Mothers Should Stay Healthy

Being a mother is a difficult mission in life. When you have children you feel some fulfillment you may have never experienced before in your life. Yet, children can be a big responsibility to a mother. It is a mother's responsibility to ensure that her child grows up to be healthy and productive citizens of the world. It is also her responsibility to see to it that her children obey the laws of the country and of the world. Mothers make sure that their children grow up in a safe environment and that her children have access to physical need such as food, water, clothing and shelter. This is why we value mothers so much.

Thus mothers should not neglect themselves. They must take care of themselves because their children are counting on them for survival. If mothers get sick and cannot function in their responsibilities, who can assume their role? If you are a mother, it is best that you read on to know how you can care for yourself, live longer and be healthier

Maintain Good Nutrition

As a mother, you may have urged your children to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. But are you taking your own share? For moms, consuming a balanced diet and eating fruits and vegetables can reduce their risk of acquiring diseases such as cancers, heart diseases, stroke and diabetes. Most fruits and vegetables contain fiber which is good for the mother. Fiber helps maintain normal weight and reduces hunger pangs by making you feel full most of the time and not succumb to binge eating. Fiber also lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Aside from these, fruits and vegetables contain essential nutrients that can make you on the go all the time. Avoid consuming foods high in fat, sugar, salt and alcohol.

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Get Physically Active

Getting physically active at least 2-3 times a week is also one way of maintaining good health. Most mothers forget their own physical needs when they tend to care for their children. Regular physical activity can uplift your mood so that you will not get cranky all the time; you also achieve a healthier body and reduce your risk for long-term diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancers and atherosclerosis. It also strengthens your bones and joints and makes you live longer. You can walk, ride a bicycle, jog or do some heavy gardening.

Get a Good Night's Sleep

Mothers often lack sleep when tending to their babies and smaller children. This should not be the case. Lack of sleep can lead to daytime sleepiness and decreased cognitive functioning during daytime work. Plus, you may be at risk for chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Avoid Stress

Deal with stress accordingly by keeping calm and relaxed. Try some relaxation activities such as meditation and yoga. Do not use drugs and alcohol in dealing with stress. Laugh and enjoy with your family and connect with family and friends often for support.

Visit the Doctor Often

Be aware of some diseases you might have as you go older. If you have gestational diabetes or hypertension when you were pregnant, get follow-up checkups with your doctor to check on your blood pressure or blood glucose levels. If you have certain diseases in your family, you may have them checked as well.

Being a healthy woman you can spread more love and support to your family. This is why you have to maintain good health all the time. If you want to learn more about staying healthy you can check our other articles on this site.

Blood Pressure and Hypertension

With all the stress around us, it is of no wonder that adults become at risk to a lot of chronic diseases which can later on lead to death and debilitation. One of these diseases is hypertension. Hypertension is a medical condition wherein pressure inside the blood vessels is elevated. This can further lead to damage of the internal organs such as heart failure, kidney failure, stroke, heart attack or aneurysms. Hypertension can also increase a person's risk for dementia later in life.�

The normal blood pressure level is 120/80mm Hg. The number 120 refers to the systolic pressure, or the highest pressure inside the arteries, while the number 80 refers to the diastolic pressure, the lowest pressure in the arteries. A blood pressure of between 120/80 to 139/89 is termed as pre-hypertension. Pre-hypertension is not hypertension per se but carries an increased risk for hypertension. A blood pressure of above 140/90 mm Hg is considered as hypertension.

Hypertension may either be primary or secondary in cause. Primary hypertension is commonly known as essential hypertension and denotes hypertension with no known cause. Majority of hypertension cases belong to this one. Secondary hypertension, on the other hand, is due to a number of causes such as kidney problems, steroid use, and other medical problems. There are risk factors for hypertension though, which includes a family history of hypertension, excess weight, diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle, a diet high in salt, nutritional deficiency, stress, endocrine problems, kidney diseases and smoking.

Signs and symptoms of hypertension include dizziness, chest pains, vision problems, difficulty of breathing, nausea and blood in the urine. Once a person experiences these symptoms, he or she should have themselves checked by the doctor. Repeated measurements of blood pressure on all limbs and in different positions are usually made before making a diagnosis of hypertension.

Now that you already know that hypertension is dangerous, what can you do about this? Actually there are natural ways of dealing with hypertension before resorting to more expensive and invasive ways.

Eat the right foods

Instead of eating cakes and ice cream, how about eating a piece of low-fat and low sugar yogurt? According to some studies, people lowered their risk of developing high blood pressure when fed with yogurt twice a week for over 14 years.

Do some weight-lifting

Physical activity can lower your risk of acquiring high blood pressure later in life. Weight lifting is said to lower systolic blood pressure by 5 points and diastolic blood pressure by 9 points. The effects were also said to last longer than cardio exercise. Weight lifting can also help lose weight

Drink red wine

Drinking a non-alcoholic type of red wine can lower blood pressure within one month, lowering systolic blood pressure by 5.8 points and diastolic blood pressure by 2.3 points. If you are not a fan of red wine, you can try consuming antioxidant rich foods and drinks.

