different people go through different phases. This is called chronic headache and there are many different types and ways that can manifest, some people are suffer from constant headache. Cluster Headaches is one of the most worst type of headache you can get. Advice from a good doctor is needed, When it comes to brain Neurologist are specialist and can help you to examine what kind of headaches you experiencing and suffering. There are many activities that can cause of headaches like sleeping pattern, loss of energy during everyday work and activities, over fatigue, stress and distracted concentration. However, if you are suffering from headaches everyday i will advice you to go to near hospital and examine what king of headaches your are suffering before it's too late.

Headaches Information

Are you struggling from headaches seriously? Headaches are normally occur on the side of the head. Due to great mental tension and stress, headaches exist and occur. Migraine only attacks when you are overworked muscles in the head and neck and due to continuous stress. There are also herbal cure for it. It is your choice what could be the best medication for you.

There are two kinds of headaches, primary and secondary headaches. Tension headaches, cluster headaches and migraines are all primary headaches.

Insomnia, stress,medication, weather change, emotional distress, allergies and panick attacks can all cause of headaches. Some medications are not strong enough to treated painful headaches,some medication over the counter is not strong enough. It is important not to abuse the medication and instead try to know some alternative headaches that can help you to cure the headaches pain.

Healthy Choices

If you are at a crossroads in your life and need to make a life change in your career, relationship, health or spirit, well i think this is the time change your lifestyle. If you really want to make a healthy choices and workplace, try to decrease stress on the job, make a healthy meal, exercise in the morning and have some time in leisure time. Value good work, give some time for vacations, personal and child care.

Alternative Pain Relief Options

Pain is considered a hassle of daily life for people who had in pain. Finding relief may become addicted to the pain medication that they provide the solution.

Alternative Pain Relief

1. Acupuncture
2. Physical Therapy
3. Electric Stimulation
4. Biofeedback
5. Homeopathic Medicine
6. Magnetic Pain Relief

Cardiac Arrest

It was in the news that Michael Jackson was died because of cardiac arrest. Let us discuss how cardiac arrest kill many people on the spot.

Cardiac arrest is the sudden, abrupt loss of heart function. The victim may or may not have diagnosed heart disease. It's also called sudden cardiac arrest or unexpected cardiac arrest. Sudden death (also called sudden cardiac death) occurs within minutes after symptoms appear. The common underlying reason for patients to die suddenly from cardiac arrest is coronary heart disease. It was said that it has more than 95 percent of cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital. The survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest is as high as 30–45 percent.


Cardiac emergencies:

* Know the warning signs of cardiac arrest. During cardiac arrest a victim loses consciousness, stops normal breathing and loses pulse and blood pressure.
* Call 9-1-1 immediately to access the emergency medical system if you see any cardiac arrest warning signs.
* Give cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to help keep the cardiac arrest victim alive until emergency help arrives. CPR keeps blood and oxygen flowing to the heart and brain until defibrillation can be administered.

Lifestyle Changes To Avoid BackPain

Backpain is commonly experienced by a lot of people. Backpain is the most common caused of missed work. It is possible to avoid backpain by knowing the cause and how to prevent it.

There are few lifestyle changes and healthy work habits that can help to avoid recurrences of back pain, below are the lists that might avoid recurrences of backpain.

If you are already suffer from back pain, consult your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

* Exercise - We all know that exercise is good for our health. Exercise helps us to maintain proper weight and maintain strong muscles.

*Good posture - Sometimes we are tired of everything we do with our daily tasks, posture are forgotten. A balanced posture is important to to relax while maintaining an erect position. When you are sitting, make sure that your lower back is supported and that your feet stay flat on the floor.

* Sleeping position - Sleeping position is very important. Make sure that you sleep with good position. Because if your position was wrong, you might have hurt in your neck, shoulder and otehr parts of body. Make sure that you sleep with compatible position.

* Lift and Bend properly - Improper bending is the common cause of back pain.

Looking for the best skin products

Looking for the best skin product?There are many of things to consider before buying a skin care product.

1. The first thing that will come to our mind when we think about beauty products is the age. For example, a teenager will definitely have different needs than a woman entering menopause. We all go through different phases in life and the best skin care product one year will not be the best the next year. Consider your current needs first.

2. Determining the specific skin type. The best skin care product for a person with very dry skin may be the same brand that suits a person with an oily complexion. The great thing is that one brand will offer a different product for specific skin types.

3. A person who spends a lot of time indoors will find that the best skin care product will be different from the best skin care product for a person who spends a lot of time outdoors. There are other factors to consider as well when it comes to lifestyle.

Be Active and Stay Out of Lower Back Pain

Most low back pain can get better if a person stays active and maintains a regular exercise regimen. This article focuses on the causes and symptoms of lower back pain. It also includes some exercises to relieve a person from lower back pain. Keeping an active healthy lifestyle will protect a person to loss of flexibility, strength, and endurance. Staying active and engaging in regular exercise is critical for maintaining health and fitness. According to a research, almost 90 percent of chronic lower back pain sufferers are individuals who follow no exercise regimen. The other 10 percent have back and leg pain due to injury.

The symptoms of lower back pain vary in some ways and are similar in others. Most people find that reclining or lying down will improve their pain and after their initial severe episode, many will be able to rest at night without severe pain. There are people who experience more severe pain when they bend over to pick something up. Some get relief from arching backward or extending the back.

With an acute episode, lower back pain can be very severe for a few days or a week and then will eventually improve. By 2 to 4 weeks, most people are much better. The length of time between episodes varies greatly from person to person, as does the length of each episode, the intensity of each episode, and how well each individual copes with the pain.
Exercise and staying active may relieve lower back pain and can help speed up recovery. Stretching and strengthening the stomach, back, and leg muscles helps make them less susceptible to injury that can cause lower back pain. Strong stomach, back, and leg muscles also better support the spine, reducing pressure on the spinal discs. This may help prevent disc injury.

Exercises that may help reduce or prevent lower back pain include:
Aerobic exercise, to condition the heart and other muscles, maintain health, and speed recovery.

Strengthening exercises, focusing on the back, stomach, and leg muscles.
Stretching exercises, which keep the muscles and other supporting tissues flexible and less prone to injury.

