Healthy Living Tips, Nutrition And Healthy Living Guide » Cancer

Skinny women’s bones at risk

irwanlib2063 — Sat, 22 May 2010 04:06:15 +0000

More women than men will get osteoporosis, the disease that makes bones lose their density and become brittle and fragile. This is because as a woman ages and undergoes menopause, her hormonal levels fall fairly quickly. This leads to loss of bone mass. Hormonal changes, as well as deficiency of calcium or vitamin D, are factors that can lead to osteoporosis.

Dr Ann Tan, a specialist obstetrician and gynecologist at Women & Fetal Centre, said declining estrogen levels as a result of menopause is behind the acceleration of bone loss in aging women.

However, this can also occur in younger women with eating disorders such as anorexia. Low Body weight in females can cause the body to stop producing estrogen. This results in a condition known as amenorrhoea, or absent menstrual periods.

Low estrogen levels contribute to significant losses in bone density.

Anorexia sufferers often produce excessive amounts of the adrenal hormone cortisol, which is known to trigger bone loss.

As for men, they do get it too. Andropause, the male counterpart of menopause, is responsible for the accelerated rate of bone loss as a result of lowered testosterone levels, said Dr Julinda Lee, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist at Pacific Health-care Specialist Centre.

Thus, while osteoporosis is commonly associated with post-menopausal women above the age of 55, men should not think that they are in the clear.

Dr Tan said: ‘Men typically don’t think they will have this problem.

Young women who dismiss this possibility don’t realize that being too slim or malnourished lays a very poor foundation for bone health.

‘ To attain a good foundation for bone health, both men and women should participate in healthy weight-bearing activities particularly in their teens leading up to their 30s.

Weight-bearing exercises include brisk walking, dancing, weight-lifting and step aerobics. After all, bone mass is built up when one is young and likely to do more exercise.

Between the ages of 30 and 50, we must start to maintain our ‘bone stock’, said Dr Leslie Leong, a consultant orthopedic surgeon at Island Orthopedic Consultants.

He said: ‘It’s like growing a plant. After you nurture it to its full potential, you’ll have to nourish it.’ Dr Tan added that men and women should be conscious of the need to watch their general health through good diet and exercise.

As often as possible, instead of using the lift, take the stairs. Or take a longer route to the bus stop or train station, she suggested. An adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D is also key to good bone health.

Dr Leong suggested that, instead of just depending on supplements, one should obtain calcium from foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt.

Vitamin D can be absorbed from exposure to the sun, so engaging in some outdoor activities is a good idea. He recommends about 10 to 20 minutes of exercise daily.

‘There’s no need for intense marathon training or hitting the squash court. Daily exercise is enough,’ said Dr Leong, He added: ‘Use your bones or lose them.’

by Alvin Lim

Source: The Straits Times

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Beware of your chair - It’s killing you

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:45:49 +0000

It doesn’t matter if you go running every morning, or you’re a regular at the gym. If you spend most of the rest of the day sitting — in your car, your office chair, on your sofa at home — you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death. In other words, irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.

That, at least, is the conclusion of several recent studies. Indeed, if you consider only healthy people who exercise regularly, those who sit the most during the rest of the day have larger waists and worse profiles of blood pressure and blood sugar than those who sit less. Among people who sit in front of the television for more than three hours each day, those who exercise are as fat as those who don’t: sitting a lot appears to offset some of the benefits of jogging a lot.

So what’s wrong with sitting?

The answer seems to have two parts. The first is that sitting is one of the most passive things you can do. You burn more energy by chewing gum or fidgeting than you do sitting still in a chair. Compared to sitting, standing in one place is hard work. To stand, you have to tense your leg muscles, and engage the muscles of your back and shoulders; while standing, you often shift from leg to leg. All of this burns energy.

For many people, weight gain is a matter of slow creep — two pounds this year, three pounds next year. You can gain this much if, each day, you eat just 30 calories more than you burn. Thirty calories is hardly anything — it’s a couple of mouthfuls of banana, or a few potato chips. Thus, a little more time on your feet today and tomorrow can easily make the difference between remaining lean and getting fat.

You may think you have no choice about how much you sit. But this isn’t true. Suppose you sleep for eight hours each day, and exercise for one. That still leaves 15 hours of activities. Even if you exercise, most of the energy you burn will be burnt during these 15 hours, so weight gain is often the cumulative effect of a series of small decisions: Do you take the stairs or the elevator? Do you e-mail your colleague down the hall, or get up and go and see her? When you get home, do you potter about in the garden or sit in front of the television? Do you walk to the corner store, or drive?

Just to underscore the point that you do have a choice: a study of junior doctors doing the same job, the same week, on identical wards found that some individuals walked four times farther than others at work each day. (No one in the study was overweight; but the “long-distance” doctors were thinner than the “short-distance” doctors.)

So part of the problem with sitting a lot is that you don’t use as much energy as those who spend more time on their feet. This makes it easier to gain weight, and makes you more prone to the health problems that fatness often brings.

But it looks as though there’s a more sinister aspect to sitting, too. Several strands of evidence suggest that there’s a “physiology of inactivity”: that when you spend long periods sitting, your body actually does things that are bad for you.

As an example, consider lipoprotein lipase. This is a molecule that plays a central role in how the body processes fats; it’s produced by many tissues, including muscles. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a variety of health problems, including heart disease. Studies in rats show that leg muscles only produce this molecule when they are actively being flexed (for example, when the animal is standing up and ambling about). The implication is that when you sit, a crucial part of your metabolism slows down.

Nor is lipoprotein lipase the only molecule affected by muscular inactivity. Actively contracting muscles produce a whole suite of substances that have a beneficial effect on how the body uses and stores sugars and fats.

Which might explain the following result. Men who normally walk a lot (about 10,000 steps per day, as measured by a pedometer) were asked to cut back (to about 1,350 steps per day) for two weeks, by using elevators instead of stairs, driving to work instead of walking and so on. By the end of the two weeks, all of them had became worse at metabolizing sugars and fats. Their distribution of body fat had also altered — they had become fatter around the middle. Such changes are among the first steps on the road to diabetes.

Conversely, a study of people who sit for many hours found that those who took frequent small breaks — standing up to stretch or walk down the corridor — had smaller waists and better profiles for sugar and fat metabolism than those who did their sitting in long, uninterrupted chunks.

Some people have advanced radical solutions to the sitting syndrome: replace your sit-down desk with a stand-up desk, and equip this with a slow treadmill so that you walk while you work. (Talk about pacing the office.) Make sure that your television can only operate if you are pedaling furiously on an exercise bike. Or, watch television in a rocking chair: rocking also takes energy and involves a continuous gentle flexing of the calf muscles. Get rid of your office chair and replace it with a therapy ball: this too uses more muscles, and hence more energy, than a normal chair, because you have to support your back and work to keep balanced. You also have the option of bouncing, if you like.

Or you could take all this as a license to fidget.

But whatever you choose, know this. The data are clear: beware your chair!

