nutrition Archives ~ Health Sifu

July 28, 2017 By Luckily Leave a Comment

Stop Suffering From Chronic Pain ~ 4 Top Tips Which Help

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Stop Suffering from Chronic Pain

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Suffering from chronic pain? Like herniated disc pain? Chronic pain is bad, but having to deal with it constantly and feeling like there’s no way out is a big struggle.
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Have you tried a few things but are not sure what other route to take?
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Are you a woman? Women, in particular, are more at risk of back and posture issues. These are mainly through pregnancy and carrying small children around.
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The pain may even come from something as unsuspecting as your handbag leading to shoulder pain! Its contents can equate to an additional 10% of added weight to our bodies. Empty out the contents and start with what you actually need.
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Living with the pain can at times be unbearable. You can read more about it here: Living with Chronic Pain
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With a positive approach, you can actively go about finding solutions to get through your pain.

Below are 4 tips which can help relieve or manage your pain.

1. Gentle Exercise

You many think that gentle exercise may not seem to help. Why would you exercise when you are in pain?
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The answer is that small, gentle workouts of no more than 30 mins can decrease your pain. Swimming is great as it takes away the heavy feeling, due to being so light.
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Water therapy provides many benefits there is just by taking to the waters.
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Try swimming aerobic classes for the right combination to start the elimination of pain.

2. Help Reduce Pain with Proper Nutrition
Eat REAL FOOD

It’s true that you are what you eat. We may not know it, but often times, the wrong foods, especially those we thought were so good for us can actually be the culprits causing inflammation, therefore, aggravating the pain you’re already experiencing.
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Foods which can cause inflammation include lentils, legumes and all nightshade vegetables which include tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes and even the all-time favourite, the humble white potato.
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Calcium is important for strong bones.
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Vitamin K has been recommended alongside calcium to combat pain. Vitamin K can be found in leafy greens such as broccoli, spinach, and kale.
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The stronger you make your bones, the less strain you put on your body. Try different ways to get vitamins in your diet. Always remember your skin – it is the largest organ in your body, so feed it Vitamin E-rich foods.
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Smoothies are a good, delicious solution to take your vitamins and minerals!

3. Change Your Sleeping Habits

A good mattress is a must for posture. Shop around for a proper mattress for your posture. Visit bed and mattress shops for showroom mattresses to view comfort ratings. Softer mattresses are better.
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People who sleep on softer memory foam reported a better night’s sleep with no pain.
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Sleeping positions can affect the pain. It is a fact that pain may decrease considerably purely by how you sleep at night.
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Back sleepers should be propped with appropriate pillows so the chin doesn’t press into the chest.

4. Get Specialist Help

From more minor gum and bunion pains (which can fester and aggravate) to more complex pains, sometimes pain can become chronic and unbearable, like nagging joint pain which doesn’t resolve itself by proper rest. Or never-ending back pain.
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When it does, it’s time to reach out to specialists. Specialists can help target your area of pain and come up with solutions designed specifically for your body and its needs. It could be an exercise program for joint pain that they design for you, or recommendation of the best equipment for back pain relief and showing you how and when to use them in conjunction with a specific regime designed for you.
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And finally, give yourself a treat. Call in a masseuse and get a Thai yoga massage. this will help relax you. Additionally, practise relaxation to relieve mental stress and depression you find yourself in because of the nagging, ending discomfort and pain. The sense of overall wellbeing will help you while your problem is being taken care of and healing is on its way.

Whatever you choose to do, be sure to do with caution. Pain management can take time and your pain won’t be gone over night.
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Start with small changes like perhaps, a proper mattress. Or magnet therapy as an alternative, non-invasive measure for your back pain. This may be all you need to remove your pain.
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Whatever, never lose hope. Reach out for help.

