Monday, October 27, 2014

7. Colon Cancer

 cancer

Colon Cancer-  Shocking Facts

Did you know that colon cancer is the third most common cancer

diagnosed in the United States?

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for the number of

Colorectal cancer cases in the United States for 2013 are:

102,480 new cases of colon cancer
40,340 new cases of rectal cancer
Unfortunately, this is a major problem many people are facing.

So, there is a need to have some knowledge and understanding about this.

Colorectal cancer, as the name suggests, affects the colon or the rectum. They are

considered together because they have many common features. However,

treatment for each type is different.

Colorectal cancer originates in the digestive system. Medical jargon will call this

Gastro Intestinal (GI) system. As everyone is aware, the food we eat is processed in

the digestive system, which converts into energy and pushes out the waste.

Understanding the structure and working of the digestive system will help in

understanding Colorectal Cancer better.

Food pulped and softened by chewing moves to the stomach. It is further broken

down and pushed into the small intestine. Though called small because of its

diameter, the small intestine is twenty feet long and it is in fact the longest part of

the digestive system. The food is further broken down in the small intestine, which

also absorbs most of the nutrients before sending the food, or whatever left of it to

the large intestine, also known as large bowel or colon. This is a muscular tube

about 5 feet long.

The colon absorbs water and nutrients. The solid waste is stored here till it moves

to the rectum. The rectum, about 6 inches long, is the final part of the digestive

system. The waste is pushed out of the body from the rectum through the anus.

Knowing how sensitive the colon and rectum are and how important is their role

in maintaining the digestive system, we can understand how severely will

Colorectal cancer affect the body.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

6. Should you track your weight loss progress?


When you take up a weight loss program, you will have a long term or medium term goal. Even a short term goal will have a period of about a month or at least a fortnight.

How will you react to a suggestion for tracking your weight loss on a daily basis? Well, you will obviously ask, “Why should I do this?” In other words, you want to know what advantages will tracking your weight loss will give you?

There are several advantages. But I will list just three of them. If these three benefits are good enough, then you will be inclined to take up a program of weight loss tracking.

1)    You will know where you are:
Suppose you follow a weight loss program and after one month you find that you have not made any progress, what will you feel? Will you not feel that you have wasted one month. On the other hand, if you follow a system of tracking yourweight loss through which you can measure your progress every day, you will discover whether the system is working or not much earlier.

2)  Your weight loss program will become more effective:
Whatever program you follow for losing weight, tracking will make the program more effective, not by improving the program but by making you more productive. If you begin to monitor anything, you will assume a kind of seriousness that can only make the program more fruitful.


3) You will become more skilled in setting and achieving goals:
If you can implement a tracking your weight loss program and see some good results, as you are bound to, you will discover that setting goals in any area and achieving them will be easy by setting up a similar tracking program. This probably will be the greatest takeaway from this exercise.

I am sure that you will find the above three benefits of tracking your weightloss good enough for setting up a tracking system. Set it up today and start reaping the benefits from tomorrow by achieving a perceptible weight loss even on the first day.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

5. Lose Fat with the Right Diet


There are a large number of people who have been earnestly following a Fat Loss Diet Program, for quite a long time but are frustrated that they have not been able to get significant results, Perhaps you are one of them. If so, you will be interested in finding out what has gone wrong?

Strictly from a logical point of view, if you have excess calories stored  in your body, then you need to find a way to burn those excess calories. Just as removing and throwing out unwanted junk from an overstuffed box will make it less heavy and easier to carry, so should burning the excess calories  make your body slim and attractive! But why has this not happened?

There could be some problems with many a Fat Loss Diet Program
People who are determined to lose weight begin by cutting down on what they eat. You experience a sense of satisfaction, when you are successful with your first fat loss diet experiment. You give up a particular high calorie diet - your favorite dishes and you sometimes even skip your breakfast or lunch. It looks great when you have successfully resisted your temptation to go for a bite of your favorite dish. And if you have skipped a lunch or breakfast and you have still been able to carry on with your normal activities, you have a real sense of achievement.

Fat Loss Diet Programs may have the Opposite Effect!

Unfortunately, the dictum ‘Well begun is half done’ doesn’t apply to the best fat loss diet program. Or, in another sense, it does, literally, when the emphasis is on ‘half done.’ Yes, it is always half done, never accomplished!

Why?

There are a couple of reasons. Typical Diet programs do not reduce the calories beyond a point. This is because dieters often begin their diet programs with a vengeance, with a resolve to achieve the seemingly impossible. So they get tough with themselves, eat very little or skip a lunch or breakfast, in their eagerness to drive out the excess fat quickly. This often has the opposite effect of their more than making up for their “sacrifice,” often unconsciously. After all, I didn’t have anything for the breakfast. So, I deserve an extra helping of the tasty meat during my lunch. The result is that the body quickly gains whatever fat it lost in the morning!