Most low back pain can get better if a person stays active. One should avoid positions and activities that may increase or cause lower back pain. Use ice and take non-prescription pain relievers when it is needed. If a person is already suffering from lower back pain, some exercises that may aggravate it includes: Straight leg sit-ups, Bent leg sit-ups or partial sit-ups (curl-ups) when one have acute back pain, Lifting both legs while lying on the back (leg lifts), Lifting heavy weights above the waist (standing military press or bicep curls), Toe touches while standing.

When an individual no longer experiences acute pain, he or she may be ready for gentle strengthening exercises for the stomach, back, and legs, and perhaps for some stretching exercises. Exercise may not only help decrease lower back pain, but it may also help a person recover faster, prevent re-injury to the back, and reduce the risk of disability from back pain.

Exercises to reduce lower back pain are not complicated and can be done at home without any special equipment. It's important to not let fear of pain keep anyone from trying gentle activity. It is important to remember that too little activity can lead to loss of flexibility, strength, and endurance, and then to more pain.

Be fit. Stay out of lower back pain. Search for alternative treatment.

Relieve Stress By Being Organized

Modern living has become so fast-paced in such a way that people lose time due to increased activities brought about by advances in science and technology. In today's busy world, daily existence becomes a source of stress. Everyone seems to be busy with so many things going on at the same time that they have allowed their homes, offices, and even cars to become so messed up.
When you look around inside the houses of some of your neighbors, you will see that the clutter is so overwhelming. It's a kind of stress that can make one more vulnerable to potential health problems. Once the body releases chemicals like cortisol, which actually decrease the body's immune function, you become prone to illness and health problems.

Children who were raised up in chaotic households come to school a lot more stressed, hyperactive, and a lot more upset in general. Indeed, life's annoyances and/or frustrating situations can build up to cause stress and experience a low grade of anger.

That is why there is a need for more high-energy forms of physical activity, such as exercise, boxing, boxing, martial arts, or weight training, to provide an effective release of negative emotions. Physical activities can turn otherwise potentially unhealthy emotions into motivation for increased health and well-being.

In the same way, getting things organized also takes a lot of physical energy. Cleaning up such clutter allows a person to lift those boxes and move around things. Do not be overwhelmed by the clutter and get stressed even before you start doing anything.

Some people usually don't know where to start when it comes to tidying things up. According to Ruth Phillips, a professional household organizer for seven years, she abides by this guiding question: Are you keeping it or tossing it? Her suggestion is to start in the first two feet and start moving around the room until everything is covered and done.
On the other hand, psychologist Mark Crawford encourages families to tackle the chaos together.

“Get everyone to see the benefits of keeping your home and environment a little less cluttered and a little more organized,” he said. His strategy is to start by taking one area such as one corner, one desk, one drawer. Once done, pick the next small task.

In doing so, you might be able to find things you have misplaced or have been looking for. Make it a point to assign each thing or item a “home” where you can always put it back after its use.
Being organized can be an extremely effective stress reliever. It minimizes stress hormones like cortisol, and allows for the release of endorphins, your body's ‘feel-good’ chemicals, giving your mood a natural boost.

Differentiating the Different Menstrual Irregularities

Women have been given the birth right of child-bearing. In relation to that privilege, they also have to endure monthly menstrual periods. If you think all women regularly have their menstrual cycle or that they have it easy during their menstruation, then you may want to think again.

Although some women go through their periods easily, a lot of women experience different kinds of menstrual irregularities. Some don't get their periods while some bleed irregularly. Now, if you're not pregnant and you're experiencing these things, then there's a possibility that a bigger condition needs to be sought out.

But let's talk about the different menstrual problems. Here's a list of them:

Amenorrhea. Literally translating to an absence of bleeding or blood, this condition is characterized by not having menstrual period by the age of 16. It could also refer to a condition wherein a woman stops having menstrual cycles for at least 3 months and is not pregnant.
Oligomenorrhea. This term refers to an infrequent menstrual period or by having menstruation come every now and then.

Dysmenorrhea. This refers to having painful periods. One of its many symptoms include menstrual cramps and migraines.

Endometriosis. This condition occurs when tissues that usually grow inside the womb grows outside instead. This can cause pain before your period and during the first five days of your menstruation. This condition may also cause a woman to bleed heavily during her period.

Among the four indicated here, only endometriosis is an actual condition. Amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea, and dysmenorrhea are all just symptoms or indicators of a more serious condition. Amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea can both be caused by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), while dysmenorrhea can be a symptom of endometriosis.

With this in mind, women should be keen to pay attention to what happens during their menstrual periods. You wouldn't know when those simple menstrual irregularities could turn out to be something serious.

Major Reasons To Consider Quitting Smoking

There are a lot of smokers out there who are still unmotivated enough to actually stick to their plans to quit smoking. If you ask them, they simply have no reason to stop, so why do it?

As if friends of smokers haven't said this enough, the effects of smoking may not be as prominent at the moment, but soon enough, it'll take its toll on your health as well as theirs. So you might want to start thinking of getting rid of your smoking habit.

If you want more specific reasons to want to quit smoking, here are some of the conditions that may come about from constantly smoking:

Smoking causes heartburn. Smoking can bring about changes in the digestive tract that could cause heartburn. It slows down saliva production, stimulates stomach acid production, makes the stomach acids stronger, injures the esophagus, weakens the digestive valves, and slows down digestion altogether.

Smoking may cause eye problems like blindness and cataracts. Studies on cigarette smoking showed that it lowers the level of plasma antioxidant levels in the blood stream that serve as protection for the retinal cells. Smoking makes the retina's protective layer and blood vessels to erode, leading to poor blood flow, irritation, scarring, and eventually, blindness. On the other hand, the carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke causes an oxygen deficient that degrades night vision. Smoking also produces cyanide which is known to be toxic to the retina.

Smoking may cause erectile dysfunction. It has been observed that smoking can cause plaque to build-up in the arteries. This condition, called atherosclerosis, is one of the known causes of erectile dysfunction. The plaque build-up may occur somewhere in the blood vessels that bring blood to the penile shaft, causing improper blood flow, and thereby an inability to have an erection.

These are only a few of the many serious conditions that could arise from long-term chain smoking. If these don't give you enough reason to stop smoking, you might want to talk to your doctor to get a full rundown of diseases that smoking can cause.