By Olivia Judson, The New York Times

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Red Wine Reduce Prostate Cancer

irwanlib2063 — Thu, 20 May 2010 14:51:40 +0000

Alcohol has been called the Jekyll and Hyde of health, which summarizes the age-old dispute about the pros and cons of drinking. As scientists have accumulated information about how alcohol affects the human mind and body, a balanced picture is starting to emerge. A study may add some color to the picture, since it raises the hope that red wine may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Alcohol and health

On the positive side of the ledger, moderate alcohol use is associated with protection against atherosclerosis, the disease that puts cholesterol-rich plaques just where they are least welcome, in the walls of the arteries. Although many studies of men and women from around the world report a substantial benefit from alcohol, three Harvard studies are particularly relevant to American men. The Health Professionals Follow-up Study, the Physicians’ Health Study, and the Harvard Alumni Study have all reported that men who drink modestly enjoy substantial protection against angina, first heart attacks, recurrent heart attacks, sudden cardiac death, and ischemic strokes. The magnitude of protection varies with the problem but ranges from 20% to 56%. And the Harvard studies report other possible benefits of low-dose alcohol, including a reduced risk of diabetes, symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and erectile dysfunction. That’s the good news. The bad news is that alcohol gets the blame for almost 100,000 deaths in the United States each year. Liver disease and accidents are among the biggest alcohol-related problems, but others include high blood pressure, damage to the heart muscle, brain damage, pancreatitis, osteoporosis, intestinal bleeding, and cancers of the mouth, voice box, and upper digestive tract. Alcohol has also caused countless psychosocial and economic problems. Is alcohol a boon or a bane? It depends on who drinks, how much he drinks, and when he drinks. People who are at risk for alcohol abuse should shun it, as should patients with liver disease and those who require medications that may interact adversely with alcohol. No one should drink before driving or operating hazardous machinery. Above all, people who choose to drink must keep the “dose” right. For men, that means one to two drinks a day, counting 1½ ounces of liquor, 12 ounces of beer, or 5 ounces of wine as one drink; for women, it’s half as much.

Alcohol vs. alcohol

When it comes to the harmful effects of alcohol, a drink is a drink is a drink. All alcoholic beverages are equally harmful if they are consumed by the wrong person, in the wrong amount, or at the wrong time. When it comes to potential benefit, though, the situation is a bit more complex. Some studies give the edge to red wine, while a few attribute extra benefit to other forms of alcohol. But most studies call it a three-way tie. Back in 1991, for example, the Health Professionals Follow-up Study found that wine, beer, and liquor were equally protective. A few years later, the Physicians’ Health Study agreed, adding that all three beverages produced similar beneficial elevations in HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels. And a meta-analysis of 25 studies that compared the effects of wine, beer, or spirits on cardiac risk reported that all were equally beneficial as long as the dose was right.

Lifestyle, alcohol, and prostate cancer

Although prostate cancer is the most common internal malignancy in men, scientists do not yet understand its causes. Heredity certainly plays a role, but lifestyle factors are also very important. Diet has received the most attention. The leading culprit is saturated fat from animal sources such as red meat and whole dairy products. Although the data are less clear, very high consumption of calcium or alpha-linolenic acid (the omega-3 fat found in flaxseed and canola oil) may also boost risk. On the other hand, tomatoes and other vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, fish, and soy are all on the “good” list. Among the nutrients, selenium (a mineral) and lycopene (an antioxidant in the beta carotene family) may reduce risk. Obesity increases risk, while exercise may lower it. Most studies report little impact from smoking, but it’s a moot point since no man (or woman) should smoke. As for sexual activity, one study reported that having multiple female sexual partners may increase risk, but another linked frequent ejaculation to protection. Since prostate cancer is complex and incompletely understood, it’s no surprise that studies of alcohol and prostate cancer have produced mixed results. Although some research implicates heavy drinking as a risk factor, most studies find no link between drinking and the disease. In fact, a meta-analysis of 33 individual research papers concluded that drinking had no effect on a man’s risk of prostate cancer. But that’s not the end of the story. Most investigations of alcohol and prostate cancer lump all forms of alcohol together. A new study, though, suggests that may be a mistake.

Seeing red

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle investigated alcohol and prostate cancer in 1,456 men between 40 and 64 years of age. Each man underwent a personal evaluation and answered detailed dietary questionnaires. The scientists collected information about many factors that might influence the risk of prostate cancer, including age, race, family history, height, weight, daily caloric intake, marital and sexual history, tobacco use, and occupational and lifestyle factors. Every man’s medical history, including his screening tests for prostate cancer, was evaluated. All the cases of prostate cancer were graded for the aggressiveness of the disease and staged for its extent. Finally, all the men provided detailed information about their alcohol consumption. The results confirmed many findings of previous studies: The risk of prostate cancer was increased in men with a family history of the disease, in African Americans, in men with a high caloric intake, in current smokers and in men who had many female sexual partners in the course of their lives. In addition, most of the men had localized disease of moderate aggressiveness (Gleason grade 5–7). In all these respects, the men in the Seattle study were similar to other Americans with prostate cancer. At first, the results for alcohol consumption may also seem similar to many earlier studies of alcohol and prostate cancer: There was no relationship between overall alcohol consumption and risk. But the scientists went one step further by evaluating each type of alcoholic beverage independently. The results showed that heavy beer drinking (35 or more a week for eight years or longer) appeared to increase risk. In contrast, wine drinking was linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. And when white wine was compared to red, most of the benefit was attributed to red. Even low amounts seemed to help, and for every additional glass of red wine per week, the relative risk declined by 6%. In all, men who averaged four to seven glasses of red wine per week were only 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as those who did not drink red wine. In addition, red wine appeared particularly protective against advanced or aggressive cancers.

Why red wine?

Doctors don’t know the answer. But much of the speculation focuses on chemicals that are absent in other alcoholic beverages, including various flavonoids and resveratrol. These components have antioxidant properties, and some appear to counterbalance androgens, the male hormones that stimulate the prostate. In test tube experiments,flavonoids reduce PSA production by prostate cancer cells, suggesting a decrease in cellular activity, and resveratrol damps down the activity of the genes that promote cell growth. Resveratrol also induces prostate cancer cell death by a process called apoptosis (cell suicide). Bottoms up? Many doctors are reluctant to recommend alcohol for health, fearing that their patients might assume that if a little alcohol is good, more might be better. They have a point, but men who enjoy alcohol and can drink moderately and responsibly may benefit from a lower risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and cardiac death. Although red wine has theoretical advantages, it has not been proven superior to other forms of alcohol when it comes to fighting cardiovascular disease. Prostate cancer may be different. The Seattle study raises the hope that red wine may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer. It’s only one study, and a rather small one for this kind of analysis. Although it’s far too early to endorse red wine for the prostate, the study is bound to mark an outpouring of new research.

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Six Basic Steps to Health and Longevity

irwanlib2063 — Thu, 20 May 2010 10:23:27 +0000

The most basic of activities have a profound influence on our well-being. Yet it is these very basic activities that are often accorded second, third or last place in our daily lives. It is time to take a good hard look at our daily routines and re-learn the basics that are essential for health and longevity.

Breathe!

Breath is essential for survival, and breathing the first and most basic activity we learn. On average, we breathe 22,000 times a day, and how we breathe is crucial to good health and longevity. The deeper, slower and smoother we breathe, the more prana (life-force) we provide to the physiology. Deep breathing forces us to slow down and relax, helping over the long-term to fight the effects of stress.

From the perspective of modern science as well, more oxygen to the blood, brain and mucles helps elevate energy levels and maximize mental performance. But because of sheer lack of attention to this most basic of functions and the multiple stressors we are bombarded with all day long, few of us remember to breathe deeply or correctly. We take quick shallow breaths hurriedly, often through the mouth instead of the nose, as we rush about our daily activities. It’s time to re-learn how to breathe for health and longevity.

