Advantages of exercising – Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? Look no further than exercise. Need more convincing to exercise? Check out how exercise can improve your life.

Physical activity contributes to health by reducing the heart rate, decreasing the risk for cardiovascular disease, and reducing the amount of bone loss that is associated with age and osteoporosis. Physical activity also helps the body use calories more efficiently, thereby helping in weight loss and maintenance. It can also increase basal metabolic rate, reduces appetite, and helps in the reduction of body fat.

Exercise controls weight

Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. You don’t need to set aside large chunks of time for exercise to reap weight-loss benefits. If you can’t do an actual workout, get more active throughout the day in simple ways — by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or revving up your household chores.

Exercise combats health conditions and diseases

Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current weight, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol and decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases. In fact, regular physical activity can help you prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and concerns, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, depression, certain types of cancer, arthritis and falls.

Exercise on Cancer

A number of studies have indicated that regular, even moderate, exercise may reduce the risk of colon cancer and, in fact, any cancer related to obesity. A number of studies have also suggested that regular exercise, particularly if it is vigorous, reduces risks against breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Indeed, a 2004 study showed that prostate cancer cells have a 27% reduction in growth when exposed to exercise serum (blood serum taken from patients who exercise) compared to control serum, suggesting that exercise changes blood chemicals to be less hospitable to cancer cells.

Several studies are underway to measure the effect of exercise on patients who have been diagnosed with cancer. Even though preliminary, they already suggest that exercise has a positive physical, mental, and emotional effect. Exercise can improve physical strength, functional capacity, and the ability to battle the negative side effects of chemotherapy, including nausea and fatigue. More studies are warranted.

Exercise improves cardiovascular health

Cardiovascular health – Lack of physical activity is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Regular exercising makes your heart, like any other muscle, stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort.

Cholesterol lowering effect – Exercise itself does not burn off cholesterol like it does with fat, however, exercise favorably influences blood cholesterol levels by decreasing LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol and increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.

Blood pressure lowering – The way in which exercise can cause a reduction in blood pressure is unclear, but all forms of exercise seem to be effective in reducing blood pressure. Aerobic exercise appears to have a slightly greater effect on blood pressure in hypertensive individuals than in individuals without hypertension.

Reduced risk of stroke – Research data indicates that moderate and high levels of physical activity may reduce the risk of total, ischemic, and hemorrhagic strokes.

Exercise help control and prevent diabetes

Scientists and doctors have already proven that there is strong evidence that moderate physical activity combined with weight loss and a balanced healthy diet result in improved insulin resistance and a lower risk of diabetes by 50-60%. Now a new study, conducted by UCLA scientists, suggests that their may be a correlation between increasing muscle mass and lowering insulin resistance.

Exercise improves balance and prevent falls in elderly

• Exercise improves Muscle strength

  Health studies repeatedly show that strength training increases muscle strength and mass and decreases fat tissue.

• Exercise improves Bone strength

  An active lifestyle benefits bone density. Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation, delays bone loss and may protect against osteoporosis – form of bone loss associated with aging.

Exercise improves the Gastrointestinal Tract

Endurance athletes often report gastrointestinal distress, such as bloating, diarrhea, and gas, even at rest. Experts suggest, however, that moderate regular exercise, might reduce the risk for some intestinal disorders, including ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, and diverticulosis. For example, in one 2000 study, exercise was associated with a lower risk for ulcers in men (although not in women.) Older people who exercise moderately may have a lower risk for severe gastrointestinal bleeding.

Exercise lower Neurologic Diseases and Mental Decline

A 2001 study reported that older people who regularly exercised had lower rates of mental deterioration, Alzheimer’s, and dementia of any type. Aerobic exercise is linked with improved mental vigor, in all people, including reaction time, acuity, and math skills. Exercising may even enhance creativity and imagination. According to one study, older people who are physically fit respond to mental challenges just as quickly as unfit young adults. Another study found that walking regularly protects women from mental decline, and in fact, the more they walked per week, the more protection they enjoyed. (Stretching and weight training appear to have no such effects.) A 2004 study showed that exercise can reverse a high-fat diets harmful effects on neurologic function.

Exercise improves mood

Need an emotional lift? Or need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

Exercise boosts energy

Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise and physical activity deliver oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you have more energy to go about your daily chores.

Exercise promotes better sleep

Struggling to fall asleep? Or to stay asleep? Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. Just don’t exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to fall asleep.

Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life

Do you feel too tired or too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Regular physical activity can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may maintains or improves sex life. But there’s more to it than that. Physical improvements in muscle strength and tone, endurance, body composition and cardiovascular function can all enhance sexual functioning in both men and women. Regular physical activity can lead to enhanced arousal for women. Researchers revealed that men who exercise regularly are less likely to have erectile dysfunction and impotence than are men who don’t exercise.

Exercise benefits on Pregnancy

Good regular exercise during pregnancy can reduce the time of your labor, improve the outcome of your pregnancy and decrease the risk of complications including low-birth weight babies. This not only helps you but your child as well as exercising increases the fetal heart rate, which in turn protects the baby.

The benefits of prenatal exercise are many. For instance, you’ll get a better posture and reduce discomforts and pains such as backaches or tiredness. But keep in mind, you should not exercise at the same rate you did before your pregnancy. At the most you should do only low-impact exercise such as yoga, pilates or easy aerobics.

Healthy women with normal pregnancies should exercise at least three times a week, being careful to warm up, cool down, and drink plenty of liquids. Many prenatal calisthenics programs are available.

Specific exercises may be particularly beneficial:

Aerobics. Either brief periods of intense training or prolonged aerobic workouts can raise chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine, that produce the so-called runners high. And, of course, weight loss and increased muscle tone can boost self-esteem.

Yoga. Yoga practice, which involves rhythmic stretching movements and breathing have been found to positively affect mood and may have clinical potential as a technique for improving and stabilizing mood. One study, in fact, suggested that men actually may have better results with yoga than with aerobic exercise. In the study men experienced significantly lower levels of tension, fatigue, and anger after yoga than after swimming. (Yoga and swimming tended to produce equal benefits in women.)

Advantages of exercising and physical activity are a great way to feel better, gain health benefits and have fun. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more. Remember to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have any health concerns.

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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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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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Out of more than 700 participants in a particular study, two people stood out. These individuals were blessed with a trait most of us can only envy: Just six hours of sleep was enough to propel them through a very active day. Unlike most people, who need about eight hours of shut-eye, the pair did not suffer debilitating effects of chronic sleep deprivation, such as impaired cognition and memory.

The two individuals also performed a great service to science: As participants in sleep research conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, the subjects’ unusual sleep patterns led researchers to a specific gene for “short sleepers.”

What Is Sleep Deprivation – In Depth

The discovery of the gene, known as Dec2, was published in August in Science and became the first gene in humans known to control sleep quantity. The idea that a gene might determine sleep duration seemed improbable prior to this study, but the researchers also replicated the effect in mice and in fruit flies.

“Without that you could not convince anyone, not even myself,” says Ying-Hui Fu, Ph.D, one of the UCSF researchers.

It’s an important discovery, but not because it explains why so few Americans get the requisite eight hours of sleep; the fact that it was found in only two participants out of several hundred means that it’s likely the gene is rare.

Instead, the finding gives researchers an essential clue about what role other genes might play in sleep regulation. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the answer to improving sleep lies in identifying the vulnerabilities of our genetic makeup and understanding how our poor sleep habits can exacerbate them.

The Role of Genes

Though the discovery of the short-sleeper gene was the first of its kind, other researchers have connected sleep apnea to a gene variation and narcolepsy to a gene mutation. These disorders disrupt the normal sleep cycle in maddening and sometimes life-threatening ways.

Sleep apnea, which affects an estimated 12 million Americans, causes arrested or shallow breathing during the night. Carriers of this marker are twice as likely to suffer from the common disorder, which also predisposes sufferers to higher risk for stroke, cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.

Narcolepsy, a far less common disorder that affects only 135,000 Americans, is associated with a mutated gene that causes abnormal processing of neurotransmitters known to play a role in wakefulness. The brain of a narcolepsy sufferer fails to regulate the sleep-wake cycle normally, sending the person into sporadic fits of sleep, unwillingly, throughout the day.

Stanford professor and researcher Dr. Emmanuel Mignot, who is director of the university’s Center for Narcolepsy, discovered the gene mutation and variation for narcolepsy and sleep apnea in 1999 and 2001, respectively.

Mignot’s hunch–and it’s just opinion until science proves him right–is that the spectrum of sleep disorders that also includes insomnia, nightmares and sleepwalking can also be traced back to genetic causes. Recent research has shown that even restless legs syndrome, long a punch line in pop culture that in fact keeps 12 million Americans awake at night, is strongly associated with gene variations.

