Health Information

If you want to be successful in your weight loss efforts; keep a food journal. It is an excellent way help you learn about your eating habits, understand your triggers and help you identify why you are making certain food choices.

What is a Food Journal?

A food journal is simply a diary or record of all the foods that you consume on a daily basis. To get an even better understanding of your eating habits, I recommend you also record your water consumption, your moods when you are eating, the company you are with and the location you are in. Do you eat when you are happy, sad, bored, stressed or frustrated? You might begin to see patterns about yourself that you may not have realized. A food journal can be done for a week, months or on an ongoing basis.

Why Use a Food Journal?

I encourage all of my clients who want to lose weight to use a food journal. I then review it each week and make recommendations and suggestions for the following week. Journaling helps clients see in black and white why they may not be reaching their goals. People often say, ‘I don’t eat that much,’ until they see their own food journals that they have been underestimating their food intake. Often just knowing that someone else is going to be looking at what they eat is enough some people make better choices. Food journaling takes all of the guess work out of trying to figure out just how many calories we consumed.

I like to take the food journal one step farther and use it as a basis for a healthy meal plan. With some modifications, you can learn how to transform an unhealthy meal into a nutritious, healthy balanced meal. Once you get into the habit of recording, you can actually put together your own personal healthy cookbook consisting of the foods you enjoy and feel confident knowing that they are part of your healthy eating plan.

To obtain the best results with your food journal:
- Be honest with yourself
- Try to keep your journal in a convenient place( posted on the fridge, in your day-timer or beside your bed)
- Try to record when you eat instead of trying to remember back a full day or more
- Include tasting and nibbling—those calories add up

Although it may seem time consuming, learning how to manage your weight by keeping a record of your food intake and you will save a lot of time, money and frustration.

Cathy Morenzie is a certified personal fitness trainer, aerobics and Pilate’s instructor. She specializes in providing creative fitness solutions for people on the go. She has trained thousands of clients and trainers over the last 15 years. For more FREE tips like these, visit her site at activeimage.ca activeimage.ca or call 416-410-8517 to schedule your complimentary session. Can’t fit personal training sessions into your schedule, no problem- try our on- line personal training and receive the benefits of one-on-one personal training at a fraction of the cost.

The arrival of spring is often marked by spring cleaning rituals as we attempt to rid our homes of all the junk we accumulated over the winter months while we were hanging out indoors. The warm weather inspires us to get outdoors and do some serious spring cleaning. Spring cleaning should also apply to your lifestyle to encourage you to get rid of stuff that doesn’t work well anymore.

Is all that cold weather comfort food really going to make your body ready for shorts and tank tops? Will sitting on the sofa get rid of extra body fat to improve your appearance in that summer swimsuit? Because the answers to those questions are clearly no, there is no time like the present to spring clean your refrigerator and life.

Here are five suggestions…

1. Go through your refrigerator, freezer and cupboards and throw out all that fattening comfort food you noshed on during winter evenings in front of the fire.

2. Take a trip to the grocery store and buy all those fresh fruits and vegetables that are available in the produce section. Better yet, indulge yourself with a visit to a farm or fruit market - buying the freshest produce available adds to its allure.

3. Get off the couch. Take a walk, ride your bike or simply pop in a new fitness DVD and get started. Exercise can be simple and doesn’t require a lot of time or equipment. Just shut off that television show for a half hour - get up and do it! Your body will thank you later when you slide those jeans on so easily.

4. Is the door of your refrigerator laden with soft drinks? Toss them out and buy a case of water. Not only is water more refreshing in the warm weather, it has no calories and your body needs six to eight glasses of water a day to function properly.

5. Store those heavy winter moisturizers and revamp your skin care routine. Use a mask to remove dead winter skin cells and make sure you have a deep cleanser, exfoliating treatment, toner and light moisturizer to complete you warm weather skin care routine.

With a bit of attention to your everyday lifestyle and some spring cleaning, your winter woes will melt away and you’ll be ready to face summer looking and feeling your best!

Ryan Cote is the owner of weightloss-programs-reviewed.com/sitemap.html WeightLoss-Programs-Reviewed.com, a website that reviews the weightloss-programs-reviewed.com best weight loss programs & diet plans. A large directory of free health and fitness tips & articles is available as well.

