All You Need To Know About Diabetes

With over 2 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK, and a further 1 million undiagnosed, this is obviously a serious and rising problem. There is a lot of information around about diabetes, indeed I pass on frequent health News about it, but there is a new book that I think will be extremely helpful for patients and their families and carers.

Diabetes – the essential guide has been written by someone who knows all about it as the author, Sue Marshall, was diagnosed with type I diabetes at the age of five. Now 41, she has lived with this condition for more than 35 years so is well qualified to offer advice and understanding on how to deal with the condition.

It is an extremely practical book, containing information about symptoms, diagnosis, types of diabetes and blood testing. It offers information on the types of medication available, and practical advice on how to manage the condition. Special sections on dealing with travelling, being away from home, pregnancy, and children with diabetes are well handled and looked at in detail.

As I found with my own stress book, what people need when dealing with any medical condition is clear, concise and easy to access information — no waffle and no padding. This book certainly delivers that and once you have read through the book and got some understanding about how your diet affects your blood sugar and what you can actually do to handle it successfully you have a practical plan to follow.

Diabetes – the essential guide costs £8.99 from bookshops or direct from the publisher’s website at need2knowbooks.co.uk and Sue Marshall has her own webbsite where she gives information on diabetes health care and related products. You will find it at www.desang.net

Cool Down with Sun Tea

Ever optimistic I see the sun and immediately break out the long-standing sun tea recipe! Tea brewed in the sun really does have a lovely gentle flavour and once in the fridge with lots of ice cubes you will find it a very refreshing, and healthy, drink on a hot day. So instead of reaching for a can of fizzy or a hot cup of tea try this recipe from the southern United States where they know a thing or two about staying cool in extreme temperatures. I first came across it when I was doing an exchange with a women’s’ college in Missouri as a writer in residence and have been making it ever since.

Sun Tea Recipe

The first and most important thing to say is that you must use a glass container that will hold around a litre of water — never, ever, plastic as the sunlight will leach toxins from it into the water. So one large glass container with a lid or cover the top with a saucer if you don’t have one. It could not be simpler, put 4 to 6 teabags into the jar and top up with cold, preferably filtered, water. You can use any teabags, but what I think works best is either green tea or herb tea and personally I use a mixture of the two..

Leave it to brew and steep for 3-6 hours and you will know your tea is ready when the colour has reached the colour of tea as if it was brewed in a tea pot with boiling water.

Sun Tea tends to be a bit milder tasting than normal brewed tea and although you can serve it warm from the sun, I prefer it served with ice and a lemon slice and a few sprigs of mint. Once brewed, but it in the fridge and enjoy it over the next day or two and if you are not sure about what herbal teabags to use then fennel gives an interesting aniseed taste along with the green tea, lemon balm is nicely mild, or any of the spiced tea bags such as the Ayurveda is detox teas. If you are concerned about your high blood pressure, then try mixing the green tea with a couple of Hibiscus teabags as they are known to help reduce it.

How A Good Night’s Sleep Can Literally Save Your Life

We all know the value of a good night’s sleep, without it we don’t function at are best and are more prone to illness. But did you know that if you have chronic insomnia then you have a three times higher risk of death than those who get a full 8 hours and that only getting a full six hours can impact your ability to think clearly the next day?

Sadly, insomnia is extremely common as up to a -third of adults say they get less sleep than they need to function at their best. Insomnia is usually not an isolated incident but a persistent condition and 75 percent of people with insomnia say they have it for at least one year, with half suffering for three years.

Insomnia can include all these symptoms:

1. Difficulty falling asleep

2. Waking frequently during the night

3. Waking too early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep

4. Waking feeling unrefreshed

Insomnia will affect your hormone levels and accelerate aging, and may also play a role in diabetes, depression and cancer. Too little sleep impacts your levels of thyroid and stress hormones, which in turn can affect your memory and immune system, your heart and metabolism, and much more — including your risk of cancer. New research now also shows that sleep deprivation leads to changes in the levels of key proteins that can trigger migraines.