What intrigues Mignot is how people respond to such sleep disruptions, particularly those that lead to chronic sleep deprivation.

“Some people will be extremely impaired and some people won’t care at all,” he says, noting that scientists control for factors like participant demographics and sleep hygiene and get the same resulst. “It’s clear that some people have fundamentally different needs independent of the environment, and they’re likely genetic.”

What Is Sleep Deprivation – The Black Box of Sleep

David F. Dinges, Ph.D., chief of the division of sleep and chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, knows this phenomenon well. Data gathered from his studies of several hundred participants has shown time and again that when sleep is chronically reduced, individuals have markedly different responses to handling that deprivation. Yet when they get the same amount of adequate sleep, behavior remains consistent.

Researchers have no scientific explanation for this–yet. Fu, Mignot and Dinges all strongly believe it has to do with gene variations, but for now the field remains–as Fu calls it–a black box.

In the meantime, the 40 million Americans who suffer from chronic leep disorders will have to manage their conditions through medication, improved sleep hygiene and cognitive behavioral therapy.

The former is a common-sense approach to sleep that focuses on simple steps like maintaining a regular sleep schedule, eliminating distractions like noise and abstaining from caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime. The latter is a form of therapy that aims to help the sleepless cope with their condition by teaching them a variety of coping skills, including yoga and meditation.

Dinges hopes that research will lead to the discovery of key genes that determine and affect our sleep cycles, enabling medicine to provide personalized diagnoses and treatments for those who don’t sleep well.

“It’s not an issue of broken or bad genes,” says Dinges. “We want to use that information in a personalized way to help people understand what environmental things will put them a risk because of their genetic variations.”

(Rebecca Ruiz, Forbes.com)

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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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When the head and neck are not in proper alignment the central nervous system of the human body can eventually become out of balance. The brain stem is located at the junction of where the bottom of the skull and the top of the spine come together. This is significant because if something happens that changes the alignment of this area, the brain stem can be affected. It may have been an injury like a slip or fall or an accident that whips the head and neck like what happens in an auto accident.

Sometimes stress on the baby’s head and neck during the birthing process can cause misalignment in this area. Regardless of the cause any misalignment of this area where the head and neck join can have a huge impact on the health of the human body.

Serotonin levels will become depleted when the head and neck are not aligned properly for the same physiological reasons that drop serotonin levels when a person is under high levels of mental or emotional stress for long periods of time. The physiological mechanism that lowers the Serotonin levels is a chronically hyperactive sympathetic nervous system known as sympathetic dominance. The human body can withstand short periods of high stress levels just so long as it is followed by a period of rest.

A stressful situation causes the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system to be activated. Once activated certain physiological changes will occur in the body to help the person deal with the stressful event. Serotonin levels drop and adrenaline levels increase. The levels of these chemicals will normalize when the stress goes away. However, if the head and neck are out of alignment for months or even years then the sympathetic nervous system will just continue to remain in a hyperactive state. This eventually will lead to a sympathetic dominant state and a permanent reduction in Serotonin levels.

Permanently lowered serotonin levels will lead to sleep problems. Sometimes the levels of Serotonin become so low in the human body that the person experiences high levels of anxiety and depression and even panic attacks.

Current studies are being done to see exactly what is occurring at the level of the brain stem when the head and neck are not in proper alignment. Many people can remember a traumatic event in their lives such as an auto accident, bad slip or fall, or even an emotional trauma that seemed to mark a change in their sleeping patterns and the start of a deterioration of their overall health.

If this describes you or someone you know there is a good chance that improper head and neck alignment is the true source of the health problem. Having the alignment of the head and neck restored would be the only true answer to reverse the health problem. The good news is that the head and neck alignment can be easily corrected with a treatment procedure known as NUCCA.

The NUCCA Physical Examination and adjustment:

The NUCCA chiropractor will focus his attention on the relationship of the head to the neck.  The top bone of the neck, known as the atlas, must be in line with the head, as well as the vertebrae below.  Spinal injury or damage can misalign these structures resulting in postural imbalance, pelvic distortion, and leg length disparity.  The NUCCA chiropractor will be looking for this during the examination.  After reviewing your history, exam findings, and x-rays the NUCCA chiropractor will be ready to administer your first NUCCA adjustment.

Each adjustment is determined from x-ray measurement.  Patients lay on their right or left side on the adjustment table.  By gently contacting the side of your neck, the doctor will direct your head and neck back torward a balanced, healthy position.  Each adjustment experience and healing response is unique to the individual.  One thing is universal, the light touch of the adjustment will set your body in the direction for achieving optimum health.

