Cayenne pepper is reemerging as a hot item among herbalists. It may be a “bitter” medicine to swallow, but it packs a lot of punch. Otherwise known as Capsicum annuum, cayenne pepper was mentioned in print by Nicholas Culpeper, an English physician who was also an avid cataloguer of medicinal herbs, in his 17th century [...]
Glutamine Benefits
Glutamine is one of the many non-essential amino acids which are the building blocks of protein. By non-essential, it means the body is unable to produce enough of it especially in the context of stress, and must therefore be supplied in the foods we eat. To better understand the benefits of glutamine, it is important [...]
Spirulina Benefits
Latin for spiral, spirulina is a type of one-celled, microscopic blue-green algae brimming with proteins, vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and antioxidants. Vitamins B complex and E, beta-carotene, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, selenium, and gamma linolenic acid (an essential fatty acid) can all be found in this tiny warm-water plankton. Despite their huge difference in appearance, spirulina [...]
Insomnia: the Facts and the Treatments
Many people have difficulty sleeping occasionally – it’s not an uncommon problem. But when ‘not being able to sleep occasionally’ develops into consistently not being able to sleep yet having to wake up the next day and continue with your everyday life, insomnia can become an incredibly debilitating condition. Insomnia occurs in around 1/3 of [...]
Selenium Benefits
Selenium is one of those trace minerals that you can’t get too much of, nor get too little, either. Insufficient amounts of dietary selenium leads to abnormal nail beds, cataracts, heart disease, growth retardation, muscle cramps, and the big C. Too much of it, however, leads to toxicity and can cause loss of hair, nails [...]
Who Are Ana and Mia?
You may have heard about Ana and Mia. They’ve been around in the media for a while now and are talked about on internet forums, in magazines and newspapers, on the television and in a number of different talk shows. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Ana and Mia are people – but that’s not [...]
Saw Palmetto Benefits
The Seminole tribe of Florida had used saw palmetto, Serenoa repens, primarily as food, and eventually, as remedy to treat a wide range of ailments, foremost of which are problems pertaining to sexual and urinary health. Many of the research conducted today supports these and other historical uses of the saw palmetto, and some uses [...]
Protect Yourself Against Tropical Disease
If you’re getting ready to jet off to a foreign country, you should speak to your doctor before travelling to make sure that your vaccinations are up to date and that you’re fully protected against any tropical diseases that you could come up against when abroad. Many people make the mistake of travelling without immunizations, [...]
Turmeric Benefits
Turmeric, or Indian saffron, is a spice within reach in kitchen cupboards, but high up in nutritional and medicinal benefits to merit a sacred place in Ayurvedic medicine. It is a shrub related to ginger, and is widely cultivated throughout India, where it was first used as a fabric dye, food coloring and spice (because [...]
The Shocking Story of Foreign Accent Syndrome
Foreign accent syndrome is a very rare medical disorder characterized by speech problems, usually as a result of severe brain injury, caused by a stroke or a head injury, but more rarely caused by a severe migraine. Those suffering from the condition begin to speak with a foreign accent that is often dialectical. The accent [...]
What is a Beta Blocker and How Does It Work?
Our sense of touch is made possible by nerve endings referred to as neurotransmitters. This makes possible the sending of signal from the skin to the brain, which the brain then interprets. On some of these nerve endings, chemicals like noradrenaline are released when the nerve is stimulated. In turn, this chemical puts beta-adrenergic receptors [...]
Is Vitamin Water Good For You?
From the name itself, vitamin water is plain water fortified with vitamins. To determine whether it confers the benefits of vitamins delivered through water, we need to examine what vitamin water is made of. Vitamin water is typically composed of the following (excluding colors and flavors): vapor distilled water, crystalline fructose, citric acid, caffeine, ascorbic [...]
Bicarbonate of Soda Side Effects
We know it by the not-so-fancy name baking soda. Bicarbonate of soda or sodium bicarbonate is such a common household ingredient and cupboard staple that we often use it as home remedy without serious regard to its side effects. For example, we are told we can use baking soda to deodorize underarms, use as toothpaste [...]