Go for some sun.

Sunlight contains vitamin D which is a blood-pressure lowering vitamin. The results of one study says that exposure to sunlight for about 15 minutes for three times a week can lower blood pressure levels and maintain optimum functioning. This is because Vitamin D is a wonderful vitamin that can help relax your arteries and can improve its flexibility. Another study says that exposure to vitamin D can reduce your systolic and diastolic blood pressures by 4.6 points on the average.

De-stress yourself

Start having fun and be worry-free. Of course this is a hard thing to do but think about what it can do to your blood pressure. Being with friends and family can lower blood pressure levels while loneliness can increase your systolic BP by 3 points each year.

For more tips on how to be disease-free most of the time, feel free to browse other articles on this site.

Electronic Cigarette vs Traditional Cigarettes and Cigars

Before the 1960s, cigarettes and cigars were so popular than even movie stars were seen with a cigarette dangling from their mouths on-screen. People used to think that smoking cigarettes made them popular and may have various health benefits, as the nicotine in them gives them a certain energy boost. However, it was not until the beginning of the 20^th century that experts warned the public that smoking cigarettes can bring about lung cancer and other health hazards. In 1963, Herbert A. Gilbert began to invent a cigarette� which contains no smoke and which was battery-operated. This battery-operated cigarette began to improve in design of the next few years and came to be known as an electronic cigarette�.

An electronic cigarette now appears as a steel or plastic cylindrical thing that generates nicotine without the other harmful components of tobacco smoke. It contains a battery and an atomizer that turns liquid into vapour. It also contains flavouring and nicotine in some cases. Electronic cigarettes were created to get away from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke found in cigars and cigarettes.

However, electronic cigarettes have encountered much debate nowadays. Some experts think that smoking an electronic cigarette could still bring about nicotine addiction and would not discourage a person from smoking. They are also concerned because some of these electronic cigarettes were not manufactured according to good quality and consumer safety standards. However, the truth still holds true: the use of an electronic cigarette is better than the use of a conventional cigarette.

The Edge of Electronic Cigarettes

Electronic cigarettes are certainly way better than traditional cigarettes. How is this possible? First of all, an electronic cigarette can somehow make a person stop smoking�and this has been proven by some studies. In one small clinical trial, it was found out that electronic cigarettes with nicotine are comparable to nicotine patch in terms of safety and efficacy in helping people quit smoking. Electronic cigarettes can even help smokers reduce the number of cigarettes they are smoking.

Aside from this, there are also some studies which say that electronic cigarettes can bring about lower nicotine levels in the blood as compared to nicotine patches. Thus they can help reduce cravings even in long-term smokers. Experts say that the most effective way of reducing cravings in people who are quitting smoking is nicotine replacement. Nicotine replacement serves to replace the nicotine normally delivered by smoking cigars and cigarettes so that withdrawal symptoms and cravings are reduced. Nicotine patches, gums and lozenges have been used in this regard. Why not electronic cigarettes? Besides, experts say that the most effective nicotine replacement is in the form of nicotine sprays. An electronic cigarette can easily release vapour with nicotine like the nicotine spray.

Another thing is that these nicotine replacement products may address nicotine addiction and lessen cravings but they cannot address the need for the smoking ritual itself. The electronic cigarette is the only one nicotine replacement product that can address this ritual. Through addressing this problem, we can say that electronic cigarettes can be a long �term solution for nicotine addiction and withdrawal.

Electronic cigarettes are much safer to use than cigarettes and cigars because they do not expose the user to second-hand smoke. Second hand smoke contains toxins and other chemicals that pose as carcinogens and poisons to the body. These chemicals make the body generate free radicals that further damage our cells and tissues.

Unknown to many people, there are indeed many health benefits that smoking an electronic cigarette may bring. Electronic cigarettes should be the first line of nicotine replacement product especially for long-term smokers who want to quit. For more healthy options, feel free to browse other articles on this site.

Written by Wayne Marler

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Why is Exercise Beneficial to the Body?

We have repeatedly heard ever since we were small that exercise is good for us. But do we know what makes this possible?

Now, a new study published in the January issue of Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism talk about the discovery of a molecule being produced during exercise that probably contributes to the benefits of exercise on the body's metabolism.

According to previous reports, exercise has various benefits such as losing and maintaining weight, lowering the risk for heart disease, and lowering the risk for type 2 diabetes. It further makes us avoid having metabolic syndrome while it lowers our risk for cancers. Other benefits include strengthening bones and muscles, boosting of immune resistance and the improvement of mood and well-being.

In the past it was unclear why these benefits are brought about by exercise. However, a recent study has attributed these benefits to the expression of a weight loss molecule.

