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Exercise. I know.... I know, that word makes most people cringe, but it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to join a gym, you can exercise at home. Many people pay high gym membership fee's and never go back!! That's just crazy!!

No, I'm talking about the things we do everyday, like . This is known as low impact exercise and is especially good if you are extra weighty as they will put very little or no stress on the Hip, Knee and Ankle Joint.

Anything that raises our heart rates, gets you slightly out of breath and makes you feel warmer is classed as Exercise, but whatever activity you choose, you should always, always start slowly and build up gradually, even if it's only Walking. Start off by doing 30 minutes and build up from there. If you take on too much, too soon, you could injure yourself by pulling a muscle, then you won't get any Exercise done at all.

I think 30 minutes per day for 5 plus days a week is good enough. Even with a busy schedule, I'm sure most people could fit in 30 minutes per day, even if it just means walking briskly around your house or garden, or going up and down the stairs a few times.

The benefits of exercise are endless. You will be amazed at how much better you will feel after you get into the swing of it. Talking about swing, keeping fit should be fun, so when I do my 30 minutes, I just pop on my favorite CD and dance to my hearts content. "Exercise isn't Exercise when you are enjoying yourself".

Water is essential for your good health and well being, but even more important when you are Exercising, as you will need to replenish what you are losing through sweat.

For healthy exercise, before you start your 30 minutes, it's important to do some warm up stretches, to warm your muscles through and get them ready for action and is equally important to do more stretching at the end. Do this for about 10 minutes each time and it will help prevent any muscle stiffness. So go find yourself a dance partner and Have Fun getting fit.

By Lea Davies

Back pain is a part of our lives and can affect anyone at any point in time. Back pain may occur periodically, remain for a short time, and then quickly disappear. This is known as acute back pain and can be taken care of with medication and rest. The pain would be deemed chronic back pain when it remains for over three months. Many people are on constant medication for back pain.

However, if you are experiencing back pains near the kidney area, its time to pay a visit to the doctor. Kidney infection may cause pain, which is similar to lower back pain. The kidneys are located on either side of the spinal column just above the hip. That is why any kind of pain in that area may be diagnosed as kidney infection. The pain originates in the kidney and radiates to the lower back. This is known as referred pain. Therefore, very often kidney infection is confused with lower back pain.

So how does one distinguish between pain caused by kidney infection and lower back pain? One symptom is that pain due to kidney infection comes on rapidly and disappears once the course of medication is over. With back pain, the pain continues even after the infection has cleared up. The symptoms of kidney infection or kidney stone could be pain during urination, blood in the urine or fever with accompanying chills. If the doctor presses on the kidneys at the time of physical examination, there will be shooting pain in the area. If, on the other hand, you have a stretched, torn or twisted muscle, the pain will be specific to the area. The pain may occur either in the lower back, or between shoulder blades, below the waist or over the spinal column. This type of pain will get worse with movement and ease away while resting. Kidney infection can be safely ruled out in this scenario.

If you happen to suffer from kidney infection, the pain will occur on one side of the back, above the waist but just below the rib cage. The pain may increase as the bladder gets full or it may travel to the genital area. During the time you may have bouts of vomiting, pain while urination, blood in the urine and even fever. Lower back pain could be another symptom of kidney infection. These are general guidelines, which give an idea how to diagnose the pain in the lower back area. If you still are not sure what you are dealing with, any such symptoms call for an urgent visit to the doctor. It is always better to be safe than sorry. If there is an earlier history of kidney infections, then there may be another attack coming on. On the other hand, it may just be a stretched back muscle. Therefore, it is better to visit the doctor so that he can make the proper diagnosis and begin treatment for the pain or kidney infection as the case may be. The kidney infection and resultant back pain will probably clear up with a dose of antibiotics. Lower back pain treatment may call for physiotherapy or medication in the form of pain relievers.

Can You Lose Weight Where You Want?

If you have excess weight only in specific parts of your body, you still must look at yourself as a whole. It's not possible to spot reduce; in other words, you can't dictate that you only want weight to come off one place or another. In most cases your so called "trouble spots" is where the fat will come off last, so be prepared to lose weight in your fingers (rings fall off) and your face (friends may ask if you're feeling all right) first. There is hope for losing that belly fat though.

