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Friday, December 30, 2011

Top 15 Health Tips of 2011

Almost all of us have come across this adage sometimes or the other ''Health is Wealth.'' This is so true statement but we realize the worth of it only when we fade and break down.However if you want to prevent your health from reaching that state of break down, you need to follow some of the most important health tips for 2011. Various tips have been suggested by experts and consultants in the medical fields to help you achieve a sound health. Below presented are the top 15 health tips for your healthy living:

1. The faster you eat, the more weight you may gain
A Japanese study that followed more than 500 men over 8 years reported that faster eaters gained an average of 4.2 pounds during the study, while slow eaters gained only 1.5 pounds. It takes 20 minutes for your body to register how full you are. To slow yourself down, try sipping water between each bite of a meal.

2. Playing music keeps your mind sharp as you age
If you don’t want to constantly be searching for your lost keys through the years, it might be time to pick up a guitar and the sooner you do it, the better for your noggin. A University of Kansas Medical Center study showed that people who had played music for more than a decade had the best memory and cognition. Because playing music has been shown to arouse so many different sections of the brain, practicing can have broad benefits to keep you sharp.

3. Cure those nagging pains with better posture
For men: Here’s a simple trick for your brain the next time you go to the doctor for a routine but painful shot. Stand up straight and try to have a dominant pose, says a Journal of Experimental Social Psychology study. When taking dominant yoga poses over submissive ones, people could stand pain longer. By acting dominant, you’re likely releasing more testosterone to combat the pain you otherwise would feel.

4. Stay in touch with family to know if you should bump up a cancer screening
The American Cancer Society found that having a family member even extended family with cancer increased a person’s cancer risk substantially between the ages of 30 of 50, meaning that the colorectal cancer screening you thought you’d need at 50 might have to move up if your Uncle recently was diagnosed.

5. Avoid health problems other than sore thumbs with video games
Those marathon gaming nights of Madden on PS3 aren’t bad for you just because you aren’t acquiring enough sleep. Prolonged sitting can cause deep-vein thrombosis a blood clot in the lower limbs that can work its way up to the heart or lungs, triggering a heart attack. If you have to stay on the controller for several hours to crack a level or are simply stuck to your desk at work, make sure you take breaks each hour to keep your blood flowing.

6. Easy ways to avoid exercise-induced asthma
Not much is worse for an athlete than a good run or game of basketball taking a nosedive because your chest tightens up. Asthma is a disease caused by inflammation, and sadly many of us eat foods that help contribute to that inflammation. An Indiana University review found that certain foods, though, can increase or decrease your risk for an attack.

7. A simple way to cure your blues
If you’re bummed because of a recent layoff or you were dumped recently, hitting the gym for 30 to 45 minutes three to four times a week could really help your mental outlook. A University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study found that 28 percent of depressed people eliminated their symptoms of depression when they worked out that much. The results were even better for men, and it was even more effective when they worked out longer.
8. Add some light to your (morning) life
If you’re always moving like a zombie after the alarm goes off in the morning, maybe you should be a reverse vampire and seek extra light before you awake. In a study, when sleepers were exposed to gradually intensifying light a half hour before the woke up, they felt more alert than sleepers who woke up to a sudden burst of light.
9. Kick diabetes with this drink that’s available everywhere
It’s more available than coffee or tea, and we don’t mean soda. Staying hydrated with 34 ounces of water a day made people in a 9-year French study 36 percent less likely to develop high blood sugar or diabetes. Why? If you’re dehydrated, your brain tells your liver to make more glucose for the body.
10. Eliminate these common health-sabotaging toxins
*Artificial Sweeteners of all varieties :these include sucralose (Splenda), Acesulfame Potassium, saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, alitame, neotame. All have more in common chemically to pesticides than to food products.
*High fructose corn syrup and its new, more dangerous relative, crystalline fructose :Fructose, despite what the corn growers tell you in their commercials, IS different than regular sugar. It must be metabolized by the liver first and significantly increases the risk of liver problems, as well as contributing to obesity. Check out the label on Vitamin Water and Gatorade - better to take your vitamins with pure water!
*Vegetable oils of all varieties : corn, canola, sunflower, safflower, soybean, etc. All are high in omega-6 fats which promote chronic inflammation and cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other diseases. By reducing omega-6 fats and increasing omega-3 fats you reduce your risk for these diseases.
11. Daily prayer/meditation
Finding time to clear your mind and make your requests and praise to God can be a tremendous emotional cleansing process.
12. Sleep 6-8 hours per night
Some tips for improving the quality of your sleep: keep the room as dark as possible (especially important if you work nights), keep your bedroom a bedroom – get the TV, computer and all other electrical devices out, white noise machines can reduce environmental noises like traffic, barking dogs and UFOs landing in the yard, and please don’t drink coffee after 6pm.
13. Get outside!
Fresh air and, yes, even sunshine are good for you! That warm, glowing ball in the daytime sky is what has sustained life on this ball of rock for quite a few years it’s nothing to be feared. You’ll get some vitamin D along with getting in shape.
14. Start a well-rounded fitness plan
Your fitness plan should include at least these elements:
*Cardiovascular conditioning
*Strength Training
*Core stability
*Stretching and balance (yoga/Pilates)
15. Avoid Alcohol and Cigarette
This is true that alcohol and cigarette act like a silent killer for your life. Too much consumption of cigarette and alcohol disturbs the functioning of your heart, liver and kidneys and cause severe health issues in your life. Research has shown that cigarette and alcoholic drinks can reduce the life expectancy of an average individual drastically.
Happy new year & Stay Healthy! :)

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