Wheat Grass Benefits
What if you can have the power of the sun in the palm of your hands? Not the hydrogen-helium kind, but something more earthbound: chlorophyll. Dubbed as “potent sunlight energy,” wheatgrass is the young of the mature wheat plant, Triticum aestivum, whose grains we convert to bread. Wheat grass is best harvested in its lifecycle [...]
Recognize Sleeping Disorders
At the end of the day, particularly a long one, all of us need to sleep. Whether it’s work, school, or plain house chores that kept us busy, our bodies will call for a good night’s rest after a day’s worth of activities. You would think that sleep comes automatically once you go to bed, [...]
Help for Infertility: Treatments
Infertility is a terrible thing for any man or woman to deal with and although there are a number of treatments available, they will not be successful for everyone. Infertility is diagnosed when a woman cannot get pregnant after trying to get pregnant for a year when they are below the age of 35, and [...]
Why We Drink Even Though We Know We Shouldn’t
Love going out drinking? New research has come to light that could go some way to explaining why having one more drink sounds like such a good idea – despite the crippling hangovers the day after drinking and despite the fact that you probably declared that you’d ‘never drink again’. However, most of us will [...]
Beating the Winter Blues
Winter is cold, murky, dark, chilly – and generally very dull and depressing. Most of us feel a little more down in the winter than we do in the summer – but the reason for this is actually due to the fact that we don’t get anywhere near as much sun in the winter than [...]
Depression in Children
Childhood depression is very different from the usual blues and feelings of sadness that most children will experience at some time during childhood. Although many children will feel down occasionally, when that extends into them not wanting to go out, not wanting to interact with their family or friends, having difficulty at school or being [...]
The Truth About Immunization
Immunization is the process of vaccinating you or your child against disease or infection. But something as apparently innocuous as immunization is often the cause of a huge debate – some parents strongly believe in vaccination and will make sure their children get all of their vaccines, but some parents are strongly opposed to some [...]
Feeling Down? Or Are You Actually Depressed?
Many of us feel sad or down from time to time and that is an entirely normal part of life – you cannot feel happy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But when that sad, down feeling does not go away and becomes a constant part of your life, you may be suffering [...]
Kidney Stone Stent Procedure
If you have kidney stones that have not passed on their own or with the help of laser treatment, your doctor may recommend surgery as a treatment option. Whether or not you are a good candidate for surgery will depend on many factors, but if your doctor does deem you a good candidate for surgery [...]
Acid Reflux Medications
Acid reflux is what happens when acids in the stomach used to digest food leak up from the stomach into the esophagus, sometimes travelling up the esophagus and into the back of the throat. Acid reflux can cause a number of unpleasant symptoms, including pain and a bitter taste at the back of the throat, [...]
Acid Reflux Foods to Avoid
Acid reflux is a hugely uncomfortable problem that is caused by a number of different things, including a hiatus hernia, excess weight around the midriff and as a side effect of certain drugs. Acid reflux happens when the valve between the stomach and the esophagus weakens, allowing acid to creep up from the stomach up [...]
Women’s Health: Boost Your Libido
Your sexuality is a hugely important part of your health and your life. But unfortunately, for many women in their 40s and beyond and even women in their 20s, sometimes your sexuality is the last thing on your mind when you think about your general health. Feeling sexy or wanting to be intimate with your [...]
The Kitchen: The Heart of the Home or Your Weight-Loss Enemy?
If you are you struggling to control your weight, it could be that your kitchen is to blame. Although your kitchen is the heart of the home, it’s also at the very heart of what you eat and how much food you consume – everything from the size of your plates to the wattage of [...]
Natural Antihistamine Food
Natural antihistamine food could be one of the primary keys that will unlock long-term solutions for allergies. Mother Nature has given us all our needs to be able to survive including remedy and medications that are readily available in our environment. Foods are a safe, convenient and enjoyable way to cure allergies and its accompanying [...]
Understanding Tonsillitis Symptoms
If you have ever experienced tonsillitis symptoms then you are not alone. Millions of people around the world suffer from tonsillitis every year. This could be recurrent or continuous over a period of time. Serious complications can arise if not given due attention. It is very important that it could be recognized early and be [...]