Finding Ways To Save On Prescription Drugs

The high cost of spending for prescription drugs, which seem to keep on getting higher every time you go to a pharmacy, is proving to be a problem as much as the condition that needs medical attention. All the more reason for some lifestyle changes to help reduce your need for medicines.

There are popular, safe, and effective ways to save on prescription drugs. By increasing your activity level, losing weight, and improving your diet, some chronic illness like high blood pressure, diabetes, and low back pain may have fewer medicine requirements.

Another way is by going generic. Generic drugs are cheap medicines or less expensive duplicates of brand-name medicines. Consult your doctor or pharmacist if you can take a generic equivalent for the brand-name medicine that you are taking. Generic medicines are made according to the same strict U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards as brand-name drugs and therefore have the same quality, strength, purity, and stability as their more expensive counterparts. However, not all brand-name medicines have generic equivalents.

When scouting for cheap medicines, it is important that your pharmacist knows your medical history, including all the prescription and over-the-counter drugs, dietary supplements, and herbal alternatives you are taking, even if they are not dispensed at that particular pharmacy to avoid potential drug interactions, side effects, or other problems.
Online drugstores offer savings schemes by means of price discount promos aside from saving you trips to the pharmacy.

Another strategy that can help you save money without losing drug effectiveness or safety is by pill splitting. Some tablets are available at double the dose with the same or almost the same cost as lower doses. By splitting the larger dose, you can essentially get two doses for the price of one. However, some medicines should not be split, including timed-release pills and capsules.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist if any of your prescription medicines are sold at higher dosages and if it's possible to split them. Talk to your pharmacist about how to split pills with an inexpensive, easy-to-use pill splitter.

Coping With Stress In Different Situations

All of us encounter a lot of pressures everyday. Wherever we go, be it in the workplace, in school, or just staying at home, there will always be some situations that will put some stress sometime depress to our daily existence concerning our job, studies, health, and relationships.

Here are sanity-saving tips to help you cope with stress no matter what situation you are in:
Stress in the Work Place. Most experts suggest a periodic change in routine as a stress reliever.

If you usually check your emails and voice mails once you arrived in the office, try to spend the first hour on creative and strategic thinking instead. During this time, you are at your sharpest and best form. That’s why this is the best time to break down your day into specific tasks, rather than trying to juggle everything. Recent studies reveal that a 50-minute task takes four times as long if you juggle too many tasks at once. Choose a day in a week to leave 30 minutes earlier than usual. Allowing yourself that early exit will keep you on deadline and make you
hyper-focused to complete jobs more efficiently.

To de-stress doesn’t mean to eliminate all of your stresses. It simply means getting control of them, one at a time. Start by making minor adjustments in your life, not the big ones, so as not to add more stress. If you're working on being prompt, get to every appointment, not just to work, five minutes earlier than normal. Successful change is permanent, not dramatic.

The Anti-Stress Diet. Being in stress mode makes you produce chemical reactions inside your body.
It can make the hormone cortisol to surge and the sugar levels to spike or plummet, which can leave you feeling under pressure and sluggish. Eating the right food can help counteract such reactions.

Avoid sugary cereals or breakfast bars in the morning. Instead, eat whole-grain cereals and a piece of fruit. Supplement your food intake with vitamins including a daily dose of 500 milligrams of calcium and 250 milligrams of magnesium. Magnesium is flushed out when you’re under stress to help regulate the cortisol levels. Snack on crunchy veggie sticks or carrots to help release a clenched jaw and the tension headache that usually accompany stress. Before bedtime, settle with a light carbohydrate-rich snack, like toast and jam which can help quicken the release of the feel-good hormone serotonin, which will help you sleep better.

Stress on Emotions. Do not over-generalize situations, such as: first dates never work out; she always gets promotions before me; he always arrives at least 5 minutes late. The habit of using ‘always’ and ‘never’ steers you away from feeling that you have any control over changing the things that stress or worry you.

Do not allow stress to eat away at you like a squirrel with a nut. Such constantly worried mentality impedes decision-making. Many experts suggest that you write down what you're worried about, and then set aside some quiet time for at least 30 minutes to figure out solutions. This is beneficial in keeping worries from disrupting your work so you will be able to think over whatever problem you might have or whatever situation you are in.

Dealing With The Voices

Schizophrenia, if nothing else, has one benefit. For what its worth, the patient may never become bored again. With voices in their heads and the possibility of actually seeing things, there will certainly to occupy the mind and the time of the average schizophrenic. However, while that may seem interesting, that is not always something that can be taken as a benefit by the person involved. Oftentimes, living with the voices is a hard thing to do, and many would prefer to just be rid of them entirely.

Most of the time, auditory hallucinations are associated with severe cases of mental illness, such as schizophrenia, and often find themselves connected to bizarre delusions. Disordered thought and emotional dissociation are also commonly observed symptoms occurring with auditory problems. An approximate 75% of all people who report experiencing auditory hallucinations are eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia, and the vast majority of these people find that being part of the psychiatric care system is highly negative. This is on top of the highly negative nature of what they hear from their voices. Berating, insults, commands, and comments of an unpleasant nature are often reported, sometimes bringing patients to contemplate suicide.

However, some groups question whether or not the voices are actually a sign of mental illness. Certainly, they can be very distressing and there is no end to the problems they can cause, but they might not be as indicative of psychosis and mental damage as previously believed. Some groups assume that psychiatry is incorrect in many assumptions regarding the voices. One theory is that more people hear these voices, or hear a wide variety of them, than the statistics would have people assume. Another holds that hearing these voices is not a pathological problem in need of treatment, but an experience that is ultimately linked to the person's life and experiences, and may lead to unresolved personal issues.

Saving Lives With Nicotine Replacement Therapy

Experts say that smoke alone from cigarette already contains over 4,000 chemicals in it, 40 of which are known carcinogens, and at least 200 of those chemical are considered poisonous. That is why if second hand smoke can kill, how much more can smokers be in greater risk of its hazardous effects because they breathe in both mainstream and sidestream smoke?

While cigarette smoke is worse than nicotine in itself, it does not discount the fact that nicotine is a harmful drug. Long term use of nicotine may affect how the body's function, increases pain by putting stress on the heart and increases blood pressure. As nicotine harms the linings of our arteries, it leads to the build-up of plaque, thus, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Moreover, nicotine suppresses insulin output creating a hypoglycemic condition. It could also lead to cancer.