Pranayama is a traditional series of breathing exercises often taught with yoga. If you can, find a good yoga instructor to instruct you in this ancient science of breathing for health. Even if you do not learn pranayama, stay attentive to how you breathe, and you will automatically start to breathe deeper and slower. It is also good to set aside some times during the day for aware breathing - as upon awaking, before going to bed, before workouts, before and during meditation etc. Deep breathing before bed can hasten sleep and improve the quality of sleep. Breathing deeper before exercising helps enhance energy levels and increase the output from your workouts. During times of pressure, sit down and breathe deeply before you respond.

Drink water

The elixir of life is the second most important ingredient for well-being, and again, one that is often overlooked by many of us. Water is essential not only for re-hydration but also forms the basis of good blood, dewy skin and healthy body tissues. Every cell in your body, as well as the space between cells, every tissue and every organ needs water.

From the perspective of modern science as well, drinking about one-half of your weight in fluid ounces of water each day is essential for health. While Ayurvedic healers do not specify a blanket quantity, they recommend using your urine as a guide to whether you need to drink more water - if your urine is not clear or it looks too concentrated, you need more water. Inadequate water can cause headaches and grogginess and more severe dehydration has even more serious health repercussions. As we grow older, our body’s thirst signals become weaker, and it is then even more important to remember to drink enough water through the day.

While we need to drink a lot of water through the day, it’s important to sip the water over time rather than gulp down large quantities at a time. Do not drink too much water just before or during a meal. Ayurvedic healers also recommend spice teas - water boiled with therapeutic spices for added health benefit. Also, remember that it’s important to drink water-milk, caffeinated and alcoholic drinks do not count. Fruits and vegetables with high water content, fruit and vegetable juices and clear soups suited to your constitution are helpful, but it is also important to drink just plain pure water each day. Make sure the water you drink is pure; have your drinking water tested for purity and use a good filter.

Eat Right

This is an exhortation Ayurvedic healers never tire of voicing over and over again. The right kind and quantity of food is so important that it is accorded an even higher status than medicine in Ayurveda. ‘Annaha brahmaha’ goes the Ayurvedic saying - Food is divine. Eating inappropriate foods or following poor eating routines and habits not only have short-term repercussions on energy levels, mental clarity and emotional well-being, they also seriously damage health and well-being over the long-term sometimes causing irreversible damage to the physiology and shortening our life-span.

Ayurvedic healers do not have a one-size-fits-all approach to diet and nutrition. Your dietary needs are unique to you, and you have to develop the diet that is ideal for you over time. There are general guidelines for food choices for people with more or less of each of the three doshas - vata, pitta and kapha -in their prakriti (original constitution) and vikriti (current state of the doshas), but within these general guidelines you can choose what works best for you. Listen to your physiology carefully and it will guide you to the foods that enhance not just your physical but also mental and emotional balance. Whatever your food choices, eat pure, fresh, whole, natural foods.

Follow a good eating routine. Do not take short-cuts with your meals, sandwiching them between other activities. Treat mealtimes as sacred. Prepare and cook your food with loving care and attention and eat in silence or in a harmonious atmosphere. Prepared lovingly and eaten with gratitude and reverence, the food will turn to ojas in your system - the substance that Ayurveda defines as the essence of life and the finest product of the eating and digestion process.

Sleep

Another basic for health and longevity, sleep is becoming a rare commodity for many in our frenetic, 24/7 society. According to Ayurveda as well as modern science, sleep is essential for our minds and bodies to recharge and prepare for the next day.

Lack of sleep impairs the digestion, contributes to ama accumulation, clouds the brain and places greater demands on every part of the physiology with each passing day. Modern science has linked sleep deprivation to elevated blood pressure, obesity and depression.

Ayurveda does not prescribe eight hours of sleep each night for everyone. You have to determine the sleep quota that is adequate for you to function at peak levels by monitoring your sleep and activity levels over a period of time. Times of extra pressure need to be compensated with extra sleep time.

The quality of sleep is as important as the quantity of sleep you get. Ayurveda defines the most productive sleep as occurring when the mind, the charioteer of the senses, is completely disengaged from the senses. Sleep obtained in the earlier part of the night is more productive, so go to bed early, definitely before 10 pm, and arise early, before 6 am. Aromatherapy, a soothing cup of herbal tea, deep breathing and a bedtime lower limb massage can all help you fall asleep easier and enjoy a deeper, more restful quality of sleep. Abhyanga, the daily Ayurvedic massage, is also helpful for promoting a better quality of sleep.

Exercise

Just as good quality sleep at night is essential to help the physiology recharge, adequate levels of physical and mental activity during the day are important for well-being and longevity. The Ayurvedic daily routine encompasses both physical exercise and mental activity, and the view of modern science as well is that the admonition - use it or lose it - is equally valid for your muscles as it is for your brain.

As with diet and sleep, Ayurvedic healers recommend structuring an exercise program that is ideal for your needs. If you are trying to balance Kapha dosha, for instance, you would choose more robust forms of exercise such as aerobics, singles tennis or long-distance jogging. If you are trying to keep Pitta in balance, swimming in summer and skiing in winter might be options to investigate. Walking and yoga are universally beneficial because they can be tailored to individual needs, and convenient because they need no special equipment, can be done alone and everyday.

Exercise early in the day for increased energy levels during the day and ease of falling asleep at night. Do not exercise on an empty stomach or just after a meal. Do not exercise to the point of pain or exhaustion. Moderation in exercise is the key to balance.

To stay in shape mentally, make lifelong learning an integral part of life. Travel, enjoy new experiences, read, do puzzles, or take up a new hobby or project to keep the mind sharp and alert. Gardening, music, teaching and volunteering are examples of activities that can be mentally enriching and emotionally and spiritually rewarding. If your work involves intense mental activity, stay recharged by taking frequent short breaks to breathe deeply, stretch or drink some water.

Meditate

Take thirty minutes each day to recharge body, mind, senses, heart and spirit with meditation. Research shows that meditation helps enhance your ability to manage stress, it promotes mental clarity and emotional balance and does wonders for physical health from promoting good sleep to reducing hypertension.

Meditation can be done in the morning or the evening or both morning and evening. Meditate in a silent, serene atmosphere, in a room free of clutter or amid nature. Sit erect, facing east or north, and start with a few minutes of aware breathing before beginning your meditation. After your meditation, take a few minutes to rest quietly before resuming your daily routine. The aroma of pure sandalwood and Ayurvedic herbs such as Brahmi can help enhance the quality of your meditation.

by Shreelata Suresh

Shreelata Suresh is a yoga instructor from the Bay Area, and she writes on yoga and Ayurveda for different publications. To subscribe to free newsletters on Ayurveda, or for more information, please visit http://www.ayurbalance.com.

Disclaimer:
Information provided in this article is for the sole purpose of imparting education on Ayurveda and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have a medical condition, please consult your physician.

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Acidosis - Causes and Its Natural Treatment

irwanlib2063 — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:17:13 +0000

Over acidity, which can become a dangerous condition that weakens all body systems, is very common today. It gives rise to an internal environment conducive to disease, as opposed to a pH-balanced environment which allows normal body function necessary for the body to resist disease. A healthy body maintains adequate alkaline reserves to meet emergency demands. When excess acids (acidosis) must be neutralized, our alkaline reserves are depleted, leaving the body in a weakened condition.

Every day we wage our own private war against molds, yeasts, bacteria, viruses and fungi. By using antibiotics as the first line of defense we have encouraged the development of more powerfully bugs and bacteria.

