Pilates Exercise: More Than Just a Core Workout

It’s a common misconception that Pilates method exercise is really only good for strengthening and stretching the core muscles of the body. Many people use it to tone their abs and improve their posture but, in reality, Pilates can do much more than that. In fact, when combined with an aerobic “cardio” exercise component (e.g., jogging or Spinning) Pilates can provide you with a fantastic full-body conditioning workout!

Pilates Exercises for Strength-Training

Many Pilates exercises are great muscle-toners that work large muscle groups beyond just the abs and lower back. The Plank position, for example, effectively works the chest and triceps muscle groups. Leg kicks work the glute and hamstring muscles very well. Free squats are one of the best lower-body exercises around, working the quadriceps, the hamstrings, and the glutes. And don’t think these are “sissy” strength-training exercises. Many of the world’s top martial artists practice them on a daily basis to toughen their bodies and reduce the chance of getting hurt.

Pilates Equipment

When it comes to workout equipment, it’s hard to beat Pilates devices like the Reformer and Wunda chair. Not only do they stretch and strengthen muscles — providing great full-body conditioning — but they “teach” you how to use the different parts of your body together efficiently. Efficient body movement is a key to great overall fitness, injury prevention, and high-level sports performance. Portable Pilates equipment like resistance bands and the Pilates circle are also effective fitness tools. They’re inexpensive, easy to travel with, and can easily be incorporated into many of your current muscle-conditioning routines for increased benefits.

Relaxation Is Necessary for a Healthy Mind and Body

For some reason, many people, when they think about How to be healthy, don’t consider relaxation as part of the process.

The truth is that relaxing has both physical and mental health benefits that cannot be overlooked.

In fact, studies conducted at Harvard Medical School and other prestigious research schools have shown that relaxation helps your genes that focus on disease fighting to be more active!

What’s more, studies also show that using relaxation techniques reduces stress, which simply makes for a happier and healthier mind overall.

There are several different techniques that you can use to relax. Stretching is an excellent way to relax the body.

Many people use Yoga for relaxation and a general feeling of wellness.

Yoga can be used as a form of exercise, but it’s primary goal is to help you find a connection between mind and body.

Meditation is another way to achieve relaxation.

Meditation is a relaxation technique that teaches you how to focus your mind and literally be in the moment.

Once you learn how to properly meditate, you can use meditation to relieve stress and anxiety, which will help you to relax.

Listening to music or nature noises is another effective way to achieve relaxation. Many people find it difficult to simply sit and relax and this additional ambiance can help them to relax and feel better.

Progressive muscle relaxation is something that works for many people.

This is a process by which you focus on each muscle group by tightening or flexing the muscle for five seconds and then releasing it. You should start at your toes and work your way up the body or start with your head and work your way down. You repeat this process until your body is completely relaxed.

Reliable Ways to Get Rid of Piles Fast

Piles (Hemorrhoids) are one of those personal problems most people have experienced but no one wants to talk about. Well, talk about them or not, one thing is very clear: You shouldn’t ignore them. All sufferers want to get rid of piles fast so here are some tips to help you deal effectively with the problem and hopefully ease your suffering once and for all.

Be careful with laxatives:

If you have hemorrhoid problems, use laxatives sparingly. Laxatives can be vital in dealing with isolated instances of constipation, and I know that the painful experience of passing stools can motivate you to use laxatives to make bowel movements easier, but if you rely on them regularly you can do yourself harm. You might be masking the true status of your digestive processes and cannot tell if you need to make dietary adjustments.

A warm soak can be just the ticket for relieving your hemorrhoid pains. Running a shallow bath of warm – not hot – water and sitting in it will reduce the painful swelling of your hemorrhoids and improve circulation in the area. You can repeat this treatment as often as is practical. This will also aid with personal cleanliness which is vital in your hemorrhoid treatment at home.

Avoid straining in the restroom:

Never force yourself to use the restroom. One of the main causes of piles is straining when you are attempting to have a bowel movement. This should happen naturally and within a few minutes of feeling the need to go. A little exercise or just walking around should help your body produce that urge to go.

Lowering Uric Acid to Prevent Painful Gout and Kidney Stones

As you probably already know, uric acid crystals in the joints cause the horrible symptoms of gout. But did you know that recurring gout can cause permanent joint damage? And did you know that crystals can also form in the kidneys where they can eventually ‘clump’ together to form painful kidney stones?

So what can you do to prevent this happening to you?

First, let us look at how these crystals are formed in the first place…

Urate Crystals

Crystals of urate can form when you have high uric acid levels in your blood. They usually don’t when your levels are normal because your kidneys process and flush excess acid out of your body.

But if your kidneys aren’t working to their full potential, or your body is over-producing uric acid, then you are left with excess in your bloodstream that, over time, can form into crystals in your joints and kidneys.

Medical tests can pinpoint which of the two scenarios above could be the underlying problem. For example, if they show that you have high acid levels in your blood but low levels in your urine, this could indicate that your kidneys aren’t working efficiently.

If, on the other hand, the tests show high levels in your blood and high levels in your urine as well, then this could indicate that your kidneys are fine but that the body is producing too much acid for your kidneys to cope with.

