Avoiding and Curing Halitosis

Halitosis, or bad breath, is mainly caused by bacteria building up on the back and under layers of the tongue. There are plenty of treatments available for bad breath, and these are important in good oral health.

It is often asked whether only some people or everyone suffers with halitosis? In order to cure, you must know the causes and triggers of bad breath.

Halitosis

Bad Breath Indicators

When observing people reporting problems, it is common to see a build-up of mucus and bacteria, especially towards the back of mouth and tongue. Removing this film will not always cure the bad breath. Other symptoms of halitosis are a beige or white layer on the tongue, suffering with a dry or dehydrated mouth, tasting metallic or sour tastes, drainage from nasal passages and nodules of a white color on the tonsils. Often, no amount of flossing or brushing of the teeth will cure this.

Causes of Halitosis

Halitosis will affect everyone during their life, but it is only an issue if it remains for a long period, or if it is a symptom of another medical problem. If cured by mouthwash or brushing your teeth, it is known as transient halitosis. When cured in this way, it can often have been triggered by eating foods such as fish, garlic or cheese. It can also occur if you have slept overnight, have been stressed or fasting.

Curing Bad Breath

Identifying the problem. If people you are talking to cough, cover their nose, give you a mint or back away, these can suggest you may be suffering with chronic bad breath.

Using certain types of medicine can often be a cause. Some can cause your mouth to dry, and can often cause halitosis almost immediately. If you find this, ask your doctor to see if there are alternatives.

Drinking at least 2 litres of water every day can be beneficial if you suffer from bad breath, and combined with a sugar-free chewing gum can help prevent dry mouth, which triggers halitosis.

Avoiding or minimising stress is always beneficial, as stress has been shown to trigger the dry mouth which can cause bad breath. Consider yoga, which is a known de-stresser.

Have a robust oral hygiene regime. Brush and floss your teeth, and scrape the tongue.

Avoid foods that can cause bad breath, such as dairy products and red meat, especially avoiding cheese.

To Go or Not to Go Herbal, that is the Question…

Many people nowadays are turning to “organics” and “naturals” otherwise known as herbals. The rising popularity of herbal supplements has created a new fad if not a new health lifestyle. But before you join the bandwagon, here are some things you need to know about this mean, “green” dietary supplementing machine.

What is the difference between a drug and a dietary supplement?

herbal

According to the definition set by food and drug administrations in different countries, drugs are chemicals that can prevent, prolong the life, treat other effects of a health condition, improve the quality of life, and/or cure ailments and diseases, or alter the function of any part or chemicals inside the body. These drugs have approved therapeutic claims.

For example, paracetamol is a drug given to bring down the body temperature in fever. Ascorbic acid is indicated for the treatment of scurvy. Iron supplements are given to treat mild cases of anemia.

Herbal supplements are not classified as drugs but as dietary supplements. The main difference is that they do not have approved therapeutic claims unlike in the case of drugs. Moreover, dietary supplements could either contain vitamins, minerals, herbals, or amino acids, all aimed to add to or supplement the diet of an individual. They are not intended to be taken alone as a substitute to any food or medicine.

Most of the manufactured medicines we now have once came from animals and plants. Through the years, chemists isolated the life-saving or life-curing components and separated them from the harmful ones. This lead to the further drug research and drug development that lead to the production of a different variety of drugs for many ailments and conditions from synthetic sources.

But still we have semi-synthetic drugs, as well as drug that more or less approximate more natural composition. Since herbal supplements are made from a mixture of crude herbs reduced into powder or gel form, and later on packaged as tablets and capsules, there is a possibility that life-threatening or at least body chemistry-altering components are still present, thus the expression of concern from the medical community.

Is there a growing concern with the use of herbal supplements?

Yes. With the rising popularity of using and consuming anything herbal or organic is the proliferation of fake herbal supplements that threaten to endanger lives. If that’s the case, then why are herbal supplements given drug administration approvals? One way of ensuring the safety of the people is to have all candidate drugs, food, drinks, and dietary supplements registered with the proper authority. Otherwise, they would pose more risk with these things being sold in the black market for a hefty sum. We could ensure the quality and safety of herbal supplements if they get proper classification with the food and drug administration. Moreover, people may be able to file the proper complaints in the event a worsening of health condition is proven to be linked to the use of a particular herbal supplement.

