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Archives for June 2011

Beat the Heat with Acupuncture

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Clinical trials have recently discovered that acupuncture can be used as an alternative treatment to treat hot flashes in women that have breast cancer. Normally hormone replacement therapy is used to deal with hot flashes, but this treatment is not possible for all. Other drugs, such as Effexor, have been used to treat hot flashes, but there are many side effects to taking this type of medication.

Acupuncture uses needles inserted into specific points in the body. It is used to relieve pain, treat diseases, infertility and promote health. This is a traditional Chinese medicine developed before the field of modern biology was discovered. While acupuncture uses human anatomy. Therefore acupuncture is not based on anatomy but instead of energy meridians in the body.

The intensity of hot flashes can vary depending on the women. Some can be quite slight while others can be debilitating, preventing sleep and the ability to function. The most effective treatment of hot flashes is hormone therapy, with a 75 percent decrease in the frequency of experiencing hot flashes. However not everyone can take progesterone and estrogens, the two hormones used in hormone therapy. Long term usage of these hormones has been found to increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Therefore many women would prefer not taking hormones.

Antihypertensive medicines, anti-seizure drugs and antidepressants have also been found to have positive results in decreasing hot flashes. However these can also have very significant side effects, such as nausea, insomnia, dizziness, nervousness, impotence, anorexia, vomiting, memory loss and suicide. Many women do not want to take a drug with so many side effects, of which the reduction of hot flashes is only one of things that the drug is used for treatment. If you are not suffering from depression, why would you want to take an antidepression drug?

The use of acupuncture has found to be just as effective as taking these medications, without the side effects. However of the many studies and trails conducted on acupuncture the results are conflicting. Some studies show benefits, while other that compare acupuncture to sham acupuncture show no difference. Sham acupuncture refers to sticking needles into areas not associated with energy points. With so many conflicting results most studies simply make the comment that more study is needed into no traditional forms of medicine. It is important to note that most of these studies have less than 100 participants. Doctors may need to look to a larger scale to determine if acupuncture is more effective. There is not research that shows that acupuncture is more effective than hormone replacement therapy.

The risk involved with acupuncture is very low if you see a professional that is a trained acupuncturist. If you are not experience any relief from traditional forms of hot flash treatment, then give acupuncture a try. Acupuncture has been found to decrease hot flashes in post-menopausal women, women with breast cancer and men with prostate cancer. Be aware that scientific results were inconclusive, though individuals in the study though the hot flashes were less intense and less frequent.

While there have only been three clinical trials that investigate acupuncture and hot flashes due to breast cancer, there has been much done on hot flashes in post menopausal women. The cause of these hot flashes is the same; therefore acupuncture should be just as effective for women with breast cancer as post menopausal women. Weekly acupuncture was found to decrease the severity of hot flashes in post menopausal women. On a scale form one to 10, hot flashes that were characterized as a 10, dropped to a severity of three after acupuncture was used.

Therefore if you have breast cancer and want to decrease the severity and frequency of hot flashes without relying on medication. Give acupuncture a try. You may experience excellent results, and even if you do not then you will not have to deal with the side effects that occur from medication.

Sources

  • http://abcnews.go.com/Health/study-shows-acupuncture-curb-severity-hot-flashes-menopause/story?id=13075594
  • http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/acupuncture-for-hot-flashes/
  • http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/17350261/ns/today-today_health/t/hot-flash-help-can-acupuncture-do-trick/

 

Jong A. Ferrara writes for the Paramedic Courses Blog, her personal blog she uses to help people be a Licensed Paramedic and gives free information about healthy breast diet.