Exploring the Causes of Inflamed Joints
It is a fact that by knowing the causes of inflamed joints could very well help in managing and treating joint inflammation. All around the world, millions of people suffer from an inflamed joint because of poor prevention and proper care. It is usually a disorder of the older age group but it could occur [...]
Prevent Joint Pain
Joint pain can be incredibly debilitating, especially if it is something you suffer with in everyday life. Dealing with joint pain on an everyday basis can cause you to want to stay in, keep away from exercising and can really make you feel as though you are stuck in the house. Because of this, one [...]
What Alcohol Can Do to Your Family
Alcoholism is the term used for an addition to alcohol. Alcoholism is classified as a disease, and it is diagnosed when the individual who drinks has signs of physical dependence on alcohol and who continues to drink, despite problems with physical health, mental health, and social, family or job responsibilities. There is no known cause [...]
Joint Pain Causes
Joint pain can be caused by a host of things, namely injury or disease of the joint or the tissues surrounding the joints. Your joints are the areas where two bone ends meet – for example, your elbows, knees, ankles, hips, fingers and toes. There are a number of structures around joints, including cartilage which [...]
Diabetes and Erectile Dysfunction
Surprisingly, erectile dysfunction is a common symptom of men with diabetes – and in fact, the Canadian Diabetes Association says that erectile dysfunction can often be the symptom of diabetes that leads men to the doctor in the first place. Erectile dysfunction rates are actually very high in men with diabetes and current rates state [...]
Toxic Shock Syndrome: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
Toxic shock syndrome, also known as TSS, is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by toxins. These toxins are produced by certain types of infectious bacteria, and the condition is most commonly linked to the use of tampons in menstruating women. Although it is most commonly linked to the use of tampons, it can also occur [...]
Alcohol and Blood Pressure
Although you may not think that drinking alcohol could cause lots of different health problems, recent research has come to light that shows a definite link between alcohol consumption and high blood pressure, which left untreated can lead to heart attacks, kidney failure and eye damage. High blood pressure can also cause narrowing of the [...]
What Do Kidney Stones Feel Like?
Kidney stones are an incredibly common disorder of the urinary tract. A kidney stone is a hard mass that is developed from crystals that come from the urine in the urinary tract. Urine usually contains chemicals that stop these stones from forming, preventing the crystals from sticking together, but some people do not seem to [...]
The Twenty-Year Old Alzheimer’s Sufferers
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia. It is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of the memory and then eventually by disturbances in planning, reasoning, language and perception. Alzheimer’s disease is startlingly common and is thought to effect up to 50% of people over the age of 85. [...]
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: the Facts
Fetal alcohol syndrome is a birth defect that is 100% preventable but 100% incurable. If your child is born with FAS, they will have the defect for life. There is a spectrum of alcohol disorders – some children will have facial and physical abnormalities as well as abnormalities of the nervous system, but some children [...]
The Truth About What You Can & Can’t Do During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a scary time for any woman – the realization that you are responsible for a tiny being is enough to make anyone wary of eating, drinking and taking certain things. The media is constantly giving us conflicting advice on what is okay and what is not okay during pregnancy – for example, some [...]
Beating the Post-Holiday Blues
Dreaming of that sun-kissed, hot beach that you just left behind? Desperate to be back on your holidays? Try not to let the cold weather, dead houseplants and mound of mail and bills get you down. The worst thing about holidays is that they come to an end. One minute, the most taxing thing on [...]
Shocking Story of the EIGHT Year Old Anorexia Sufferers
When you think of anorexia, you tend to think of a very thin teenage girl. However, startling new figures have recently come to light that shows that children as young as eight, sometimes even younger, are now being treated for anorexia at specialist clinics and the number of young anorexia sufferers is rising year on [...]
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): What Is It?
CFS, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or M.E./Myalgic Encephalomyelitis is a debilitating disorder that can afflict anyone of any age. Symptoms can be very draining and can affect both the body and mind, making the sufferer feel incredibly unwell. There are two main categories of symptoms and these are muscle symptoms and ‘head’ symptoms. [...]
