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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Causes of Acidosis – 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.

Causes of Acidosis – 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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Reasons To Stop Smoking #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.

Reasons To Stop Smoking #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.

Reasons To Stop Smoking #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.

Reasons To Stop Smoking #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.”

Reasons To Stop Smoking #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.

Reasons To Stop Smoking #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.

Reasons To Stop Smoking #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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Dehydration Symptoms In Adults – “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 Symptoms In Adults - Most of us have become dangerously and chronically dehydrated (especially the elderly), since we decided water was too bland to drink and ignored it in favor of addictive sodas, beer, wine, flavored water, other chemical-laced water alternatives and/or simply tea and coffee. It is a sad facts that 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.

Dehydration Symptoms In Adults

Consider the following conditions:

Heartburn, ‘high cholesterol’, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, asthma, lupus, cancer formation, hot flushes and menstrual problems, diabetes, obesity, bulimia, allergies,  migraine headaches, general aches and pains, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME, angina, lower back pain, gout, kidney stones, skin disorders,  fungal/yeast overgrowth, multiple sclerosis,  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

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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Stop Smoking – The days when smoking was considered an attractive habit are long gone. And the era when doctors assured us, via cigarette advertisements, that the future “cancer sticks” were in fact healthy, has become a distant memory.

Yet even today, according to the World Health Organization, almost 15 billion cigarettes are sold daily — or 10 million every minute worldwide.

Stop Smoking – The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention describes tobacco use as the most preventable risk to human health in developed as well as developing countries, and one of the leading causes of premature deaths worldwide.

Dr. Kartono Muhammad, former chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association now turned health care activist, says that aside from cancer, smokers often start to rely on nicotine — which has been classified as the most addictive substance in the world — in order to function normally.

Jeffery, a 24-year-old university student, says he was a chain smoker for seven years. “I usually smoked two packs a day, but if I was at a party on the weekend, maybe around three,” he says.

Stop Smoking – He quit smoking eight months ago and says that he still feels the urge to light up when around other smokers, but has managed to resist so far. “When I first quit smoking I felt that I couldn’t concentrate on my work, I had trouble sleeping and felt hungry all the time.”

Dr. Elly Ingkiriwang says that Jeffery’s reaction is typical of smokers who try to give up as a “lack of concentration, craving for food and difficulty in sleeping are all common symptoms among people who quit smoking without using nicotine substitutes.”

However, an article published this year by the Journal of Neurochemistry, went further, describing a newly-discovered compound in tobacco, known only as a “procarcinogen,” which scientists define as a chemical substance that becomes carcinogenic when “altered by the metabolic process of the body.”

In other words, the compound causes an individual’s white blood cells to attack healthy cells, potentially leading to brain damage.

Various withdrawal symptoms occur among smokers when they decide to quit, especially among heavy smokers. The most common withdrawal symptom, as described by Dr. Kartono Muhammad, can manifest as depression, which occurs to most smokers after they quit as it can result in a lack of social contact, feelings of rejection and, in the most extreme cases, thoughts of suicide.

Another common withdrawal symptom is anxiety. This can result in sudden bursts of anger, lack of focus and an inability to control one’s emotions.

Many smokers who quit find themselves craving for food. This may seem harmless enough, but Dr. Muhammad describes it as “the most disliked symptom of them all.”

Michelle, a university student, gained 10 kilograms when she quit smoking. “It was the worst thing that ever happened to me and I was emotionally wrecked for two whole months,” she says.

Other symptoms include tingling in the hands and feet, sweating, cramps, nausea, headaches, and cold and flu symptoms as the lungs begin to clear of nicotine tar (including a sore throat, coughing, and other respiratory problems).

According to Dr. Muhammad, there are also many permanent effects for heavy smokers. If a person quits smoking and cancerous cells have developed without their knowledge, it is often too late for the cancer to be treated and can spread to other parts of the body. However, damaged cells have been known to heal and regenerate.

Contraction and clogging of the arteries and blood vessels can also occur, and unless bypass surgery is performed, heart attacks are common.

The American Cancer Society states on its Web site that at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths — including cancers of the mouth, esophagus, larynx, stomach, penis and cervix — can be attributed to smoking, as are 87 percent of lung cancer cases, the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the US.

Smoking on a regular basis can also contribute to cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, asthma, premature aging, chest infections, diabetic retinopathy, tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease.

Most of us are aware of these diseases and the media has been saturated with the information for years. So why do people decide to smoke in the first place?