Our immune systems are becoming weaker and over-taxed in this war. Louis Pasteur declared the germ theory of disease that states germs are the cause of disease. But note Dr. Pasteur’s dying words: “The germ is nothing, the inner terrain is everything”.

The concept of acid alkaline imbalance as the cause of disease is not new. In 1933 a New York doctor named William Howard Hay published a ground-breaking book, A New Health Era in which he maintains that all disease is caused by autotoxication (or “self-poisoning”) due to acidosis in the body.

Now we depart from health in just the proportion to which we have allowed our alkalis to be dissipated by introduction of acid-forming food in too great amount… It may seem strange to say that all disease is the same thing, no matter what its myriad modes of expression, but it is verily so.
William Howard Hay, M.D.

More recently, in his remarkable book Alkalize or Die , Dr. Theodore A. Baroody, N.D., D.C., Ph.D. says essentially the same thing: “The countless names of illnesses do not really matter. What does matter is that they all come from the same root cause…too much tissue acid waste in the body!”

Modern science has revealed that the cause of aging may be far more simple than previously thought.
Almost 99% of the components of food that we consume every day are composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen with only 1% been minerals.

The wastes produced from food are highly acidic and acidosis is one of the main contributors that lead to the aging process and various illnesses. Acid waste is excreted from the human body in the form of or sweat. But the wastes not excreted will be circulating around in the , in the body. This acidic waste will gradually accumulate somewhere in our capillaries vessels, and eventually clog them up. Also as a consequence of this, the cells of the human body will be deprived of their supply of oxygen and essential nutrients, rendering these cells inactive in reproduction. That’s the main reason why people age. Moreover, with the capillary vessels clogged up, the function of every organ in the human body accumulating acidic waste will begin to deteriorate, causing serious illnesses in the long run.

So when does the accumulation of age-contributing acidic waste begin?

Scientists say that aging begins when a child starts to wean. An unborn child lives on nutrients from his mother while in the womb and the body of the baby becomes alkaline, owing to the consumption of alkaline minerals.

Naturally, this is due to the release of alkaline minerals from the mother. This release of alkaline minerals during pregnancy does temporarily weaken the mother’s body, causing a lack of appetite etc.

The baby will remain alkaline while breast feeding, but will begin to reduce in alkalinity once put on infant cereals.

If the cause of aging lies in acidosis, then the answer to longer life must lie in eliminating such acidic wastes. Hence, to neutralize acidic meals, alkaline water could be the answer. Many doctors recommend a vegetarian or low meat diet as alkaline minerals and vegetables help neutralize acidic waste. But vegetables only contain a very small amount of alkaline minerals and that is why a very large quantity of vegetables needs to be consumed in order to neutralize these wastes in the body.

We live and die at the cellular level. All the billions of cells that make up our human body are slightly alkaline, and must maintain alkalinity in order to function and remain healthy and alive. However their cellular activity creates acid and this acid is what gives the cell energy and function. As each alkaline cell performs its task of respiration, it secretes metabolic wastes, and these end products of cellular metabolism are acid in nature.

Although these wastes are used for energy and function, they must not be allowed to build up. One example of this is the often painful lactic acid which is created through exercise. The body will go to great lengths to neutralize and detoxify these acids before they act as poisons in and around the cell, ultimately changing the environment of the cell. Most people and clinical practitioners believe the immune system is the body’s first line of defense, but in actuality it is not. It is very important, but more like a very sophisticated clean-up service. We must instead look at the importance of pH balance as the first and major line of defense against sickness and disease and for health and vitality.

Drinking alkaline water is an easy and efficient way to help neutralize an acidic human body.

One American cancer center showed significant improvements in their cancer therapy by getting 1,000 patients to drink 7 glasses of alkaline water a day. Their research concluded that the alkaline minerals in natural, alkaline water with a pH 7.5 helped to neutralize acidosis and thus helped to prevent cancer.

Water, the origin of Life, contains 2 parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Alkaline water is water that contains a larger amount of oxygen as compared to hydrogen. By drinking alkaline water, we increase our intake of oxygen compared to drinking plain water. The advantage of drinking alkaline water is that while being absorbed by the body, it helps neutralize acidic wastes, making them more soluble in the vessels. Thus, acidic wastes will be easily drained out of the body in the form of or sweat.

If we were to ask what is us, the answer might be ACIDOSIS. It has been strated that an acidic, anaerobic (lacking oxygen) body environment encourages the breeding of fungus, mold, bacteria, and viruses. Let us look at an example. If we were to seal the door to our freezer and then unplug it, come back and open the door in two weeks, what would we find? Mold, bacteria and microscopic bugs that are growing and multiplying. Where did they all come from? They did not sneak in - remember the door was sealed. The answer is . . . they were always there.

It is simply that the environment changed to a more inviting and healthy one for these ‘critters’ to live in. This can be likened to a shift in our biological terrain from a healthy oxygenated, alkaline environment to an unhealthy anaerobic acidic environment. You see what is healthy for us is unhealthy for the body attackers and what is healthy for them is what is unhealthy for our body.

Understanding pH

pH (potential of hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14 - the lower the pH the more acidic the solution, the higher the pH the more alkaline (or base) the solution. When a solution is neither acid nor alkaline it has a pH of 7 which is neutral.

Water is the most abundant compound in the human body, comprising 70% of the body. The body has an acid-alkaline (or acid-base) ratio called the pH which is a balance between positively charges ions (acid-forming) and negatively charged ions (alkaline-forming.) The body continually strives to balance pH. When this balance is compromised many problems can occur.

It is important to understand that we are not talking about stomach acid or the pH of the stomach. We are talking about the pH of the body’s fluids and tissues which is an entirely different matter.

Test Your Body’s Acidity or Alkalinity with pH Strips

It is recommended that you test your pH levels to determine if your body’s pH needs immediate attention. By using pH test strips, you can determine your pH factor quickly and easily in the privacy of your own home. There is much to discover so that pH test result can be meaningful. Rather than give simplistic guidelines here it is recommended you look online or purchase a book on this subject from our online store.

Urine pH

The results of testing indicate how well your body is assimilating minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. These are called the “acid buffers” because they are used by the body to control the acid level. If acid levels are too high, the body will not be able to excrete acid. It must either store the acid in body tissues (autotoxication) or buffer it - that is, borrow minerals from organs, bones, etc. in order to neutralize acidity.

Saliva pH

You may also want to test the pH of your saliva. The results of saliva testing indicate the activity of digestive enzymes in your body, especially the activity of the liver and stomach. This reveals the flow of enzymes running through your body and shows their effect on all the body systems. Some people will have acidic pH readings from both and saliva. This is referred to as “double acid.”

Keeping the Balance Right for Excellent Health

Your body is able to assimilate minerals and nutrients properly only when its pH is balanced. It is therefore possible for you to be taking healthy nutrients and yet be unable to absorb or use them. If you are not getting the results you expected from your nutritional or herbal program, look for an acid alkaline imbalance. Even the right herbal program may not work if your body is struggling with acidosis.

A state of acidosis is simply the lack of oxygen and available calcium which the body uses to maintain its alkaline balance. Calcium makes up 1.6% of our body weight. It is literally the human glue that holds the body together. Calcium is so biochemically active that it has been likened to an octopus. A calcium ion can hold onto seven other molecules while it grabs onto one molecule of water. No other ion can do this. And it is the right size to easily get in and out of the human cell. As it does this, it takes a chain of nutrients into the cell and then leaves to get more nutrients.

What Causes Me to be Acidic?

