Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Build Stamina

Stamina is a measure of the capability to sustain prolonged stressful effort. Gauging your stamina provides valuable insight to your overall physical constitution and power to endure disease, fatigue, and illness.

Because stamina decreases as we age, it is absolutely imperative to work hard and constantly stretch our bandwidth of endurance.

There are a myriad of incredible ways to build stamina through proper (and careful) exercise, and here are 6 of the greatest activities I have found for this purpose:

1. Bikram Yoga

Bikram is a specific type of Yoga and one of the most grueling cardiovascular workouts you can endure. For 90 minutes you are immersed in a room that is 110 degrees (intentionally) and are instructed through a series of 27 postures and stretches that will push the limits of your pain threshold (its difficulty is what makes it SO rewarding)! There is no chanting or anything seemingly spiritual about this Yoga, and if you can get past the initial pain and make a habit of the practice there is absolutely nothing better for your stamina than Bikram!

2. Lift Weights

Most people think of aerobic exercise when trying to increase stamina, but the truth is that real fitness magic happens when you simultaneously improve your muscular AND cardiovascular systems. Use weight machines, free weights, fitness bands and your own body weight (my favorite) to drastically increase your stamina.

3. Hiking

Hiking in nature has so many benefits that it would take a few pages to list them all. One of the less talked about advantages of taking a good hike is what it can do for your stamina. Because you are outdoors, and most likely surrounded by oxygen-giving trees and plants, your lungs will take in a greater abundance of the gas it loves most. This is extremely healthy for the alveoli that serve as the mechanism for your breath. Plus, depending on the type of hiking you do, it can be a muscle building and cardio workout which makes it dually beneficial.

4. Pilates

Pilates is a fantastic exercise that focuses 100% on strengthening the core of the body. By focusing on the stomach and lower back, a consistent Pilates routine improves posture and brings the body in better alignment. These adjustments will help you breathe easier, sleep better, and put less stress on weaker joints and tendons. Like Bikram, Pilates can be somewhat grueling and is fantastic for increasing stamina. I highly recommend you giving it a try!

5. Relaxation

Performing deep breathing exercises or taking a 20-minute nap can give your brain and body the opportunity to do some very important restorative work. As staminas opposite, relaxation is a critical component to increasing your endurance. Strive for a solid 7-8 hours of solid sleep each and every night for added benefits.

increase Height

Our society places a great deal of importance on height. If you are of a smaller stature, you have undoubtedly felt that you have an unfair disadvantage.

However, you have the ability to overcome this challenge and make your body grow. While there are always artificial means, you have probably wondered how to increase height naturally.

The answer is a good grow taller exercise regiment, especially one that includes a stretching program designed to increase height.

People who know how to increase height naturally know that exercise is crucial if you want to improve your body. When you exercise, your body releases Human Growth Hormone, or HGH, into your system.

This is the complex hormone that triggers your bones, muscles, and tissue to increase in size. The better your workout, the more HGH will be in your system. Furthermore, exercise strengthens your body to support it as the bones and cartilage lengthen.

Although most workouts will help your body grow in some way, stretching exercises are one of the most effective and natural ways to increase height.

Stretching is an efficient way to exercise because it focuses on the parts of your body that you want to grow. The bulk of your height comes from your spine and legs.

The bones in these areas are held together by cartilage. Stretching helps you decompress the cartilage in these body parts, such as between your vertebrae and thigh bones. As this cartilage decompresses it soaks up nutrients and thickens, making you taller.

On the other hand, not stretching stunts your growth because it weakens your cartilage and reduces the flexibility needed to grow.

It is very important that you develop a solid stretching routine. This means you have must discipline yourself to stretch regularly. You must also stretch long enough so that your workout is effective.

Most importantly, you need to do the right stretches with the right techniques. This article will guide you through certain stretching techniques that will give you the optimum results.

Be Fairer

Try a home-made remedy to help.
Apply a mixture of lemon juice and honey. Leave it for 20 minutes. Then wash it off. If you have dry skin: Apply a mixture of equal amounts of cucumber juice and honey on the face and full body for 15 minutes. Then wash it off.
Mix a teaspoon of oatmeal powder, a pinch of turmeric and a few drops of lemon to make a thick paste. Apply to face and leave it to dry. Wash off mask with water.
Mash ripe bananas and smear it on the face once a week. Wash it off after 3-4 minutes.
A face pack made of fullers' earth, mashed ripe papaya and cucumber juice when applied to the face and throat will help tighten skin and lighten it in the process.
Apply slices of raw potato to the face. Let the juice sit for 10 minutes, then wash off with cool water.
Make a paste of 2 tbsp of wheat flour using as much water as needed. Apply on your face in an upward motion. Leave to dry. Then, wash with cool water and pat dry. This helps remove excess oil from your skin.
Apply a mixture of 1 tbsp of honey and 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice on your face. Leave it to dry for 15-30 minutes. Then rub it off using a very small quanity of water.
Rub the inner part of the skin of a papaya on your face. Let it dry. Then, wash your face with cold water and wipe dry. This will give your skin a nice glow.