Is using herbal supplements worth the risk?

Yes. It cannot be discounted that many who have tried herbal supplements experienced an improvement in their health—whether this is due to the herbals themselves or due to a placebo effect, as long as they do not worsen the condition of an individual, then using them is worth the risk. But of course, certain things must be considered before taking those herbal supplements:

Your doctor knows best.

First of all, clear your condition with your doctor. Ask him/her if taking a particular herbal supplement is safe given your health condition. People with heart, liver, or kidney trouble or malfunction, are usually not advised to take these, or at the minimum is to take these herbals in minimum amounts. All substances pass through the liver and kidney to be processed and filtered respectively. Kava, which is used to relieve people from stress, has been pulled out from the Canadian, Singaporean, and German markets because it contains substances that cause liver damage. Certain herbals such as Ephedra used for losing weight, contains chemicals with heart-inducing effects that can increase heart rate, which in turn can exhaust the heart and cause heart attacks in several documented cases by the American Medical Association.

Follow the directions for use.

Never take more herbal supplements than what is directed by the doctor or as instructed on the bottle. Each individual reacts differently to the components of herbal supplements. While it is perfectly safe for one individual to take in a supplement of primrose oil capsules, another person may be allergic to it. So, do not even think about downing one bottle of

It has no approved curative effect.

No matter how the product pamphlet or the label of the bottle sounds about how it has been found to be helpful in certain health conditions, these herbal supplements are not therapeutic. So do not substitute these for the medications prescribed by your doctor for the treatment of certain diseases, or for the maintenance of blood pressure, lowering of blood sugar and cholesterol, and fight off infections.

Beating Panic Attacks Permanently

Suffering from panic attacks can be one of the most frightening things of all, struggling to breathe and feeling your chest tightening and your legs trembling. Your heart is pounding and you’re gasping for air, you may well feel that you are suffering a heart attack when all this begins to happen to you, and that your time on this mortal coil is at an end.

The most likely answer is that you are suffering from a panic or anxiety attack, and you need to learn how to naturally stop and prevent these attacks so that you won’t have to go through the same thing again.

panic attacks

The first time you suffer an attack, you will probably find yourself in a confused and shocked state afterwards. It is natural to question why this is happening to you and what it is, and how could your body be reacting in this way. The fear of another attack is also a natural response, and the more anxious you are of this, the more likely another attack is to happen. If you have suffered from a number of attacks, you are likely so distressed that it will affect your daily life and stop you from operating normally.

However severe your attacks, and no matter how many you have suffered, these aren’t a disease and they can be prevented.

If you have had a number of attacks you will probably understand and have tried many things which haven’t worked. Medicines, calming breathing exercises, thinking positive thoughts and distraction methods aren’t effective in combating these attacks and stopping them from happening. The reason they don’t work is that they aren’t dealing with the problem, but are trying to switch the focus of the problem and trying to help you deal with what is happening, rather than preventing it from happening.

There is however a natural solution to help you prevent panic attacks from occurring.

It is a unique solution which has brought relief to over 54,000 people around the world and helped them to end their problem with panic and anxiety attacks. As the principle of this treatment deals with the source of the disorder, it is not only effective, but can promise the results required. Due to the years of study and a basis in advanced psychology, it can promise to make a real difference with permanent results that will cure the problem forever.

How Natural Medicine Can Help You

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well. This is how the health profession goes on nowadays – a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.

If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that person was a quack. But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any merit to what is called natural medicine.

medicine

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine.

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine.

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine – may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.

It’s time to start a Healthy life: A 7 day program

How many times have you gone to sleep at night, swearing you’ll go to the gym in the morning, and then changing your mind just eight hours later because when you get up, you don’t feel like exercising?