Tips for Coping with IBS
IBS, short for irritable bowel syndrome, is an intestinal disorder that can cause a whole host of symptoms that can be both uncomfortable and embarrassing. Sufferers often have to deal with severe abdominal pain and cramps, excess gas, having to rush to the toilet, diarrhoea and constipation. The symptoms of IBS can come and go [...]
Practical Advice for Quitting Smoking
Many of us have our vices, be it cigarettes, a glass of wine at the end of the day or a shopping addiction. Some people have addictive personalities, meaning that they may have many vices, not just one – but some of our vices are more dangerous than others and smoking is up there as [...]
A Healthier Diet is Simpler Than You Think!
By Dr. Michael J. FunicelloWhen it comes to living a healthier life, the first thing that comes to mind is either exercising or eating right. The only problem is, what does it actually mean to eat a healthier diet? For that matter, the same could be said for exercising more. However, these are important points [...]
Heartburn Causes
You know it when it strikes: sharp, almost debilitating pain in the chest area, usually coupled with a sour aftertaste or difficulty swallowing. Heartburn is quite common among adults, and perhaps the reason why infants are colicky. There are a number of factors that give rise to this condition, and they are remotely connected to [...]
Kidney Stones in Children
Kidney diseases are often associated with negligent lifestyles of adults, but the painful truth is that kidney stones spare no one – not even kids. Kidney trouble also occurs among children long before they know that junk food is not good for their kidneys. Kidney stones (renal calculi, nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis) are less common among [...]
Staghorn Kidney Stones
Kidney stones make the patient shudder at the thought of pain. But if you think that kidney stones the size of peas could inflict such torture, imagine a stone far bigger and more intimidating in appearance – the struvite stone, otherwise known as the staghorn kidney stones. Staghorn stones, as the name implies, are magnesium [...]
Blood Pressure Medication
Blood pressure medication is used to control an individual’s blood pressure. Blood pressure is the medical term for the tension in your arteries and if it is too high, it can cause a number of medical problems, including heart disease and eye damage. If it is too low, the individual affected could faint or have [...]
Salt and High Blood Pressure
If you are hypertensive, how often should you say “please pass the salt?” Salt (sodium chloride) may be indispensable in food preparation, but it is optional for people at risk with high blood pressure. To understand the subtle interplay between salt and hypertension, let us first take a look at the basic concept of blood [...]
Diabetes and Joint Pain
If too much salt can cause your kidneys to go on strike, how does too much sugar affect your nuts and bolts? The body’s inability to efficiently convert carbohydrates to glucose in order to fuel basal metabolism can have dire effects on the entire body, including joints; although, at first glance, there may be no [...]
Gouty Arthritis Symptoms and Treatment
Gout is a progressive, chronic disease that results from an overload of uric acid within the body. This excess of uric acid leads to the formation of tiny crystals of urate, which deposit throughout the tissues within the body, especially in the joints. Gout can lead to something called gouty arthritis, where it can cause [...]
Diabetes Treatment Options
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that results in the individual affected having a sensitivity to sugar. There are two types of diabetes, one of which is preventable, one of which is not. For both types of diabetes, symptoms can be limited by making a few lifestyle changes including eating a varied and healthy diet [...]
Healthy Weight Loss
Fitness literature, both online and print, is deluged with tips on how to shed unwanted pounds. With this ocean of (sometimes conflicting) information, it is challenging to fish out the healthy from hype to tip the scales in your favor. And if you feel overwhelmed by the wave of information that comes your way, just [...]
Acid Reflux and Alcohol
You may have already heard of stomach contents backing up into the esophagus, or even tasted it yourself: that sour aftertaste after a heavy meal that only gets worse when bending over or lying down. Doctors call it acid reflux, a common esophageal activity that resolves by itself by avoiding triggers. Alcohol is one of [...]
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Acid reflux is quite a common occurrence: It can happen to anybody, anytime. It can happen to kids younger than 12 months, a childhood malady known as spitting up. Spitting up is usually outgrown after 12 months of age. Acid reflux can also happen to adults after a heavy meal, and the condition may never [...]
Antioxidant Supplements
Antioxidants are molecules that are capable of inhibiting the oxidization of other molecules. Oxidization reactions can cause free radical damage, which can cause chain reactions within the cells. When there is a chain reaction within a cell, it can cause the cell to damage or die. Antioxidants prevent these chain reactions from happening by removing [...]