A disrupted circadian rhythm, or sleep/wake cycle, may influence cancer progression through shifts in hormones like melatonin, which your brain makes during sleep. There’s also the issue of melatonin, an antioxidant that helps to suppress harmful free radicals in your body and slows the production of estrogen, which can activate cancer. When your circadian rhythm is disrupted, your body may produce less melatonin and therefore may have less ability to fight cancer.

Exposure to light during the night can also reduce melatonin levels, which is why it is important to sleep in total darkness to decrease your risk of cancer. An important hormone that is affected by a disrupted circadian rhythm lies is cortisol, which normally reaches peak levels at dawn then declines throughout the day. It is one of many hormones that help regulate immune system activity, including insulin and researchers have repeatedly shown that insufficient sleep will result in an increased rate of diabetes due to increased insulin resistance.

The key to dealing with insomnia, without first resorting to sleeping pills, is to address the underlying cause and these are the most common culprits:

• Stress is the prime reason for sleeplessness as your brain continues to worry at your problems through the night.

• Overactive adrenals, due to stress, keep you on the alert, and that makes it difficult to sleep

• Poor environment in the bedroom doesn’t help either so ban electrical and electronic devices and no using your mobile, watching tv or doing emails on the laptop in bed. These activities stimulate your brain, making it difficult to then fall asleep. Make sure the bedroom is dark, and cool for optimum sleep.

• Give your stomach a rest and don’t eat for at least two hours before bed, and preferably longer. The later you eat, the harder your digestive system works to deal with the food when ideally it wants to be doing essential repair and maintenance. Eating late at night will keep you awake and if you must do so then eat something that is light and easily digested. aches and confusion, and may also cut your amount of deep sleep, interfering with your body’s ability to refresh itself.

Natural Help for Insomnia

There are a number of well-tried and tested remedies from foods to supplements. Nothing works for everyone, but try these favourite methods and see what works for you:

Herbs — the most popular are valerian nd hops, and if your insomnia is linked to stress and worry then you could try two excellent supplement: Quiet Life by Lanes or Total Calm from Gematria. Chamomile tea is also soothing but try not to drink just before bed so your bladder doesn’t wake you in the night.

Dietary help – help yourself by cutting out stimulants at night, particularly caffeine and sugar. Eat foods that help you sleep and contain tryptophan, an amino acid that is a precursor to serotonin, which is then converted to melatonin. Eat magnesium-rich foods as it is a natural sedative and deficiency can result in difficulty sleeping, constipation, muscle tremors or cramps, anxiety, irritability, and pain. It has also been useful for people with restless leg syndrome. Magnesium rich foods include legumes and seeds, dark leafy green vegetables, wheat bran, almonds, cashewsbrewer’s yeast, and whole grains.

Create a calm atmosphere – get as relaxed as you can before you slip between the sheets so try some meditation before bedtime or a warm, not hot, bath with soothing aromatherapy oils like lavender. If you have a cd player/clock then put on some gentle, slow music on a low setting as it has been found to improve sleep quality and length and reduce frequent waking intervals.

Foods High in Vitamin K

Correct bone development, blood vessels flexibility and blood clotting regulator: these are the main functions played by vitamin K in the human body. When there is not enough vitamin K in the system, the blood cannot coagulate, wounds can bleed uncontrollably, and there also appear easy bruising, bone fractures, atherosclerosis and osteoporosis. Too high an intake of vitamin K on the other hand is health threatening too by the risk of heart attacks and stroke due to blood thickening. The following suggestions on some foods high in vitamin K can help you stay away from imbalances.

Leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, broccoli, Brussels sprout and kale are foods high in vitamin K. Livestock liver is also rich in vitamin K because animals feed on leafy greens on a current basis. Nevertheless, beef and pork liver are not consumed in very many cultures.