While this can happen to the best of us, it doesn’t mean you should drop the ball altogether when it comes to staying fit. What people need to realize is that staying active and eating right are critical for long-term health and wellness — and that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

body

The more you know about how your body responds to your lifestyle choices, the better you can customize a nutrition and exercise plan that is right for you. When you eat well, increase your level of physical activity, and exercise at the proper intensity, you are informing your body that you want to burn a substantial amount of fuel. This translates to burning fat more efficiently for energy.

In other words, proper eating habits plus exercise equals fast metabolism, which, in turn gives you more energy throughout the day and allows you to do more physical work with less effort.

The true purpose of exercise is to send a repetitive message to the body asking for improvement in metabolism, strength, aerobic capacity and overall fitness and health. Each time you exercise, your body responds by upgrading its capabilities to burn fat throughout the day and night, Exercise doesn’t have to be intense to work for you, but it does need to be consistent.

I recommend engaging in regular cardiovascular exercise four times per week for 20 to 30 minutes per session, and resistance training four times per week for 20 to 25 minutes per session. This balanced approach provides a one-two punch, incorporating aerobic exercise to burn fat and deliver more oxygen, and resistance training to increase lean body mass and burn more calories around the block.

Here’s a sample exercise program that may work for you:

  • Warm Up — seven to eight minutes of light aerobic activity intended to increase blood flow and lubricate and warm-up your tendons and joints.
  • Resistance Training — Train all major muscle groups. One to two sets of each exercise. Rest 45 seconds between sets.
  • Aerobic Exercise — Pick two favorite activities, they could be jogging, rowing, biking or cross-country skiing, whatever fits your lifestyle. Perform 12 to 15 minutes of the first activity and continue with 10 minutes of the second activity. Cool down during the last five minutes.
  • Stretching — Wrap up your exercise session by stretching, breathing deeply, relaxing and meditating.

When starting an exercise program, it is important to have realistic expectations. Depending on your initial fitness level, you should expect the following changes early on.

  • From one to eight weeks — Feel better and have more energy.
  • From two to six months — Lose size and inches while becoming leaner. Clothes begin to fit more loosely. You are gaining muscle and losing fat.
  • After six months — Start losing weight quite rapidly.

Once you make the commitment to exercise several times a week, don’t stop there. You should also change your diet and/or eating habits,’ says Zwiefel. Counting calories or calculating grams and percentages for certain nutrients is impractical. Instead, I suggest these easy-to-follow guidelines:

  • Eat several small meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks throughout the day
  • Make sure every meal is balanced — incorporate palm-sized proteins like lean meats, fish, egg whites and dairy products, fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates like whole-wheat bread and pasta, wild rice, multigrain cereal and potatoes, and fist-sized portions of vegetable and fruits
  •  Limit your fat intake to only what’s necessary for adequate flavor
  • Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water throughout the day

I also recommend that you take a multi-vitamin each day to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

I suppose that’s all I can think of for now. I should extend my thanks to a doctor friend of mine. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to write this article, or keep my sanity.

Enjoy life, we all deserve it.

How to Get a Flat Abdomen in 30 Workouts

You have been working out at the gym and you are looking great. You know you have worked hard and deserve the results you see in the mirror. Except for that stubborn belly fat that just will not seem to shift no matter how hard you try. Does this sound all too familiar?

Do not worry you are not alone. This is a common problem for most people. The good news is, there is a way to get a flat abdomen in 30 workouts, and you do not need gym membership to achieve it.

abdomen

You are probably watching your weight and ensuring you eat plenty of proteins, good fats and lots of fruits and vegetables, low GI foods and whole grains and fibers. No workout program will work successfully unless combined with a sensible approach to diet. The next step is to check what exercise you are doing to try to flatten that abdomen.

Most people think that to lose belly fat you need to do exercises that focus on the abdomen.

Isolated exercises do not work and have limited results giving you that flat stomach you desire. This means your routines do not need to include unpleasant crunches and expensive equipment. The most effective way of removing the fat is by combining interval cardio training to burn the fat, with resistance exercises that focus on the big muscle groups in the buttocks, back and thighs. These are your fat burning muscle groups and by working them you will burn the belly fat and tighten your abdominal muscles at the same time.

Remember quality not quantity is the key to fast abdominal fat loss. A simple workout routine that you should do for 30 days may look like this.