Lymphoma is a very difficult disease if watched from the symptoms perspective. That is to say that besides being quite “ugly”, these lymphoma signs can also be attributed to other medical conditions as well. Cat scratch fever has similar symptoms to lymphoma, making this disease even that more difficult to diagnose. There are two types of lymphoma for which symptoms are presented: non- Hodgkin’ s lymphoma and Hodgkin’ s lymphoma.

The symptoms for lymphoma disease are as follows:

- general tiredness and lack of your energy; these apply in both lymphoma cases;

- swelling of the lymph node; the upper parts of your body are more often affected, but any node that is related to the lymph organ can swell; this is not painful at all, opposite to the lymph nodes that get infected; these symptoms as well can be found in both lymphoma types;

- loss of weight is another symptom that applies to both lymphoma diseases; if you suffer from lymphoma, you are very likely to loose at least six percent of your body weight in a very short period of time;

- you will also suffer from chills and fever if suffering from any of the lymphoma diseases; the fever that you will have is not persistent;

- itching is another lymphoma symptom, but it applies more to Hodgkin’ s lymphoma, than to the other lymphoma type; the itching is more deep in your skin and it can affect almost any part of your body;

- sweating at night, for apparently no reason is another lymphoma sign, that as the one above, refers more to the Hodgkin’ s type of lymphoma;

Besides these lymphoma symptoms, that are the most common ones, there are also some other signs, which are less common:

- pain in the lower back is a sign for both lymphoma types of disease; this happens because the lymph nodes that are expanding actually press your nerves;

- in the Hodgkin’ s lymphoma case, after consuming alcohol, you may suffer from pain in your lymph nodes;

- lesions, itching and even skin patches are also symptoms of lymphoma, but this time of the non- Hodgkin’ s type of lymphoma;

To diagnose lymphoma by it’ s symptoms alone is quite difficult if not impossible. This is why x- rays or some tests must be used as well. At present, there are almost 35 different lymphoma types. The treatment used differs from a type of lymphoma to another.

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Lupus is a common disease and yet many people have not even heard of it. It is said that lupus affects more people than multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and leukemia. The treatment of lupus is difficult because of this massive ignorance when it comes to the disease. So what is lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the sufferer’s own body turns on itself. Antibodies are created that start attacking the body instead of protecting it. Some of the symptoms resemble those of other diseases so the treatment of lupus often goes ignored. The symptoms often lead to the condition being diagnosed as arthritis or multiple sclerosis. At the time of writing, the effective treatment of lupus is hampered by the fact that there is no one single test that can positively identify a disease as lupus.

Sometimes, lupus affects just a single part of the body, the most common areas being:

Lungs: lupus can cause an inflammation of the lining leading to pneumonia or pleuritis. Kidneys: lupus can also cause inflammation of the kidneys, and this could lead to nephritis. In this case, there is usually no pain before the onset of nephritis so the lupus could go untreated. Heart: in this case, chest pains might be experienced, or a hardening of the arteries may occur. Blood: lupus can also result in anemia and it could also cause the blood vessels to become inflamed. Lupus usually involves a red rash that breaks out somewhere in the body, most usually the face. The treatment of the rash should include a good sunscreen. Sometimes, the treatment of lupus has to take into account the fact that the patient may be on some medication which triggers off the attack. In the treatment of lupus, flu shots are also recommended, as they can prevent secondary infections common to those with lupus. Some patients feel that lupus could be triggered off by dental fillings and hair dye although so far no conclusive evidence has been found of a connection. Fear and anxiety may trigger off an attack, so stopping the use of certain products may have a placebo effect, even if physiologically there is little benefit.

Natural Treatment of Lupus

An all-round healthy diet that includes all the necessary vitamins and minerals is the most effective way to prevent and treat lupus. The mitamins.com/disease/Lupus.html” target=”_blank treatment of lupus must ensure that the patient has a good nutritious diet and exercise is a must. Calming breathing exercises and meditation could also be tried in the treatment of lupus to calm the patient and reduce the risk of skin flare ups.

Author Bio:

Mitamins team

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Targeted: Lupus; Safety: Avoid Vitamins Overdose, Supplement Drug Interactions; Quality: Freshly Made with Brand Ingredients.

mitamins.com/disease/Lupus.html vitamin support for lupus treatment

In this high-tech, security-conscious society, it may come as a surprise that the same people who religiously lock their doors and set their car alarms are letting a more subtle and dangerous criminal into their homes everyday. Obviously this fiend is not of the flesh and blood type, but one who lurks in cupboards and refrigerators. It has received a lot of attention in the past year, but many still are not aware of what it is exactlly and the harm it is capable of…I’m talking of trans-fatty acids, of course. Trans-fats, or hydrogenated oils, are simply vegetable oils that are put through the hydrogenation process to become solidified. And while we are now seeing many product labels that scream “No Trans Fats!”, they are still lurking in most of the food in our cupboards, including cookies, chips, and snack crackers.