Flexcin Joint Pain Relief Review
Joint pain can be caused by a number of things, including injury, accident or illness. The most common culprit for joint pain and pain within the joints is arthritis, a disease that causes the joints to become inflamed, causing pain, tenderness and red skin that is painful to the touch. It’s a very uncomfortable disease [...]
Colon Cleansing for Better Health
The term colon cleansing encompasses a number of alternative medical therapies that are intended to remove feces and other toxins from the intestinal tract and the colon. There are a number of different types of colon cleansing and one of the most popular is known as colonic irrigation or colon hydrotherapy. Other forms of colon [...]
Natural Detoxification
We all live in a toxic world. Whether you live on top of a hilltop in the middle of the countryside or whether you live next to an oil refinery, you carry environmental toxins within the tissues of your body. Some toxins are more harmful than others, such as arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium, but [...]
Hair Regrowth Products Review
As technology advances, we’re now finding that there are cures available for many skin conditions and disorders that were not curable before. Years ago, when people lost their hair, there wasn’t much at all that could be done to help them. However, there are now literally hundreds of products on the market that all claim [...]
Gout Natural Cures
Cure Your Gout Using a Natural Home Remedy – Click Here Gout is a common arthritic condition that causes inflammation of the joints, especially in the big toe and the base of the toes. It causes swelling and pain within the inflamed joint and is thought to affect one in 100 people, making [...]
Acid Reflux and Back Pain
Acid reflux, also known as acid reflux disease or gastro-esophageal reflux disease, is a common medical disorder that is characterized by reflux of acid from the stomach into the esophagus. This acid can sometimes be felt as a burning sensation at the back of the throat and it can cause pain, inflammation, regurgitation, nausea and [...]
Acid Reflux in Children
Although it is common for infants to spit up after a meal, regurgitation in conjunction with vomiting after a meal could be a sign of acid reflux disease, also known as gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). Acid reflux does not just affect younger children; it can also affect older children up to the age of 14. [...]
Tonsil Stones
Although you may think that the kidneys are the only place in the body that can develop stones, the tonsils are another area that can develop hard and sometimes painful stones in certain individuals. Tonsils are gland-like structures that are situated at the back of your throat and it is your tonsils’ job to prevent [...]
Calcium Deposits Under the Skin
Calcium phosphate deposits that appear under the skin are also known as calcinosis. These deposits tend to appear as a cluster of white lumps of various sizes and they can be found on the fingers, elbows, face and shoulders. When these deposits first appear, they are soft and tend to be flexible, not causing any [...]
Elbow Joint Pain
Your elbows are a common place of injury as the bone in the joint is prone to knocks and bangs. Injuries of the elbow can come particularly sharp as the bone is very close to the surface of the skin – hence the term ‘funny bone’ being used to describe the elbow joint. The most [...]
Knee Joint Pain Relief
The knees are one of the most hard-wearing joints on our body – they are active and weight-bearing and unfortunately, they are one of the most commonly injured joints. Injury can affect the ligaments, cartilage, menisci and bones forming the joint and because of the complexity of this area, it can sometimes be difficult to [...]
Effects of High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the medical term for having high amounts of pressure or tension in the arteries. High blood pressure does not mean high emotional pressure or tension, although stress and high emotion can exacerbate blood pressure. Blood pressure is measured in two parts and a healthy blood pressure should [...]
Urinary Tract Infection Causes
A urinary tract infection is an infection of the urinary tract, which is comprised of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. A UTI is caused by pathogenic organisms such as bacteria or parasites in any of the structures that makes up the urinary tract. UTIs are more common in women than in men and symptoms [...]
Kidney Stone Disease
Kidney stones are a relatively common problem – they are found in one in ten Americans and the most common age group for development of kidney stones is 20-49. Men are more likely than women to develop kidney stones and a Caucasian male has a one in eight chance of developing kidney stones by the [...]
Top Six Ways to Reduce Stress
These days, we’re finding that we have more stresses than ever trying to hold down a job, a family and a home. Getting home at the end of the day quite often spells the start of another working day where we have to clean the house, do the washing, iron the clothes and sort everything [...]