Dr. Muhammad and Dr. Elly provide various reasons.

“Teens usually start to smoke because they think it makes them seem more adult, or they bow to peer pressure or experimentation,” Dr. Elly says.

“Adults usually smoke due to stress at home or work, or sometimes it may start as a social habit during business meetings with clients and eventually turns into a permanent addiction,” Dr. Muhammad adds.

Other reasons may also include emotional problems, or the perception that it makes the smoker look cooler, as often portrayed on TV or cinema.

Whatever the reason, medical experts are adamant that it is better to steer clear of tobacco rather than to become tangled in its dangerous web.

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Research published this summer in the medical journal Circulation shows that people who drink more than one soda a day — whether it’s regular or diet — have an almost 50 percent increased risk for metabolic syndrome, which doubles their risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Diet Soda consumed daily in research conducted in Texas. Two years ago, a study at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that there was a 41 percent increase in the risk for being overweight for every single can of diet soda a person consumed daily.

But how can something with no calories increase the risk for obesity and heart disease?

There are several possible ways.

First, my own theory is that the sweet taste works in the brain to create a conditioned response. The body responds as it usually does to normal sugar — with insulin, the fat-storing hormone. Those circuits in the brain are pretty primitive and ancient, and they can’t immediately distinguish chemical fakery. As far as your brain is concerned, sweet means sugar. It’s entirely possible that physiologically, you would respond to aspartame in the same way as you would to table sugar. It’s only a theory, but it makes sense to me.

Second, sugar creates its own cravings. Just as a taste of rum creates an unstoppable craving in an alcoholic, it’s entirely possible that the taste of sweet, even if it’s fake, creates the same cascade of cravings in a carb addict that regular sugar does, leading to overeating and binging and all the rest of the reasons
people put on weight.

Third, many people think that by drinking diet beverages they’re “saving” calories. They subconsciously allow themselves to eat more, figuring it’s not doing as much harm since they’re drinking a diet drink. The diet drink gives them subconscious “permission” to eat more.

What’s worse than making you fat, aspartame may be toxic. Aspartame is made primarily from three ingredients: aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Methanol, an alcohol, breaks down in the body to formaldehyde, a poison if there ever was one. Apologists for aspartame say that it doesn’t create enough formaldehyde in the body to cause any damage, but I’m not so sure.

Exposing children to formaldehyde levels as low as .75 mg daily for several months has been shown to cause gradual toxicity. Plus, diet soda is frequently stored in hot warehouses, causing chemical breakdowns that went undetected in the original safety studies that looked at “ideal” conditions.

Soda is bad news, whether regular or diet. Period!

Note: Dr. Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He’s a board certified nutrition specialist with a Master’s degree in psychology. Dr. Bowden is also a life coach, motivational speaker, former personal trainer and author of the award-winning book, Living the Low Carb Life.

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Where does the balance come from?

It’s thought that food makes the man, and in this case it could be true. Food gives us more than a wonderful culinary experience; it also provides our bodies with the strength to heal and to correct the balance of Yin and Yang. An imbalance in Yin and Yang energies creates a number of problems, including pain, insomnia, tumors, blood loss and a whole host of irritating and often frustrating ailments. But with the right foods (either rich in cooling or heating elements) this imbalance can be corrected preventing illness, lessening pain and giving you a much longer, healthier life. Now, when we’re talking about Yin and Yang foods (or cold and hot foods), it’s not about the temperature of the food, but rather the effect the food has on the body. Cold foods provide less energy, and help to balance the hot foods. Hot foods, on the other hand, are high in calories and energy and can be used to treat general weakness.

How do you balance everything?

When you’re suffering and shivering in cold conditions, you’ll probably be more likely to eat foods that are warm in flavor (and temperature) – think of all those wonderful soupy dishes you crave on a cold day. You’re also more likely to avoid cold and raw foods. So just what will warm you up? Anything with a spice like nutmeg, mustard, peppers, ginger, curry and black peppers are considered hot. Warmer foods are coffee, chicken, cuttlefish, garlic, green onions, guava, organ meats, rosemary, seeds and nuts, and of course, wine. In hot climates, such as in Singapore or during the Shanghai summer, you are likely to want cooler foods to ward off anxiety, hemorrhoids, fever, and even insomnia. Head towards foods like bamboo shoots, clams, crabs, grapefruit, kelp, watermelons, most green leafy vegetables, pears, and generally most fruits, to keep cool when things heat up. There are neutral foods too, that you can eat in any condition and any climate. Just add healthy doses of apricots, beets, black fungus, Chinese cabbage, carp, chicken eggs, corn, figs, lotus and papayas to your diet to keep things varied and interesting.