Treating Pain from Herniated Discs ~ 4 Options which Give Good Results

Feeling Gum Pain? 4 Conditions You May Potentially Have

Eradicate Joint Pain ~ 5 Steps You Can Take

Minimize Bunion Pain ~ 4 Solutions to Reduce Your Discomfort

Exercises For People with Joint Pain ~ The 5 Best Ones

Back Pain Cures Which Don’t Work ~ Be Aware of These 4

Simple Remedies for Common Health Problems

Living With Chronic Pain

July 18, 2017 By Luckily Leave a Comment

5 Common Health Mistakes That Could Be Causing More Damage Than Good

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5 Common Health Mistakes

We all have a responsibility to look after our health, and most of us consciously try to make improvements for a better quality and quantity of life.
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Unfortunately, though, not all of the seemingly positive changes are quite as they seem.
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Millions of people fall into the trap of following proposed health tips that actually cause more damage than good. Avoid doing the same by taking note of the following five aspects.

#1. Trading Cigarettes For Vaping

The negative impacts caused by smoking are undeniable. Cigarettes aren’t only addictive and expensive. They can cause lung cancer, COPD, and various breathing difficulties. Moreover, they’ll stain fingers and teeth.
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Vaping is viewed by millions as the best way to kick the habit, but it’s not as healthy as you might think.
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Vapers still inhale harmful gasses while the temperatures involved have opened up a whole host of new dangers. So, while it’s a good way to rid tobacco addiction, it’s hardly a risk-free issue. Many e-liquids also contain nicotine, meaning the hopes of becoming completely smoke-free are still fairly slim.
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The electronic devices have also been known to explode in people’s pockets and mouths, causing burns. In summary, vaping can be a step in the right direction, but don’t let its popularity fool you.

#2. Extreme Dieting

Obesity is quite literally the biggest health concern in modern society. Losing weight is a goal for many people due to book health issues and concerns over body image.
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Even if you don’t need to lose weight, there’s nothing wrong with toning up and getting a little fitter. Having said that, it’s imperative that you take on the challenge with the right approach.
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Photo-shopped images of size zero models have given us a wildly inaccurate vision of perfection. This can be hugely problematic as it encourages people to try extreme diets.
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However, starving yourself is just as dangerous as overeating. Likewise, missing out key food groups can lead to other health issues surfacing.
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It’s only natural to want instant results when making a positive change. However, slow and steady improvements are the key to sustained success. Do not forget it.

#3. Taking Medication

No two people are identical, and we all have unique health situations that need to be respected and treated in the right manner.
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When you know there is a problem, gaining medication is pivotal. But it must be the right prescription. Otherwise, you could be asking for major trouble.
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The worst thing you could do is self-diagnose. The internet makes it very easy to do this, but taking the wrong medication for the wrong condition will bring serious repercussions.
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This is especially true with mental health treatments. Sadly, addiction to prescription drugs is a very serious issue that can escalate the original problems.
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Conversely, taking the right medication in the right dosages will give you the best chance of getting your health back under control.

#4. Rushing Recovery

Whether you’re a fitness freak or a casual exerciser doesn’t matter. Most people will suffer injuries from time to time. They are frustrating, and you will want to get back to full health in the quickest way possible. However, there’s a fine line between aiding recovery and harming it.
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Doing too much too soon is almost as problematic as leaving an issue untreated. Taking a healthy approach to your recovery doesn’t only enable you to get back to your best ASAP. It also reduces the threat of sustaining repeat injuries further down the line.
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Sometimes the short-term sacrifices are needed for the long-term gains. Accepting this fact is vital if you want to boost your health both now and in the future.

#5. Doing Too Much

Taking care of your health is no easy task, especially when juggling other life commitments.
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However, it’s equally important to take a step back from time to time. Otherwise, you could find yourself leading a very stressful life. The upshot of this can be very damaging indeed.
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First and foremost, you should ensure that you are getting enough sleep. Not only will it bring direct benefits to your health and appearances. The increased energy levels will enable you to place greater focus on improvements throughout the day.
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Perhaps most importantly, though, you must know when enough is enough. We all want to help people in need. However, those people that continually take will leave you in a far worse individual position. At times, taking the slightly selfish approach is key.
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July 17, 2017 By Luckily Leave a Comment

Delicious Diet: 4 Strategies For Cutting Calories But Not Taste

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Delicious Diet

Many of the foods that you probably enjoy have quite a few calories. This means that you’re getting more calories during the day than are recommended, especially if you’re trying to stay healthy or lose weight.
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Fortunately, there are a few strategies for cutting calories out without sacrificing the taste of the foods that you enjoy.