BHI Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-06-10

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  • David Lloyd Leisure Unveils Plan for New Health, Sport and Fitness Facility for Farnham: – http://bit.ly/iSLd3N #
  • Workers' Compensation Update: Chiropractic Care More Valuable And Cost-Efficient For Low Back Pain Vs. Physician… http://bit.ly/mm8Gkp #
  • Research and Markets: 2011 U.S. Fitness & Recreational Sports Centers Report: Research and Markets has announced… http://bit.ly/jsft1u #
  • Alternative medicine for corns: AltMeds.com – Alternative Medicine… Share your knowledge, Discover new product… http://bit.ly/lGK0XS #
  • Study points to health disparities in physical fitness: A recent study found surprising differences in physical … http://bit.ly/mHhxDW #
  • Chinese Medicine-An Alternative Medicine For The Modern World …: Conceived as alternative medicine outside of … http://bit.ly/mlJFUx #
  • Nestled in Park City, Premier Fitness Camp Named 'Best of State': Participants at Utah fitness retreat lose near… http://bit.ly/m7fJbb #
  • Alternative Medicine For Cancer Curing | Info Daily: Suffering from tumor will never be something easy to take c… http://bit.ly/m1pvzi #
  • Americans praying about health issues in greater numbers: More Americans are praying about their health concerns… http://bit.ly/jBfNDb #
  • Buddy faces fitness test: Lance Franklin will have to pass a fitness test before being declared available for Ha… http://bit.ly/kFGJ8c #
  • Deepak Chopra: Medicine's Great Divide: The View From the Alternative Side: I might as well begin by being blun… http://huff.to/jeYUnJ #
  • Asheville-area Fitness Calenda: Submit entries at least two weeks in advance to Fitness Calendar, P.O. Box 2090,… http://bit.ly/iCeOSn #
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis Alternative Medicine | Movzie: Rheumatoid arthritis: Alternative medicine – MayoClinic.com … http://bit.ly/mpUdlq #
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB4WZevTlZU http://fb.me/RH5BDPpC #
  • Boise bodybuilder Steve Cook aims to make mark in competitive fitness: The saying goes if you fail to plan, you … http://bit.ly/m7e3uJ #

How I Protect My Family With A Berkey Water Purifier & Filter

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With continuous drinking water issues in the United States, it only makes sense to make sure that you and your family have safe drinking water in the event of an emergency. In the video below, I talk about why this is important and how you can actually use your emergency water system to provide daily healthy water for you and your family.

How are you planning on protecting your family in the event of a water emergency? Please comment below!

CLICK HERE for more about Berkey on Amazon!!!

[Video Transcript]

Speaker 1 (Steve): Hi, everybody. It’s Steve with BetterHealthInnovations.com. Today, I wanted to talk to you about a very important issue.

You might remember, not too many years ago almost half a million people in the city of Milwaukee got sick from their drinking water. You might remember how people were not able to get drinking water for themselves or for their families right after “Katrina.” You might remember the other water issues that we had just a couple of years ago in Nashville or in Boston. You might see on the news today, ‘boil orders for water,’ where water from city water supplies become unsafe or undrinkable.

I became very concerned about this a few years ago and purchased a water filtration system for myself and for my family. I’m very glad that I did. Now for quite a while, that system sat in the closet. It was a safety blanket. It didn’t get used. We never thought too much about it. Then we said, “Well, let’s try it for 30 days. Let’s drink all of our water from our Berkey Water Purifier. We’ll use it for drinking water, we’ll use it for when we cook.” We’ll basically just took it out of the closet, sat it onto our kitchen counter, and used it for thirty days.

Well, we’ve been using it ever since and it’s been several months later. Outside of the emergencies and outside of really needing a safety blanket for a natural emergency, or a local emergency with your water supply, there are a lot of issues with the state of the drinking water in the United States. We have chlorine in our water, we have bacteria, we have viruses, all of which are removed by our Berkey Water Purification system. This system is quite simple to use. It’s quite simple to put together. It will last you virtually forever, as will the filters. The black Berkey filters, which you can see one here, are simply placed inside the unit, right there, you might be able to see it on the video. I’m not sure, it’s through the clear plastic. You fill up the top chamber, the water drips down below into the lower chamber. The filters will last forever. If they get dirty, if they start to get clogged take a green Scotchbrite pad and just scrub that down and it will work fine.

What I have next to me is I have a Berkey Light, which is the plastic version, and I also have the Berkey Royal here in stainless steel. Both these units are about mid-size. You can get a very small gold Berkey unit for hiking or for travel. You could also get a very large Berkey Crown unit. Most of these units of this size are fine for a family. If you want something larger there’s a Berkey Imperial or the Berkey Crown. These two units will purify about three gallons of water per hour. If you want, you could actually double the filtration capacity and you’ll get almost double the filtration rate. They hold about three gallons of water as well.

If you’re interested in protecting your family for every day drinking water, or if you’re just interested in having a safety blanket in your closet, I really hope you consider BetterHealthInnovations.com and consider the Berkey water purification system.

I am going to enjoy a nice drink of freshly, purified water.

Everybody have a great day.

[End of Audio Transcript]

 

Undo the Damage of Vacation Weight Gain

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Did you unleash your sweet tooth over this year vacation (or planning to)? And are you now sorry that you did? It is so refreshing to relax, forget about any restrictions and just have an awesome rest, right? Besides, foreign cuisine is must-try!

So maybe that is why you suddenly feel bloated and guilty knowing that you need a lot of quality workout in the next few days to burn it all off, if you haven’t yet. So get up lazy bunnies and start burning off those vacation woes away.