The body learns to stop losing weight!

The body also learns a trick or two to ensure that it does not lose fat beyond certain point. That is why many people on diet programs often find that they have reached a dead end in their journey towards weight loss. So, it appears that turning back and walking towards your starting point looks a better option than standing close to a deadend  with no progress.

For a Fat Loss Diet Program to work, it should focus on two things:

1) The psychological aspects – understanding how the unconscious mind sabotages the process of losing fat.
2) The physiological aspects – how bodily adaptations can stall the weight loss program.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

4. How to lower your blood pressure naturally


Many people are anxious to lower their blood pressure. They want to do it quickly and naturally. The need for lowering blood pressure cannot be overemphasized.

Hypertension, another name for high blood pressure affects a sizeable proportion of the population everywhere in the world and particularly in the United States, where fast food culture and indisciplined way of living prevails widely.

It is estimated that about 30 percent of the US adult population is suffering from the effects of high blood pressure. That is to say, one out of three adults has to cope with the problem of blood pressure.

Though hypertension may not cause much agony, it is a condition that has to be treated without delay. High blood pressure can lead to heart diseases.  Considering that heart attack is one of the leading causes of death in the US, high blood pressure should not be left untreated.

Hypertension is called a silent killer because while not appearing to cause much discomfort to the person suffering from this health condition,
  it quietly leads to development of lethal problems like heart attack, stroke etc.

Is it possible to lower blood pressure naturally? Even if this were possible, can this be done quickly. These are the issues we need to address. Fortunately, there are ways lowering the blood pressure naturally and these methods will deliver quick results as well.

However, please remember that natural methods are no substitute for professional medical treatment. These natural methods are to be followed under the guidance of a medical professional.

The two most effective natural methods are given below:

1. The DASH Diet

DASH is the acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. A DASH diet restricts intake of Sodium . While a normal American diet consists of 3500 mg of Sodium per day, a DASH diet drastically reduces the intake of Sodium to 1500 mg per day.

The reduction in the consumption of Sodium can have a salutary effect on blood pressure. Blood pressure levels are brought down to acceptable levels within 2 weeks by regular intake of the DASH diet.

By bringing about this effect, the DASH diet not only matches the performance of anti-hypertension drugs but also scores over them in terms of safety and additional benefits. A DASH diet in addition to bringing about a reduction in blood pressure level also reduces the risk of obesity, cancer, osteoporosis and diabetes.

DASH dieters are predominantly made of whole grains, vegetables, legumes and fruits. A DASH diet can have small quantities of  lean animal products are but otherwise contain little fat, caffeine, alcohol or processed sugar.

2. Change in  Lifestyle

Research has shown that certain health conditions like obesity can lead to high blood pressure. Since primary hypertension, of which  about 95% blood pressure patients are afflicted has no identifiable cause, a change in lifestyle can go a long way in lowering blood pressure, by removing the contributory causes like obesity etc.

Many people follow a sedentary lifestyle with very little exercise. If people can become more active by making themselves physically more active, the blood pressure levels can be brought down.

Experiments have shown that shifting from a sedentary way of living to a physically active lifestyle by adopting simple strategies like more walking, doing simple exercises, restricting eating etc. brings down blood pressure levels significantly. However, this takes some time and sustained efforts.


If you become physically more active, then you will have your body fat reduced. This in turn will reduce the risk of hypertension.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

3. Acne Scar Removal – 3 Effective Home Remedies for Acne Scar Removal



Acne scars that remain after a skin eruption or pimple is cured remain for a long time and sometimes, forever. The reason that they don’t vanish is that acne scars are formed during the process of creation of new cells after the old cells are damaged by the skin problem. 

Whatever treatment you may use for removing these acne scars you will find that the acne scars just won’t go away.  The only change you will experience is the change in the color, size and appearance so as to make the scars less conspicuous. 

So, don’t be carried away by promises that there are cures that would result in getting the acne stars removed completely.

But there are certain effective home remedies that will make the acne scars so faint as to make them practically unnoticeable. They will not be visible unless a person comes very close and observes them. And only a physician is expected to do that, apart from your lover engaged in the act of kissing! (Of course, your lover will be too close to you to be able to see anything. Don’t worry. Anyway, you can tell him/her of the problem and he/she will understand and perhaps show you an invisible scar on his/her own skin!)   

The home remedies for acne scar removal I am going to suggest are products that are easily available, easily acquired and used with no possibility of any harm or side effect.


1)  
Lemon Juice: 
Lemon is a substance you use so commonly in your house and is almost always available in every kitchen. You have to use lemon juice both internally and externally. Drink a cup of lemon juice after adding a teaspoon of honey. It is a very good remedy for removing acne scars.
     
     Lemon Juice has many other medicinal properties and will be good for your overall health. For external use, squeeze a lemon  and apply the juice on the area of skin that has an acne scar. Allow it to remain for about 30 minutes after which you can wash it off.