Drink More

Most people know that you’re supposed to drink a certain number of glasses of water each day. Plain water can get old very quickly as there’s no taste. It can sometimes lead to adding snacks along with the water just so you have some kind of flavor.
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There are flavorings that don’t have calories in them and that will give you the tastes that you enjoy. Examples include chocolate and caramel, ideal for adding to coffee in the morning, along with natural sweeteners.

Cut The Bread

If you eat a lot of bread or pasta, you should consider getting rid of the items during the day. There are a lot of empty calories in slices of bread of all kinds, and they really don’t have a lot of flavor to them.
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You can enjoy all of the meats and other ingredients that you would normally use with bread and pasta, which will reduce the number of calories while still giving you the flavors that you like.
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An option for pasta is to use zucchini slices or squash slices that are cut thin like spaghetti. They won’t have the high calories in them like pasta but will adhere to sauces and other ingredients.

Add Color

When meal planning and looking at your options, it’s important to remember to keep your plate colorful.
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Adding fruits and vegetables to your regular meal is a great to cut calories and unhealthy foods out of your diet. It also helps because you are adding in foods that are high in key nutrients and vitamins.
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If you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to cut out calories, one simple way to fix that is to add color to each plate you eat.

Add Spices

There are numerous spices that you can use when cooking that don’t have any calories at all. Turmeric and cumin are two spices that go well with almost any dish that you could make, especially soups and sauces. Use pepper for added flavor instead of salt.
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You don’t have to sacrifice taste for calories. Add vegetables with oil and vinegar to your diet instead of a lot of carbohydrates. Examine each ingredient that you use and meal that you prepare to see how you can decrease the number of calories in fun ways instead of making it seem like a diet.
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Freelance Writer, Emma Sturgis
emmasturgis@gmail.com

June 23, 2017 By Luckily Leave a Comment

Get Healthy ~ 3 Great Tips to Remove Toxicity from Your Health Make-Over

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Get Healthy ~ Remove Toxins from Your Life

How can you get healthy? Making a big change to your lifestyle is never easy. It’s something that typically takes guts. You may have been building up to it for a while now.
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It can be pretty scary when the moment arrives and you must commit to get healthy. Humans are creatures of habit. Completely deviating from habits you’ve built up over years can be stressful and daunting.
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If you have the right kind of support system around you, you can excel at the positive changes you want to make.
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One example of such a positive change is taking charge of your health and fitness. ‘Lose weight’ or ‘tone up’ are two things that frequently appear on many a New Year’s Resolution list. To achieve them, get rid of any potential obstacles that stand in your way. .
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Below are 3 obstacles which could throw you off track. Learn how you can ditch them to become the version of THE you you’ve always wanted to be!

1. Temptations

Let’s start with the most obvious one: temptations. Have you ever noticed how when you are on a diet, you suddenly see cakes, cookies, and chips EVERYWHERE?
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No, this isn’t the universe teasing you. And it’s not the manufacturing companies playing a cruel game with you.
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You are simply hyper-aware of all the things you can’t have. And because you can’t have them, you want them even more.
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The only way to avoid these temptations full stop is to hole yourself up in your house. Of course, this is neither wise nor practical. What you do need to do instead is to learn to exercise a level of self-control.
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If it helps, allow yourself a small dash of your vice every day. This will help keep the cravings at bay. You could eat a couple of small squares of chocolate rather than a whole bar to yourself. You still get the goods, but just a more manageable amount.
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Are you are trying to kick smoking? If so, you could always try ditching tobacco in favour of cheap premium vape juice.
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Vaping has seen a huge surge in popularity in recent years. Many dedicated former smokers use e-cigs now. They even credit these with helping them quit tobacco forever.
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Sure, you see someone smoking in the street and you may crave for a cigarette. But at least if you have an e-cig to hand, you can turn to that instead. A healthier option that will help to keep your cravings at bay.