Because each adjustment experience and healing response is unique to the individual, you will be monitored closely for any changes that you might experience which are linked to the healing process.  We have stressed the importance of receiving the best possible correction during the first visit. The doctor will take x-rays after your first adjustment to confirm results.  This is typically done only after the initial adjustment.  What we know is “The better the correction, the better the chance of recovery”.

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by Jeannine Stein

Hey, swimmers, don’t limit yourself to lanes, the aquatic version of a hamster wheel. And landlubbers, give up the notion that strength training and cardio are best done on terra firma.

Aqua aerobics, or aquatic fitness, is no longer the domain of people recovering from injuries, trying to exercise despite limited abilities or struggling with chronic conditions such as arthritis.

Pool workouts are hot, especially group exercise classes. The latest ones incorporate Pilates, kickboxing and strength training, targeting all muscle groups and building endurance.

“Working out in the water is excellent cross-training,” says Julie Seamster, an aquatic fitness instructor at California Family Fitness in Sacramento. “On land you’re using gravity, but in water you’re using the water’s properties — it’s heavier than air, and you have resistance in all directions.”

Water also provides bones and joints with a break from constant pounding — a big boon for those who run or play sports such as football, volleyball and basketball.

“You also have the challenge of maintaining core stability,” says Doris Dodge-Thews, a master trainer with 24-Hour Fitness. “Any time you’re in water, you challenge the core to maintain any movement.” Water’s constant motion forces the body to stay upright and balanced, which targets the muscles in the trunk and back.

We asked three aquatic fitness experts for their favorite pool exercises that can be added to lane swims, or done on their own. Some exercises require minimal equipment, such as small, hand-held buoys or water noodles, which can be found at most sporting goods stores or online.

Niecia Staggs, masters swim coach, Equinox, Southern California

For a good cardio exercise that also works the leg muscles, begin by resting your arms on a water noodle placed around your back in a C-shape. Bend your body at the hips in a V, so the feet are at the surface. Make sure your core is tight and legs are straight with toes pointed. Holding tension in the leg muscles, cross the feet back and forth at the ankles, just below the surface of the water. Do it as briskly as you can. Start with one and a half minutes and gradually work up to about five minutes.

While still in that V position, do leg sweeps. Keep the right leg straight and push the toes toward the left hand, then reverse it — take the left foot over to the right hand. You’ll feel it in the core, but this also targets the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, similar to a kicking exercise. Do about 12 to 16 reps on each leg.

Deck push-ups are great for the shoulders, back and arms. Stand by the side of the pool facing the pool’s edge, with hands shoulder-width apart, about chest-high on the deck. Push down through the palms and, with a little jump, come out of the water so that your hips are even with the deck. Hold that position for a couple of seconds and then lower slowly.

Katina Brock, water aerobics instructor, North Valley Family YMCA, Northridge

For a cardio boost, try tuck jumps. Start by having your feet on the bottom of the pool, water about chest-high. Push off the bottom and go into a tuck position, bringing your hands to your shins, like you’re doing a cannonball. If you pull your arms down hard, you’ll feel it. Then release the arms as the feet shoot down to the bottom. It’s better to do this quickly — don’t rest on the return — to get your heart rate up and work the legs more. To make this move more difficult, start with one leg lifted in the tuck position and alternate legs coming up into the tuck position instead of both coming up at the same time. Consider this interval training — do it for a minute or two minutes, gradually increasing the time.

Jumping jacks are also good for cardio and working major leg muscles. Start with feet together, touching the bottom of the pool, arms by sides and water about mid-chest-high. Jump out so the feet are wide, and the arms come straight out to the side. Jump back to a standing position, and repeat, but don’t land stiff-legged — land with some softness in the knees to absorb the small amount of impact to the legs.

For a faux cycling workout, put the noodle between your legs for buoyancy and move your legs as if you were pedaling. You can move your arms in a breast stroke or a paddling motion, and even cycle backward. Lean back like you are going uphill, or lean forward slightly as if for downhill. Even if you are a cyclist, by doing this in the water you’ll be using slightly different muscle groups. It’s just different enough, but allows you to keep or improve your training endurance and skills.

