Health and Well Being

It’s allergy season, which means little to some, and a world of irritation to others. For those with the fortune of not experiencing allergies, their bliss during spring can add to the frustration of allergy sufferers. The sun is out, flowers are blooming, and pollen is flying through the air to the detriment of millions of red-nosed and bloodshot-eyed allergy victims. 

Summer is finally here! Well, not really. It’s still technically spring, but the sun is out and shining its damaging ultraviolet rays. My run yesterday was beautiful and warm. But when I got home, my usual early season burn was quickly showing on my shoulders, arms, and neck. It seems every year I have to be reminded of my complexion and my vulnerability to the sun.

You went for a run and now your knees are swollen, hot, and stiff. You’ve been working with your hands all your life, but now arthritis is driving you mad. These inflammatory responses can be frustrating at best and debilitating at worst. And what’s more, inflammatory build-up can lead to a number of chronic diseases.

The process of inflammation is natural and necessary and occurs for a number of reasons. A range of factors can influence the process of inflammation, like exercise, diet, and overall fitness. First and foremost, the process of inflammation is a key part of the immune system that combats infection and repairs damaged tissue.

Skin care products are part of a massive industry that uses our dream of eternal youth and beauty to fill their coffers. Most skin care products are sold in the form of creams, lotions, and moisturizers. While these skin care products are important for dry, oily, and problem skin, an underappreciated fact in terms of anti aging skin care is the idea of being lit-from-within. 

Cholesterol is one of those two-sided blades that life throws at us. We’ve all heard about the dangers of cholesterol, but how many of us actually understand how cholesterol is formed and how it affects our bodies? You might be surprised to learn that cholesterol is not all bad. Some forms of cholesterol, and the right cholesterol levels, are important for our overall health and wellbeing.

Haven’t you heard the news? Omega-3 fatty acids are the next best thing to sliced bread. But do omega-3 health supplements offer improve health, or overblown hype? There has been a lot of research lately on omega-3 fatty acids and their health benefits, so here we’re going to climb the omega-3 mountain and find out for ourselves what this essential nutrient has to offer. 

Father Time is always following us, and with him comes the inevitable aging process. As we age, the composition of our bodies begins to change due to a number of maturating factors. Our bodies’ production of essential compounds decreases; our bones become more brittle and prone to fracture; our joints, ligaments, and tendons lose their strength, functionality, and elasticity.

Your immune system is your link to good living. Without your immune system functioning at optimal levels, you risk illness, infection, and disease, as well as work days lost.

Our environments are filled with all kinds of chemicals, toxins, pollutants, and other compounds that can threaten our health and wellbeing. In our food, water, and air, on our clothing and in products of all kinds, there are any number of harmful elements that can damage the inside and outside of our bodies.

When it comes to weight loss and general health many experts point to the importance of the colon.  In fact, the digestive track, including the large and small intestine, stomach and colon can be the seat of a variety of acute and chronic diseases. 

Homeopathic medicine is a practice that was started by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann, over 200 years ago.  The practice is based upon a number of principles, but most importantly the principle that the body has an innate and natural ability to heal itself.

Colds and flu can really take a strip out of you and being sick is no fun for anyone.  Obviously preventing these illnesses through a robust immune system is the best way to go, but if you already feel a bug coming on there are things you can do to speed your recovery.

According to a recent study conducted by medical researchers, it was discovered that people who ate beans on a regular basis tended to have lower body weights than those that didn’t.  In fact, though these bean eaters ate as much as two hundred calories a day more than their non-bean eating counterparts, they still weighed less.

With the New Year comes a variety of New Years resolutions, but most people have some sort of exercise and diet resolution in their list.  This being the case it is no doubt important to find ways to stick to your new goals and to stay motivated in the midst of the cold and darker months.

Over the holidays many of us will be boarding planes and spending time in this enclosed space ripe with stagnant air and potential airborne illnesses.  Squished in like sardines you may have the misfortune of being seated near someone with a cold or worse. 

With the approach of the New Year many of us will begin thinking about how we want the next year of our lives to look.  New Years is a great time for making changes and moving towards a healthier lifestyle.  Below are the top five most important changes you can make in order to improve your health and increase your lifespan.

ADD or ADHD, otherwise known as Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder are a group of disorders, that are related to mechanisms in the central nervous system.  While some of the characteristics of these disorders are thought to be innate, others are believed to be at least impacted by one's diet, environmental allergies and other more avoidable pollutant

Asthma is a disease of the lungs that leads to obstructions in the air pathways.  An asthma attack involves spasms in the bronchi area, or spasms in the muscles surrounding these airways. 

Rosacea is a common skin disorder that affects the forehead, cheekbones, nose and chin.  Rosacea is a chronic condition that can be difficult to treat.

Rosacea is characterized by groups of capillaries that are close to the skin becoming dilated.  This tends to result in red areas.  These areas can also have small red bumps on them and sometimes pimples as well.

The eyes, like all other body parts, need to be properly taken care of and nourished to ensure they continue to perform as they should.  Eye health, is however, often overlooked unless a serious problem develops. 

With Winter weather here your skin might be taking a beating.  Cold, dry weather brings about dry, scaly skin, particularly if you're not taking care of it properly.

The best remedy for dry skin is of course a healthy diet and good hydration.  Being sure to drink at least eight glasses of water a day will help hydrate your skin from the inside out.

Anxiety can be a very serious and challenging ailment.  If you have ever had a panic attack or suffer from more generalized anxiety you'll know just how debilitating it can be.  Learning therefore to help reduce the symptoms and lesson the feeling of panic and anxiety is certainly a worthy pursuit.

The mind-body connection is increasing being studied as a potent force for activating and maintaining good health.  More than simply a set of flaky words or ideas, this powerful force is being investigated by the scientific community and leading health experts.  So far the results are promising.

When it comes to unwinding after a busy day, many people slump themselves in front of the television or computer.  While this might feel like a good way to relax and let go of the days concerns, this can actually be counter-productive.

Hypertension or high blood pressure refers to the state whereby the pressure with which the blood presses against the blood vessel walls is higher than normal.  This occurs based upon several factors.  These factors include an increased output from the heart, resistance of the blood flow in the vessels, the volume of blood, and the state of the blood in relation to the various organs.

When it comes to aging, nothing is as frightening as the prospect of losing one's cognitive functioning.  Memory is an especially important component of cognitive abilities and many people fear losing this ability for recollection. 

Physical therapy is an aspect of sports medicine.  Physical therapy refers to a variety of treatments used to help speed up the healing process for sports related injuries. 

Physical therapy encompasses a range of therapies including for instance, strength training, mobility and stretching motions, massage and even electrical stimulation.

Celiac disease is a hereditary disease that manifests itself as an intolerance to gluten.  Gluten is a component of what and can be found in durum, semolina, spelt, oats, barley, rye and other grains.

The causes of this disease remain obscured.  Most of those affected are Caucasian and others of European decent. 

Tendonitis refers to a type of injury that is common in the human limbs.  Types can vary greatly, however, many people will feel a pain or stiffness around the joint of the inflamed tendon. 

Tendonitis refers to the inflammation of a tendon.  Most types refer to the body part involved such as Achilles tendinitis, patellar tendinitis or other types.