2. A Support System vs Naysayers

The importance of a support system when you are making a lifestyle change is incredibly underrated.
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You may think that you are more than capable of doing the whole thing yourself. But you can get exhausted from both the mental and physical demands it brings upon you.
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At times like this, having like-minded, friendly people around you can be a Godsend.
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This support group can help you to get back on track.
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The opposite is exactly what you don’t need. Unfortunately, in life, there are some people who set out purely to bring others down. They could be people you barely know. Just swiftly remove them from your life.
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However, you may have a negative voice in your ear, and it is someone close to you. Then the whole situation can be a little more tricky. The best approach is to sit down with them. Ask them why they are not supporting you in your health efforts.
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Explain that you are making these decisions to better yourself. You would appreciate their support and even value their input.
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However, you may be moving to a lifestyle that your friend may not necessarily believe in on a personal level. For example, they may be a keen carnivore and you are moving to a vegan diet . You could still ask them if they would still be willing to support you regardless. If nothing changes after such a conversation, accept that this person may not have your best interests at heart.
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Cutting people out of your life like this can be sad. However, sometimes, it is necessary for you to move forward as an individual.

3. Social media

Today, it’s a tool that many of us couldn’t live without. However, social media sure does have a lot to answer for.
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Studies have shown that it is responsible for a number of worrying body issues among younger people.
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It ranges from men desperate for bigger biceps to women trying everything they can to get that infamous ‘thigh gap’ and more.
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Of course, used correctly, social media can be a great tool. Use it for helping you with your lifestyle change, for support and motivation. However, if you fall into the wrong online communities, you could have trouble brewing ahead.
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It is always wise to take the words of fitness bloggers and ‘Instagram celebrities’ with a pinch of salt. Of course, unless they are a qualified personal trainer.
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It is also worth bearing in mind that the ‘body’ you see on social media may not always be a true reflection of real life. Many, many users Photoshop their images. They only pick all the highlights to share. This can make you feel inadequate in comparison.
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Keep a level head. Try not to get sucked in by social media to the point that it deters you from your own journey. You got this!
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June 19, 2017 By Luckily Leave a Comment

Magnesium for Vital Health ~ Are You Getting Enough in Your Diet?

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Magnesium for Vital Health

Magnesium is a mineral that is vital to human health. It performs so many functions in the body and helps to make related processes more efficient while ensuring that enzymatic reactions can take place.

Without magnesium, we would soon face serious illness and experience significant deterioration in thought and function.
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In particular, without magnesium you wouldn’t be able to convert stored calories into glucose – the fuel your body ‘burns’ while engaged in any activity.

Whether it is converting fat into energy, or energy into muscle tissue, or simply performing normal maintenance and injury repair on bones and teeth, magnesium is working for you 24/7.

Magnesium: Alkaline earth metal. A typical adult male body contains 25 grams of magnesium in total — of which 50% is found in the bones and teeth, 49% is devoted to muscle cells, and the remaining 1% is at work in your bloodstream (National Institutes of Health)

What Happens if I Don’t Get Enough Magnesium?

A sure sign of magnesium deficiency is muscle soreness, muscle fatigue, cramps, persistent back pain or muscle spasms. You can read more about magnesium and muscle cramps here.
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Problems with blood clotting and blood pressure regulation can also be caused by low magnesium levels, and more difficult to diagnose are the thinner bones and weaker teeth of magnesium-deficient persons.
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Low levels of this important mineral can also cause listlessness, weakness, nausea, numbness, tingling, vomiting, seizures, even personality changes can occur.

READ: Carolyn Dean, MD, ND of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nutritional Magnesium Association

Pleasant Ways to Add Magnesium to Your Diet

Hippocrates (460-377 BC) the founding father of modern medicine said, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”

Fortunately, many wholesome and healthy foods contribute magnesium to our diet, but only when we remember to pick them up at the grocery store.