The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American diet, which is far too high in acid-producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline-producing foods like fresh vegetables. Additionally, we eat acid-producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid-producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks. We use too many , which are acid-forming; and we use artificial chemical sweeteners like NutraSweet, Equal, or aspartame, which are extremely acid-forming. One of the best things we can do to correct an overly-acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle.

Most people who suffer from unbalanced pH are acidic. This condition forces the body to borrow minerals including calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium, from vital organs and bones to buffer (neutralize) the acid and safely remove it from the body. Because of this strain, the body can suffer severe and prolonged damage due to high acidity. A condition that may go undetected for years.

One of the first warning signs of an acidic biological terrain is calcium deposits. In testing where calcium deposits come not it has always been shown that they come from the structural calcium of our bones and teeth and never from the calcium in our water or diet.

This is important because it means that if calcium deposits are forming, we know our inner biological terrain is too acidic. Our dietary intake of calcium is not keeping up with the calcium buffering needed and we are actively pulling calcium from our bones and teeth. It all works like a little train, from the bones to the fluids and cells, to the . As our biological terrain becomes acidic, our pH level drops. When this happens we start losing calcium out of the , the bones, and the tissues. This is a safety mechanism. Now your biological terrain’s oxygen level drops leaving you tired and fatigued, allowing fungus, mold, parasites, bad bacteria, and viral infections to flourish and gain a hold throughout the body. It is interesting to note that you often won’t have just some of these invaders. If you have Candida you will likely have bad bacteria, fungus, and parasites because they all flourish in the same terrain.

Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:

Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
Immune deficiency.
Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
Premature aging.
Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
Low energy and chronic fatigue.

A recent seven year study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, on 9,000 women showed that those who have chronic acidosis are at greater risk for bone loss than those who have normal pH levels. The scientists who carried out this experiment believe that many of the hip fractures prevalent among middle aged women are connected to high acidity caused by a diet rich in animal foods and low in vegetables. This is because the body borrows calcium from the bones in order to balance pH.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

The biggest problem scientists have found is that over time the human body becomes depleted of calcium. A compound called mono-ortho-calcium phosphate is the chemical buffer for the . This buffer maintains the alkaline level (or the lack of acidity) in your . Without it you would die. If the acidity level of your changes even slightly you die immediately. But in order to supply enough calcium for buffering we must have enough calcium being absorbed from our diet or our body will simply rob the needed calcium from our bones and teeth.

The more acidic we become, the harder it is for oxygen to be present, so our biological terrain also becomes more anaerobic. Without adequate oxygenation, unfriendly bacteria, viruses, molds, and fungus can live and prosper. Then our cells cannot carry on their life-giving functions in a very efficient manner because our biological chemical reactions need oxygen.

Some Common Diseases and their Relationship to Acidity

Cancer

While the normal cells of the human body degenerate, and acidic wastes accumulate, cancer will make a genetic transformation and keep propagating itself in order to survive in such acidic surroundings.

There have been two theories on the basic causes of cancer. One is the oxygen deficiency theory by a German biochemist, Dr. Warback. The other is the theory of acidic cells, by a Japanese doctor, Dr. Airashi.

Dr. Warback discovered that if oxygen is removed from a health cell, the cell will start to turn cancerous. Dr. Warback won the Nobel prize by proving this theory through his many experiments.

Dr. Airashi showed that cells that survive in acidic environments will eventually develop cancerous characteristics.

Even though cancer cells are eliminated entirely through an operation, they reoccur because the acidic surroundings still remain after the operation. So, to help prevent this, we should stop the development of acidosis by drinking alkaline water every day, eating the right foods, avoiding stress, living in a healthy environment and exercising.

Obesity

The human body is very intelligent. As we become more and more acidic the body starts to set up defense mechanisms to keep the damaging acid from entering our vital organs. It is known that acid gets stored in fat cells. After all, if the acid does come into contact with an organ the acid has a chance to eat holes in the tissue. This may cause the cells to mutate. The oxygen level drops in this acidic environment and calcium begins to be depleted.

So as a defense mechanism, your body may actually make fat to protect you from your overly-acidic self. Those fat cells and cellulite deposits may actually be packing up the acid and trying to keep it a safe distance from your organs. The fat may be saving your vital organs from damage. Many people have found that a return to a healthy inner biological terrain helps them to lose excess fat.

Diabetes

When acidic wastes accumulate in the pancreas, diabetes can develop due to lack of insulin in the body. Doctors say that symptoms of diabetes appear mainly in people above 40, with no symptoms of diabetes in their 20s. How do they differ from each other?

In general, the quantity of accumulated acidic wastes after the age of 40 is far more than those in their 20s, especially in the pancreas. Nevertheless, we can help avoid the onset of diabetes if we flush out the acidic waste in our bodies by drinking alkaline water.

Hypertension

Hypertension is a common illness that occurs due to three reasons.
1) Hypertension caused by clogged capillary vessels due to physical reasons.
2) Narrowed vessels caused by acidic wastes.
Thus, pressure has to be higher naturally in order to supply sufficient quantities of through the narrow vessels.
3) Lack of oxygen due to chemical reasons, namely solidified acidic waste in the vessels.

Hypotension

Hypotension occurs as the heart muscles deteriorate due to a lack of calcium ions, caused by acidic waste.

A patient with hypotension may regain his health by drinking enough alkaline water. This is because calcium ions in alkaline water can help to restore the heart’s activities when caused by a lack of calcium ions.

Kidney Ailment and Kidney Stone

One of the major functions of alkaline water is to purify or help remove the wastes in the body. The accumulation of excessive wastes in the kidneys weakens the kidneys. When cells survive in an excessive acidic environment, swelling of the kidneys occurs.

In order to remain healthy, cells should expel all the waste produced by them. But if the becomes more acidic them the waste will cling to the walls of cells, causing solidification of acidic fluoride in the kidneys and kidney stones.

Osteoporosis and Gout

Human bones function as a calcium bank for the body. A combination of calcium and phosphorus, bones stay healthy as long as there are adequate amounts of these two substances present. To neutralize excessive quantities of waste or acidity, the body starts to deprive the bones of calcium, which may be harmful to the body. Symptoms of calcium deficiency are not evident through X-ray examinations and are only visible when 30-40% of the calcium in the bone has already been depleted.

Gout happens when calcium accumulates in the capillary vessels of the hands and legs. Normally, gout occurs in toe joints, knee joints, and finger joints and drinking alkaline water is one of the best treatments.

Chronic constipation

Dr. Choi, a medical practitioner at the Seoul National Medical University, observed 15 patients (10 men and 5 women) who had suffered from constipation for over a year. Results showed that the symptoms of constipation were alleviated when alkaline water was consumed for a period of 1-2 weeks. Twelve of the fifteen patients recovered remarkably well after this period. This is true because by lubricating the wastes secreted on the walls of the large intestine, excretion become easier.

Dr. Choi also observed that there was a remarkable improvement in how alert his patients were after drinking alkaline water.

Stress and Headache

When we suffer from stress, our body produces more acidic waste, leading to acidosis. Physical stress can be relieved by getting a good rest. Nowadays, however, most of us do not find the time to relieve mental stress. Continued long term stress will create harmful problems like headaches, mental disorder, bad temper and unbalanced hormone excretion, etc. There are two kinds of stress. One is physical stress caused by physical activities and the other is mental stress caused by mental fatigue.

To conclude it is reasonable to say that there are no specific diseases, only specific disease conditions.

There is only one disease. And that one disease is acidosis.

The statements enclosed herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Administration. The products mentioned on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your family doctor.