Use an exercise bike or tread mill if you have access to them, or otherwise try skipping or running and do interval cardio exercises by interspersing a period of 2 minutes of fast paced cardio that raises your heart rate, with 4 minutes of rest and continue this for approximately 20 minutes (burn calories and raise heart rate).

Follow up cardio training with 15 reps of exercises such as squats and lunges with free weights repeated twice each session.

Once the principle of cardio and large muscle group activity is the focus, learning how to get a flat belly in 30 workouts is simple.

How to Get Rid of Cellulite

If you are a woman, it is highly likely that you have had, do have or will have cellulite at some stage in your adult life. 90% of all women develop it and contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with obesity. Many women who develop the condition have a healthy range BMI (Body Mass Index).

Cellulite is created by pockets of fat trapped beneath the surface of the skin producing the all too familiar dimpling of the skin that some describe as like orange pill in appearance. Although it is predominately a female condition, some men do develop the condition. It occurs predominately in the areas of the body containing the largest number of fat storage cells, mainly the abdomen, buttocks and thighs.

cellulite

A good diet and regular exercise will not stop cellulite formation; however, it does improve its overall appearance. It tends to be more obvious in overweight women. Women around the world spend money and time trying to eliminate or prevent the problem, but most find it extremely difficult to remove.

There are different treatments, which have had different results for different people. The major treatments are as follows:

Eliminate Body Fat

Although body fat does not cause cellulite, it does make it look worse. Losing weight and exercising will improve overall health and metabolism and will improve the appearance of the problem areas. Caffeine, alcohol and smoking increase the chances of developing cellulite. Reducing intake of these may help.

Creams and Massage

There are varieties of creams available that state they treat and reduce cellulite. Some are available through pharmacies and others through specialist beauty products. Health stores sell some herbal creams. Massaging these into the skin is probably the reason they work if you see any improvement, as there have been reports of temporary improvement of cellulite after deep massage. Its long-term effect is debatable.

Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery provides limited results as the liposuction removes cells from deeper levels than where the cellulite occurs. It provides minimal improvement.

Cellulite Stockings

Comparatively inexpensive, these stockings do not cure cellulite, but they improve the appearance of badly effected buttocks and thighs and many women use them esthetically, with immediate improvement while wearing the stockings.

It is important to discuss appropriate treatment plans with a doctor who can advise the best individual treatment approach.

Pregnancy Woes and How to Avoid Them

Anticipating the birth of a new baby makes pregnancy an exciting time for most women. It can however also be a time when a woman must potentially deal with a variety of unpleasant conditions that may accompany a normal, healthy pregnancy.

While it is impossible to prevent them from occurring, there are ways that a woman can reduce them and control them so she can continue with her life with minimal disruption.

pregnancy

A normal pregnancy lasts 9 months and each 3-month period is known as a trimester. Different conditions are common with each trimester and the symptoms associated with each trimester often subside as the next trimester period begins. Learning how to overcome those pregnancy woes will help pregnant women feel more in control of their symptoms and enjoy their pregnancy.

First Trimester Symptoms (0-3 months)

Feeling excited about being pregnant is often mixed with needing to deal with nausea and vomiting and a feeling of extreme tiredness. The early pregnancy hormones cause these symptoms and while them can’t be prevented; there are some simple safe ways of minimizing them.

  • Eat small meals regularly to prevent a low blood sugar level.
  • Discuss drinking ginger tea with your doctor.
  • Avoid smells and foods that increase the nausea.
  • Rest regularly and where include an afternoon sleep.

Second Trimester Symptoms (3-6 months)

Nausea and vomiting usually subside during this semester and the chronic tiredness is usually replaced by a feeling of wellbeing and health. As the trimester continues and the uterus starts to enlarge, some women complain of nasal congestion, stretch marks, dizziness increased need to pass urine and constipation. Same ways to control these symptoms include:

  • Increase dietary fiber and continue to drink plenty of water.
  • Change position slowly and keep blood sugars stable by eating regularly.
  • Discuss laxatives with a doctor before they are used.
  • Use Vitamin E cream on stretch marks.