Hydrogenation turns a perfectly safe oil into an unnatural substance that our bodies are incapable of processing. Although its main purposes are to increase shelf life and cut costs, it is used in everything from frying doughnuts and french fries to making an artificial butter. Its effect on arteries is rather common sense: given that it has gone through a process to become solid, once ingested it leads to clogged arteries because it attaches to the cell wall. As a matter of fact, the molecular structure of a hydrogenated oil very closely resembles that of Stearic Acid (used to solidify wax in the candle-making process). We might as well swallow lard.

Herein lies the danger that hydrogenated oils possess: being chemically altered, unnatural ingredients, are bodies are confused by their presence and don’t know what to do with them. They end up basically just taking up space that should be occupied by an essential component that performs a critical function, which means they are blocking a natural process. They also increase weight gain due to their inability to be processed out of the body quickly. Their danger is so well-known and understood that many European countries have banned their use altogether.

While their contribution to cancer, heart disease, birth defects, inflamation and joint pain, and diabetes is widely accepted, many people are still not being educated on the importance of cutting them out of their diets. It is known that Type II diabetes did not largely appear until after the introduction of hydrogenated oils into our lives, and the Harvard Medical School reports that their consumption could be linked to approximately 30,000 premature coronary heart disease deaths annually. (1) In 2002 the United States Academy of Sciences issed a statement arguing that there is “no safe level” of trans-fatty acids to be consumed. (2) Trans-fatty acids can be found in ingredients labels under “hydrogenated oil” or “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.” Both are equally bad, and the higher up they are on the ingredients list, the higher their content in that particular food. The good news is that such an obvious culprit is relatively simple to eliminate, thus increasing the quality of your health many times over. By looking for foods with short ingredients lists (the shorter, the more natural) and avoiding anything containing hydrogenated oils, we can reduce our chances of developing several serious health problems not to mention gaining an increase in energy and immune function. Because short-term deprivation is the key to long-term wellness, taking the steps to remove this dangerous ingredient will pay off for many years.

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Cold sore is an annoying and unsightly skin disease. Also known as fever blisters brought by herpes simplex virus. It will start as a red spot and will start to accumulate moisture making it itchy and irritating. Cold sore is a contagious skin disease that usually appears in the mouth, lips and genitals. It is important to get rid of cold sores permanently to avoid the annoyance and embarrassment brought by this skin disease.

Of course it is much better to avoid getting cold sore in the first place than to get rid of cold sores. Cold sore can spread through direct skin contact like kissing, touching or oral sex. Things used by a person with herpes simplex virus like towels, drinking glass; toothbrush etc. can also help spread the virus. Avoid skin contact or using personal stuffs of people you suspected with cold sores.

In most cases, cold sore appears in the most inappropriate occasions like weddings, big dates etc. because you are more vulnerable to the virus when stressed. You should start to find remedies to get rid of cold sores, to stop the annoyance and embarrassment brought by this skin disease.

It is important that cold sore cure is available at the onset of this skin disease to prevent it from spreading and to get rid of cold sores as soon as possible. Cold sore can last for weeks if not treated at once. Here are some tips to get rid of cold sores.

Keep your cold sore dry. Regularly wash the area around the cold sore and pat it dry. Cold sore needs moisture and dirt to keep swelling. If they are kept clean and dry, healing will speed up. Shield cold sores with petroleum jelly using cotton swab to avoid swelling.

Replace your toothbrush with a new one once detected you have a cold sore. Toothbrushes incubate cold sore causing viruses and it will keep coming back if you use the same toothbrush. You also need to replace your toothpaste tubes since toothbrush bristles get in contact with the toothpaste tubes each time you use your toothpaste. Buy smaller toothpaste and avoid rubbing your toothbrush bristles against the opening of the toothpaste tube.

Zinc sulfate, available in your local pharmacy can also help get rid of cold sores. You can ask the nearest pharmacy for a zinc sulfate tube once you spot a cold sore starting to burst out.