For those who are not so sceptical about the benefits of the alkaline lifestyle, alkaline water helps to neutralise acids and remove toxins from the body - it is a great cleanser and helps to detoxify our system. Contact powerhealths(a)gmail.com if you are interested in the best economical machine to produce alkaline water at the convenience of your home.

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Quit Smoking For Your Health

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:51:38 +0000

Quit smoking reason #1: Reduce your risk of lung cancer
Lung cancer accounts for 26 percent of cancer deaths among women reports the Lung Cancer Alliance. Just 50 years ago, lung cancer accounted for only three percent. Though smoking is not the only cause of lung cancer, it can greatly increase your risk of developing this deadly disease. According to the American Lung Association, smoking is directly responsible for 87 percent of reported lung cancer cases.

Quit smoking reason #2: Protect yourself from HPV
In the book The HPV Vaccine Controversy, author Dr Shobha S Krishnan warns that smoking can make existing HPV infections persist in the body and even cause HPV-related diseases because smoking weakens the immune system

Quit smoking reason #3: Save your eyesight
Dr Edward Paul, one of the world’s leading authorities on macular degeneration, says smoking increases a patient’s risk of developing age-related macular degeneration – a leading cause of blindness in Americans 65 years old and older – by a whopping 350 percent.

Quit smoking reason #4: Your heart-health
Smoking increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke - among other diseases – and the more cigarettes you smoke, the higher your risk. Even reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke per day can help protect your heart. A study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research reports that fewer cigarettes can decrease “bad” cholesterol, increase “good” cholesterol, and improve the blood’s ability to transport oxygen – meaning you will feel less winded during exertion. Kicking the habit for good delivers even more heart-health benefits.

Quit smoking reason #5: Keep your teeth
A study in BMC Public Health earlier this year indicates that current smokers are significantly more likely to lose their teeth than former smokers or nonsmokers aged 20 to 38 years old. That’s too young to be losing teeth! Additionally, the nicotine in cigarettes stain teeth, meaning the teeth you don’t lose will stay a dingy shade of yellow.

Quit smoking reason #6: Live longer
Don’t you have family and friends you enjoy spending time with? What about your kids – don’t you want to see them grow up, get married and have kids of their own? Quitting smoking will lengthen your life – as well as improve its quality – and the healthy results of kicking the habit are realized rather quickly. A May 2008 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that 61 percent of the full benefit of quitting in regard to coronary heart disease mortality and 42 percent of the full benefit of quitting in regard to cerebrovascular deaths was realized within the first five years.

Quit smoking reason #7: Improve your fertility
Having trouble conceiving? In the article Smoking adds a decade to your fertility age, experts say smoking could be hurting your chances. However, lead researcher Dr Bea Lintsen, from Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, says: “The positive news from our results is that they suggest that couples – in particular, women with unexplained subfertility – may be able to improve the success of IVF treatment by quitting smoking.”

Quit smoking reason #8: Stay beautiful
According to Kori Ellis, author of 8 Healthy skincare tips, studies show that the skin of cigarette smokers ages more than twice as fast as that of non-smokers. Smoking dehydrates your skin and depletes it of essential nutrients. She suggests that you detoxify your skin by quitting smoking and/or limiting your exposure to second hand smoke and other pollutants.

Quit smoking reason #9: Better your digestive health
Believe it or not, smoking can contribute to digestive diseases. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases warns that smoking can effect all parts of the digestive system, contributing to such common disorders as heartburn and peptic ulcers as well as increasing the risk of Crohn’s disease, and possibly gallstones, which form when liquid stored in the gallbladder hardens into pieces of stone-like material. Smoking can even damage your liver.

Quit smoking reason #10: Be a good role model
Even though packs of smokes say smoking is hazardous to your health, your kids are going to look to you for guidance. If you smoke, chances are great they will, too. If you don’t, you improve the chances they won’t, either. If you quit, you are showing them that smoking is a poor choice for long-term health and, as importantly, you are showing them that you care enough about them as well as yourself to live to see them grow up and have kids of their own.

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Breast Cancer - Drinking Alcohol Increases Breast Cancer Risk

irwanlib2063 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:03:55 +0000

Breast Cancer - One of the largest individual studies of the effects of alcohol on the risk of breast cancer shows that it makes no difference whether a woman drinks wine, beer or spirits (liquor). It is the alcohol itself (ethyl alcohol) and the quantity consumed that increases breast cancer risk.

Breast Cancer - In fact, the increased breast cancer risk from drinking three or more alcoholic drinks a day is similar to the increased breast cancer risk from smoking a packet of cigarettes or more a day, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers Yan Li, MD, PhD and Arthur Klatsky, MD.

Breast Cancer - “Population studies have consistently linked drinking alcohol to an increased risk of female breast cancer, but until now there has been little data, most of it conflicting, about an independent role played by the choice of beverage type,” said Klatsky, who is presenting these findings on September 27th at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14) in Barcelona, Spain.

Li, a Kaiser Permanente oncologist, Klatsky, an investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, CA and their Kaiser Permanente colleagues studied the drinking habits of 70,033 multi-ethnic women who had supplied information during health examinations between 1978-1985. By 2004, 2,829 of these women were diagnosed with breast cancer. In one analysis, researchers compared the role of total alcohol intake among women who favored one type of drink over another with women who had no clear preference. In another analysis, researchers looked at the possible independent role of frequency of drinking each beverage type. Finally, they examined the role of total alcohol intake, comparing it with women who drank less than one alcoholic drink a day.

The study found there was no difference between wine, beer or spirits in the risk of developing breast cancer. Even when wine was divided into red and white, there was no difference. However, when researchers looked at the relationship between breast cancer risk and total alcohol intake, they found that women who drank between one and two alcoholic drinks per day increased their risk of breast cancer by 10 percent compared with light drinkers who drank less than one drink a day. The risk of breast cancer increased by 30 percent in women who drank more than three drinks a day.

Results were similar when researchers looked at groups stratified by age and ethnicity. “Statistical analyses limited to strata of wine preferrers, beer preferrers, spirits preferrers or non-preferrers each showed that heavier drinking — compared to light drinking — was related to breast cancer risk in each group. This strongly confirms the relation of ethyl alcohol to increased risk,” said Klatsky.

“A 30 percent increased risk is not trivial. To put it into context, it is not much different from the increased risk associated with women taking estrogenic hormones. Incidentally, in previous research completed at Kaiser Permanente, we have found that smoking a pack of cigarettes or more per day is related to a similar (30 percent) increased risk of breast cancer,” Klatsky said.

Although breast cancer incidence varies between populations and only a small proportion of women are heavy drinkers, Dr Klatsky said that a 30 percent increase in the relative risk of breast cancer from heavy drinking might translate into approximately an extra 5 percent of all women developing breast cancer as a result of their habit.

Other studies, including research from the same authors, have shown light-moderate alcohol drinking can protect against heart attacks, but Klatsky said that different mechanisms were probably at work.

“We think that the heart protection benefit from alcohol is real, and is probably derived largely from alcohol-induced higher HDL (’good’) cholesterol, reduced blood clotting and reduced diabetes. None of these mechanisms are known to have anything to do with breast cancer. The possible but unproven additional coronary benefit from drinking wine (red or white) may be related to favorable drinking patterns common among wine drinkers or to the favorable traits of wine drinkers, as evidenced by other United States and Danish studies,” Klatsky said.

Klatsky said that all medical advice needed to be personalized to the individual. “Our findings provide more evidence for why heavy drinkers should quit or cut down.”