Whiten your teeth

Whiten While You Chew


While certain foods such as soy sauce, berries and curry stain your enamel, fibrous foods like apples, celery, carrots, spinach, broccoli and lettuce actually work to remove stains by exfoliating teeth before the stain molecules attach themselves deeply to the surface. "It's like a skin scrub for your smile," says Dr. Levine.

cranberry juice or any chromogenic, or pigmented, liquids that tend to seep into enamel are better sipped through a straw. Even then, Dr. Levine recommends brushing immediately after drinking a stain-producing beverage so that it doesn't have a chance to set into the tooth's molecules.
Try Whitening Floss


In addition to whitening the spaces in between our teeth, a floss such as Glide Whitening Plus Scope Flavor helps maintain healthy gums, too. "By nature, our gums have a clean, pink, pillowy appearance and shape the teeth nicely," says Dr. Levine. Neglecting to care for your gums will eventually cause them to look red and irritated, detracting from your smile.

Invest in an Electric Toothbrush


"The product I believe has stood the test of time is the electric toothbrush," says Dr. Levine. These devices are the most effective at removing extrinsic stains, which are embedded on the exterior of the tooth surface (such as in the calculus or plaque) and result from repeated interaction with food debris, tobacco smoke, wine and other sources. Dr. Levine recommends Sonicare-brand brushes, but any electric brush will work well.


Improve Eye Sight

o You Believe That Vision
Is Our Most Important Sense?

Then You Need To Learn How to Protect Your EyeSight.

Close to 75% of North Americans believe that their sight is the most important sense they have.

And they’re right.

About 80% of what we perceive through our senses comes from our sight.

Yet only about 40% of North Americans have an annual eye exam, and a full 85% admit that they do not care for their eyes as much as they should.

The aim of this web site, Protect Your Eyesight, is to improve those percentages so that fewer people develop preventable eye diseases, and so that those who do develop an eye disease can slow the progression and lessen the symptoms of the disease.

In other words, my goal is to keep you from being one of the millions of North Americans (and people around the world) who are blind or have a vision impairment that could have been prevented.


I want you to Protect your Eyesight so that you can have many more years to use your most valuable sense.

Sharp Mind tips

Here is a summary of his tips for keeping a sharp mind.
Play games that require you to use your mind and memory, like bridge, word games Scrabble and crossword puzzles
Participate in discussion groups, over dinner if possible. Enjoyable food for the mind and the body!
Seek new experiences. Travel across the world or across town to your local museum. Consider recording your impression of your experience, by drawing it, recording it, writing about it, photographing or videoing it.
Take a course on something you know hardly anything about.
Investigate hobbies and crafts. Look in the library, the local crafts store, talk to people who have hobbies. Maybe you’ll rekindle an old interest or find a new one.
Volunteer. You can volunteer in person, and now you can even volunteer online, for example contributing to Wikipedia. (www.wikipedia.org)
Investigate the possibility of part-time work
Write to family and friends, either by traditional snail mail or by email.
Start a dream journal.
Start your memoirs or a family history

Healthy Stomach

AS you ponder your next makan session with your friends this Chinese New Year, here are a few tips dietitian Mary Easaw John offers.

#1: Portion, portion, portion

It's not only about what you eat and drink, but the amount you indulge in during the festive season.

So be sensible when indulging in Chinese New Year culinary classics like carbonated drinks, yee sang and mandarin oranges, and be aware of the amount you are taking each time.

"You have to remember how many yee sang you are going to have," says Easaw-John. "If you are going to have four, eat only a small amount each time."

#2: It adds up

Continuously indulging in frequent, sumptuous Chinese New Year dinners will eventually add up and affect your blood cholesterol levels, your calories, and your total fat intake. So, plan your dinners with your friends, in-laws, co-workers, and eat in small quantities.

"Remember your poor stomach is working overtime to go through a 'tsunami' during the festive season," says Easaw-John.

#3: Make healthier choices

Note the foods that are high in fat (fried food and fatty meat) and cholesterol (prawns, clams, oysters, shark's fin soup), and take it easy on the alcohol. As these foods are generally high in calories, taking too much may make you gain some pounds.

And if you think you can lose the weight you gained over the season, think again, because it definitely takes more effort to lose weight than not gaining it in the first place.