Amino acid lysine can also help you get rid of cold sores. You can get if from drinking supplements or by eating potatoes and dairy products. But amino acid lysine is not recommended for nursing or pregnant women as this can interfere with the infant’s development.

Lemon balm, tea tree oil, Echinacea and tea bag applied directly to the affected area can also help get rid of cold sores due to its antiviral properties.

Avoid stress to get rid of cold sores. Stress triggers the recurrence of cold sores and it also weakens your immune system, making you more vulnerable to viral infections. Get rid of cold sores by eating a healthy balanced diet, exercise and getting enough sleep.

These are just few methods you can use to get rid of cold sores. For more tips and ways to prevent cold sores from annoying you in the future, consult with your doctor.

But if you have tried everything and found little or no relief, do not lose hope. Did you know that you can get rid of cold sores naturally and get your confidence back - from the comfort of your own home? Discover how to get rid of cold sores permanently for life in just 3 days. You will never have to worry about having serious cold sore swelling and recurrence problem again. Face the world in 3 days with the freedom to feel great about yourself and your appearance visit squidoo.com/gert-rid-coldsores/ Cold Sore Freedom in 3 Days

To know more about health and beauty remedies visit great-discovery-beauty.blogspot.com/ Great Discovery-Health and Beauty

Do you crave for golden brown tan? Do you also complain for not having enough time for natural tanning sessions? Well, a safe as well as lasting tan can be attained successfully by spending an hour under the sun. But in the present busy lifestyles, it really becomes a tough to job to spare an hour in the morning for tanning. Herein, modern tanning products and equipments come as a one shot solution to all tanning fans.

Tanning beds, for example, have brought a sheer revolution in the tanning industry. With the help of tanning beds it has now become quite possible to get the desired tan in a very little time. You no longer need to waste your time on suntan. A concerted effort by tanning beds and tanning solutions offer you same tan color with same glow that is associated with natural tanning.

These tanning beds are usually available in two broad genres. These include commercial tanning beds and home tanning beds. Commercial tanning beds are found in tanning salons and spas spread across the country. While home tanning beds are made to suit individual tanning needs.

Commercial tanning beds are highly powered and are able to bear the rough handing in the salons. These tanning beds count high on durability. There are two types of commercial tanning beds: vertical tanning beds and horizontal tanning beds.

Tanning booth is the other name given to vertical tanning beds. You are just needed to step inside the booth to offer yourself the radiation. Usually radiations in commercial tanning beds are of UVA type.
These commercial tanning beds consist of high pressure lamps.

Horizontal beds too come with same qualities. These beds are priced higher than home tanning beds. While undergoing tanning with the help of these commercial tanning beds, you are needed to use specialized tanning solutions. In fact in a tanning salon your body is first massaged with this SPF formula lotion and then you are made to lie on the tanning bed.

Commercial purpose tanning beds come with certain additional features that are usually not found in home tanning beds. These beds are equipped with facility of providing different levels of tanning to all types of customers. Therefore the range of varying intensity of radiation is much wider in commercial beds than the home tanning beds.

With the help of commercial tanners you can attain tan color in lesser time than that of home tanners. They are in fact designed to serve the quick need at a tanning salon. However, these commercial beds are not necessarily needed for individuals need.

To get more information on tanning,

That’s the question thousands of people are asking nowadays after pharmaceutical COX-2 inhibitors proved to be dangerous, and often even lethal in many cases.

Natural remedies are making a strong comeback.

Fish Oil Arthritis Improvement

We all know now that Omega 3 fatty acids are very important for brain health and cardiovascular health, but what about any connection between fish oil arthrits?

Thankfully, there is some evidence to show that fish oils may benefit certain kinds of arthritis, particularly those kinds in which you have limited mobility of joints and became painful due to inflammation.

This is obviously not the case of every type of arthritis, but certain types like rheumatoid arthritis may benefit because it is characterized by inflammed joints.

So, does omega 3 and fish oil benefit arthritis? Yes, it may help, because fish oil helps quell inflammation.

But fish oils probably won’t help with osteoarthritis which is caused by wear and tear on joints, not an autoimmune induced inflammation.

Fish Oil Arthritis

Some of the best fish oils on the market are combined with other inflammatory agents for added effectiveness to counter joint aches and pains.

For example, concentrated extract of green lipped missel has gained acclaim worldwide as an effective anti-inflammatory and natural pain reliever and supports connective tissue and joint function to enhance ease of mobility.