The Kaiser Permanente research group has been involved in studies of alcohol drinking and health for more than three decades, including in the area of heart disease. Kaiser Permanente is uniquely positioned to conduct such research because investigators have access to data about a large, multi-ethnic population with a variety of drinking habits.

Source: www.kaiserpermanente.org

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Osteoporosis - Healthy Bone : Move It or Lose It

irwanlib2063 — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:44:16 +0000

Osteoporosis - The first thing that comes to mind when you talk about bone is calcium. But the journey to good bone health does not stop at getting the right nutrients. Getting the right exercise is also important for strengthening bones.

Don’t think that our bones are rigid. In fact, they’re not only strong, but also flexible. That’s how gymnasts are able to bend their bodies to seemingly impossible shapes without breaking their bones!

Osteoporosis - Because bone is living tissue, it is constantly reacting to the stress human activities put on it. With the right exercise and training, you can bend your bones to unbelievable angles too.

A bone consists of a combination of collagen and mineral crystals comprising calcium and phosphate. This collagen matrix allows bone to expand and contract without breaking. In other words, your bones will respond and become stronger to resist the force that regular exercise puts on it. Similarly, if you are physically inactive, your bones get weaker and more frail, exposing them to greater risk of fracture.

Hey, lazy bones, get up and work out!

It’s a weight thing

Osteoporosis - Any exercise that requires you to carry your weight and go against gravity can help you improve or maintain bone mass. The strain of carrying your weight and the push and pull of your muscles will stimulate bone formation, thus making it stronger.

High-impact, weight-bearing exercises are the most effective for building strong bones, but do them only if you don’t have low bone mass or osteoporosis.

Exercise is meant to build bone, not break it. Activities like running, jumping, hiking, and dancing, and playing sports like tennis and badminton constitute high-impact weight-bearing exercises.

On the other hand, low-impact weight-bearing exercises like walking and low-impact aerobics are more suitable for those who want to build strong bones but cannot do high impact exercises. You can also do resistance training and strengthening exercises like lifting weights or doing push-ups.

Be safe, however, by consulting your doctor or personal trainer first to avoid hurting yourself.

For the elderly, fall-related fractures can be debilitating. Up to 20% of those suffering from a hip fracture die within a year while two thirds of those who survive are disabled. Precautionary measures need to be taken to prevent this from happening.

Besides making sure that your house and surroundings are free from fall risks, you must also take steps to improve improve your balance and posture through exercise. Doing tai chi or yoga can give you better balance, posture, and coordination, which in turn can help prevent falls.

Everybody can do it

Exercise for healthy bone can be tailored to suit every life stage and need. Exercise can help build healthy bone during childhood and maintain bone health during adulthood. Older people who exercise regularly can strengthen their bones and reduce their risk of fracture.

So no matter what age you are, or what physical condition you are in, you can find an exercise that benefits you.

Although non-weightbearing exercises can have cardiovascular benefits and are good for building muscles, they are not necessarily as effective as weight bearing ones. So if we’re talking about good bone health, then any activity that places a load on your bones is the way to go.

It is, however, dangerous to exercise without knowing your limits. Too much exercise can cause stress fractures and joint damage. Some exercises may even cause falls and so increase your risk of fractures. Those with osteoporosis and the elderly can put themselves at greater risk of fractures if they start off a rigorous exercise regime without consulting a doctor or physician.

Every exercise should be tailored to suit your needs and abilities. Approximately 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week is generally recommended, but if you have low bone mass, are over the age of 50, or osteoporotic, you should seek professional advice before starting an exercise routine.

Be wary of common exercise pitfalls like laziness or time constraints. Exercise can be incorporated in your daily lives to suit your needs and lifestyle so it doesn’t have to be a chore. Be creative and make sure you enjoy doing it. That way, you will be more likely to continue doing it instead of putting in a half-hearted effort.

Building healthy bone is a life-long commitment and physical activity can go a long way in helping you achieve it. Whether you’re at home, work, or school, you can incorporate exercise to suit your lifestyles. In the end, what matters is that you get moving and that you enjoy the benefits for life.

Working out

There are many ways to incorporate exercise into daily life. Here are some suggestions:

At work

Use the stairs instead of the lift.
Walk more by going to the restroom on the floor above you and take the stairs.
Park a little further from your office so you can walk more.
Go offline and deliver documents to colleagues by hand instead of by email.
Walk instead of driving when going out for lunch.

At home

Use the stairs instead of the lift if you live in an apartment complex.
Carry your laundry basket up and down the stairs.
March in place whenever you’re stuck with doing chores such as washing the dishes or doing the laundry.
Do some jumping jacks while watching television.
Turn on some music and dance!
Walk up and down the stairs as a form of exercise.

At school

Use the restroom on a different level, or at the other end of your building.
Earn brownie points while building strong bones by helping your teachers carry their things.
Walk around school instead of sitting around while waiting for the first bell to ring.

The Star/Asia News Network

This article was contributed by the Osteoporosis Awareness Society of Kuala Lumpur as part of its Healthy Bone For Life programme and supported by educational grants from Fonterra Brands (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Rottapharm Madaus.

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Dehydration - Your Body Cries for Water

irwanlib2063 — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:07:54 +0000

Dehydration - “Chronic pains of the body which cannot easily be explained as injury or infection, should first and foremost be interpreted as signals of chronic water shortage in the area where the pain is registered. These pain signals should first be considered and excluded as primary indicators for dehydration of the body before any other complicated procedures are forced on the patient.” - Dr F Batmanghelidj

Dehydration - The human body is a bio-electrical water machine that requires a quart a day for every 50 lbs of body weight. The blood alone is made up of a large percentage of watery serum. The lymph fluids which transport waste and nutrients, comprising four times the volume of blood in the body, are made from the water we consume. Every cell that makes us who we are literally owes its life to an adequate supply of fresh, clean water. When the body does not receive a constant, reliable supply of water, it has to ration what is available and cut back on certain functions to make the supply go round. Essential systems like the brain are prioritized; others are impaired or cut back until the brain has decided a reliable source of water has been garnered.

Dehydration - Here’s the rub. Most citizens have become chronically and dangerously dehydrated (especially the elderly), since we decided water was too bland to drink and ignored it in favor of tea, coffee, beer, wine, addictive sodas, flavored water and other chemical-laced water alternatives. A disastrous and dangerous move for the body and society’s health in general, to be sure, compounded further since most doctors today cannot readily identify the many water-deficient diseases and associated pains. Thus the underlying dehydration process continues to wreak its havoc while the inevitable drugs given will switch off the warning signals (symptoms).

Consider the following conditions:

Heartburn, arthritis, lupus, asthma, ‘high cholesterol’, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer formation, hot flushes and menstrual problems, obesity, allergies, bulimia, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, angina, lower back pain, gout, kidney stones, skin disorders, diabetes, fungal/yeast overgrowths, multiple sclerosis, allergies, migraine headaches, general aches and pains, morning sickness, depression, heavy/burdensome periods, colitis, dyspepsia, peptic ulcers…

Are all of these conditions linked to a chronic state of dehydration?

World-renowned water expert Dr Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, in his latest bestseller, Water and Salt - Your Healers From Within, maintains that the above conditions are the body’s many cries for water, complaints dramatically improved with a consistent and long-term intake of the fresh, clean water. Dr Batman’s timely work has helped thousands quash long-term health problems effortlessly and inexpensively. He writes:

“The report of my having successfully treated with water more than three thousand people with symptoms and clinical signs of peptic ulcer disease was published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology in June 1983. I came away from that experience with the understanding that the people I treated were thirsty, and I uncovered the phenomenon that ‘pain’ in the body indicates thirst, even though the condition is classified as a disease.”