Erectile Dysfunction Treatment
Erectile dysfunction, also known as impotence, is the inability to achieve or sustain an erection for satisfactory sexual activity. Erectile dysfunction is very common and estimations currently state that around 30 million American men are thought to have suffered with erectile dysfunction at some point or another. The problem is uncommon amongst young men and [...]
Acid Reflux Causes
Acid reflux, otherwise known as GERD or gastro-esophageal reflux disease is a common condition whereby the acid content of the stomach comes back or refluxes back up into the esophagus. The symptoms of acid reflux include nausea, heartburn and regurgitation. Complications of acid reflux include coughs, asthma, throat and larynx inflammation, ulcers and strictures of [...]
Hiatal Hernia Symptoms and Treatment
A hiatal hernia is an abnormality in the stomach whereby part of the stomach protrudes through the diaphragm and up into the chest. These types of hernias are actually present in around 15% of the population although only a small amount of patients will have any symptoms. There are two different types of hiatal hernias, [...]
Tips for a Healthy Heart
Your heart is one of the most vital organs in your entire body. It keeps the blood pumping around your body to all of your extremities and most importantly, your brain. If your heart gets just a little bit out of synch, that could have disastrous consequences for the rest of your body. Equally, if [...]
Can Diabetes Be Reversed?
There are two types of diabetes – type I and type II. Type I diabetes, sometimes called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes is typically diagnosed in children, teenagers and young adults. Type I diabetes is characterized by the beta cells of the pancreas no longer making insulin, usually because the body’s immune system has destroyed [...]
Living with Diabetes
Although diabetes is known as a chronic, lifelong disease, you don’t have to let it control your life. It can be very serious if it is left untreated, but once you’ve been diagnosed your doctor and medical team will give you all of the tools you need in order to control your diabetes. First Days [...]
Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms
The urinary tract is comprised of the kidneys, bladder, urethra and ureters. A urinary tract infection is an infection that occurs in any of the organs that are situated in the urinary tract. Although this is a very broad definition, unfortunately it is the only definition we have. However, some doctors will name specific areas [...]
Heartburn Relief
Heartburn can be a really painful condition that can prevent you from enjoying your food. It’s a symptom of acid reflux, and heartburn itself usually feels like an uncomfortable burning sensation making its way from your stomach to your abdomen and throat. The pain can be stinging or burning and it can be associated with [...]
Acid Reflux Symptoms
Acid reflux disease is a common disorder that is usually relatively mild, although the symptoms can be very uncomfortable. More than 60 million Americans will experience acid reflux at least once a month and symptoms of acid reflux will usually occur after eating a large meal or when bending or lifting a heavy object. Certain [...]
How to Get Rid of Lice
An episode of itchy and scratchy is not funny: It is every child’s bane, and every parent’s nightmare. As embarrassing as it appears, lice infestation is a phase that every child seems to go through, so might as well own up to it (because you have to inform the school) so every concerned party (including [...]
HCG for Weight Loss
Modern society’s affinity for instant and painless results has led to a renewed interest in the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), not as a reproductive stimulant (which is its original medical application), but as a critical hormone in weight loss programs. First discovered in 1954 by British physician Dr. Albert Simeons, its (controversial) popularity is mainly [...]
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is one kind of autoimmune disease that parents may have to deal with for a lifetime. Once the destruction sets in, its effects may be hard to reverse. This is because rheumatologists (specialists of joint disorders) are still not clear about its root cause; so definitive treatment is also difficult to [...]
Acid Reflux Cough
You’ve been coughing and wheezing long after the pollen season. In fact, you’ve been coughing without allergen trigger, period. Could it be that your lungs are just going through a spastic fit? If you are highly acidic and burp too much, chances are, your coughing is not lung-related. If you experience sour aftertaste after meals, [...]
Eight of the Healthiest Diet Snacks
Over 40% of women and 15% of men are on a diet at any one time. Being on a diet usually entails eating healthy meals and stopping snacking on fatty foods such as chocolate and potato chips, but what can you snack on whilst you’re on a diet? Unfortunately, we tend to think that we [...]