Fruits as foods high in vitamin K represent the most common source for a balanced nutrition. Kiwis, avocados, cantaloupe melons, grapes, apples, bananas, peaches, apricots and blueberries contain a moderate amount of K vitamin. The same holds true for vegetables like red cabbage, tomatoes, leeks, artichokes, peas and cucumbers.

The right way to consume foods high in vitamin K is completely raw, because cooking destroys the nutrients. Make salads of leafy greens, and if you still need to cook them, make sure that they preserve some of their vitamin K content. Mushy or soggy vegetables hardly have any vitamins left. If the veggies remain crisp after cooking, they still preserve vitamins. The nutrients usually leech into the water where you boil the vegetables. In order not to waste the nutritional value, use that water for a broth.

Foods high in vitamin K should be part of a balanced nutrition. It is essential to continuously have a vitamin K source because the body cannot store it. Food variation is the best way to stay healthy. You will certainly enjoy diversity if you add a fresh banana or some berries to your morning cereal. Lots of vitamins and minerals can be taken from a leafy green salad or from some celery sticks you have for a snack.

It is good to ask for your doctor’s recommendation if you suffer from some health problem. For example, foods high in vitamin K as well as vitamin supplements could be a problem for patients who use drugs like warfarin and other blood thinners.

How to Speed up Your Metabolism? Vitamin Information Aromatherapy Metoblika#234

Learn to beat panic attacks

Easily Control Your Panic Attacks

Just about everybody has had some type of stress and anxiety.  Many people experience stress and anxiety so great that they can’t do their day to day activities.  There are some symptoms for daily panic attack such as trembling, dizziness, breathing problems, and stomach pain.  There are lots of people that go to the emergency room because they think that they are having a heart attack.  Indeed these are very scary symptoms but they however are not life threatening at all. 

To help yourself in gaining control over your panic attacks you need to first recognize what the triggers are of the panic attacks.  If you happen to do this then it will give you time to deal with them.

There are some relaxation methods that may help with staying focused and calm.  Yoga, meditation, and some breathing techniques can help.  When a panic attack starts you can react out of proportion and also out of reality.  By practising breathing methods you should be able to remain calm and focus to help you stop.

All intake of caffeine needs to be avoided this includes soda, tea, coffee, and diet pills. Panic attacks are triggered from the central nervous system and caffeine stimulates it.

Exercise needs to be a ritual.  By exercising it will release endorphins into the blood stream.  These are hormones that help you reach an euphoric feeling, at also can be called a “runners high.”  Consistent exercise will help you stay focused, and also relaxed.

It is strongly recommended that you discover as much as you can before choosing to start taking any form of drugs.

One Factor That Can Keep You From Losing Weight Forever!

One Factor That Can Keep You From Losing Fat Forever!

Everyone, including you, deserves to achieve the body of their dreams. May it be a lean, flat stomach, a tight back with no love handles, shapely legs, or strong upper body; it can all be yours!

But there is ONE component that can keep it all from you as long as you don’t change it.

Your attitude. Your mindset. The way you feel about yourself when you look in the mirror. It can make or break you and keep you from shedding those extra pounds forever.

If you find yourself making any of the following comments, it is NOW time for a change.

1. “It’s not working”. Ok, trust me on this one, EVERYTHING is working. You are generating results every time you pick up a dumbbell and every time you put down that soda. It just might not be the results you’re expecting.

So in order to get the outcome you desire, you certainly can’t keep doing the same things. Attempt a new workout and push yourself a bit harder this time. A little burn in your muscle signifies it’s working!

Change out your “munchies” for healthy and balanced snacks. If you’re planning to snack, at least go natural; the stuff doesn’t taste bad at all and there are no harmful, fattening ingredients (like high fructose corn syrup found in processed foods).

JUST KEEP GOING! It’s like driving with only your headlights; you’ll make it someplace whether you can see far or not, but you have to do something and control the wheel.

2. “Why can’t I be like her/him?” It is very healthy to model yourself to someone with your ideal body to keep you encouraged. But when it comes to the point where you start comparing yourself to other people in a harmful, self-sabotaging manner, then it becomes extremely unhealthy.