Water is used by the body for digestion, detoxifying cells, watering the lungs, lubricating joints, keeping the body alkalized and a host of cleaning duties. Many warning signals (’symptoms’) arise out of the body’s inability to neutralize or rid itself of acid, a common enough complaint given the number of antacids sold around the world each day.

‘I drink coffee, tea, diet sodas, beer and a host of other liquids. They contain water, don’t they?’

This is a common and dangerous misconception. Many of today’s designer drinks are diuretic in their effect (water-expelling) because their mostly acidic compositions require the body to give up water and alkalizing minerals to eliminate their harmful residues. Diet sodas especially are harmful in that they require large amounts of body-water to neutralize the phosphoric acid component (2.8 pH). Cells that started off healthy and ‘plum-like’ shrivel to prunes as water, the stuff of life, is progressively denied them. The sick in our hospitals are fed the sodas, tea and coffee they ask for in woeful ignorance of the damage wrought to the micro cell-world within them.

Batmanghelidj’s extraordinary work should rightly be considered by a mainstream medical community ever fixated on the drug cure.

Below is a summary of body functions and that rely on an adequate intake of water:

Brain function: The brain comprises 2% of the body’s total weight, yet receives 15-20% of the blood supply, mostly comprised of water. Dehydration will affect cognitive ability drastically, and, through histamine’s action, can create depressive states (many anti-depressant medications are anti-histamines).

Bone function: Bones require plentiful supplies of water. 75% of the weight of the upper body, for instance, is supported by the water core contained within the fifth lumbar disc, the remaining 25% by muscle fibers around the spine.

Nerve function: Microstreams exist along the length of nerves which transport nutrients and conduct energy along microtubules to the synapses to transmit messages. Dehydration disrupts proper nerve function, resulting in the sensation of pain.

Hydrolysis: Water, far from being an inert solvent, is intricately involved in the body’s water-dependent chemical reactions. Lack of water means incomplete or faulty metabolic processes, with obvious implications for continued health and well-being. Proteins and enzymes, for instance, do not function as well in acidic solutions of higher viscosity (stickiness) where the body is dehydrated.

Cellular energy: As water is drawn through the cell membrane, its osmotic flow generates a voltage gradient which can be used in the manufacture of ATP and GTP energy. Dehydration will obviously affect the proper functioning of cells and even kill them.

Histamine: This neurotransmitter plays a major role in activating systems which encourage water intake when dehydration is detected. Functions in the body which consume large quantities of water are cut back, namely the bronchial tubes constricted to cut down on water use in the lungs; increased peristalsis in the bowels to wring more water out of fecal material, and so on. Other signs of histamine’s activity, namely allergies, asthma, depression and chronic pains, are interpreted by the physician as ‘disease’ and treated with anti-histamines, pain-killers (analgesics), etc. Thus the signals of thirst are turned off and the dehydration state continues unabated.

Dyspepsia (heartburn/reflux): Over time, this can lead to ulceration and even cancer. Dr Batmanghelidj recommends that these conditions - also gastritis and duodenitis - be treated with water alone as they are one of the body’s major thirst signals. Arrested in his native Iran by the Revolutionary Council during the troubles of the late 1970’s, Dr B was confined to Evin prison, Tehran, during which time he successfully treated with water alone over three thousand people complaining of dyspeptic pain and associated symptoms.

Digestion: Requires plentiful supplies of water. The stomach relies on mucus lining the walls to shield it from the effects of the stomach’s hydrochloric acid. A bicarbonate solution is produced from the cells in the lining which neutralizes any acid attempting to break through the mucus. Water is needed to maintain this effective defense system. Too little water, and the mucus barrier is ineffectual, the acid will penetrate and will lead to pain. Ideally, water should be consumed half an hour before a meal, in time to anticipate the production of digestive acid from glands in the stomach wall.

Ulcers: Often located at the valve between the stomach and duodenum. Said to be caused by curved bacteria known as helicobacters. Yet many people have helicobacters in their small intestine, yet not all of them suffer from ulcers. Histamine-producing nerves are located at this site, which monitor the through-put of acidic food chyme from the stomach into the intestine. Histamine has growth-hormone effects on these micro-organisms, resulting in small intestine bacterial overgrowths (SIBOs). Once again, an adequate regime of water intake will allow all the functions relating to digestion to normalize. Prolonged water intake should therefore be considered before more drastic drug treatments are entered into.

By Phillip Day
Investigative Journalist & Founder of “The Campaign For Truth In Medicine”

As Featured in Food Matters

Just to give a further idea of the importance of water in our diets, to survive the body can stand to lose the following:

50% of your glucose
50% of your fat
50% of your protein; but
only 20% of your water!

So water is important, but what about the quality of water?

The average suggestion of water consumption per day ranges from 2.5 litres to 4 litres - so it is imperative that we ensure that this water is of the highest quality.

There is a lot of discussion about the merits of alkaline water (particularly in the open publishing medium known as the Internet) - however, regardless of who you listen to regarding this debate there is one thing that is certain:

the process of making making water alkaline increases the purity of the water by filtering out toxins and impurities

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Yoga Breathing To Rejuvenate The Mind, Body, And Spirit

irwanlib2063 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:05:47 +0000

Breath sustains life. While it’s possible to go without food and water for a short period of time, you simply can’t survive without air. And while breath is an essential life-sustaining element, the benefits reach even beyond the continuance of life. When you learn about yoga breathing, the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of living are enhanced in ways you never thought possible.

In the practice of yoga breathing is the bridge that connects the mind, body, and spirit. To experience the full benefits, it’s important to learn about yoga breathing and master the techniques with as much dedication as given to the yoga asanas, or poses.

Breathing Is Powerful

It connects and expands the senses, rejuvenating the body and soul. The diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen, plays a crucial role in the physical benefits you derive from yoga.

In a relaxed state the diaphragm pushes air upwards from the lungs. As it contracts, it presses into the abdomen and digestive organs. With all the discomforts and stresses in everyday life, we often breathe only from the upper part of our lungs. This type of breathing severely restricts the lung’s ability to function properly - it can no longer gather fresh, renewing oxygen and expel carbon dioxide at peak efficiency.

When this happens, our bodies pay the price. We tire easily, we lack energy, a mental fog descends, and we find our moods shifting towards negativity. However,when you learn about yoga breathing, you’ll find just a few cleansing, deep breaths from the diaphragm will dramatically change all of that. Oxygen floods the body and energizes circulation. As the diaphragm contracts downward, our cells are better able to receive essential nutrients while toxins are released.

Proper breathing also aids digestion and bowel movements as food and waste moves more freely through the digestive tract. The meditative state associated with yoga breathing unites and mental and physical states.

Breathing Is Powerful

With each breath, we become aware of being fully present in “the now”. As our breathing becomes more focused, a connection to the spiritual begins. When the mental and physical combine we are able to observe and simply “let be” without passing judgment. The trivial things that once seemed so significant lose their relevance. Rather than longing for our desires, we feel content. Pressures dissipates and acceptance flows.

Our dreams, needs, and goals are fully within our reach. With every breath, prana, the vital life force, is brought in. If performed properly, yoga breathing allows the life energy to flood our body, which in the process, enhances our our connection and perceptions while improving our physical state.

By Analia Kerner

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