Friday, September 30, 2016

Body Detoxes and Their Benefits

Are you considering a body detox?  If so, you may have heard that there are a number of health benefits to undergoing one, but is this true?  Yes and no.  In all honesty, it depends on who you ask.

Before further discussing whether a body detox does have benefits, it is important to familiarize yourself with the detox process.  There are a number of ways for you to detoxify your body.  Three popular approaches include the Master Cleanse, water fasting, and juice fasting.  Water fasting and juice fasting involves only consuming water and juice respectively.  On the Mater Cleanse, you mix a drink with about 8 ounces of water, 1/10 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of grade b maple syrup.  The cleanse also includes a nightly senna tea and a morning salt-water flush.

When on the Master Cleanse, a water fast, or a juice fast, solids are eliminated from your diet.  Many healthcare professional state this is very risky.  Most of the risk assumed is associated with water fasting.  When fasting, your body receives no nutrients.  On a juice fast or the Master Cleanse, your body will not receive all needed nutrients, but some.  For that reason, many professional state that if you are going to cleanse, use either the Master Cleanse or juice fasting.



Although there is some concern about the lack of nutrients while on a detox fast or cleanse, there are benefits.  One benefit is weight loss.  When you do not eat solid foods, your calorie intake decreases drastically.  This will result in automatic weight loss, even without exercise.  Medical professional advise against fasting for the sole purpose of losing weight, but it can be a benefit to undergoing detox.

The greatest benefit of a body detox is that it does what it is supposed to do.  That is eliminating stored toxins and waste from your body.  These toxins enter our body through water, food, and the environment.  Although a small buildup is not uncommon, a large one can hurt your body.  When these toxins are expelled through bowel movements, urination, and sweat, you will notice a significant improvement in your health.  Many report an increase in energy, regularity, as well as better skin.

As previously stated, the Master Cleanse, water fasting, and juice fasting are three common and popular ways to detox.  Unfortunately, some find it difficult to go a week without solid foods.  If you are one of those individuals, you can detox in other ways.  Although not as full-proof, switching to organic foods, exercising, getting a full body wrap at a spa, or 5-day visits to the sauna can help your body expel toxins.

Since there are benefits to detoxifying the body, you may wish to get started right away.  Before doing so, review each of your detox options and find the approach that works best for you. 
 Also, decide on a plan of action for after your detox.  At the conclusion of your cleanse, you will have a cleaner and healthier body.  You can keep it that way by switching to organic foods, maintaining a healthy diet, and by exercising.

Although the above mentioned claims are widely disputed in the medical field, there are many men and women who will tell you to try a cleanse or body detox.  These individuals have seen success.  While each body varies, you will likely see those same results.  As a reminder, those results include weight loss, increased energy, an improvement in the skin’s appearance, and an overall feeling of healthiness.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Is a Detox Diet Right For You?

In recent years, body detoxification and cleansing has increased in popularity.  At one time, many just believed that detoxification was for those dependent on drugs and alcohol.  Now, detoxification is being promoted as a health benefit.  A number of well-known celebrities have brought the process to light.  Although body detoxification does have a number of benefits, is it right for you?

Health conditions.  Do you have any diagnosed health condition?  For example, do you have a thyroid condition or diabetes?  If so, you should never detox your body, especially if water fasting is involved, without first speaking to a healthcare professional. Yes, detoxification and fasting does have many benefits, but those with certain health conditions may do more harm than good.

Excessive weight.  Are you overweight?  If so, that may be on the reason why you chose to detoxify or cleanse your body.  As previously stated, many celebrities have brought cleansing and detoxification into the forefront.  Along with that, came the realization that cleansing and detoxification can lead to weight loss.  Although you are advised against detoxing your body just for weight loss, you are likely to lose weight.  

Ability to stay on track.  Are you able to set goals and stick with them?  If so, you may be able to successfully complete a detox diet.  Unfortunately, many do not realize how difficult these diets can be.  Participating in the Master Cleanse, a water fast, or a juice fast can be very hard to adjust to, as all solid food are eliminated from your diet.  Even just limiting your food intake to organic foods can be difficult if you are dependant on caffeine, which should be eliminated from your diet.

