Think Healthy Articles

Archive for October, 2009

Look around today and you see a higher percentage of obese people. There are many factors for this including excess sugar.

A can of soda contains up to 10 teaspoons of sugar. How many cans do you drink?

Pop has no nutritional value and is loaded with sugar and other health robbing ingredients.

Each extra can of soda increases obesity by 1.6 times.

The low pH is extremely acidic and is corrosive to your teeth and dissolves tooth enamel.

Other negative attributes are the high phosphate levels and low calcium, which can cause osteoporosis.

Soda can cause these health problems;

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Tooth decay
• Osteoporosis
• Heart disease
• Metabolic Syndrome
• Excessive fat around waist
• Low HDL
• High LDL
• Increased strokes
• High blood triglycerides & high blood sugar
• Low high-density lipoprotein
• Reduced conception

Diet soda isn’t any better. It could increase your preference for sweets. The caramel coloring is associated with tissue inflammation. Diet soda can produce methanol and is high in sodium. Also it’s has carcinogenic compounds.

Face it. Artificial sweeteners are a health hazard.

Just say no to all sodas unless you want to be unhealthy have medical problems.

You can Discover How to Begin a Healthier Lifestyle Today

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Popularity: 36%

Chiropractors set their attention on the musculoskeletal nervous system. By using manipulation and adjustments, they help normalized your spine and improve the way it functions.

Chiropractics serves to keep your nervous system healthy thereby assisting control and body functions.

Usually five to ten minutes is sufficient, but sometimes the Chiropractor may need additional time.

So how can Chiropractics help your health?

The common complaints are often back pain. There are numerous other areas where you can benefit as well.

Look to Chiropractics for relief from high blood pressure and allergies. For a reprieve from headaches to hip pain and just about everything in between.

You should do a little homework and be sure to find a Chiropractor that knows what he is doing. He should be someone you can trust.

Look for a wellness Chiropractor that focuses on your general health and well-being. You want someone that will work with you and listen to what you have to say.

Once you find someone that is right for you then the two of you will work together to optimize your health and potential. By taking action, you can correct and prevent illnesses and pain.

The cost of Chiropractics is reasonable and can actually save money by preventing future problems. In addition, Chiropractics can help you live happier, fuller, and most likely longer.

Vertebral subluxation is a mechanical problem with the spine that relates to nerve interference. This can cause pain and other problems such as reduced healing and well-being.

Chiropractics can help correct vertebral subluxation problems so that you can experience a better lifestyle without pain and other complications.

You should give Chiropractics a try if you have not already. You may find that it works well for you.

Here are some benefits that are possible with Chiropractics;

- Feel Great
- Improves Immunity
- More Energy
- Better Sleep
- Improves Posture
- Slows Aging
- Faster Recovery
- Could Prevent Surgery
- Relieves Stress & Tension
- Increases Circulation
- Reduces Pain
- Improves High Blood Pressure
- Helps with Migraines

You want to talk with your Chiropractor about your issues. Be sure that he understands what your needs are and where you want to improve. It is a two-way street. You should be able to talk comfortably with your Chiropractor.

This is a great way for you to take control of your life. After your first visit, you will likely be very happy and pleased with your decision.

Decide today to look into this alternative tool.

Popularity: 33%

We all at one time or another struggle with our weight. It seems everything we eat is so delicious but too bad that eating it packs on the pounds. Then we have to figure how to lose those extra pounds. It’s not easy changing your habits whether it’s eating a little less, eating better food other than a lot of junk food, or exercising a lot more than usual.

When you start losing the extra pounds you’ll be glad you did something to make you look better, feel better, or get into that outfit you haven’t worn in a while. And WOW! The compliments you’ll get from other people will really help you on the path to weight loss success.

Here are some tips to help you get going.

Eat less but more often. Don’t eat large meals but eat smaller portions throughout the day. In the middle of the afternoon and in the evening if you need to eat, eat a piece of fruit. Eat at certain times of the day. Set a breakfast, lunch, and dinner time and don’t stray from those times.

Give yourself a time limit to eat at least three hours before you go to bed.