You may not have the same body type as that individual and to set unrealistic expectations on yourself like that is enough to cause you to fail miserably!

3. “Maybe I’ll just starve myself.” Ok, there’s a good idea. NOT! Starving yourself won’t achieve anything except headaches, depression, and muscle tissue loss (just to mention a few). The “weight” will drop but it won’t be body fat that you’re losing.

Your body will in reality be burning LESS fat than it was when you were eating ordinarily. This is because you require muscle to lose fat and the less muscle you have, the less excess fat you burn. So now that you know this really works AGAINST you, do you want to feel another hunger pain?

4. “I look so gross!” If you’re going to glimpse in the mirror, you better make it a rule to find something nice to say about yourself or part of your body… or don’t LOOK at all! Believe that you’re going to gaze at the truth. If you don’t like it, take ACTION and improve!

You have no room to whine if you’re not making an HONEST effort … keyword *HONEST* effort; and don’t be lax with yourself. If you think you can try harder, then take action! If you were assessing someone else, what would you say to them? Maybe you should stop looking down on yourself and start listening to your own advice. Your body will not be dishonest to you- believe in it.

Before you sign up for a fitness center membership or pick up a weight, keep in mind that if you do not believe you are worthy of your time and effort to shed weight, you never will.

5 Simple Teeth Whitening Tips

There are lots of ways to maintain your teeth looking their greatest, even should you drink way too very much coffee or soda and appreciate the “occasional” cigarette. Take a appear below for five straightforward teeth whitening tips, to help your teeth appear their whitest.

1. Coffee, tea, wine, cola drinks — all trigger extreme staining in your teeth. We’ve all seen habitual coffee and tea drinkers who have tell-tale signs of their terrible habit on their teeth. Brushing your teeth after drinking, or at the quite least swishing some water in your mouth will go along way to keeping your teeth free of charge of stains.

2. The same goes for smoking. Caused by the heat from the cigarette, rinsing and brushing may well not be as useful to smokers. Try to cut back as very much as you are able to and do not smoke appropriate just before you go to bed with out brushing and rinsing with mouthwash (alcohol free.) Nearly all teeth whitening tips will caution against alcohol based mouthwash, as the alcohol can accelerate staining and has recently been found to be a feasible oral carcinogen.

3. Brush and floss at least twice per day having a soft bristle brush (tough bristle brushes are challenging in your gum line and tooth enamel), both within the morning and just before bedtime for best teeth whitening. Floss just before going to bed to clean up any gunk in between your teeth (mouthwash isn’t a suitable alternative contrary to what many people believe.)

4. Eating fruits with high citrus levels is wonderful for teeth whitening: oranges, lemon, grapefruit, etc — are all excellent for organic teeth whitening tips and are found in numerous organic whitening products. Strawberries are also identified to have whitening properties in them.

5. Baking soda, both as an ingredient within your toothpaste of selection — or straight out of the box can be a excellent normal teeth whitener. Making use of baking soda and salt are teeth whitening ideas that many individuals make use of and are wonderful for a maintenance program right after making use of a whitening product.

Sapphires & Diamonds Womens Perfume and Cologne by Elizabeth Taylor

     After experiencing lots of success as a young Anglo American actress in the 1940′s-1960′s, Elizabeth Taylor is considered an icon and one of the top 10 actresses of all time. As a young beauty, she was able to open up doors and capitalize on the opportunites that had presented themselves to her. In her latter years, she has made many tabloids with her Hollywood lifestyle, many marriages, and her close friendship with Michael Jackson. With all her success, she has also come out with an entire line of womens perfume and mens fragrances throughout her lifetime. These widely popular designer womens fragrances for women are known throughout the world and we are going to cover just about all of them today in our article