For people who are trying to quit smoking cigarettes, there's a substitute for oral activity that provides a source of nicotine to reduce withdrawal symptoms usually experienced when smoking is stopped. This substitute is nicotine chewing gum.

Nicotine chewing gum has already helped many thousands of people to stop smoking successfully. It isn't easy to quit from smoking and nicotine chewing gum is just one of the many nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products in the market today. Having a wide variety of quit aid options ultimately means more lives saved.

However, NRTs are not intended for long-term use because some quitters are getting addicted to them, like the nicotine chewing gums and lozenges, that they find it hard to quit from the new habit. Aside from being expensive, the gum can also potentially stick to and damage dental work. Health professionals do not advise pregnant and nursing women to use nicotine products due to the side effects, such as headaches, hiccups, sore jaw and hives.

Treat NRTs the way you would a prescription drug. Consult your doctor and follow the product directions. Proper use helps ease the discomforts of recovery from nicotine addiction. Be sure to wean yourself off in the time period suggested. Being dependent on it may lead to an increased risk of a smoking relapse. As in the case with habit-forming drugs, tolerance will increase over time and so will the intake.

Meal Portioning and Weight Loss

Healthy Weightloss? Setting up goals of losing weight can be difficult as it requires a lot of effort and an iron will to stick with your diet plan and exercise routine. One of the most difficult part of dieting is meal portion control. Why so? Think about it. If you've come from an eating habit where you eat anything you want and as much as you want, wouldn't it be hard to start restricting your food portions all of a sudden?

But you must keep in mind that one of the successful tricks that weight loss experts suggest is healthy meal portioning. By learning how to control the amount or or the number of times you eat, you can slowly tip the scales to a healthier weight.

To make meal portion control easier, here are some simple tips:

1.Learn about serving standards. Knowing how to differentiate a small sized serving from a medium or large-sized one can help you determine whether you've put enough or too much on your plate.
2.Go kiddie size. Notice how kiddie meals are automatically portioned? Then it's perfect for your goal of eating in controlled portions. Not only do you save yourself the hassle of having to deliberate how much to eat, you also get to save money from the cheaper kiddie meal.
3.Close the door on second helpings. Instead of letting leftovers sit on the table to invite you to second helpings, put them aside in the ref or somewhere you won't be tempted to touch them.
4.Pack leftovers into many single-serve containers. By doing so, the next time you'd like to heat them up, you can only heat enough food and avoid the temptation of overeating the entire leftover.
5.Take your meals half and half. You can try cutting your meal in half. Take one half for lunch, save the next half for dinner. You can also split the meal with a friend or ask for one half of the meal be wrapped up for take out before digging in.
6.Spread your meals out. Don't go for the regular 3-meals-a-day routine. Keep your blood sugar at a constant level by eating mini meals throughout the day, best to keep it at least 4 hours apart.
7.Veggies over meaties. If you're used to eating meats in bigger portions than vegetables, it's time to hit reverse and eat more greens than meats. This way, you get more dietary fiber into your diet.

The most important thing that dieters should keep in mind, as a lot of weight loss experts would say, is to not deprive yourself of the things you want. It's okay to indulge in sweets or fatty foods once in a while, so long as you keep it at a controlled amount. Remember that you increase your chances of breaking your diet if you completely cut out forbidden foods.

STDs On The Rise Again

For many years, sexually transmitted diseases were noted to be on the decline. However, recent surveys conducted by the federal government have shown that this is no longer the case. After years of decline, sexually transmitted conditions are once again on the rise, with the condition chlamydia not only increasing, but also setting a new record.

This particular disease, which often does not display any sort of symptoms, is a condition that can result in women becoming infertile. The increase of better, more accurate screening methods is being attributed to the increase. According to the gathered data, 1.1 million cases of the condition were reported in 2007 – the highest number ever reported, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Syphilis, which has never numbered more than a few thousand, also rose modestly recently. Gonorrhea cases were not reported to have increased. It should be noted that, unlike chlamydia and gonorrhea, syphilis can be lethal if left untreated.

Chlamydia, while better known for the effects if could have women, also has the ability to infect men. This was noted as being a partial reason for the federal recommendations that testing be conducted for women over the age of 25 that were sexually active. The focus on this screening is believed to have partially contributed to the sudden increase in numbers, based on theories put forth by officials from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The logic has been summarized as “the more tests you do, the more cases you'll find.”

The percentage of women with the condition has risen by double digits between 2003 and 2007, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Meanwhile, the latest case numbers for chlamydia have resulted in an estimated number of 370 cases per 100,000 people in 2007, an increase of about 7.5% from the year before.

Foods That Help With Psychological Disorders

Anxiety and depression are among some of the most common psychological disorders in the United States, maybe even the entire world.

In general, foods rich in the many B vitamins can help with one's mental and physical health. Here are some of them:

Thaimin or vitamin B1

Low thiamin levels in the system can cause restless nerves and irritability, both are symptoms manifested by panic and anxiety disorder sufferers. Eating thiamin-rich foods like tuna, sunflower seeds, and yellow corn can help anxiety sufferers by giving an extra boost of energy, better coordination of the nerves and muscles, and by supporting proper heart function.

Niacin or vitamin B3

Insufficient vitamin B3 in the body has been thought to be connected to clinical depression and anxiety disorders because it helps supports the brain's message relaying system. Eating niacin-rich foods like chicken, salmon, and mushrooms can help keep the brain's neurotransmition system in proper working order, not to mention help in converting fat, proteins, and carbohydrates into usable energy.

Vitamin B6

Depression is a mental disorder characterized by a low serotonin level in the brain. Vitamin B6 is said to be able to ward off such feelings. Vitamin B6 is a key component to converting tryptophyan, an essential amino acid, into serotonin. By eating vitamin B6-rich foods like bell peppers and bananas, you can be sure that your body produces enough serotonin to keep the sad feelings away.

Vitamin B12
Some studies say that psychological conditions are caused by brain cell degradation. It has also been linked to vitamin B12 deficiency. Eating vitamin B12-rich foods like scallops and snappers, you provide your body with the vitamin it needs to ensure proper development of neurons, thereby avoiding depression and anxiety attacks.