Third Trimester Symptoms (6-9 months)

The final months of pregnancy, may create back pain, general discomfort and fluid retention. These symptoms can be controlled by:

  • Wear low shoes and if necessary support stockings with a doctors approval.
  • Maintain fluid intake even with fluid retention and frequent need to go to the toilet.
  • Rest where possible. Lie on side not back
  • Hot showers can reduce discomfort.
  • Gentle exercise.

Vitamin-rich Fruits You Should Consume Daily

At a time when many people focused on eating well and reducing weight by improving their diet, the importance of eating fruit is well researched and documented. For those who want to lose weight, many of these fruits provide plenty of Vitamin C, a known fat burning vitamin.

In the past, this has led to the development of popular fruit based diets like the grape fruit diet, but there is no requirement to restrict other nutrients to lose weight and fruit forms and essential part of all good weight loss plans and should form part of any healthy lifestyle. Vitamins are essential for normal body function.

vitamin

They affect metabolism, human growth and development and a healthy immune system. They are only required in minimal amounts, and the body either stores or excretes excess amounts in the urine.

Fruits contain many vitamins and provide most of the total daily requirements. . Eating 2 pieces of fruit per day, together with other foods, reduce or eliminate the need for oral vitamin supplements. Eating the fruit whole and not juiced is also the better alternative, to provide the other benefits of the fiber rich whole fruit. Vitamin deficiency is a serious condition, which can lead to major health problems if they are not corrected.

Many fruits are like a multivitamin supplement, they contain many different vitamins. The following list of fruits each contains approximately 10 essential vitamins and should be consumed regularly. Apples, avocadoes, bananas, berries, cherries, cantaloupes, grapes, figs, dates, guava, kiwi fruit, oranges, lemons, limes, olives, peaches, pears, nectarines, pineapples, plums, tomatoes and watermelon. The list is not complete and most fruit will provide very high numbers of vitamins.

Fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A,D,E and K, are stored in the body for periods lasting as long as 6 months and don’t require the same daily intake requirement as the water soluble vitamins like Vitamins B and C. Despite containing similar groups of vitamins, not every fruit contains the same types of vitamins. The amount and type of vitamins that each fruit provides is variable.

The fruit providing the highest levels of water soluble vitamin content that should be included in the diet daily are berries including blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, oranges, bananas and apples. Tomatoes and avocadoes, though often eaten as vegetables, are fruits and are excellent choices of vitamins that can be eaten daily.

What Being Healthy Really Means

Health to most people means, “not being sick.” People who are ill are considered to be in “poor health.” For these people, health is simply the absence of sickness. There is another more comprehensive view however, held by groups like the World Health Organization and the International Scouting Movement that suggest that true health is not only physical wellbeing, but also includes, mental, social, spiritual and intellectual wellbeing.

In today’s society, there is a lot of emphasis on maintaining physical health, but most people spend little or no time looking after these other areas of wellbeing. If we are going to measure how healthy we are, we must consider how we are looking after the “whole of us” and not just our bodies.

health

Being healthy means taking time to consider those areas of our lives that we do sometimes neglect and finding ways to care for them. Research has shown that if we do not do this, then it will affect our physical health. Many of the reasons we say we are in “poor health” are caused by carrying too much stress, and eventually they will produce physical symptoms if we do not learn how to de-stress.

We usually care for the needs of others in preference to caring for ourselves. Self-care however, is not selfish but is a way of ensuring that our bodies are healthy in a holistic sense. We choose to go to the gym after work, which may seem to be caring for our physical body, but if it is something we want to do and we like to do, it will produce health benefits to our mental and social well-being. If we would like to study in a course that interests us as personal development, but consider ourselves too busy to enroll in a course without attempting to reschedule our time, we are not caring for our intellectual health.

Giving ourselves permission to self-care as a whole person is the first step to enjoying true health. It is not only important for us personally, it influences our roles as partners, as parents and as colleagues at work. It affects our productivity and our ability to enjoy life and to take advantage of the opportunities that life offers us.

When we adopt this holistic attitude for our lives, and in making lifestyle choices, we have begun to understand what true health really means.