Julie Seamster, aquatic fitness instructor, California Family Fitness

Jogging in the water is great for improving cardio, and the legs work while moving against the water. Try jogging in shallow water that comes up to between your navel and chest. As you jog, do a reverse breast stroke, in which your arms are coming in toward each other, so you’re kind of hugging the water. You’ll be resisting the water as you travel forward, which will impede your travel. Jog forward for about 16 counts, then go backward doing a regular breast stroke, which will impede your travel again. This helps to improve cardiovascular function and endurance. If trying this in the ocean, travel laterally so that the water level stays the same.

For the upper body, do bicep curls using hand-held buoys. With palms facing up and the buoy on the water’s surface, bring the buoy down, keeping the elbow steady and by your side. This exercise also targets the triceps — when you pull down, you’ll feel it in the back of the arm. Let the buoy up slowly. Do about eight to 12 reps for a couple of sets. Whenever you use buoyant equipment in this way, take precautions with your shoulder and neck. Holding the buoy, there’s a tendency to raise your shoulders up toward your ears, but your shoulders should be kept pressed down.

To work the core, stand in a squat position with both feet touching the ground and knees bent. The water should be about chest-high. Work the water with the upper body, scooping it with palms up, like you’re rowing a boat. You can do this with arms in unison, or alternating them. Squeeze the glutes and contract your abs and keep the core strong as you work the water with your hands. Do this in intervals, starting with 20 seconds, gradually increasing it to 45 seconds.

Source: Los Angeles Times

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By Cory Quirino, Philippine Daily Inquirer

SCIENTIFIC knowledge is out there but is not being translated into clinical settings, according to Bill Faloon, editor of Life Extension Magazine based in the United States.

Medicine today is challenged to focus on prevention rather than just cure, teach patients to be more cooperative with their doctors, and seek better ways to improve the quality of life of patients.

Wrong food

Eating the wrong kind of food increases one’s risk of contracting a disease. Conversely, having a healthy diet promotes a long and youthful life. For example: Cancer cells in your body will multiply if you continue to eat the wrong food such as sweets, protein and processed goods. However, they will decrease and eventually die if you consume highly alkaline food like vegetables and fruits. The following will feed/increase your cancer and vascular risks: steak, baked potato, fatty salad dressing and green dessert.

Why? If the steak is not organic, chances are it is loaded with monosodium glutamate, considered a nerve toxic; vegetable oil in the dressing (soybean, soya, corn, sunflower) is high in omega-six fatty acid, which is converted into arachidonic acid by the body and causes inflammation; if the vegetables are not organic, they may be laced with pesticides.

Avoid fatty dairy products, organs and red meat. Eat more fish and fish oil to increase omega-three intake. Other sources: flaxseed oil and virgin olive oil (Some olive oils are mixed with other oils to bring down the selling price).

Conventional medicine can co-exist with alternative medicine. This kind of partnership can guarantee a patient’s recovery.

Cut the sugar. More studies have shown that sugar, while it sweetens the taste, can be a bitter pill to swallow. Sugar can only weaken if taken in excessive amounts.

Plant extracts can do you good. A 2004 study on melons and pomegranates showed reversed coronary heart disease by 30%.

Magnesium can prevent heart attack risks. Just 400-800mg daily is enough for your heart’s health.

Health aids. Vitamin B12 neutralizes flavor enhancers like MSG. Vitamin E (200mg, gamma tocopherol) prevents breast and prostate cancer. Zinc, 30-50mg daily, boosts the immune system. 500mg of niacin can lower bad cholesterol. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties and is a preventive for Alzheimer’s, cancer and artherosclerosis. Melatonin keeps you young and boosts the immune system, reduces cancer risks and promotes better sleep (as tested in animals). One to 20mg nightly makes you sleep like a baby.

If you cut back on the calories, you will prolong your life because it dramatically lowers insulin and glucose blood levels.

A poised, centered stance is fueled by a peaceful nature. Don’t go into extremes whenever possible. Focus on slow breathing in times of stress.

AFFIRM NOW: “I claim goodness in my life beginning today.”

Love and light!

Reference: “Breakthrough—Eight Steps To Wellness,” by Suzanne Somers: www.lef.org/goodhealth

Martin Muehlensiep, sleep expert

Can’t sleep? There are one or two things to avoid if you want a really restful night.
It’s 3 a.m., pitch dark and you can’t sleep. How can you survive the next day after being awake so long the night before? Difficulty sleeping is a common problem, but there are ways to escape it.

“Falling asleep is something passive and not forcible,” said Cornelius Kellner, a sleep specialist. “If you offered someone [$1 million] to fall asleep in 10 minutes, they would not win the money.”