Drinking more water fills you up. In fact, drinking a glass of water before your meal will make you feel fuller so you eat less.

Eat slower so you savor every bite. That way your body senses that you’ve eaten and it will switch off the hunger signals.

Order less foods if you’re at a restaurant. Instead of the larger size of meals at fast food restaurants try the smaller size. In fact, only eat fast food meals once a week if you have to. All that food has very little nutritional content but a lot of fat and calories.

Eat better foods. Try to limit your intake of starchy food. Bread, bagels, buns, rice, muffins, pasta, potatoes, and corn all pack on the pounds if you eat a lot. Sugary foods aren’t good for you either so limit pop, donuts, candy, and ice cream.

Try to eat less fats like vegetable oil, butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese, and salad dressing. Eat leaner meets like turkey or roast beef. Eat fish more, like salmon, herring, shrimp or lobster.. Eat more fruits and vegetables. They help you to lose weight and they are anti-aging.

Exercise at least twenty minutes every other day . Even if it’s just walking around the house or down the block in nicer weather. It’s always good to exercise with a friend. Riding an exercise bike helps with weight loss. Listen to some music while you’re riding it and soon you’ll want to ride it at least for twenty minutes.

Always remember how you want to look without all the extra weight. Losing weight could be the healthiest thing you do for yourself.

Popularity: 33%

Our bodies go through changes throughout our lives due to stress, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and then illness. It would be nice to have help as we grow old. Noni may change your life for the better.

Noni is the Hawaiian name for Morinda Citrifolia but it is also called Cheese Fruit, Indian Mulberry, Nono or Nonu, Ba Ji Tian and Nhau in various cultures throughout the world.

it’s a small evergreen tree or shrub that grows mostly in the South Pacific Islands anywhere from Hawaii to Tahiti. The islanders have been eating the fruit during famines and as a staple food for thousand of years. Or they drank the juice. It helped them with many ailments. Hawaiians have used the leaves and fruit of the noni tree to heal deep cuts, sores and wounds.

It is high in carbohydrates, dietary fiber, several vitamins such as C and A, beta carotene, niacin, iron, riboflavin, and thiamine. It has potassium, protein compounds, and amino acids, It also contains an ingredient called Xeronine which benefits the body tremendously. Xeronine helps with proper cell function by enabling nutrients to enter the cells more easily which means you get more benefits from it.

There have been studies performed to check out this wonderful fruit to see what it’s capable of. Some of the many benefits are relieving cancer symptoms, fever, helps with weight loss, heart problems (increases blood flow to your heart), digestive problems, diarrhea, constipation, depression, arthritis, bronchial illnesses, helps with diabetes, fights infections, and relieves pain.

It also gives you energy. Chinese healers have for centuries been using the roots of the Morinda Citrifolia plant to make a energy boosting tonic.

It helps improves your skin. The islanders have been using it for centuries and they’re in the bright sun all day. Have you ever seen their skin how smooth and healthy it looks? It has a glow about it.

It also strengthens your immune system. You especially need a strong immune system today to fight off this flu and protect yourself from colds and viruses.

Since the nineties, noni has increased in popularity and has become one of the fastest growing supplements in the world. The industry is really paying attention to this wonderful and powerful fruit.

It has a strong smell and bitter taste so you better take it in supplemental form. Try some and see what it can do for you.

Popularity: 34%

We want to look and feel our best at all time. Even as we age, we want to fool our biological clock. How can we help accomplish this? Eating right is one of the keys to successful anti-aging.

Most people like junk food but it’s not healthy for our bodies and our minds. “We are what we eat” is a popular saying so don’t eat a lot of fat, sugar and starches. We have to eat good food so we can get the proper vitamins and minerals that our minds and bodies need.

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables daily. Let’s start off with vegetables.. Vegetables contain nutrients that help your body function better. They protect it from diseases like type 2 diabetes, stroke , coronary heart disease, certain cancers like colon, stomach, and mouth.

Vegetables may reduce the chance of getting kidney stones and decreased bone loss. They help with high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

Here’s a list of some vegetables and their benefits: Carrots are rich in vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber. They help protect you from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and are beneficial to your vision, especially night vision.