Work Toward Building Muscle and Reducing Body Fat

If you work toward building muscle and reducing body fat you will eventually tackle those trouble spots though, and develop a better physique in the process. Muscle tissue is active meaning it requires calories to be maintained. If you were stranded without a food supply, eventually your body would turn to its own muscle tissue as a source of nutrition first (muscles are protein) while saving the fat stores for last. Simply put, fat is nature's way of ensuring survival during times of famine. That's why the prevalence of heart failure kills someone who is severely malnourished. By building more muscle you become a more efficient energy burning machine which translates to mean you can eat more food! That to me is a good thing.

The More Active You Are, The More You Get to Eat!

That explains why some people can eat so much more than others yet not gain weight; your efficient energy burning friend simply has a greater proportion of muscle to fat than you. Muscle is more dense than fat. It's often said that a pound of muscle is heavier than a pound of fat, but the truth is a pound is a pound. What they mean is a one pound volume of muscle is a smaller package than a one pound volume of fat, or put another way, fat is billowy and fluffy while muscle is sleek and compact. Lady No. 1 weighs 120 pounds with 30% body fat so she has 84 pounds of lean tissue and 36 pounds of fat, while Lady No. 2 also weighing 120 pounds but at 18% body fat is carrying roughly 98 pounds of muscle and 22 pounds of fat. Would you rather be Lady No. 1 or Lady No. 2? Which do you think takes up more space, 22 or 36 pounds of fat? I'd say 36 pounds of fat would be a lot bigger package than 22 pounds.

How Much You Weigh is Meaningless

That is why body weight as a number by itself is meaningless, but your ratio of fat to muscle is very important and worth working to change. Strive to decrease your body fat and increase your muscle mass and you'll look better, you'll feel stronger and more energetic and you'll simply be healthier.

You can generally have your body fat tested at fitness centers and most gyms so ask about having it done. It's better to know you have 30% body fat and work to reduce it to 29, than not to know and only think in terms of body weight. Most people who think only of how much they weigh tend to do everything to reduce that weight, and it's usually at the expense of losing more valuable muscle.

The best way to increase muscle and decrease fat is through a consistent exercise program. Start at whatever is your beginning, but do start.

Begin with an overall body conditioning type exercise program, doing whatever you enjoy, whether it be a sport, gardening, weight lifting, biking, hiking, or any other activity. Any physical movement you do regularly counts as exercise even if it is doing laundry or taking out the trash. Get as much as you can out of every chore you do, and stop thinking of it as a chore but instead as an opportunity to move your body.

In the early 1900s a washing machine was a new invention. People used to wash their clothes by hand, and hang them outside to dry. Being a housewife was actually a pretty strenuous job. It's no wonder women were thankful for modern conveniences like automatic washers and dryers, but now we've come to where our daily activities are not taking our bodies at all, so unless we want to get fatter and fatter we must do something about it.

Get Fit and Belly Fat Disappears

It doesn't make sense to drive around and around in the parking lot looking for the closest space when you're on your way to run or walk on the treadmill. Why take the elevator five flights every day at work and then pay a monthly fee to do the StairMaster after work? What if we all started to notice that our world is full of exercise equipment.

We could become so much more fit if we'd just start to notice all the opportunities for physical movement we miss in the name of convenience. Look around and see if you can spot some exercise opportunities, and then get busy and get fit.

By Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP

The most reliable diabetic symptom for diagnosis is high blood sugar levels caused either by decreased insulin production (Type I diabetes), or by the body developing a resistance to

Excessive thirst is an early diabetic symptom, especially when there is no obvious cause, such as exercise, hot weather, or other illnesses. Another diabetic symptom is excessive hunger, even when consuming normal amounts of food. Frequent urination is also an early diabetic symptom, and most often manifests itself as frequent trips to the bathroom during the night. Fatigue after meals is another early diabetic symptom. Finally, rapid weight loss without explanation, or any dramatic weight change can also be an early diabetic symptom.

Though these diabetic symptoms can also be related to other medical conditions, patients should be tested for diabetes if any of these diabetic symptoms persist for an extended period of time. Testing for diabetes is a simple procedure, and if these diabetic symptoms are not recognized early on, the disease can progress untreated, potentially leading to more severe diabetic symptoms.

In some cases where early diabetic symptoms are left untreated, neurological diabetic symptoms may develop, such as: blurred vision due to macular degeneration, which can eventually lead to blindness; numbness in the extremities due to peripheral neuropathy; slow-healing wounds and/or persistent and recurring yeast infections in women due to a suppressed immune system; and dry, itchy skin due to diminished sweat gland function as a result of peripheral neuropathy.