Healthy Diet

Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all. Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs. Use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels as handy references.
Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Surveys show most Americans don't eat enough of these foods. Do you eat 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, cereal and pasta group, 3 of which should be whole grains? Do you eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don't enjoy some of these at first, give them another chance. Look through cookbooks for tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.
Maintain a healthy weight. The weight that's right for you depends on many factors including your sex, height, age and heredity. Excess body fat increases your chances for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and other illnesses. But being too thin can increase your risk for osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities and other health problems. If you're constantly losing and regaining weight, a registered dietitian can help you develop sensible eating habits for successful weight management. Regular exercise is also important to maintaining a healthy weight.
Eat moderate portions. If you keep portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy. Did you know the recommended serving of cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to a deck of playing cards? A medium piece of fruit is 1 serving and a cup of pasta equals 2 servings. A pint of ice cream contains 4 servings. Refer to the Food Guide Pyramid for information on recommended serving sizes.
Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you're very hungry, it's also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don't eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal.
Reduce, don't eliminate certain foods. Most people eat for pleasure as well as nutrition. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt or sugar, the key is moderating how much of these foods you eat and how often you eat them.
Identify major sources of these ingredients in your diet and make changes, if necessary. Adults who eat high-fat meats or whole-milk dairy products at every meal are probably eating too much fat. Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help balance your choices.
Choosing skim or low-fat dairy products and lean cuts of meat such as flank steak and beef round can reduce fat intake significantly.
If you love fried chicken, however, you don't have to give it up. Just eat it less often. When dining out, share it with a friend, ask for a take-home bag or a smaller portion.
Balance your food choices over time. Not every food has to be "perfect." When eating a food high in fat, salt or sugar, select other foods that are low in these ingredients. If you miss out on any food group one day, make up for it the next. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern.
Know your diet pitfalls. To improve your eating habits, you first have to know what's wrong with them. Write down everything you eat for three days. Then check your list according to the rest of these tips. Do you add a lot of butter, creamy sauces or salad dressings? Rather than eliminating these foods, just cut back your portions. Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? If not, you may be missing out on vital nutrients.
Make changes gradually. Just as there are no "superfoods" or easy answers to a healthy diet, don't expect to totally revamp your eating habits overnight. Changing too much, too fast can get in the way of success. Begin to remedy excesses or deficiencies with modest changes that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. For instance, if you don't like the taste of skim milk, try low-fat. Eventually you may find you like skim, too.
Remember, foods are not good or bad. Select foods based on your total eating patterns, not whether any individual food is "good" or "bad." Don't feel guilty if you love foods such as apple pie, potato chips, candy bars or ice cream. Eat them in moderation, and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health.

Healthy Lungs

Increase Your Antioxidants

Antioxidants include vitamins and minerals that bind to free radicals, unpaired electrons that damage cells and tissue. Antioxidants include vitamins such as vitamin C and E and beta-carotene, a fat-soluble, highly pigmented cartinoid. At least one European study of men from the Netherlands, Italy and Finland noted that those who consumed higher than normal amounts of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables had a higher forced-expiratory lung volume, or FEV, according to "Respiratory Reviews." Fruits, particularly those high in vitamin C, may protect the lungs from damage caused by oxidants. Drinking V-8 vegetable juice reduced oxidant damage to lung DNA by 20 percent within a two week period of drinking the vegetable juice along with taking vitamin C and vitamin E supplements, the California Tomato Growers Association reports.
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Take Fish Oil

Fish oil, which contains essential omega-3 fatty acids, may help protect the lungs from allergies and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, two studies reported by "Pulmonary Reviews" found. In one study, athletes with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction were compared to athletes without EIB. Taking fish oil supplements improved lung function after exercise. In another study, children of pregnant women who took fish oil supplements were compared to those who took a placebo starting at week 20 of pregnancy and through delivery. Children of mothers who took fish oil had fewer allergies to eggs at one year and were 10 times less likely to have severe atopic allergies, or skin reactions.

Healthy Liver

Nestled in the upper right portion of your abdominal cavity is a large quiet organ known as the liver. Your liver, if it is healthy, should have a consistent reddish brown color and it serves primarily as a filtration and processing facility for your body. It detoxifies deadly substances and breaks down worn out erythrocytes. Apart from that, the largest internal organ also secrets bile to the gallbladder. This bile helps in the digestion of fats in the small intestine. Apart from detoxification, the liver also metabolizes protein and carbohydrates, synthesis Vitamin A and substances that are instrumental in blood clotting.

1. Avoid Alcohol If At All Possible

Your liver cells are the only entities that can manufacture the type of enzymes to oxidize alcohol effectively. Sadly for the heavy drinkers, the liver has enough enzymes to process only one alcoholic drink per hour. If you were to down a few drinks within the hour, the excess alcohol would circulate in your blood system affecting every organ in your body.

When you have too many drinks, your liver would continue to work hard so as to produce enough enzymes to process them. It will have no time to metabolize the fatty acids and thus allowing them to accumulate. A heavy drinker’s liver cell structure is greatly affected permanently, so much so that it loses its ability to metabolize fatty acids. That is the reason why these people also suffer from fatty livers. If you cannot stop drinking, limit the intake of alcohol today and give your liver a chance to recover. However, do take steps to eliminate alcohol from your diet.