1. Run fast, very fast.

Pump up your speed when walking, jogging or running. Now is the time to find the fire within to not only go the distance but to go uphill. Many suggests keeping a pace of 7mph for efficient calorie burning. Likewise when you can, sign up for intense workout sessions such as kick boxing to reach the 1,000 calorie burnout goal. You can also opt for swimming, not the lazy backstroke though but more of the butterfly and front crawl. Imagine you are in the Olympics and up your antics.

You know you need to burn more than the usual and the only way to make that happen is to work it. So push yourself and join up for extra classes where you know you’ll be sweating it out like Zumba, pump classes and the like.

2. Boost your proteins in the morning.

Opt for eggs and coconut milk instead of muesli and regular full cream milk. These choices will help stabilize your blood sugar that you may have spiked up with your holiday treats. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water and pick out low sugar alternatives if you want to burn those vacation calories away. When you feel bloated, grab Celtic salt and add to your water to address this problem.

3. Cut back your eating.

Now may be the right time to know how many calories are in that can of soft drink you always have at lunch. Remove food items that are not essential otherwise the calories would start piling up and you’ll be in that sorry predicament until next year’s vacation. So mind your calories for now and stop snacking and treating yourself with sweets. Try to get back to where you were health-wise or weight-wise before the vacation.

4. Plan a healthier holiday for next year.

Because you know that consuming one glass of German beer requires a 3 hour walk to burn off the calories, it might be wise to commit to a less tempting situation next time. Plan an active egg hunt game for the family and choose smaller eggs this time and less. Consider planning to hide non-food treasures such as small toys or school supplies instead of candies and bear.

Pack lots of fruits and veggie on picnics and dip them on melted chocolates instead of distributing actual candy chocolates. Also declare that traveling is a water-only event and keep soft drinks and sweet juices away.

Jessy is a frugal and health blogger sharing her advice on two of her health blogs: Weight Loss Menus and 4 day Diet.

Do you have trick for undoing the damage after a vacation? Tell us below.

Five Delicious, Healthy and Guilt-Free Snacks

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Many people believe that snacking is an unhealthy habit, the truth however, is quite the opposite. Snacking on the right foods can do wanders for your metabolism, and helps keep your energy level up through out the day. By choosing healthy snacks, you can get a boost of energy, curb your appetite and stay fuller longer, and reduce the possibility of overeating at meal times. Whether you’re a mom on the go, or have a desk job, these are just five healthy and simple snacks you can enjoy guilt-free through out the day.

1) Dark Chocolate: you read that right, dark chocolate is a healthy snack you can enjoy without any guilt! Dark chocolate packs a lot of punch, with plenty of antioxidants, it fights against heart disease and can easy high blood pressure. This is also a healthy source of caffeine, which is a great way to relieve the mid-day “crash”, and can give you a healthy boost of energy to get through the day. Make sure it’s dark chocolate, the higher the cocoa percentage, the better.

2) Popcorn: also, not a fluke! Popcorn is a delicious treat many of us enjoy frequently, and I bet you’d never guess it is also incredibly healthy, just make sure you pick the right kind. Although often packed with sodium and butter, you can avoid unnecessary fats by air popping it, or purchase low-sodium microwave popcorn for great health benefits. This is a snack that is high in fiber and antioxidants, which is no surprise considering it is 100% whole grain. Bring a microwave bag to work and you’ll have a quick, healthy snack for your work station.

3) Yogurt: low or non fat yogurt is full of calcium, which is essential in every diet. Make sure there are no added sugars, as often found in many “fruit at the bottom” type yogurts. The best yogurt is Greek style, get it plain and add in granola, oats, preserves, or fresh berries or other fruit for a delicious treat.

4) Green Tea: a great replacement for coffee and soda, and a flavorful alternative to just having a glass of water, this is a healthy beverage you should enjoy every day. Your immune system will benefit greatly, and your risk of prostate and skin cancer will be reduced. Although many types of tea have health benefits, green tea has come ahead in many studies. Making sure you drink enough water each day is important, tea makes meeting your daily quota easier with a flavor you can enjoy, and benefit from.

5) Nuts: Although nuts have long received a bad rap for being high in fat, many studies have proven that small doses of certain kinds of nuts can have an abundance of health benefits. Walnuts, almonds, and pistachios offer plenty of protein, antioxidants, and heart healthy lipids. Nuts are also filling, and offer long term energy, which makes them a great snack for everyone. Make sure, however, that they are not highly salted.

The author of this article is Holly Adams, who works for Coupon Croc, where you can find Thomson discount codes to save on your next healthy holiday getaway.

Were you surprised by any of these choices? Which of these choices do you already love? Tell us below

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