B-vitamin rich foods are not the one food items that can help you combat psychological disorders. To find out more and to better understand how these foods work, it is best to speak to a doctor or a dietitian about it.

Weight Loss Betting Odds

Almost everything that could possibly motivate someone into losing weight has been tried. The health benefits, the prospect of making weight loss fun, and even the sexual benefits of being in better shape have all been used. Frankly, not all of them have been successful, and most of them don't really work for very long. People by nature will avoid working out and exercising if they can, no matter what benefits they may get out of the fact. Well, some people have asked the question that many believe should have been asked much earlier. Why not give people money to lose weight?

No, it should not, theoretically, be as simple as just giving them a certain amount to get them to lose a certain number of pounds. Some have suggested making it a game or competition of sorts. The idea is relatively simple. Offer someone a wager of a small amount to motivate them to lose a certain amount of pounds within a given time constraint. Once that is accomplished, wager a larger amount for them to accomplish a larger amount of weight lost. Theoretically, a person can keep doing this until the person doing the weight loss has reached their target weight. Also theoretically, they might be able to keep that weight off with constant wagers against their ability to do so.

Money could become an incredible motivator given the current global economic conditions. Money is something that people would need to keep things going, and it'd arguably not that much of a sacrifice to shed a few pounds for a little extra cash. There is also the feel of competition, where the person is being challenged into shedding excess weight. That challenge, particularly for those who like to be challenged and don't take hits to their ego very well, would be the main motivator. The money involved would just be very nice icing on the cake.

Experiencing the Physical Symptoms of Depression

Many depressed individuals don't know that they are depressed because they are not aware of the physical symptoms of depression. Even doctors may miss out on these symptoms as well.

Physical symptoms of depression are not just in your head or imagined. They can make your body experience real changes.

Somehow, there is a connection between depression and an imbalance of certain chemicals in the brain. They play a vital role in how a person feels pain. According to experts, depression can make you feel pain differently than other people.

The physical symptoms of depression include:

Headache - This condition is common in depressed people. Those who already had migraine headaches may experience worse episodes when depressed.

Back pain - Just like a headache, individuals suffering from back pain may experience more pain when depressed.

Muscle aches and joint pain - Depression can make any kind of chronic pain worse.

Chest pain - While it can be a sign of serious heart conditions, chest pain is also linked to depression.

Digestive problems - Depression can give a person diarrhea or chronic constipation.

Fatigue - Depressed people may feel tired even after a long sleep that they find it hard to get up from bed.

Sleeping problems - Depression ruins a person sleep-wake cycle, causing different sleeping problems.

Appetite and weight problems - While losing appetite and weight are the usual manifestations of depression, others may find themselves craving for certain foods like carbohydrates, thus increasing in weight.

Dizziness or lightheadedness.

The physical symptoms of depression can be treated as a person goes through therapy or medication. Anti anxiety medications can treat insomnia while antidepressants can help with chronic pain. However, depressed people must not assume that the physical symptoms will just disappear on their own. It is necessary for the patient to inform the doctor about the physical symptoms for proper diagnosis and treatment.

The Worries and Urges of People with OCD

Many of us have little superstitions and rituals which help us to become productive and produce positive results. However, when these 'rituals' are taken to extremes and begin to affect normal daily function, it becomes a problem.

When you start feeling that something will really go wrong simply because you are not wearing your favorite lucky shirt; that you would feel the need to wear it almost every chance you feel like something will go wrong if you don't; that even if it's already in the laundry bin, you would prefer to wear it over fresh clothes because if you don't things might go really bad. Or when your mother has to return home even if she's already outside the door just to check if the flat iron was unplugged when she already did 3 times earlier, it could be Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.

OCD is a mental health condition that creates a strong sense of uncertainty, doubt, anxiety, or fear in a person's mind and triggers rituals like re-checking and re-doing. Although sometimes, everyone may feel anxious, fearful, or worried, these normal emotions and reactions help people protect themselves, stay safe, and solve problems. These feelings usually don't last long and don't come too often.

In the case of people with OCD, these feelings are taken to extremes as if the brain does not recognize what's dangerous from what's not. There is a constant and lingering stream of fear, doubt or anxiety in the person's mind, instead of keeping normal worry under control.
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts, known as obsessions, and repetitive behaviors, also called compulsions or 'rituals'.
People with OCD are pre-occupied with persistent thoughts that bring fear or worry about something that might happen. These negative thoughts and images are usually hard to shake off.

They have strong urges to perform these rituals or repetitive behaviors such as handwashing, counting, checking, or cleaning with the hope of preventing or getting rid of obsessive negative thoughts.

The obsessions and compulsions are sometimes related to each other. A person who worries (obsession) about germs and about getting sick could have the urges (compulsions) to wash hands or clean things often and repeatedly. They are too cautious to touch anything due to fear of germs.

There are times when the compulsions or the 'rituals' doesn't have anything to do with the obsessions or fear. For example, if things on the desk are not arranged properly, something bad will happen to a loved one. The oddity of the rituals and fear are so obvious that many people try to keep their OCD to themselves.

When people with OCD perform a compulsion or 'ritual', they feel a sense of relief. Unfortunately, performing these so-called 'rituals' only provides temporary relief, but significantly increases the anxiety or the obsession. Resisting compulsion can be extremely difficult.

There is a strong evidence that OCD can be hereditary. Like any other illness, having OCD is not a person's fault. The good news is, it can be treated with the help from a Psychologist or Psychiatrist. There is nothing to be embarrassed about getting therapy treatments and counseling from a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Parental Genes In Conflict Leads To Mental Disorders?

In medical science, sometimes, a radical, creative approach is needed to find answers to old questions. For example, nobody is entirely sure about what causes mental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, and there is even less information on how these things work on a biochemical level. This is the case with a recent theory regarding what causes people to have the aforementioned mental disorders, as well as narrow down factors that could make some people more likely to develop them than others.

The radical new theory was derived from the realization that mutations in a person's genetic code can result in changes in behavior. It is believed that genetic links might be responsible for increased risk factors of various mental conditions. Depression, bi-polar disorder, and various other mood and mental disorders have all been found to have some sort of genetic mutation linked to them, and it is quite possible that genetics is also linked to schizophrenia, autism, and dementia. However, the theory is not quite as simple as that.