Spinach is rich in antioxidants. It has plenty of vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B2, and vitamin B6. It has folate and magnesium. Folate helps prevent heart attacks and strokes. Magnesium helps lower your blood pressure which helps protect you from heart disease.

Broccoli is rich in vitamins A, C, and K. It has folate and dietary fiber. It is good at helping to prevent breast, ovarian, lung, colon,.prostate and bladder cancers. It helps build stronger bones and it boosts your immune system.

The second key to anti-aging is fruit. Fruits contain water, fiber and vitamin C. Eating fruits daily helps prevent cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer disease, stroke and certain cancers.

There are all kinds of berries you could eat. They contain vitamin C, minerals and phytochemicals, which are chemicals that are very good for our health. Just a cupful of berries are very low in calories.

Berries are good for your heart, vision, especially nighttime vision, and macular degeneration, vision as we age. They help prevent colon, ovarian, lung, and gastrointestinal cancers. They help with brain health also.

Eating apples will help maintain healthy blood pressure. They have no fat or cholesterol which helps if you’re watching your weight. They help control blood sugar and help protect you against lung, colon, and liver cancers. Always remember to leave the skin on because most of the nutrients are just under the skin.

Fruits are so good for you that instead of eating snacks that are high in calories and have zero nutritional value you should be eating a piece of fruit that has little calories and are packed with vitamins that are good for your body.

So please eat your fruits and vegetables. They will help you age gracefully.

Popularity: 44%

Before you consider taking fish oil you have to understand omega-3 and it’s role in your health.

Omega-3 fatty acids are the beneficial fatty acids. They are essential to your health but your body doesn’t produce them. So you have to help supply your body with these good fatty acids.

The way to obtain these acids is through eating fish, such as halibut, tuna, herring, sardines, and salmon, krill which is an organic product, nut oils, and certain plants. You can also get omega-3 fatty acids in quality dietary supplements.

Fish oil is taken from the tissues of fish. It contains certain omega-3 fatty acids, EPA, which is Eicosapentaenoic acid and DHA, which is Docosahexaenoic acid. The fish get these acids from what they eat like micro algae.

Krill oil is oil that is taken from krill which is a shrimp like invertebrate animal. They are found in the Antarctic waters and the Pacific Ocean along the coast of Japan and Canada. Krill oil contains more antioxidants than fish oil plus it has a longer shelf life.

Clinical studies of fish oil have shown that it can help high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, weight loss, arthritis, and osteoporosis. Depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders have been shown to improve by taking fish oil.

Let me tell you my experiences with krill oil and why I can’t live without it.

I have a mild case of cerebral palsy, which means I have a slight case of brain damage. In the last several years I’ve had eight petit mal seizures that have resulted in me going to the hospital to recover.

I had trouble concentrating all my life. To write anything like this would take a lot of effort.

I am in my late 50’s and my mind isn’t what it used to be, as good as it was. I thought I was going through early onset Alzheimer’s because I was having a real hard time thinking, even my talking was slow and I had to think longer of what I wanted to say.

My husband was taking fish oil so I thought I’d take that. It left me with a strong aftertaste. So I couldn’t take that. Then my husband started taking krill oil and he said I should take those. At first I was reluctant but then I thought I’d better try it because my condition was getting worse. Very soon after taking them I noticed my mind was loosening up. Words and thoughts are coming to me easier and freer.

I’ve had depression all my life and now I’m seeing a brightness to my life that I’ve never seen before. I love it! I’m even making jokes more, I talk more and am really starting to see a change in my personality. I can’t believe it! I know it’s the krill oil because I’ve changed nothing else in my life.

I would have had the hardest time writing this article in the past but now the words are flowing out of me. I feel great and am so glad and relieved to know I am not losing my mind. Thank you krill oil!

So if you’re having trouble concentrating I’d try some fish oil. I can’t say it will work wonders for you, like it did for me, but it’s well worth a try.

Popularity: 29%

Arthritis is joint inflammation. It can affect one or more joints.