     The first womens discount perfume debuted under Elizabeth Taylors name was called Passion designer perfume for women. This fantastic womens perfume was introduced in 1987 and was an instant smash with the feminine community. With perfume notes of jasmine, woods, vanilla, moss, and & floral aroma’s, its not hard to tell why this women’s discount perfume was able to take off so quickly and was greatly loved by the feminine community. This perfume is still in circulation today and typically you can still find it a some of the major department stores. The mens cologne version called “Passion Cologne” hit the scene a few years later in 1989. This also happens to be the only mens cologne fragrance that Elizabeth decided to release. This mens cologne fragrance carries ingredients of ginger, clove oil, nutmeg, jasmine and vanilla. The ginger really sets this mens fragrance apart with just enough ginger spice to get people’s heads to turn.

     Next on the list of Elizabeth Taylor’s womens perfume was called “White Diamonds” perfume for women. Another fantastic fragrance from Elizabeth Taylor, White Diamonds discount perfume was released in 1991 and heads for a more casual type of womens scent. Fragrance perfume notes in this specific womens perfume are lily, rose, amber, oakmoss and sandalwood, making for a great fragrance that can be worn just about anytime of the day or night. White Diamonds perfume has been a great signature fragrance for women now for almost 20years!

     1993 brought about three new womens perfume fragrances from the Elizabeth Taylor line of discount fragrances. The 3 fragrances we are getting ready to write about are some of the best selling womens fragrances of all time. Diamonds & Sapphires is more of a day time scents with floral bouquet freshly cut smell of lily of the valley, jasmine, ylang-ylang, spice, and rose ingredients with later hints musk sandalwood tops it off. Number 2 included Diamonds & Rubies perfume for women. These specific womens fragrances come equipped in a clear bottle like the others covered in a red box with black and gold trim. Carrying perfume notes of lilac, rose, peach, orchid, amber and vanilla, this womens perfume makes for a fantastic evening occasion. Diamonds and Rubies makes your selection of perfume appear that, thats exactly what you have just found! 1993 also included our 3rd perfume introduced in this year called Diamonds & Pearls. A 3rd very popular fragrance for Elizabeth Taylor, this specific womens perfume is very laid back and casual with ingredients of green floral top notes with white rose, water lily and gardenia, with lower notes of carnation and jasmine to make a beautiful womens fragrance to wear anytime.

     Rising upon her success, Elizabeth Taylor launched her next womens discount perfume in 1996 called Black Pearls. Black Pearls perfume is another great designer daytime perfume fragrance with aromas like soft sweet spices, white rose, and amber, accompanied by fruity notes of fresh citrus and melons. Can’t go wrong with this one. The designer notes speak for themselves White Diamonds Sparkling perfume hit in 1999 with a more hip, blue and white box and clear bottle. More of a sparkling type of personna. Also a daytime scent, this womens fragrance resembles notes of a fresh buy yet soft fragrance which also has flowers with hints of citrus fruits. A more fruity womens fragrance. A couple of years after that, White Diamonds Brilliant perfume was introduced in 2001. Arriving in an all white box with elegant black trim, this womens perfume includes a soft, powdery floral type of scent, perfect for a night out.

     The last two of Elizabeth Taylor’s discount perfume line include “Forever Elizabeth” and “Gardenia”. The first to be debuted was Forever Elizabeth perfume which hit in 2002 with Gardenia following in ’03. Arriving in a beautiful red box with an elegant bottle design, Forever is a casual womens aroma with dewberry, amber and jasmine with creamy amber and musk, making for a feminine and soft scent. Arriving in a green box, Gardenia perfume for women is a casual fragrance with ingredients of gardenia, jasmine, lily of the valley, orchid, rose, white peony, carnation, and musk. Absolutely fantastic!

     The name Elizabeth Taylor has now been branded and built into a women’s fragrance, cologen, and cosmetic empire. Her name bill be recognized for many years to follow. A fair amount of people still swear by her products and praise her line of fragrances. Alot of the time, you can find her items at just about any name brand department like JC Penny’s, Dillard’s, or Bloomingdale’s. Also you can hop online as there are typically great deals to be found. Thats actually the only place we shop now for name brand items whether its perfume, cologne, watches, purses, or just about anything. Some reputable online discount fragrance companies that we have found include IcyFragrance.Com, DRH Fine Gifts, and PerfumeFuzion.Com. Vast inventories with fantastic pricing. They all carry Elizabeth Taylor!