The idea, according to the people that formulated it, can be rather straightforward. The theory put forth states that there is an evolutionary “tug of war” going on between genetic data from the father's sperm and the mother's egg that is tipping the brain development of the fetus. Theoretically, relative mental stability comes about when a balance is achieved between the two. When the genetic bias is pulled strongly towards the father's genetic contribution, the developing brain is pulled towards the autistic spectrum. This is shown in a fascination with objects, patterns, and systems, but at the expense of social skills. The opposite, a bias towards the mother's genes, moves the brain into the psychotic area. This causes a hypersensitivity to mood, emotions, and an increased risk of developing mood-related disorders and schizophrenia later on in life.

In simple terms, autism and schizophrenia, according to the theory, are products of a conflict between the genetic data of the parents. This, theoretically, could affect things like psychiatric and developmental disorder risk factors. The theory, if proven accurate or plausible, could lead to an entirely new avenue of research.

Getting In Tune With Your Spiritual Well-Being

Very few people are atuned with their spiritual health which has a significant effect in the over-all wellness of the mind and body. Spirituality is unique to each individual. It can be equated with traditional religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, or Buddhism. It could also mean as growing in your personal relationships with others, or simply being at peace with nature.

Those who are not in touch with their spiritual needs usually experience deep sadness, depression, intense anger, fear, anxiety, and grief. These negative feelings can create the environment for emotional, physical, and mental health dysfunction. People who suffer from repeated physical and emotional abuse carries a wounded and broken heart tormented by life's difficulties and pains. They do not realize that their heavy-heartedness may influence their well-being. Denial of the depth of distress will only aggravate the situation and may lead to serious heart conditions and illnesses.

Recent studies have shown the connection between depression and anxiety, and the development of heart diseases. They are considered risk factors equal to high cholesterol and diabetes. According to research, patients going through depression are twice as likely to die from the complications of a heart attack, compared with people who don't have depression. Some experts even suggest that depression and anxiety should be classified as new risk factors for the development of heart disease.

People who are alone and friendless tend to be more sickly, with greater chances of developing heart disease and a shorter life expectancy, than those blessed with a wide circle of friends, relationships, and support. There seems to be a direct connection between illness and lack of love as documented in research studies conducted by Dean Ornish, M.D., a respected cardiologist from the University of California in San Francisco.

A few years ago, scientists have discovered that inflammation of the coronary arteries plays a role in the arteries becoming clogged with cholesterol. Two of the most successful heart medications, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors, work at the hormonal level, reducing the influence of adrenaline released when we are upset, nervous, or experiencing stress and fear. These drugs have been nothing short of miraculous, reducing incidence of death by 30 percent.

However, there are many patients who do not respond well to drugs alone because of emotional as well as physical ailments. This is where alternative healing, such as meditation, prayer, or psychotheraphy, comes in.

Sufism, or Practicing Remembrance, is an ancient spiritual practice that originated in Islam, and best known in the West through the poetry of Rumi. Sufism focuses its many practical and effective methods of healing on the heart with a simple but miraculous way of opening a person to the healing rays of love.

Spiritual wellness is discovering a sense of meaning in your life, and living out the reason and purpose of your existence.

Sleep Disorder Test

Sleep and insomnia are known to be intrinsically linked to one another. Insomnia is widely seen as a possible side effect of depression, with the mood disorder disrupting sleep because of the emotional turmoil it causes. Insomnia has also been found to potentially cause depression if left untreated, with the chemical levels in the body being altered by the lack of sleep. In other words, one has a reputation for leading to the other, and some mental health professionals even find it hard to determine which of the two came first without the patient having a clear idea of it.

There is a school of thought among mental health professionals that contends that insomnia may simply be a side effect of depression, rather than a problem in itself. Waking up early in the morning and being unable to return to a restful state is one of the hallmarks of severe cases of depression, and it is also one of the three major forms of insomnia. Many patients who are depressed also have difficulty falling asleep, even with the general lethargy that the mood disorder causes. This, too, ties in well with the known forms that insomnia can take.

There is also an opposing school of thought that believes insomnia is a separate condition from depression. This is a plausible idea, as there are some cases of people who have insomnia that do not have depression, or did not have it initially. Left untreated, most cases of insomnia eventually develop the mood disorder as a side effect, though some patients were found to develop a generalized anxiety disorder instead. Some studies show that a patient can have insomnia independently of depression for a period as long as five weeks, though it also found that the sleep disorder intensified the symptoms of the mood disorder.

Getting In Tune With Your Spiritual Well-Being

Very few people are a tuned with their spiritual health which has a significant effect in the over-all wellness of the mind and body. Spirituality is unique to each individual. It can be equated with traditional religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, or Buddhism. It could also mean as growing in your personal relationships with others, or simply being at peace with nature.

Those who are not in touch with their spiritual needs usually experience deep sadness, depression, intense anger, fear, anxiety, and grief. These negative feelings can create the environment for emotional, physical, and mental health dysfunction. People who suffer from repeated physical and emotional abuse carries a wounded and broken heart tormented by life's difficulties and pains. They do not realize that their heavy-heartedness may influence their well-being. Denial of the depth of distress will only aggravate the situation and may lead to serious heart conditions and illnesses.

Recent studies have shown the connection between depression and anxiety, and the development of heart diseases. They are considered risk factors equal to high cholesterol and diabetes. According to research, patients going through depression are twice as likely to die from the complications of a heart attack, compared with people who don't have depression. Some experts even suggest that depression and anxiety should be classified as new risk factors for the development of heart disease.

People who are alone and friendless tend to be more sickly, with greater chances of developing heart disease and a shorter life expectancy, than those blessed with a wide circle of friends, relationships, and support. There seems to be a direct connection between illness and lack of love as documented in research studies conducted by Dean Ornish, M.D., a respected cardiologist from the University of California in San Francisco.

A few years ago, scientists have discovered that inflammation of the coronary arteries plays a role in the arteries becoming clogged with cholesterol. Two of the most successful heart medications, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors, work at the hormonal level, reducing the influence of adrenaline released when we are upset, nervous, or experiencing stress and fear. These drugs have been nothing short of miraculous, reducing incidence of death by 30 percent.
However, there are many patients who do not respond well to drugs alone because of emotional as well as physical ailments. This is where alternative healing, such as meditation, prayer, or psychotheraphy, comes in.