Almonds, avocado, banana, black beans, chard, dark chocolate, figs, pumpkin seeds, spinach and yogurt are your best bets, although all dark green, leafy vegetables offer magnesium.

Magnesium Supplements – Made for Busy People Like You

For people-on-the-go who feel they might not be getting enough magnesium, tablets are available in various strengths.
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Keep in mind that several different types of magnesium supplements are available, with magnesium oxide, gluconate, sulphate, chloride, aspartate, malate and citrate forms absorbed by the body at differing rates. Oxide, gluconate and sulphate are somewhat difficult for the body to metabolize, while citrate is easily absorbed.

“The recommended dietary allowance for magnesium is 400 mg for adult males and 310 mg for females. However, based on results of large dietary surveys, it is clear that most North Americans should consider increasing dietary intake and/or supplementation. Nutritionally oriented doctors often recommend up to 400 to 600 mg of supplemental magnesium in divided doses. However, the higher the dose, the less absorption takes place. Research indicates that only 12 percent of a 1,000 mg dose will be absorbed, compared to 70 percent of a 30 mg dose.” – Alive.com

The one takeaway here is this. Almost everything in the human body works better when the body is receiving enough of this ultra-important mineral. Whatever effort you expend to get enough magnesium, your body will thank you!

Guest Contributor:
Dr. Ian Deitch (Chiropractor)
Chirolife

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June 19, 2017 By Luckily Leave a Comment

How Men and Women Age Differently ~ 3 Areas of Differences

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Men and Women Age Differently

Have you ever heard people say women grow up faster than men? In many ways, this is true, socially and characteristically. However, it is also true scientifically.
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A study has suggested that women’s brains develop faster than men, further fueling the age-old argument of which sex is the more mature.
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No matter how hard a man tries to cultivate his ‘Peter Pan’ image, the aging process cannot be stopped.
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While there are differences in maturity between men and women, the way they age is also different. Below are 3 areas of how this is true.

Lifespan

While there are no proven scientific factors, women do tend to outlive men.
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Biologically, women have a larger genetic reserve with double the X chromosomes of men. Some scientists believe having a genetic back-up improves the health of women when it comes to fighting diseases. Also, a difference in hormones makes women less susceptible to stress, alleviating the risk of heart disease.
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However, despite these theories, there is no definite understanding of the lifespan differences at this time. Perhaps the truth lies outside of science.
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For example, men are less likely to go for health check-ups. They also tend to take part in riskier jobs, such as working with hazardous materials.
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Whatever the reason, the average life expectancy of a woman is 81, while for men it’s 76. For male readers, a change in your lifestyle may help to buck that trend!

Sexual change

A woman’s sexual libido alters around the time of the menopause, usually around the age of 50. The factors around this include tiredness and a lack of estrogen produced by the ovaries.
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Men have a longer sex drive as their testosterone levels decline slowly. The effects of a low libido tend to arrive after age 30. Men, as well as women, can offset this with hormonal treatment, offered in facilities such as that found at lowtmedicalclinic.com.
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However, when it comes to biology, sex drive is only one difference. Women’s fertility ends with the menopause, while men can continue to reproduce well into their old age.

Physical differences

People often say men have thicker skin when it comes to sensitivity issues. However, this is physically true when it comes to the aging process.
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Men do have thicker skin because of their testosterone levels. They also have a denser level of collagen meaning their skin ages slower. Both men and women can offset the effects of aging on the skin with anti-wrinkle creams, but men are guaranteed to keep their youthful looks for longer.
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There are also differences in putting on weight and what has commonly become known as the ‘middle-age spread.’ Both men and women put on weight after the age of 30, though it drops off at around the age of 50 for men.
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For women, weight increase can go on for a decade later. An active lifestyle can alleviate the problem, with healthier eating and a decent exercise plan.
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So while we cannot stop aging, we can still do our best to slow down the process.

nutrition

. Stop Suffering from Chronic Pain