One precaution you have to take is that you should not go out in the sun during these 30 minutes. The effectiveness of Lemon comes from its  Vitamin C content which helps in the synthesis of Collagen, the main structural protein of the body tissues.

2)   Apple Cider Vinegar:
Vinegar acts on the skin  by scrapping off the old cells and by functioning as an antiseptic. Use Apple Cider Vinegar diluted with water  since if used directly, it may affect the sensitive parts of the skin. This is a very effective remedy for doing away with acne scars.

3)   Neem Leaves:
Neem is well known for its antiseptic properties. Neem contains alkaloids that act against the bacteria and all types viruses and fungi. You can place a Neem leave on the affected part of the skin for a few minutes.

You can also you take a bunch of leaves and use them to caress the affected skin for a few minutes. This action will also cure you of any itching sensation.

All the three remedies listed above are highly effective against acne scars.. You can choose to use any of these home remedies for Acne to get rid of the acne scars on your skin.




Friday, June 20, 2014

2. Five Simple Tips for a Vegan to Lose Weight


Simple Tips for a Vegan to Lose Weight

If you are a vegan looking for ways to lose weight, here are five simple tips that will help you lose weight quickly and steadily, with the weight loss getting sustained for a long time.

1. Know which foods to eat and what foods to avoid:
If your objective is to lose weight, then you should keep away from packaged foods whether processed or boxed raw. Anything vegetarian is good for your health is a myth.

You will be better off by choosing to consume fresh vegetables. Whiskey is vegetarian alright! But consuming whiskey is not going to help you lose. So, keep away from whiskey.

So, what can you eat? Eat more of oatmeal. Oatmeal has low gluten content which helps in your achieving your weight loss goals. It will also help you lower cholesterol and prevent you from contracting heart diseases thereby protecting your heart.

You can make the oatmeal diet delicious by including cinnamon, flax-seed, bananas, apples and maple syrup in the menu.

2. Be choosy about where you buy your foods from, if you want to lose weight:
Normally, we buy most of our food items from the shops. The shops are full of canned foods and frozen vegetables. Since these food items are not fresh, they won’t contain as much nutrients as fresh food will.

You can make a wise choice about where you shop for your food items. The farmers’ market is the best place to get fresh vegetables and unprocessed cereals and grains. Many people struggling to lose weight by doing many difficult things, don’t even think of the option of a farmers’ market.
 


3. Go for natural seasoning:
You can use herbs to flavor your food rather than use spices and oil. Ensure that you stock enough herbs in your kitchen. You will find that natural seasoning makes the food as delicious as if not more delicious than food flavored with spices.

4. Try organic foods:
Everyone talks about the desirability of going for organic foods but very few people go for them. You don’t have to go searching for organic foods because they are available at many outlets almost in every place. Taking organic foods is definitely going to make you lose weight

5. Make your food rich in fiber:
So much has been said about the benefits of a fiber-rich food that everyone understands the value of fiber-rich food. Though many people are eager to lose weight, not many of them make an effort to make their food rich in fibers.

You can include fibrous items like pears and apple in your snacks. This will make up for the deficiency of fiber in your regular meal. Moreover taking a fiber-rich snack will make you feel full and curb the tendency to eat something at frequent intervals.


As a vegetarian intending to lose weight, you have a wide choice of fat loss diets. You only have to make the right choices. If you follow the above simple tips, you will find that you progress well in your journey towards losing weight.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

1. Health and Fitness - The Core of Your Life

Here is to your good health.

Health and Fitness are the fundamental dimensions of life. Your life in this world is governed by your health. Fitness, of course, is an extended concept of health and is used to refer to an enhanced state of health. 

Looking at another way, we can say fitness is a measure of health. One may be healthy, yet one may not be physically fit, when measured against certain parameters. The two terms health and fitness can thus be considered synonymous or complementary.

However, we are not interested in a discourse on the overt and subtle meanings of these two words. We like to be practical. That's why we have created this website to help people get information on various aspects of health and fitness. 

We will cover various factors governing health. But we do not profess to offer medical advice. Our coverage of various topics will be entirely on the basic concepts using information available on various sources like books, magazines and internet sites.

Our objective is to help you understand the health issues more deeply so that you will be in a better position to take steps for improving your health by seeking appropriate professional help. 

For example, if we discuss fat loss diets, it will be with a view to review different kinds of diets and their impact or effectiveness. If you want to follow a fat loss diet, you have to consult a physician or dietitian. 

When we discuss problem relating to cancer, we do not obviously offer any cure for cancer. We only explain certain facts associated with the disease.

The above explanation is just to make clear to the viewers what this blog offers and what it doesn't. But we are confident that the information we provide will be found useful by many people. We already have confirmation of this from the comments we have received in response to the posts we have published already at various places.

Wish you good health, perfect fitness and a cheerful disposition state of mind.