Knowing Your Yin/Yang Body Type

It’s believed that each person is categorized into different body types. Your body’s metabolism and organ functions will determine how it reacts with the environment.

1. The Yin or Cold Type: These people tend to be frailer and feel cold easily. They’re the ones you’ll spot drinking hot soups and steaming mugs of coffee or hot chocolate. Notice the quiet, fair-skinned person in the corner? They’re likely to be the Yin type. If you get the chance (although I’m not sure how), you’ll also find that their tongue appears pink and bulky with a whitish coating.
2. Yang or Hot Type: That hot-tempered insomniac you know; he could be a Yang type. They’re often sturdily built and feel warm. They’ll pick a nice cold drink anytime and have a slightly reddish complexion. If there’s a change in temperatures (usually when it starts getting hot), they’ll be the first to feel it. If you look at their tongues, it’ll appear red with a yellowish coating.
3. Phlegm or Damp Type: Sweet foods are what attract the damp type the most, and they tend to feel tired and sleepy during the day while snoring down the house at night. Armed with low metabolic rates, they’re more prone to being overweight or bloated due to water retention. They may look fat, but really they’re just lethargic. Their tongue looks moist and bulky, often with a greasy coating.
4. Dry type: If you’ve got a friend that drinks like there’s no tomorrow because they are always thirsty, they could be the dry type. Watch out for the one who always has a cough, is skinny like a stick and doesn‘t put on weight easily. Because of the dryness they feel, they tend to have itchier skins, nose or eyes and constipation, and will be the first to get affected by low levels of humidity.
5. Neutral type: There are some lucky ones who are in between – a nice balance of everything. They’re healthy with a normal skin color, get enough food and sleep and don’t feel hot or cold easily. Needless to say, they’ve probably got the best-looking tongue among the lot.

With all of this information, you should know one size doesn’t fit all. Some people can be a mix of a few different types not fit neatly into a category. When you’re planning your diet, consider talking to your doctor or your TCM practitioner for their best advice, so you’ll be able to get the right balance for your health.

Edited by Lisa Rochester, based on an article by By Deborah Giam; The Living Room.

WASHINGTON — Eeeww. There’s a zoo full of critters living on your skin – a bacterial zoo, that is. Consider your underarm a rain forest.

Healthy skin is home to a much wider variety of bacteria than scientists ever knew, says the first big census of our co-inhabitants.

And that’s not a bad thing, said genetics specialist Julia Segre of the National Institutes of Health, who led the research.

Sure they make your sneakers stinky, “but they also keep your skin moist and make sure if you get a wound that (dangerous) bacteria don’t enter your bloodstream,” she said. “We take a lot for granted in terms of how much they contribute to our health.”

People’s bodies are ecosystems, believed home to trillions of bacteria, fungi and other microbes that naturally coexist in the skin, the digestive tract and other spots. But scientists don’t have a good grasp of which microbes live where, much less which are helpful, even indispensable, in maintaining health. The NIH’s “Human Microbiome Project” aims to change that, recruiting healthy volunteers to learn what microbes they harbor so scientists can compare the healthy with diseases of microbes gone awry – from acute infections to mysterious conditions like psoriasis or irritable bowel syndrome.

The skin research, published in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, is part of that project. Scientists decoded the genes of 112,000 bacteria in samples taken from a mere 20 spots on the skin of 10 people. Those numbers translated into roughly 1,000 strains, or species, of bacteria, Segre said, hundreds more than ever have been found on skin largely because the project used newer genetic techniques to locate them.

Topography matters, a lot, the researchers reported. If a moist, hairy underarm is like a rain forest, the dry inside of the forearm is a desert. They harbor distinctly different bacteria suited to those distinctly different environments. In fact, the bacteria under two unrelated people’s underarms are more similar than the bacteria that lives on one person’s underarm and forearm.

Mom’s advice to wash behind your ears notwithstanding, that spot contained the least diverse bacteria – 19 species on average. The most diverse spot: the forearm, which averaged 44 species.

How many are supposed to live there? That’s not clear yet. Some certainly could be tourists, picked up as we go about our day. When researchers re-checked five of these volunteers a few months later, the bacteria in some spots – the moist nostril and groin, for example – proved pretty stable while other spots, including the forearm, had changed quite a bit.