If you or anyone you know is chronically affected by any of these diabetic symptoms, they could be suffering from untreated diabetes and should see a doctor immediately. If left untreated these diabetic symptoms could progress into more serious and potentially life-threatening conditions.

An aromatherapy massage combines the benefits of massage therapy with the use of essential oils. 

They can have many different effects on the mind, body and spirit, and make an aromatherapy massage an uplifting experience.

Essential oils are an aromatic essence distilled from a single botanical source and are renowned for their sedative, stimulating and analgesic properties. They have many different therapeutic uses.

A few drops in the bath, for inhalation, or added to creams and lotions can be very pleasant, but the most relaxing and therapeutic use is through aromatherapy massage.

The Benefits of Aromatherapy Massage

Massage, dates back around 4,000 years where massage was used in traditional Chinese medicine where it was used as a healing therapy.

The benefits of massage affect the body as a whole and it particularly influences the activity of the following areas of the body:

Musculoskeletal, circulatory, lymphatic, and nervous systems.

Massage is a 'hands-on' therapy and there are many variations, ranging from a gentle stoking and kneading of muscles to firmer, deeper, manual techniques.

Many studies have shown that massage therapy is an excellent way of reducing stress. Many people from all walks of life enjoy regular massages for this reason.

With the correct techniques and the right blend of essential oils, an aromatherapy massage can provided symptomatic relief to a variety of problems.

Stress for example, can cause and exacerbate many chronic problems including digestive problems, migraines, hypertension, back ache and muscle tension.

An Aromatherapy massage can be an effective way of inducing relaxation, combating stress and ensuring continuation of good health.

Aromatherapy Massage - What You Can Expect

On your first visit for an aromatherapy massage, you will be expected to provide your therapist with in-depth information into your current state of health and wellbeing.

This is likely to take the form of an initial consultation. During this consultation, your therapist will need to ascertain if you have any illnesses or injuries that may affect the massage.

Your therapist may also want you to consider what factors in your life may be contributing to the symptoms you are experiencing. For example, backache or muscle tension might be related to stress at work or family worries.

The therapist will be looking to treat you as a 'whole' - mind, body and spirit. He or she will blend oils to relax and calm, to ensure you get the best from your aromatherapy massage.

A good therapist may also make suggestions for dealing with the issues that are contributing to your symptoms. They may suggest alternative forms of treatment or help.

Aromatherapy Massage - How does it work?

Armed with the information gathered from your consultation your therapist will select and blend essential oils that they feel best meet your individual need.

The essential oil blend will be added to a 'carrier oil' and this will be used for your aromatherapy massage.

During the aromatherapy massage, much of the essential oils are inhaled and absorbed through the mouth and nose stimulating the production of relaxing, sedative euphoric or sedative neuro-chemicals, providing beneficial mental and emotional effects.

Aromatherapy Massage - Choosing a Therapist

Massage is a very personable experience. It is important that you choose a therapist whom you are comfortable with, as you will be expected to remove some of your clothing, but only as much as you feel comfortable with.

Clear communication, understanding and consent are vital and you should feel confident to advise your therapist if any specific technique hurts, or you feel discomfort at any time.

An aromatherapy massage usually lasts about one hour, but can be shorter or longer on request. After the session, your therapist may suggest a blend of oils that you can continue to use at home.

The amount of sessions you have will depend on your personal circumstances. Many people recommend the use of aromatherapy massage as a maintenance tool to be used as often as possible.

Finding the right aromatherapist for you

You should take the time to find a therapist with the appropriate skills and training. If in doubt you should ask to see any relevant certificates of training.

There are various professional bodies that you can contact for details of aromatherapy massage and a number of organizations will provide an aromatherapy massage in the comfort of your own home.

By Kelly Price

Body pain is associated with every individual's life in this world. Pain basically indicates that there is some disorder or imbalance in the body due to some external or internal factors. Right from the ancient times to this modern world various medicines and therapies have evolved to treat different pains in different parts of the body. The modern therapies used are some modification of ancient ones only but the basic concept or logic behind them remains the same.

Among so many therapies, one is cupping therapy. This is basically a 3500 years old China based therapy for reducing body pain. Cupping therapy mainly includes use of plastic or glass cups to create a vacuum on the body part which enhances circulation of blood and lymph through tissues. During ancient times, heat was generated among the glass or bamboo cups and then this heat was applied to the painful part of the body. This heat would help in healing that particular area.