Diabetes Prevention Tips
Around 50 million Americans between the ages of 40 and 74 have what is known as pre-diabetes – which is a condition that is a potentially reversible stage in the development of type II diabetes. Pre-diabetes is also known as impaired glucose tolerance, in that the individual’s blood sugar is slightly higher than that of [...]
Family Exercise Activities Ideas
We should all be aiming to get at least half an hour’s worth of moderate level exercise 5 days a week. But most of us don’t reach this goal because we have all sorts of other things going on – work, shopping, doing chores, running errands. Having a family means that you have lots of [...]
Healthy Grilling Tips
Grilling is one of the best and healthiest ways to prepare a huge variety of food, especially if you use a grilling machine. It allows any fat that’s in the food to run off during cooking, meaning you’re taking in less fat and calories yet you’re still eating delicious food – and best of all, [...]
Vegetarian Myths and Facts
Vegetarianism is fast becoming a more popular dietary option, apart from it becoming fashionable with Hollywood getting its fair share of vegetarian celebrities. Dietary reasons and iconic status aside, vegetarianism has been around for a long time. In this day and age, the choice to munch on asparagus tips rather than chips and dips is [...]
Is a Raw Food Diet Right for You?
If you think veganism is extreme, you may not have heard of “raw foodism” yet. Vegans are on top of the herbivore food chain – they eat nothing but plants. Cooked plants. So there is really nothing to the rumor that vegetarian food is rabbit food. More accurately, rabbit food can be considered “raw food.” [...]
Tips for Aging Gracefully
Aging is an inevitable biological process that has to be dealt with, whether it is celebrated with candles and cake, or vigorously smothered with anti-aging creams. While it is satisfying to look younger than our actual age, how we manage the process should be more than skin-deep if we are to achieve the virtues that [...]
Healthy Summer Mistakes
You thought it was fine to unpack your picnic basket on bare table in a public playground. Unless that table is under direct sunlight, you may want to spread a cloth first before you take out anything. You never know who used the table last. Summer is all about fun and adventure, so you may [...]
Tennis Elbow Symptoms
Despite its name, tennis elbow is not only suffered by tennis players, although the name originated from the fact that it is a common injury among a large number of them. Though pain is primarily experienced in the elbow area, it is actually an inflammation of the tendon of the wrist extensor muscles, the muscles [...]
Healthy Remedies for Common Summer Ailments
Summer spells fun! What a bummer to spend it under the covers because of colds, or to cancel that long-awaited trip because of motion sickness. The waters are most inviting when the sun is hottest, and it’s frustrating to just sit in the pool sides because something throbs in your ear. Setting up camp would [...]
Manuka Honey Benefits
If Australia has picky koalas that only eat six species of eucalyptus leaves, then New Zealand has pickier bees that only harvest nectar from one species of endemic bush – manuka, or Leptospermum scoparium – that grows uncultivated all throughout the country. This means that authentic manuka honey can only come from New Zealand because [...]
What to Look for When Buying Food from a Farmer’s Market
Food from farmers’ markets is literally head and shoulders above supermarket produce in terms of flavor and quality, and more often than not, it’s actually a fair bit cheaper. However, if you’ve never bought food from a market before, there are a few things that you should look out for to make sure you’re getting [...]
High-Potassium Foods
Marathoners who go bananas over bananas are in good company: the fruit is high in potassium. Hydration fluids that are overflowing with potassium are likewise recommended to replace lost electrolytes. A potassium-rich diet is highly advised for sufferers of hyperthyroidism because the anti-thyroid medications they take (like propylthiuracil or PTU) eliminate potassium from the body [...]
Top Five Places to Volunteer At
Volunteering can be incredibly rewarding – and at the same time, great fun. It’s fantastic for people who’ve been out of work for some time and who are looking to get back into it, for college students at a loose end or for people who genuinely want to help out their community. Anyone can volunteer [...]
Gall Bladder Diet
You may have heard it said that humans can live without their gallbladder. After all, it is just a storage tank. Bile, which is the reason why the gallbladder is there in the first place, can always find its way down the small intestine. So technically, the entero-hepatic (Latin for “gut-liver”) circulation cannot be derailed [...]