Which are good bugs, and which bad? That depends. A common skin bacteria is Staph epidermidis, found all over the body. Segre said it helps protect us from its nasty cousin, Staph aureus, which about a third of people are thought to carry on the skin or in their nose even if they have no active infection.

But, back to topography, Staph epidermidis itself can harm if it gets under the skin; it’s a common trigger of catheter-caused infections.

The research helps lay the groundwork for what doctors really want to know: What’s different in the skin of people with diseases such as eczema or psoriasis? Those studies are about to begin, says Dr. Martin Blaser of New York University Langone Medical Center, who is leading one on psoriasis and performed some first-step studies of skin bacteria that helped lead to the NIH’s census.

Then there’s the scrubbing question, society’s antibacterial obsession.

“There’s an all-out assault on our normal skin organisms,” Blaser noted. “In trying to get rid of the bad guys, are we getting rid of the good guys?”

Segre hopes knowing there are so many bacteria alters how people think about the relationship.

“I’m a mother of two small children; I believe very strongly in sanitation, washing your hands,” Segre said. But, “we have to understand that we live in harmony with bacteria and they are part of us as super-organisms … and not just conceive of bacteria as bad and germs and smelly.”

Source: Associated Press

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How To Fight Bad Breath – Bad Breath occurs due to lots of reason in the mouth and does not come from the stomach. Strong food such as garlic and onions absorbed into the bloodstream and the odors are expelled by the lungs causing a bad breath temporarily which can be easily remove by taking a peppermint candy, sugarless gum or a sprig of parsley.

Bad breath can also be caused by what you’re NOT eating!

How To Fight Bad Breath – Bad Breath is usually caused by the breakdown of proteins by bacteria somewhere in the mouth which is probably the dirtiest place in the human body. Bad breath is not contagious, meaning one cannot catch it from someone else.

Persistent bad breath is usually caused by bits of food left on your gums, teeth and tongue. Germs and bacteria feast on this free lunch coat your teeth, gums and tend to get into the grooves and fissures on the tongue, producing lots of smelly and nasty gas which resulting a bad smell (Volatile Sulfur Compound = VSC).

Caffeine, smoking and alcohol increase the production of acid in the mouth, allowing VSC-producing bacteria to thrive. VSC produced by bacteria in the oral cavity can survive with little or no oxygen.

Saliva has high oxygen content, and oxygen helps to neutralize VSC production and keeps halitosis away. Hence to avoid bad dragon breath, it is essential to make sure you do not have a dry mouth. In fact, this is one of the reasons why drooling babies do not have bad breath.

According to Dr. Richard Price of American Dental Association, “Ninety percent of bad breath comes from bacteria in the mouth.” The other 10 percent could be from sinus problems, gastrointestinal issues, the Atkins diet (the high protein diet can lead to a metabolic imbalance called ketosis) and, in rare cases, bad breath can be tie in to serious medical problems such as a respiratory infection, chronic sinusitis, postnasal drip, chronic bronchitis, diabetes, gastrointestinal disturbance and liver or kidney ailment. On the other hand, he also emphasizes that it’s unlikely that bad breath is the first sign of serious illness.

The bacteria on our teeth and gum (plaque) also cause gum disease and dental decay (periodontal disease). One of the warning signs of gum disease is you having always bad breath or funny bad taste in your mouth. Approximately 75% of American adults have some form of gum disease – most of them unaware they have it as it is painless and silent in its early stages.

Dental studies indicate that about  85 percent of those with persistent bad breath, also known as halitosis have a dental problem. So if you suffer from chronic bad breath, you should visit your dentist. Your dentist might be able to see the problem and treat it during your regular check-ups.

The gum disease has been linked to the development of heart disease, respiratory ailments, and the delivery of pre-term low birth weight babies.  If you have an open blood vessel from bleeding gums, bacteria will gain entry to your bloodstream.

When bacteria get into the bloodstream they encounter tiny fragments called platelets that clot blood when you get a cut. By sticking to the platelets bacteria cause them to clot inside the blood vessel, partially blocking it. This prevents the blood flow back to the heart and we run the risk of suffering a heart attack.” said Dr Steve Kerrigan of the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland.

Fortunately, there are things we can do to help prevent unpleasant odors on our breath. A clean mouth and good dental hygiene will make you more immune to infection, having a healthy smile and reducing bad breath. It is never such thing as too early or too late to begin taking care of your teeth and gum!

So brush and floss your teeth regularly. Clean your tongue every day with a soft brush and use a mouth wash, too. If your gum are sore or bleed, see your dentist for a dental check.