Im summary, choose a high quality pharmaceutical grade, molecularly distilled fish oil supplement….and perhaps look for one that contains other natural anti-inflammatories.

Learn about a purified, pharmaceutical grade fish oil that combines green lipped mussel, a potent natural anti-inflammatory and pain reliever by visiting: omega-3-fish-oil-guide.com/Fish_oil_arthritis.html fish oil arthritis

People believed that only birds could get affected by the A H5N1 influenza that is why they called it ‘The bird flu’.

Influenza A affects naturally the wild birds, which only carry the virus and present no symptoms, but they transmit the virus to the poultry (chicken, turkey) which manifest the disease and 90% die.

Now, the virus has mutated and it can be transmitted to the human race from the poultry that shed the virus in their nasal secretions, saliva and feathers.

In the beginning the virus affected the poultry from Asia and in 1997 the virus transmitted to humans during an outbreak of bird flu among poultry in Hong Kong. 18 persons were affected and 6 died of a severe respiratory illness.

People who live very close to their poultry are exposed to the risk of being affected of a mutant species of the virus.

Some domestic birds do not have the symptoms of the infection (like ducks), they are only carriers of H5N1 and can transmit the virus further to other animals and to the owner.

According to World Health Organization, only in Asia, since 31 October 2006, 256 people got sick due to a direct contact with affected birds, and 156 of these persons died.

As time went by, H5N1 became resistant to some drugs used in the treatment of flu, and also started to infect mice and cats.

Due to the high rate of transmission, millions of poultry have been slaughtered in the effort of stopping the virus from infecting other birds and even humans.

Thailand had to face the fact that the virus can pass from human to human, when a whole family died because of bird flu. This causes more problems because an efficient vaccine has not yet been developed and this could lead to a global pandemic.

There are known some symptoms of bird flu: headache, fever, pain in the muscles, sore throat, chest pains, breathing problems, lethargy and conjunctivitis.

Due to the virus mutation, even those who have already suffered the disease and have defeated it are not safe, because their body will not be able to recognize the virus due to its change, and so, the antibodies the body made against flu last time will not work.
This is why people must be immunized every year with a new improved vaccine.

In the world now there exists also type B and C of influenza virus. The C one is not so dangerous, but the B one can cause more serious illness and seasonal epidemics.
The most dangerous one is type A, due to its fast process of antigenic drift (mutations).

Even though the media and the public got tired of hearing the same old thing about a possible global pandemic, it is the scientist’s and government’s responsibility to continue informing everyone about the evolution of the virus and of the possible risks related to it.

So, if you want to find out more about

When someone is relegated to a wheelchair, special care must be taken especially when the person needs to ride in a vehicle. This is because the individual cannot get in or out that easily.

The only thing that one can do is to try to lift the disabled person from the wheelchair to the car. This however can take a long time and can really be quite taxing to the muscles. Great thing there are machines that can make the whole process easier— such as electrical wheelchair lifts.

There are actually two types of wheelchair lifts. The first one is powered by hydraulics while the other is powered by electricity. Most people prefer the electric type because this can be wired to the battery of the vehicle. Doing this can save you a few dollars. The hydraulics type needs some fluid, which has to be placed periodically to keep it functioning.

These different kinds of lifts can be found in nearby stores. There you will find other models such as the extended lift, which is probably the most convenient to use. The individual only needs to push a button and voila, you can already lift the wheelchair inside the car. The same process is done when exiting the vehicle.

There are also variations in the type of exits used in the electric lift. Some electric lifts allow people to be entered and exited from the lift from the same direction while others have different entrances, usually at the center, and exits, which is often placed on the sides. The exits and entrances that will be used will of course depend on the kind of wheelchair that the person has.

The cost of an electric or hydraulic wheelchair lift can be very expensive. The cheapest one is a little over $10,000. What is more, buying these gadgets will not be covered by Medicare or by an insurance firm. One can however get a discount directly from the manufacturer of the van. Just ask your local car dealer.

Remember though that buying electric wheelchair lifts is not as easy as buying the model that is available in the store. You actually have to make sure that the model will fit your vehicle. For this, it is advisable to bring in a technician to do the measurements. The customer can bring the measurements to the store and have the wheelchair lift installed if it fits. Be prepared to wait for your turn as installation may take a day or two especially if there are many customers who are also having their automobiles installed with it. As an added precaution and to lessen the possible inconvenience, check if the lifts work properly before you leave the shop.

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