Sufism, or Practicing Remembrance, is an ancient spiritual practice that originated in Islam, and best known in the West through the poetry of Rumi. Sufism focuses its many practical and effective methods of healing on the heart with a simple but miraculous way of opening a person to the healing rays of love.

Spiritual wellness is discovering a sense of meaning in your life, and healthy lifestyle living out the reason and purpose of your existence.

Letting Go

Different people have different views about life.. They either marvel about it, or mouth a litany of complaints. Life is beautiful...life is unfair...life is what you make it...and so on and so forth. But what about death? Not very many will engagingly discuss the topic of death unless the situation is at hand. And since most people find it morbid to dwell on such an issue, they also find it very difficult to accept a tragedy when it strikes.

Death is inevitable as birth is common. However, while birth is considered a natural part of life's processes, people tend to have a different attitude towards death. And yet, it is an eventuality we all have to face sooner or later. Like it or not, we have to cope with it when we are finally faced with the death of someone we care about so much.

We grieve when we lose something. It can be a job, a prized possession, an unborn child, or the end of a relationship. But nothing compares to the loss or death of a loved one which could bring about the most powerful feeling of grief. It is characterized by not just a single feeling but a whole succession of feelings which take a while to overcome and which cannot be hurried. And no matter how similar the the experiences we may have, the intensity of grieving will always be different with each individual. There is no “right” way, or “correct” order for the grieving process.

As soon as the news of death of a close relative or friend is disclosed, most people feel simply stunned, as though they could not believe it has actually happened. Even in the case of terminally ill patients whose demise are already expected, still, most people may feel surprised by the tragedy as if it hasn't been expected at all.

There are times when the sense of emotional numbness initially keeps a person from grieving but helps in getting through some of the important practical arrangements that have to be made, such as getting in touch with relatives, as well as organizing the funeral. Yet sometimes, such feeling of unreality may become a problem if it goes on for too long. Suppressing emotions will only aggravate the situation and can have detrimental repercussions in the physical, emotional, and mental health of an individual.

People who refuse to acknowledge the feelings of sadness have the tendency to avoid relationships which only aggravate the depression. Similarly, emotional eaters usually become angrier with themselves after a bingeing episode.

Guilt is another common feeling for people who are in the process of grieving. They could not get it out of their head and may even consider what they could have done differently to prevent the tragedy of death. The grieving person may need to be reminded that death is usually beyond anyone’s control. In the case of deaths of terminally ill patients, the feeling of relief is natural but may cause guilty feelings.

In due time, the intense pain of grieving, as well as the depression, will fade away and it is again possible to think about the future. Although the sense of having lost a part of oneself never goes away entirely, the final phase of grieving is a letting go of the person who has died. Live a healthy lifestyle!

Workout In The Midst of Global Crisis

There's more to getting in shape than gym memberships or those costly home gym equipments. The current global economic crisis shouldn't be an excuse not to get into shape. There are myriad of ways to get those excess pounds off and still save money with the following tips:

1. Work Out At Home

You may find it hard to figure out what exercises you should be doing at home. Charla McMillan, creator of FitBoot.com, a training program for fitness professionals told WebMD to follow a few simple guidelines. “You have to ensure that all your major muscle groups are targeted at least once each week -- and no more than three times a week, and your program has to include 30-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise three to five times a week.”

Always remember to stretch first before doing any fitness program to help with both strength and flexibility. Adrian Garce, a personal trainer, suggests that at least two to three minutes of stretching is also needed as you end your exercise.

Some of the basic, no-equipment exercises to get you started are squats, push-ups, jumping jacks, chair crunches, and chair dips.

2. Plan Your Workout Schedule

With expensive gym memberships, people are less likely to miss a schedule. In the same way, approach your “budget” workout with the same convictions. Make a realistic schedule and fulfill it by all means. Get rid of interruptions like phone calls, visitors and errands.

3. Motivate Yourself

Keep your workout on track by laying out your exercise clothes the night before. According to Susie Shina, director of FitnessOneEighty.com and author of 60-Second Circuits: 1,000 Easy Exercise Combos You Can Do Anywhere, this acts as a reminder that you don't want to skip out on your session.”

For music lovers, choose a playlist of your favorite exercise songs and load them into your mp3 player, or create a workout CD. Timing the music to fit the length of your workout will help keep you on track for the whole routine.
“Motivation and music go hand in hand, so again, it's another way to ensure you stay motivated,” said Shina.

Obese And Overweight Americans Growing In Number

Being overweight is not included in a healthy lifestyle, considered a bad thing. Too much fat on the body causes a lot of stress on the skeletal and muscular systems, the structures that keep the body standing. Being obese brings with it a number of effects on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and can become one of the most debilitating physical problems that a person can have. It isn't difficult to imagine that being both overweight and obese at the same time would be a major problem for people. The American federal government has been trying very hard to curb the slow increase of both problems, but a recent study has found that rather than go down, the numbers are going up. The worse news, however, is that the numbers show that more and more people are being both overweight and obese.

The National Center for Health Statistics, which has been keeping records of public health matters in terms of numbers in the population, has recently published the latest statistics on overweight and obese people in the US. The data shows a very dismal estimate. More than 34% of the total US population is obese, in comparison the lower number of those who are overweight, which was at 32.7%. The only bright side is that those who are considered obese in the extreme only appeared to be at 6%. Still, more than one-third of all adults – an estimated 72 million people – are obese and overweight.

The statistics were obtained by using mobile physical examination centers, taking the relevant measurements of over 4,356 people over the age of 20. The physical examinations included measurements of height and weight, along with more comprehensive body measurements. The study found that obesity has doubled in prevalence since 1980, while the prevalence of overweight people in the population has remained relatively stable within that same time period.

The Violent Tendencies Of Depression

Teenagers can become depressed, and all too often, people tend not to notice. After all, teenagers don't usually display the most commonly known signs of depression. For example, most people would assume that the condition would cause prolonged episodes of emotional lows, a lack of energy, and a clear inability for them to enjoy activities that they used to regularly engage in. However, depression does not always manifest in this manner for teenagers. Psychiatrists have long come to realize that the symptoms of the mood disorder in teenagers can often coincide very well with typical teen behaviors.