The symptoms of arthritis are joint pain, warmth around the joint, stiffness, which affects the person more in the morning, swelling in the joints, redness of the skin around the joint, and limited movement of the joint.

There are over 100 different types of arthritis affecting an estimated 46 million adults in the United States. More than half are women and nearly two thirds are under 65 years old. Arthritis even affects children.

The two types that are going to be examined are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. These two types of arthritis can be crippling over time. Surgery might be necessary in extreme cases.

Osteoarthritis is a deterioration of your joint’s cartilage due to wear and tear. It is also called osteoarthroses or degenerative joint disease. It involves one or only a few joints usually in the hips, knees or fingers. This type of arthritis usually occurs as we age. The person would experience pain, swelling, tenderness and a decrease in function.

The person has to change their lifestyle to improve this type of arthritis. If needed, medication should be used like Acetaminophen (Tylenol), Ibuprofen, and Aspirin. If your symptoms are severe you’ll need prescription drugs like Enbrel, Humira, and Remicade. Or you might need steroids injected into your joints.

Exercise should be added to your daily life to help maintain your joints and reduce the pain. Exercise should include: Low-impact aerobic activity, strength training to help muscle tone, and range of motion flexibility exercises. You will need a physical therapist to set up a program that fits your needs.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of arthritis that affects your hands, wrists or knees. It occurs in joints on both sides of the body. Joint symptoms usually develop gradually over a period of several years although with some people it progresses rapidly.

Medications for rheumatoid arthritis are Ibuprofen or Aspirin, Prednisone, narcotic pain relievers and pain relievers that are applied to the skin.

Rest and exercise is very beneficial to this condition. Exercise is important to maintain flexibility to the joints and to help strengthen the muscles around the joints. To maintain joint mobility do range-of- motion exercises.

You may want to include natural supplements to help with the pain and flexibility. These are without a prescription and usually without side effects.

We have to make the best out of life so get moving and always have a positive outlook no matter what the odds. Your life depends on it.

Popularity: 18%

There have been many artificial sweeteners produced in recent history. You may be familiar with some such as Splenda, Sweet-N-Low and others.

They use ingredients such as sucralose and aspartame. These are manmade substances.

Splenda is made from a sugar derivative called sucralose. It is a non-calorie sweetener and is not recognized by the body as sugar. The chemical structure of sucralose is very different from sugar and is not metabolized.

Research with animals has shown that sucralose causes many problems including reduced growth of newborns and adults. Other problems could develop such as enlarged colon, liver, brain and kidneys. Also, shrunken ovaries and increased cataracts.

There are several other problems as well from using artificial sweeteners.

The FDA and McNeil report have downplayed these findings.

Nutritional experts believe artificial sweeteners have no positive results on a person’s health. One reason is that they evoke a craving for sweets.

Users of artificial sweeteners usually end up eating too much food loaded with regular sugar negating any positive effects.

Additionally, artificial sweeteners can cause serious distortion in your biochemistry.

Artificial sweeteners are potential toxic substances and may increase appetite. Even death has been reported from their use.

They can lead to health problems such as birth defects, brain cancer, diabetes, emotional disorders and seizures.

The public doesn’t hear too much about these problems so people are unaware.

The news doesn’t report on this topic very often. They would rather report on the more dramatic and instantaneous news.

The negative results from artificial sweeteners usually happen over time so the user isn’t always aware of the source of their problems.

Diet sodas may double your risk of obesity by increasing weight later in life. Sixty-five percent are more likely to be overweight if they consume one diet soda daily.

These consumers may think it’s OK to make up calories with other high-calorie foods since they are drinking diet soda.

You have to use your head and trust nature. If something were artificial, why would you consume it?

You would do yourself a favor to research more about artificial sweeteners and give this a second thought.

Studies show that artificial sweeteners don’t usually work and they are potentially dangerous.

Just don’t use them.

Instead, use only natural sweeteners in modernization. Cut back on sweets and eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

You would think twice about putting dangerous or harmful products in your cars. You wouldn’t paint your house with lead-based paint.

Why in the world would you put harmful substances into the most important thing to you… yourself?

Popularity: 40%