Lack energy.  A lack of energy can be something as simple as not getting enough sleep.  It can also be the sign of an underlying medical condition, such as a thyroid problem.  Also, it can be due to the consumption of unnatural chemicals and additives.  For example, caffeine helps to give us energy, but did you know that too much caffeine can have an adverse effect, leaving you fatigued?  Detoxifying your body may help to restore your energy.

Desire.  Do you want to improve your health?  Are you tired of not looking your age or are you just tired all the time?  If so, a detox diet may be able to help.  Over the years, you may have consumed many foods and drinks with unnatural chemical and additives.  Yes, these are regarded as being “safe,” but not all are expelled from our body.  A detox diet or cleanse can help to rid your body of these toxins, leaving your body clean and pure again.

Drug dependency.  Do you have a dependency on drugs?  Whether those drugs are legal prescriptions drugs or illegal narcotics, you may be seeking help.  First and foremost, congratulations.  Asking for help and stopping drug consumption can be difficult, but it is an important step to take.  Unfortunately, wanting to detox your body to rid yourself of a drug dependency is different than doing so for improving your health or giving you more energy.  For that reason, speak to your healthcare professional.

Alcohol dependency.  Do you have a dependency on alcohol?  As with drugs, detoxification can help, but it is important to speak with a healthcare professional.  Overtime, your body will grow dependent on alcohol.  If you are at that point, the withdrawal symptoms may be too much for you and your body to handle on its own. Although you can detox at home, it is recommended that you do so under the care of a professional healthcare provider.

In short, a body detox or cleanse does have a number of benefits, but it is not the right choice for everyone.  If you opt for a detox diet, but find it difficult or painful to continue on, stop immediately and seek the advice of a trained healthcare provider.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Desktop Games To Relieve Stress During Your Day

Most of the stress we  accumulate is while we are at work. The never ending distractions and the deadlines and the emails you must reply to are taxing.It's no surprise we are stressed. There are several ways to relieve the stress and one of those ways is desktop games.Desktop games make it easy for you to relieve stress during your breaks at work and it can be done right at your desk. 

Playing games helps to relax people and take them out of the work mind state. Playing games is a great way to spend quality family time or with friends. With the many advances in technology we have,the variety of games we can play is staggering. Your options for games that suit your tastes increase and there’s a game out there for everyone. Desktop games like Desktop Destroyer and Online Paintball are a fun way to spend your breaks at work to help relieve you of stress. These action filled games are great for stress relief. 

If you don't want to just play but rather practice concentration or some other skill,games exist to fit this need too,such as Sudoku,cross words and Solitaire. These games are fun and keep you sharp. When you focus on the game you temporarily forget about deadlines and the problems,instead you are doing something fun and being challenged. 




You could also relax by taking some time off for yourself. Taking some time off to yourself for a few minutes and as long as your break permits can help balance your work load with fun. Everyone needs to relax at some point or another and desktop games enable you to do so. Physical exercise is a great stress buster but you may not have time nor be in the ideal situation to exercise at work,desktop games offer you stress relief. These games are great for taking your mind off things when things are tense and you want to explode.And can even keep you sharp in the process and you may learn something new. 

Desktop games helps you to relax and forget things so you wont lose control.You don't need to change into workout clothes or worry about getting sweaty with desktop games and you don’t need to go anywhere either.And best of all it’s at your desk,you don't have to get up and move. Relieving stress is beneficial to the quality of your life. We all know too much stress can cause health problems to rise and it’s important that we relax to help even out the work load. Playing desktop games enables you to relieve stress in a quick easy manner.

Foods Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Whats Right For You

It will take some trial and error to find out what foods irritable bowel syndrome is triggered by. Learning what your safe foods are will go a long way to calming the effects food has on your system and, therefore, help to control your symptoms.

Because everyone is different, your doctor may have a difficult time making any dietary recommendations for you to follow as it may be difficult to pinpoint exactly which food or foods are responsible for your irritable bowel syndrome. The smart thing may be to try eliminating whole categories of foods from your diet and then reintroduce them one by one so you get a clearer picture of what is causing your symptoms and then you can assist in any dietary discussions with your doctor to make some informed dietary decisions.