Sudden changes in behavior are not uncommon among teenagers, and most parents would shrug these off as normal occurrences. Teenagers are often known to have mood swings and can experience emotional highs and lows far more easily than adults. Most parents also believe that any changes to behavior should just be ignored, as it could simply be rebelliousness, or some other factor. However, the reality is that, while all of the above are considered normal events in a teenager's development, they are also symptoms of depression within the teen and young adult years. Many parents also tend to dismiss one key sign of teen depression – violent behavior – to be something normal.

Violence is considered to be closely tied to depression for teenagers, such that a previously calm teenager suddenly displaying violent behavior is taken as a serious sign by many mental health professionals. However, as with any of the other symptoms of depression manifesting during the teen years, it can easily be interpreted as a normal event. Indeed, violent behavior can be the outcrop of any number of factors that affect the average teenager's life.

According to many studies, it is often the parents who are the last to know if something is wrong with their child. The common parental tendency is not to question changes in behavior, brushing it off as effects of the changes that come with puberty. Others react in less pleasant forms and may even become aggressive, but very few would actually consider the possibility that their child might not be mentally stable.

Poor Kids Turn Into Depressed Teens

Being poor, as many people have stated and will continue to state over the course of human history, sucks. The limited financial resources make it difficult – if not impossible – to access certain things. Food, medical care, education, and living space can all be drastically affected for the worse by a lack of financial resources. It doesn't get any easier as you grow older, but according to a recent study, part of the problem might be connected to the mentality instilled in the typical child below the poverty line. Research suggests that children in poorer families are at a higher risk of developing depression than those in higher income ranges.

The study followed a total of 500 families from Iowa for a decade, and their gathered data showed that children in families below the poverty line were at a higher risk of developing depression upon reaching adolescence. These teenagers, based on observations, displayed a tendency to make decisions that made it difficult for them to get out of their economic situation. The decisions listed included leaving home, getting married earlier than average, and having unprotected sex and proceeding to keep the baby.

These decisions inevitably make it harder for them to escape their economic difficulties, which results in a cyclical situation. The cycle eventually causes children to be at higher risk of encountering obstacles during adulthood that they may not be prepared to handle. These can include lower levels of educational attainment, a lack of stability in their personal relationships, and yes, depression. The findings reflected that the adversity tended to be reflected within a given family over generations, from the family of origin to the family of the offspring. Only in rare cases have there been exceptions that disproved the data, and even then, depression seemed to be at higher risk than in the rest of the population. In simpler terms, the researchers described it as “the transmission of poverty.”

Foods That Combat Depression

Depression is a rather common emotion for people to feel. At one point in your life or another, you've felt sad or depressed from being let down by people in certain situations. And what do people usually do when to relieve themselves of their depression? Pigging out.

Most people use food to get themselves out of the emotional pit that they are stuck on. Some of the common foods people use to comfort themselves when their depressed are chocolates, chips, popcorn, ice cream, and cake. Most of which they binge on until they feel better.

If you're going to use food to push your depression away, why not choose the healthy, but nonetheless good variety of food. Here are some examples of delicious foods that can help you combat depression:

Take pasta or bread for dessert.
Pasta dishes and bread are packed with carbohydrates. Studies have linked carbohydrates to the brain's serotonin (a brain chemical responsible for mood regulation) production, showing that a lack of carbohydrates in one's diet can cause mood changes.

Eat omega-3 rich fish for lunch or dinner.
Tuna, salmon, and mackerel are great examples of great fish choices that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are important in maintaining good communications between nerve cells. With neurons communicating perfectly, risks of depression are minimized.

Try different poultry dishes.

Poultry meat, specifically chicken or turkey meat, are rich in vitamin B6 and contain selenium. Vitamin B6 and selenium are both noted to play a part on the body's serotonin production.
You'll never go wrong with vegetables.
Dark green vegetables, in particular, are rich in folate. Folate is yet another key component in the serotonin production of the brain. Spinach is a good and tasty example of a dark green vegetable that can help you fight depression.

If you're going to stuff yourself with food to get over the blues, know that there are tastier, more healthier options you can go with to combat your depression.

Natural Pain Relief Methods For Headache

The pain brought about by headaches is really annoying, especially during times when you are really busy at work or during times when you are so busy at home chores and other responsibilities. Most of the time, headaches can be easily cured by over-the-counter medications that can be availed in local drugstores and online pharmacies. However, it is not always a good idea to take medications as treatment for mere head pains.

See, headache pains come in a variety of levels. These levels are associated with the causes that trigger the pain. Hence, the treatments for headache also vary depending on the intensity and factor that trigger it.

As cited earlier, it is not always best to take drugs to cure head pain, for one can even develop more serious side effects from taking medication treatments for headache. Instead of always taking over-the-counter drugs, why not try to practice using natural pain relief methods for your head pains?

To know more about the different natural ways to cure headache, read on below for more effective means to get rid of nasty head pains:

1.Get enough sleep.

Sleep is probably the most popular form of natural pain relief method for headache. Rest is something that no amount of drugs can match up with. Sleeping revitalizes the body as it removes the stress that tends to build up into head pains. So always get enough sleep everyday in order to avoid headaches.

2.Stop smoking and drinking too much coffee.

Studies revealed that too much consumption of coffee and nicotine can trigger mild to severe head pains. With these, coffee and nicotine are known and referred to as stimulants. Hence, to avoid headache, it is best to stay away from these stimulants for good.

3.Avoid consuming too much cheese, wine, nuts, and chocolates.

Like caffeine and nicotine, these foods are also noted to trigger mild to severe head pains. For this, avoiding them is a good way to dodge head pains or migraine attacks.

4.Take a long and relaxing hot bath.

One of the best ways to relax and get rid of head pains is to take a long hot bath. This way, tension leaves the body as well as the pain brought by headache.

5.Drink plenty of water.

Research showed that once the body is dehydrated, headaches are bound to be experienced. Hence, it is recommended to drink eight glasses of water everyday in order to stay well hydrated.

6.Exercise daily.

Exercising helps one get rid of head pains. This activity fights stress, thus, relieving one from recurring headaches. Exercising does not necessarily mean rigorous workouts. Simple routines such as walking, jogging, or running are enough to relive pain.

Now that natural pain relief methods for head pains are given and expounded, people should not just take drugs as their only means to get rid of headache pains. Make do of these methods and one is sure to have a safer way to dodge the annoying hassles brought about by recurring headaches.