Exercise Creates Signals in The Body

According to these researchers there are signals generated by the muscles of the body and by the other organs during exercise. These signals are released into the blood and affect other tissues such as fat cells and the liver. In addition, a protein called PGC-1 alpha has been discovered to regulate metabolic genes in the muscle. This protein also contributes to the response of the muscles to exercise. Further experiments conducted in mice led the researchers to identify metabolites secreted from the cells while PGC-1 alpha acts on the muscle cells. They identified a metabolite known as beta-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA) which increased the expression of genes in fat cells, further leading to burning of calories. Thus the metabolite in a way helped with decreasing weight gain and in balancing blood sugar levels in mice.

Increase in BAIBA During Exercise

The researchers further analyzed the results of human exercise studies and data from participants in the Framingham Heart Study. The results revealed that BAIBA levels rise during exercise and its increased expression can lower metabolic risk factors. An increase in BAIBA levels can decrease fasting blood sugar levels, insulin, triglycerides and total cholesterol. The increase in this metabolite was also associated with decreased body mass index.

We know that an increased body mass index or BMI, as in the case of being overweight or obese, �can predispose one to have illnesses such as hypertension, abnormal cholesterol levels, cancers, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and early death.

Thus we are glad to discover how exercise, through the expression of BAIBA could protect is from metabolic illnesses. The researchers also remarked that manipulating BAIBA or the enzymes that generate it may have therapeutic potential later on to treat obesity.

But how do you know if you have enough exercise or not? You need at least 60 minutes of physical activity every week to enjoy health benefits. To experience major health benefits, you should do at least about two hours of moderate physical activity or more than an hour of vigorous physical activity each week or a combination of both.

In performing aerobic exercise, you should do each set of exercises at least 10 minutes at a time. You should also include moderate to vigorous muscle-strengthening activities in two or more days each week. These activities should work on all major muscle groups such as legs, chest, hips, back, shoulders, arms and abdomen. Examples of these activities include working with resistance bands, weight-lifting, �sit ups, push ups, gardening and yoga.

Now that you know how exercise makes us burn fat and keep it off, maybe you can start exercising now to experience maximum benefits. You can also browse other articles on this site about how to increase your physical activity.

A new study has shown how we can maintain long-term weight loss.

Are you dying to show off those curves of yours and shed off your unwanted excess pounds? You can, through diet and exercise. But the question is: can you keep off those unwanted fats in the long run?

Actually, only you have the power to shed excess pounds and keep it off long-term.

Researchers of The Miriam Hospital have published their recent findings on weight loss maintenance for individuals over a 10-year period in the American Journal of Medicine. The results show that most people can achieve weight loss in the long run if they stick to certain favorable health habits. The study is the first to observe behaviour change and weight loss on more than two thousand participants, majority of which were female. Before they were enrolled in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), the participants have already lost a minimum of 30 pounds and have already kept excess weight off for a minimum of one year.

Three Keys to Successful Weight Loss

To identify the keys to successful weight loss maintenance, the participants were followed by the researchers for 10 years. The researchers found out that on the average, most of the participants maintained their weight throughout the 10-year period. Better weight control was found in participants who �continue to have physical activity, who monitor their weight, to consume low-fat diets and who avoid overeating.

The researchers also noted that majority of the participants still maintained at least 10% weight loss even after 5 years until 10 years. It is said that a larger initial weight loss and a longer duration of weight loss maintenance was associated with better long-term results. Greater weight gain, on the other hand, was associated with decreased exercise, increased fat in the diet and poor choice of food.

Thus this leads us to believe that weight loss is best maintained when we continue to make room for physical activity in our lives, when we monitor our weight regularly and when we choose what we eat.

Increased Physical Activity

By physical activity, we mean any type of movement by the body which creates work for muscles and requires more energy than rest. Examples of physical activity include taking a walk, dancing, doing household chores and mowing the lawn. Physical activity has a lot of benefits to your health. As little as sixty minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week can work wonders for your health. Greater benefits can be achieved with about two hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or with more than an hour of vigorous exercise every week.

Healthy Diet

Next, you need to watch out for what you eat. A healthy diet can give your body the nutrients it needs every day which are within your daily caloric goals to achieve weight loss. Aside from maintaining weight loss, this can also lower your risk for heart disease and other medical problems. To maintain long-term weight loss you should eat a lot of fruits, lean meat and vegetables. You should also be able to control portion sizes.

Increased physical activity and reduction of calories are recommended to lose weight and decrease abdominal fat. Other experts also recommend behavior therapy for weight loss and weight maintenance. These three should be continued indefinitely and should not be stopped when weight loss is already achieved.

Thus, within the first six months after weight loss, a weight maintenance program consisting of increased physical activity, decreased fat consumption and reduced caloric intake should be prioritized. Weight loss in obese and overweight individuals should be emphasized because excess weight can increase the risk of dangerous illnesses and death.

Now you know about the various ways how changing your behavior can help you maintain weight loss in the long run. Not only will you keep excess weight off for many years; you can also avoid the possibility of having diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and many deadly illnesses. For other tips on how to increase your physical activity and on how to eat healthy, you can check out our other articles in this site.