It’s normal to be awake at night occasionally, he said. “The body must regularly change its status to ensure blood circulation.”

Difficulty sleeping is not unusual when under stress. “Fears, worries or aggravation are negative emotions that lead to higher body activity,” said Martin Muehlensiep of the sleep clinic at the University of Cologne.

Six to eight hours of sleep per night is the normal range in terms of the amount of sleep one should get. Hence it achieves nothing to go to bed at 10 p.m. and expect to sleep through until 8 a.m., Kellner said. “Also, the ability to perform is barely reduced after a nearly sleepless night.”

‘Alcohol can be good for falling asleep, but not for staying asleep’

When that happens, people often take the wrong course of action the next day. They often attempt to take it easy or even to take a nap, Muehlensiep said. “Then obviously they won’t be tired the next evening and will lie awake in bed.”

Limit your evening activities to a routine pattern, Muehlensiep recommends. First read, put on pyjamas or a nightgown and then brush your teeth, for example.

“Each of these activities will become a signal to the body that it’s going to go to bed soon,” Muehlensiep said. But what should one do when that doesn’t help? Constantly looking at the clock puts pressure on the body. “When that happens, it’s better to get out of bed and do a simple activity,” Kellner said. Put pictures into an album or iron, for example, until fatigue sets in.

People who can’t sleep are often those who worry a lot. Kellner advises people who have difficulty sleeping to exploit it and to let their thoughts take them on a journey. “Place yourself consciously in a pleasant situation, on a beach or in a meadow. This can replace the worries at hand.”

People whose worries persistently spin around in their heads can try writing them down on a sheet of paper. “This doesn’t make them go away, but keeps them for the next day,” he said. This often provides enough comfort to allow sleep to set in.

Food is best avoided two to three hours before going to bed. Coffee, nicotine and alcohol also impede falling asleep and should not be consumed before bed.

“Alcohol can be good for falling asleep, but poor for staying asleep,” Muehlensiep said. Bananas and milk products — the proven milk and honey method, for example — can help people sleep. They contain L-tryptophane and promote regular sleep patterns in the brain.

The bedroom should be separated from all other rooms and dark. “A desk, computer or television are reminders of stress and have no place in the bedroom,” said Beate Horn, director of the sleep laboratory in Chemnitz, Germany. The optimal temperature is 18 degrees Celsius.

DPA

Senior centers and retirement communities are looking for new ways to promote exercise in order to stave off physical decline.

CANE FU…NOT KUNG FU evolved out of a regular aerobics class, not only imparts self-defense techniques, but also develops flexibility, strength and balance.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of adults aged 65 and older fall each year. Of those who fall, between 20 percent and 30 percent suffer moderate to severe injuries.

Older adults are hospitalized for fall-related injuries five-times more often than they are for injuries from other causes.

The good news is there are different exercise programs that may reduce an elderly person’s risk for falling.

BENEFITS OF EXERCISE FOR SENIORS:

There are many benefits of exercise for seniors. Some of these include:

• Delaying diseases such as heart attacks, diabetes and cancer
• Improving balance, mobility and flexibility
• Increasing energy levels
• Improving sleep

CANE FU…NOT KUNG FU! There’s a new exercise trend among senior citizens who use canes to get around. It’s called “Cane Fu,” and it’s a combination of aerobic training and self-defense.

Instructors teach participants how to perform self-defense moves like breaking a choke-hold with a cane. The class also helps participants improve their balance and coordination.

Sheldon S. Zinberg, M.D., President and Founding Chairman of Nifty After Fifty, said: “It actually produces improved balance, improved mobility and a sense of self-confidence and security.”

In a review conducted by 1,428 members, Cane Fu, along with other training classes, reduced falls by 89-percent and fractures by 85-percent when compared to CDC statistics.

THE CANE AS A WEAPON: Instructors say any kind of cane is fine for self-defense, including aluminum canes or the wooden canes make of pine, which are available at drugstores. They say the best are hardwood canes made of hickory or oak, which don’t easily break on impact. The cane has a rich history as a weapon. A number of 19th century canings at the Capitol included a brutal 1856 attack on the Senate floor by South Carolina Rep. Preston Brooks on abolitionist Massachusetts Sen. Charles Sumner.

For More Information, Contact:
Sheldon S. Zinberg, M.D.
Chairman and President
Nifty After Fifty
(714) 823-4400
Sheldon.zinberg@niftyafterfifty.com

http://www.niftyafterfifty.com

Copyright 2009 by TheDenverChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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