How to reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s

I am always in favour of prevention rather than cure and there is now significant evidence that lifestyle and diet may play a role in reducing your risk of developing this increasingly common condition. Just as a heart-healthy diet reduces your risk of heart disease, a similar diet seems to also contribute to Alzheimer’s prevention by reducing some risks. The same medical conditions (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol) and lifestyle factors (lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking, obesity) that lead to stroke and heart disease also lead to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is because the factors that affect blood vessels throughout the body also affect blood vessels in the brain.

In the latest study, published in April 2010, over 2,000 elderly New Yorkers who were dementia free were followed for almost 4 years. In that time, 253 subjects developed Alzheimer’s disease, and the dietary patterns of all subjects were characterized and analyzed. They don’t say at what point elderly begins, but I will be generous and assume that all their subjects were over the age of 60, but the common characteristics of a ‘brain-healthy’ diet generally avoids saturated fats and cholesterol, and emphasizes dark-skinned fruits and vegetables (rich in anti-oxidants) and coldwater fish (which contain omega-3 fatty acids).

The study found that those people who strongly adhered to this dietary pattern were 38% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared with those whose diet was significantly different.

If you want to minimise your risk of developing Alzheimer’s than basically you need to follow a modified Mediterranean diet. This means higher intakes of nuts, fish, tomatoes, poultry, cruciferous vegetables, fruits, salad dressing (oil and vinegar) and dark green leafy vegetables and a lower intake of high-fat dairy products, red meat, organ meat, and butter.

A previous study published in 2006, showed that people who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet had the lowest Alzheimer’s risk – 40% lower than those who were least likely to follow the diet. This diet places emphasis on eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and grains with red meat and poultry eaten only rarely, and olive oil and fatty fish are the main sources of fat in the diet.

I think this is good news as once again it puts responsibility for our long-term health into our own hands — and hence into our stomachs. We have absolutely no control over our genetic inheritance or predisposition to certain diseases, but what we certainly can do is create the best conditions for optimal health through a health promoting — not health debilitating — diet.

A Healthier Way To Fry?

Carotino oil comes from red palm fruit – the world’s richest natural plant source of carotenes – and gives the oil a slightly reddish hue. I was a little startled by this on first using it to cook, but this shows it is an entirely natural product and that the Pro-Vitamin A hasn’t been processed out. When used in cooking can make a substantial contribution towards the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of both Pro-Vitamin A and Vitamin E for adults. The vitamin E is important as it helps to rid the body of free radicals and protect it from cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart disease and other serious illness.

However there are two forms of vitamin E that each serve a unique purpose: tocopherols and tocotrienols. While tocopherols are the most common form, tocotrienols are just now beginning to emerge as being approximately 50 times more potent than tocopherols. Recent studies have shown that they distribute themselves more evenly than tocopherols do in the fatty layers of cell membranes and are effective at preventing and treating serious degenerative diseases like cancer, stroke-induced injuries, diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

Many foods and oils are rich in tocopherols, but few contain significant levels of tocotrienols. In fact, most of the popular oils used in food preparation – olive, soybean, safflower, sunflower, corn, cotton and peanut – contain only tocopherols. The only oil that contains significant levels is palm fruit oil which is composed of 30 percent tocopherols and 70 percent tocotrienols. The oil is extracted from the flesh of the palm fruit, and is said to be the most widely used oil in the world, and althoughit may be new to the UK market, is well established in Malaysia, Japan, the USA, Australia and South Africa. You don’t need to go quite that far afield as I found it in the natural foods section of my local Co-op supermarket and can report that if you are frying food, particularly sautéed potatoes, it does give them a lovely golden colour.

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