Cupping therapy mainly works on the meridians. Meridians are the energy pathways lying all across the body reaching to all tissues and organs. The energy inside our body, also called as chi, flows through these pathways only. Any disorder in our body is caused due to blockage in smooth flow of energy. So this therapy mainly clears the energy pathways through increasing circulation of blood and oxygen and smooth working of lymphatic system. This is mainly carried out on back portion as our back have maximum no of meridians i.e. five. Moreover this helps in releasing body toxins from the tissues and organs. As the vacuum creates the suction, it reaches deep inside the cells and tissues which causes toxins to move out of cells.

This Cupping therapy is performed in two methods. One is Stationary and another is moving. Basically oil is applied on the body for creating smooth movement of suction cups. Sometimes these cups are kept on a particular part for 5-7 minutes without any movement. This comes under stationary method. While when vacuum pumps are continuously moved on body covering a large area then this is called as moving cupping therapy. At times, five to six cups are placed on different parts simultaneously and removed cyclically. This is termed as Flash Cupping.

Once you are over with this therapy, you may feel some sensation and tingling deep in the tissues. This sensation is the indication of fast blood flow after this therapy. It is very beneficial to apply essential oils just after this treatment so that it reaches inside the tissue, nourishes them and makes your skin glow and shine.

There are so many health benefits of this Chinese cupping therapy. It mainly reduces back pain, headache and fatigue. This regulates and balances hormones in the body, helps in ovulation in women, solves the constipation problem, eliminates skin problem and makes your skin healthy and reduces weight problems. It also strengthens our immune system thus giving us power to fight with attacking diseases.

If you want to try this therapy for yourself then you may visit any health centre who will offer you complete package. You may also get the instruction from the internet so that you can do it for yourself. For this you will have need of cupping set which can be purchased from any medical supplier or you can also order it through on internet from anywhere in the world. Due to the increasing health benefits of this Chinese cupping therapy, it's becoming popular day by day.

A correct diet for gout is needed to help prevent gout from seriously damaging your health. Here you'll find a list of gout diet foods to eat and foods to avoid.

WHY YOU NEED A GOOD GOUT DIET

Your agonising symptoms of gout are caused by uric acid crystals that have formed in your joint(s), which can form when you have high uric acid in your blood. This usually occurs when your kidneys either can't excrete excess uric acid from your body effectively enough, or, your body is manufacturing too much acid for your kidneys to be expected to handle.

Uric acid is produced as a result of the natural breakdown of chemical compounds in your cells called 'purines,' but, they also exist in our foods at varying concentrations or levels. Some have high / very high levels, others have moderate, and others relatively low purine levels.

The trick is to identify those foods that have high / very high purine levels and avoid those. And supplement with those foods that have relatively low levels. And to help you do this I've listed the foods you can eat with gout, and, the foods to avoid for gout...

GOUT DIET FOODS TO EAT LIST

These are some of the low-purine foods that go to make a good gout diet:-

Complex carbs (cereals, rice, pasta, vegetables, fruits, etc. - not white flour products)
Low fat dairy produce (low fat cheese, milk, yoghurt, etc. - but not soya)
High vitamin C foods (fruit, potatoes, red bell peppers, red cabbage, etc.)
Essential fatty acids (nuts, seeds, flax-seeds, tuna, etc.)
Vegetables (celery, cabbage, parsley, kale, other green-leaf vegetables, - but not cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, mushrooms)
Fruit (especially cherries, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, other blue / red berries)

LIST OF GOUT DIET FOODS TO AVOID

These are some of the foods, that are high / very high in purines, and should be avoided:-

Red meat (burgers, mincemeat, game, etc.)
Offal (liver, heart, kidneys, etc.)
Poultry (duck, goose, etc.)
Some fish (herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, etc.)
Shellfish (mussels, shrimp, scallops, etc.)
Gravy (broth, consomme, etc.)
Yeast (baker's and brewer's)
Dried legumes (peas, beans, lentils, etc.)

OTHER ISSUES AFFECTING YOUR GOUT

A good gout diet is an essential starting point in helping to get rid of the symptoms of your current gout attack, and, to prevent frequently recurring gout attacks, which can lead to permanent joint damage, kidney problems and hypertension, etc. Plus, once having had gout you're chances of more attacks are markedly increased.

But there are several other important issues to consider to give you the best possible chance of preventing recurring gout. These are things like your lifestyle, your weight, stress, medications being taken, family history, underlying medical conditions, and so on. You need to investigate these and sort them out.