Either way, your body has too much acid which then forms crystals in your joints, causing gout and possible long-term joint damage. But then, crystals can also be deposited in your kidneys where they clump together to form stones.

Lowering Cholesterol Quickly by Avoiding Trans-Fats And Other Important Facts and Tips

Let me show you an interesting equation:

Trans-Fats = vegetable oil + hydrogen.

Trans-fats are used in manufactured products because they have a much longer shelf life and the texture is not so greasy. Even though they are detrimental to your health the manufacturers ignore this fact and continue to use them. It is also important to realize that partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are really trans-fats in disguise.

If you have health issues and want to know what foods to avoid with high cholesterol, one of the answers would be any foods containing trans-fats.

We will now think about saturated fats. These are butters, which are naturally hard when cold. This is not the soft, spreadable kind which has been altered. Also coconut butter, which has become very popular lately is 90% saturated to begin with. These butters are completely hydrogenated and the natural process they go through to make them does not change them into trans-fatty acids. If you cook or bake with these hydrogenated fats they have a high smoke point and the oil remains stable at high temperatures and so they don’t change.

Normal dairy butter is a saturated fat so for people who have a high cholesterol (LDL) level it is not advisable to use a lot. But in my opinion, a small amount of butter to saute a few vegetables now and again is a much better option than using a fat that has been un-naturally altered to a trans-fats or “long chain saturate”.

Coconut oil or butter is a saturated-oil, but it is not an animal saturated fat or dairy product and is treated differently by the body. Coconut oil is mainly a medium chain fatty acid. The body uses medium chain fatty acids directly for energy and is not stored as fat. Amazingly, they also help to burn fat in the body. Recent research has shown that using coconut oil in your diet has helped obese people to lose weight and has not had any adverse effects on their cholesterol levels. The natives of the south pacific islands consume coconuts daily as part of their normal diets, but heart disease, high cholesterol and colon/digestion problems are unheard of.

Lower Your Cholesterol and Increase Your Chance of Stroke

Recently, The New York Times published an article entitled – “U.S. calls for major cholesterol reductions” and which was also printed in numerous local papers.

Sounds like a great way to fight heart disease, right?

Let’s take a look at what the article does not tell you about lowering your cholesterol. Because you must understand the effects of artificially lowering your cholesterol levels without implementing other strategies which are crucial to your health.

Because the fact of the matter is the Framingham Heart study – which has followed people for over 5 decades – proved without a doubt that LDL cholesterol is just one of many misleading factors of heart disease.

In fact, LDL cholesterol levels are only a very minor factor of heart disease and only under certain conditions.

Here is a quote from Christie Ballantyne, M.D., a cardiologist from the Baylor College of Medicine – “The majority of people who end up having heart attacks or stroke don’t have high cholesterol.”

Here is another quote from an article in the Red Flags Daily By Malcolm Kendrick, M.D. who talks about the Framingham Study results as published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“There is a direct association between falling cholesterol levels over the first 14 years and mortality over the following 18 years.”

You guessed it, the mortality rate goes UP.

Scientific research has also proved without a doubt that as people lower their LDL cholesterol level, their chances for stroke go up.

Using cholesterol lowering drugs may artificially lower cholesterol levels, however, they will also increase the death rate from stroke. And because of toxicity to the body, you will also face liver and kidney failure.

5 Stress-Fighting Superfoods

Done right, noshing when your nerves are jangling can keep you calm and healthy. Munch your way mellow!

Spinach Three cups of spinach supply 40 percent of your daily magnesium, a mineral that blunts stress’s effects on the body by stopping blood pressure from spiking, says Beth Reardon, R.D., director of integrative nutrition at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

Stress Rx Stuff fresh spinach into omelets and sandwiches to nix tension while you’re on the party circuit.

Oranges Healthy people who were exposed to cold viruses were more likely to get sick if they were under pressure, a study from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh finds. Even a brief bout of tension can influence your immune system, but vitamin C in citrus bolsters your body‘s natural bug barricades, so you can stay well.

5 Quick Tips to Get Good Zzzzzz’s

Enjoy yourself! When we approach life with lightness and have fun during the day, we are more likely to be in the flow and as a result sleep deeply. When we struggle against the flow, we are more likely to be anxious and worry about situations at night while we try to sleep. Not fun.

Be authentic and follow your intuition! Listen to your body, don’t try to be different than what you are. If you feel the need to push yourself physically or mentally – go for it! If you feel the need to nurture yourself and rest – do that! Trust yourself and listen to your body, you have all of the answers. When you do listen, good sleep awaits.

5 Most Important Natural Health Tips for Diabetics

Maintaining normal blood sugar levels is a fundamental requirement of a healthy life, and your body’s failure to do so, as is the case in diabetes, can lead to severe complications, and early death.

Today over 7 percent of adults and children in the United States have diabetes. One third of them don’t even know it yet.

More shocking is that 54 million Americans are suffering from a condition known as “pre-diabetes,” high blood sugar levels that haven’t yet reached the extreme range of a diabetes diagnosis.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 95% of the diagnoses, attributed mostly to weight gain, obesity and lack of exercise.