For instance, stop eating dairy foods for a week or so then the next week have some yogurt. If that goes ok for you then try milk or cheese. Keep doing this until you find out what, if anything, triggers a flare-up. Lactose intolerance is a big reason why some people have irritable bowel syndrome.

Next, give up anything you eat made with wheat, or has gluten, this includes apples. You may just have a gluten allergy. If your symptoms get better you can suggest to your doctor that maybe some allergy testing is in order to find out if a gluten allergy is the culprit.

If you have been suffering from this for some time you already have an idea of what foods irritable bowel syndrome is triggered by and now it is time to narrow it down because life is better when you can spend it with friends and family and not all alone dealing with excruciating pain and explosive diarrhea or any of the other symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome.

Learning more about how different foods affect your system, avoiding the trigger foods like those that are high in fat, and choosing foods that can calm your digestive tract will make your diagnosis easier to deal with and your life a lot better.

Some examples of things that act as calming agents are peppermint, fennel, and chamomile. Regular tea also calms your digestive tract and helps reduce the frequency of diarrhea.

Changing the way you eat and eliminating some of the foods you really like may not be the easiest thing you have ever done but anything that alleviates the worst of your symptoms will be worth it in the end (no pun intended).

Does this mean you can never eat out again? No, it doesn't. I will encourage you to learn as much as you can about your triggers before going out to your favorite restaurant again though, become your own best advocate and stop being your own worst enemy. By becoming informed and learning to make better choices you will realize that all you are really giving up is the anxiety related to foods irritable bowel syndrome is triggered by. How nice is that?

Monday, September 5, 2016

Antiviral Herbs

The virus is a different creature than the bacteria. Some people find viruses "scarier" because antibiotics have no effect on them. The interesting (and good) thing is that certain herbs do have antiviral action, and many of these are widely available. Here are some of them. 

1. Lemon Balm

In Germany, the antiviral effects of lemon balm are well-documented, and creams made from the herb are prescribed for herpes outbreaks and cold sores. Lemon balm is very easy to grow in your garden - a little too easy, in fact, as it tends to take over if not contained. 

Lemon balm makes a very good tea, and can be drunk to combat all sorts of viral infections, such as colds and flu. The tea or a cream can be applied to cold sores or other viral lesions, such as shingles or chickenpox. 

2. Astragalus


This lesser-known immune enhancing herb is known as huang qi in Chinese medicine. The root is sweet, not unlike licorice, to which it is related. It has been shown to be a very effective antiviral herb, particularly in the prevention of colds and flu, and may even be effective against the Coxsackie B virus (this virus can cause an inflammation of the heart). 

You can simmer slices of the root in water to make a healing decoction, or you can use the commercially-available tincture. It is generally agreed that astragalus should be taken as a preventative rather than once the illness is in full swing, so if you think you've been exposed, or you experience the very first twinges of illness, you can start taking astragalus. 

3. Garlic

No discussion of antiviral herbs would be complete without mentioning garlic, an herb that is antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal. It's not expensive, and you can use the whole herb or take capsules. However, many experts agree that "deodorized" garlic may not be as effective as the unaltered herb.

You can simmer minced garlic in chicken broth and sip it to stave off colds and flu. Raw, minced garlic can be sprinkled over salads and tossed with pasta. Be careful with consuming too much of it raw, though, as it can cause severe nausea when taken in this form. 

4. Ginger

Long ago, ginger was considered a "warming" herb that would prevent nausea from a "chilled stomach," which was said to occur when large amounts of cold water were consumed in hot weather. We now know that ginger has powerful anti-nausea action, and it is also anti-viral.

Teas made from fresh ginger are palatable and spicy. You can sweeten them with raw honey for added germ-fighting benefits and flavor. When you feel the very first stages of a cold or flu, try drinking some of this tea several times a day. You can even drink it as a preventative if you think you may have been exposed to any viruses. Ginger is considered quite safe, although it is not recommended for pregnant women.