Disturbance in your digestive tract is commonly referred to as constipation. In this disorder, there is an irregular movement of your bowels. Constipation itself is a root to many diseases and disorders. This is because it produces toxins in the blood serum and then those are carried to the other body parts. It can cause other diseases such as rheumatism, appendicitis, arthritis, cataract, high blood pressure and even cancer in some of the rarest cases.

The symptoms of constipation include irregular elimination of faecal matter that is hard in nature. The other symptoms are foul breath, coated tongue, loss of appetite, depression, nausea and dizziness. Ulcers in the mouth can also occur sometimes with varicose veins and heart burn.

The main cause of such a state of disorder is the bad lifestyle patterns that you follow, coupled with improper diet. Insufficient intake of water and excessive use of coffee and tea can also lead to this state. Drinking, irregular eating, insufficient chewing, all together makes the functioning of your bowels poor. Apart from this lack of physical activities and and irregular defecation habits with emotional stress and strain, also lead to constipation.

But you can always cure constipation. If the medicines are doing nothing good to you, then you have the option of home remedial treatments. They are:

1. Pear: It is an effective fruit for the treatment of constipation. Making it a part of your regular diet, can help you a lot.

2. Grapes: Since ages, grapes have proved to be a very effective natural remedy to cure constipation. Grapes contains sugar, cellulose and various organic acids that make them an ideal constipation healer. Besides cleaning your stomach, they also tone up the tissues of your stomach and the intestines.

3. Bael Fruit: It is regarded as the best fruit in curing this disorder. It cleans and tones up your intestinal space.

4. Guava: Guava provides you roughage that is very essential for the proper digestion of food. Roughage helps in the normal evacuation of your bowels.

5. Spinach: Spinach is the most vital food for your entire digestive system. The organic elements that are present in spinach cleanse, reconstruct and help the regeneration of the worn out tissues of your intestinal tract.

A simple diet surely helps you to keep away from constipation as it clears your stomach. A simple diet is one that consists of unrefined foods, like honey, bran, wholegrain cereals, lentils, fruits, green leafy vegetables and various milk products.

Apart from them there are also other home remedies that help in treating constipation. For instance, a glass of hot lime water, with added salt is very effective. It is also said that taking an overnight kept water in a copper container helps you considerably in this direction. Linseed is a useful product as it provides both roughage and lubrication to the stomach.

1. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and is only retained in the body for a maximum of 4 hours before it is either oxidised or excreted in the urine, so Vitamin C overdose is uncommon. Because of this short life in the body it is best to take Vitamin C in small, divided doses throughout the day (at 4 hourly intervals).

2. The RDA (recommended daily allowance) for Vitamin C is 45-60mg per day. This is the smallest amount needed to prevent a life threatening disease; in the case of Vitamin C this is Scurvy. This amount, however, is certainly not the optimal amount needed for good health, this is 300mg-500mg daily depending on diet and lifestyle.

3. Things that can increase the need for Vitamin C supplementation are poor diet, eating processed or stored foods, pollution, toxic substances especially nicotine (each cigarette smoked depletes the body of 25mg of Vitamin C), DDT, stress, antibiotics, sulfa drugs, cortisone, aspirin, The Contraceptive Pill. Under any of the above circumstances a more suitable dose would be 1000mg-2000mg daily.

4. If an acute infection or inflammatory condition is being experienced such as a cold, flu or hay fever, increase the dosage to 1000mg every hour for six doses then 1000mg every 4 hours until symptoms improve.

5. Vitamin C overdose is extremely rare. Vitamin C is very safe to take as if too much Vitamin C is taken any excess will be excreted in the urine or as acid diarrhoea. Bear in mind this will only happen with very large, frequent doses. If this does occur reduce the dosage to a level where diarrhoea is not experienced

Extra Tip

Do not take high doses of Vitamin C if pregnant as this can condition the baby to a rich supply and could lead to an early development of Vitamin C deficiency. The maximum dosage should not be more than 250mg - 300mg per day plus eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

In summary the correct dosage of Vitamin C supplementation is as follows: -

300mg-500mg per day- Good diet/lifestyle

1000mg - 2000mg per day - Poor diet/lifestyle

1000mg every 4 hours - Acute infection/inflammation

250mg - 300mg per day - Pregnancy

Thank you for taking the time to read this information about the correct dosages for Vitamin C.
Here's to your good health.........naturally!

Nadine Masseron ND