Don’t rely on mouthwash or a breath freshener to solve your bad breath problem as they are only temporarily covering up odors. If you clean up your diet and still can’t seem to get rid of your dragon breath, you may want to see your dentist or internist to rule out any underlying illnesses. Don’t let Bad breath ruin your confidence and take back control of your life.

Follow these tips to assist you prevent bad breath as well as keep your mouth healthy on a daily basis:

1. Visit Your Dentist at least twice a year
   Visit your dentist regularly for a professional cleaning and checkup. This is the best way to make sure that you are maintaining good oral hygiene.
2. Brush your teeth at least Twice a Day
   Experts recommend brushing your teeth at least twice a day and ideally after meals or snacks using fluoride-containing toothpaste. Brushing is imperative to remove remaining food particles in the mouth and around teeth. Those particles can collect bacteria and cause bad breath.To keep your breath fresh between brushing try:
   * Rinsing your mouth with water after eating if unable to brush
   * Chewing sugarless gum to stimulate saliva flow, which naturally cleanses teeth
   * Take celery, carrots or apples, which might assist to loosen food debris while chewing
3. Floss your teeth daily
   All the tight spaces between your teeth or the areas under your gum line can’t reach by the toothbrush. Flossing removes plaque build up and will remove food debris from in between the teeth to improve oral health.If you have signs of gum disease, such as red or swollen gum, see your dentist or a periodontist (gum specialist) right away.
4. Use a mouthwash
   Some contain antibacterial agents that could kill bacteria causing unpleasant breath smell. Please note that if a dental problem is the cause of chronic bad breath, a mouth wash will only temporarily hide unpleasant mouth odor and not cure it.
5. Brush your tongue
   Brush or scrape your tongue daily to help remove bacteria.
6. Avoiding Tobacco
   Smoking might cause chronic bad breath because the tar and nicotine build up on surfaces in the mouth can leave an unpleasant smell. Also, smoking blocks saliva flow, tends to dry out your mouth and leading to the growth of bacteria.
7. Avoid foods and beverages that cause odors on your breath
   Eating or drinking certain foods and beverages such as: Garlic, Onions, Coffee, Alcoholic beverages might cause chronic bad breath.
8. Avoid Dry Mouth (xerostomia)
   Saliva is necessary to cleanse the mouth and remove particles that may cause odor. If you suffer from dry mouth, talk to your dentist about recommending an over the counter saliva substitute or suggest sugarless gum or candy which stimulates saliva and be sure to increase fluid intake by drinking plenty of water.

Top 5 Foods to get rid of bad breath caused by what you’ve eaten:

1. Fresh herbs
   Chew Coriander, spearmint, tarragon, eucalyptus, rosemary and cardamom or simply putting them into hot water are all good for fighting bad breath.
2. Crunchy Fruits or vegetables
   Apples, carrots, celery—basically any fiber-rich fruit or vegetable can assist loosen food debris between your teeth and gum while chewing. If not removed on a regular basis, bacteria build-up is formed (plaque) that causes bad breath.



3. Eat Yogurt with active cultures
   A research study shows that a serving of yogurt with active cultures—not overly processed or sugar-added varieties daily can reduce the level of odor-causing hydrogen sulfide in the mouth. It also cuts back bacteria harvesting in the mouth as well as getting rid of plaque and gum disease were reduced in the study’s yogurt eaters as well. Vitamin D found in yogurt creates an inhospitable environment for bacteria growth according to the American Dietetic Association (ADA).
4. Masking techniques
   Mint candy or sugarless gum can freshened breath (masking odors) and also increase saliva production to rinse away plaque and bacteria.
5. High C’s
   A food or fruit rich in vitamin C such as berries, citrus, melons and other vitamin C-rich foods create an inhospitable environment for bacteria growth and also important for preventing gum disease and gingivitis which both are major caused of halitosis.

By Irwan Lee

Click here to download the slide presentation (PPT Format) of the Halitosis – The Dragon Breath Blues

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Poor dental hygiene and not brush your teeth regularly can cause unhealthy teeth, bleeding gum which might boosts the risk of heart attacks and strokes according to researchers at a September 2008 meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Dublin.

According to the World Health Organization, heart disease is the number one killer worldwide, claiming up to 17 million lives annually. It is the leading cause of death, accounts for 40 per cent of all deaths annually – 11,300 people, in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand, where it.

Often, most people with cardiovascular disease have common risk factors such as smoking, obesity and high cholesterol. But recently, researchers have discovered new link between gum disease and heart disease and stroke.

Gum disease is the most common infections in human and there are over 50 studies linking gum disease with heart disease and stroke.

People with poor dental hygiene and those who don’t brush their teeth regularly end up with bleeding gums, which provide an entry to the bloodstream for up to 700 different types of bacteria found in the human mouth. Failing to scrub clean your teeth will cause those germs to flourish. Many are essential to good health, and some are benign. Few trigger a biological cascade leading to chronic bacterial infections that have been associated with atherosclerosis, the main risk factor of heart attacks.

“The mouth is probably the dirtiest place in the human body. If you have an open blood vessel from bleeding gums, bacteria will gain entry to your bloodstream. When bacteria get into the bloodstream they encounter tiny fragments called platelets that clot blood when you get a cut. By sticking to the platelets bacteria cause them to clot inside the blood vessel, partially blocking it. This prevents the blood flow back to the heart and we run the risk of suffering a heart attack.” said Dr Steve Kerrigan of the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland.

“Cardiovascular disease is currently the biggest killer in the western world. Oral bacteria such as Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus sanguinis are common infecting agents, and we now recognize that bacterial infections are an independent risk factor for heart diseases. In other words it doesn’t matter how fit, slim or healthy you are, you’re adding to your chances of getting heart disease by having bad teeth.” said Professor Howard Jenkinson from the University of Bristol.

Good dental hygiene is not only for children. A clean mouth will make you more immune to infection, having a healthy smile and reducing bad breath. It is never too early or too late to begin taking care of your teeth and gum!

The standard expert recommendations include brush your teeth at least twice a day, floss once a day, see a dentist regularly or when signs of trouble appear.

Tips For Oral Hygiene

Brushing your teeth for Oral Health:

• Experts recommend brushing your teeth at least twice a day and ideally after meals or snacks.using fluoride-containing toothpaste.
• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush (gentler on your gums) which allows you to reach every surface. Replace it if the bristles are bent or frayed, minimum every 2 to 3 months.
• Spend at least two minutes brushing your teeth.
• Position the toothbrush at at a slight angle against your teeth pr a 45-degree angle where your gums and teeth meet.
• Gently move the brush in a vibrating back & forth motion, brushing 2-3 teeth at a time.
• Maintain the 45-degree angle against your gumline to gently brush along all of the inner tooth surfaces using a back, forth, and rolling motion. Brushing too hard can cause receding gums, tooth sensitivity, and, over time, loose teeth.
• To clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth, hold the brush vertically.
• Make several gentle back-and-forth strokes over each tooth and its surrounding gum.
• Use a gentle back and forth scrubbing motion to clean the biting surface of the teeth.
• Don’t forget to brush the tongue from back to front to remove odor-producing bacteria.
• Avoid vigorous or harsh scrubbing, which can irritate your gums.
• Replace your toothbrush every three or four months, or sooner if it becomes frayed.
• Consider using an electric toothbrush, especially if you have arthritis or other problems that make it difficult to brush well.

Flossing for oral health:
All the tight spaces between your teeth or the areas under your gumline can’t reached by the toothbrush. Flossing removes plaque build up improves oral health.

• Carefully ease the floss between two teeth, using a back and forth motion.
• Curve the floss around the edge of your tooth in the shape of the letter “C” as it wraps around the tooth and slide it up and down the side of each tooth.
• Gently pull the floss from the gumline to the top of the tooth to scrape off plaque but don’t force it under the gums.
• Floss the backs of your teeth.
• Use fresh floss as you progress through your teeth.
• Try waxed floss, If you have trouble getting floss through your teeth.

Other oral health care tips
In addition to brushing and flossing, consider also these oral health tips:

• Use a mouth rinse to help reduce plaque between your teeth.
• Use an interdental cleaner, such as a dental pick or dental stick specially designed to clean between your teeth.
• Use oral irrigators, or devices that aim a stream of water at your teeth, to remove food particles.
• Don’t use toothpicks or other objects that aren’t made to clean your teeth.

Visit your Dentist Office regularly at least twice a year or if this symptoms occurs:

• Red, tender or swollen gums
• Gums that bleed when you’re regularly brushing and flossing
• Gums that are pulling away from your teeth, which may make your teeth seem longer
• Pus around your teeth and gums when you press on the gums
• A bad taste in your mouth
• Loose teeth
• Changes in the way your top and bottom teeth touch
• Changes in the feel of your dentures
• Sensitivity to hot and cold

Click here to download the slide presentation (PPT Format) of the Dental Hygiene to reduce Heart Disease

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