Entries Tagged 'Health' ↓

Spring is finally in the air, the days are longer and the shelves are filling up with an abundance of fresh fruit and veggies. So what better time to start your detox programme.

Colourful fruits contain an extensive range of body-protecting antioxidants that cleanse the body of potentially harmful free radicals.

Pineapple is packed with an enzyme that breaks down protein and speeds up your digestion.

Papaya and avocado help to rejuvenate the body with their excellent cleansing properties.

Grapes, the perfect spring clean for the liver and kidneys.

Beetroot, this powerful cleanser is a good tonic for the liver.

Celery and apples, help remove excess carbon dioxide from the body with this powerful combination.

Nuts are packed with powerful antioxidants such as vitamin E, and unsaturated oils.

Water is the most important tool in any cleansing programme. It aids the body in flushing out all the toxins, as well as helping it to absorb all the good nutrients from foods.

Don’t forget, being out in the fresh air revitalizes a sluggish circulation, so put on those walking shoes! Walking is the perfect activity for those in need of a gentle detox. All you have to do is turn your everyday walking into fitness walking by lengthening your stride, quickening your pace for 45 minutes, four times a week and you could lose up to 8kgs in fat loss in a year!

Here’s to feeling refreshed and recharged!

Someone recently asked me what I knew about “the pill”, also known as oral contraceptives.  Though I knew the facts which were passed onto me via the grapevine, I hadn’t ever done proper research about the pill, what it does, its what side effects it might have.

I found a very informative
website, which seems to give solid facts based on Randy Alcorn’s research, and the research done by various pharmaceutical companies as well as medical docters.

There was a quite a number facts which I’ve never been aware of, specially such as the evolution of the pill from the 1960’s until now, but also that it has three main mechanisms  – not only one.

The pill was introduced commercially sometime in the 1960’s, and its estrogen content back then was a very high 150 micrograms.  After proving that this had some serious side effects, the estrogen dosage was reduced to a mere 35 microgames in the late 1980’s, and today the dosage varies between 20 – 35 micrograms.

Serious negative side effects of estrogen had been clearly proven. These included blurred vision, nausea, cramping, irregular menstrual bleeding, headaches, increased incidence of breast cancer, strokes, and heart attacks, some of which led to fatalities.

The highest available dosage today being 50 micrograms, but this isn’t readily available, and I would assume that you need to get a docter to recommend this for you in order to use it.

Below are the three main  mechanisms of birth control pills:

1.      inhibiting ovulation (the primary mechanism),

2.      thickening the cervical mucus, thereby making it more difficult for sperm to travel to the egg, and

3.      thinning and shriveling the lining of the uterus to the point that it is unable or less able to facilitate the implantation of the newly fertilized egg.

The first two mechanisms are contraceptive. The third is abortive.

The reason why I’m going on about the dosage is that the research done, basically implies that the contraceptives with a high dosage would inhibit ovulation, the the contraceptives with a low dosage would not necesarily ensure that ovulation doesn’t occur, but the chances that the uterus lining will be too thin for the fertilized egg to implant itself is pretty good.

Its for this reason that people have been saying that oral contraceptives are just much an abortion as when you go to an abortion clinic to get it done, but sadly a lot of people are not aware of this, or they’re just too ignorant to investigate.  I guess in the end its still something each woman has to decide for herself, but its just good to have the facts straight when making your decision.

In most SA citizens’ opinions, the UK is “health and safety” obsessed, and though I take most of the thing they have “health and safety” rules for with a pinch of salt, I found the article below rather interesting.

In the light of recent Eskom power saving tips, we’ve all been urged to use power saver light bulbs, but how according to the article below, this is more of a health risk because the new eco-friendly bulbs contain toxic mercury.

Quoted: [Original Article]

Energy-saving light bulbs are so dangerous that everyone must leave the room for at least 15 minutes if one falls to the floor and breaks, a Government department warned yesterday.

The startling alert came as health experts also warned that toxic mercury inside the bulbs can aggravate a range of problems including migraines and dizziness.

And a leading dermatologist said tens of thousands of people with skin complaints will find it hard to tolerate being near the bulbs as they cause conditions such as eczema to flare up.

The Department for Environment warned shards of glass from broken bulbs should not be vacuumed up but instead swept away by someone wearing rubber gloves to protect them from the bulb’s mercury content.

In addition, it said care should be taken not to inhale any dust and the broken pieces should be put in a sealed plastic bag for disposal at a council dump ? not a normal household bin.

None of this advice, however, is printed on the packaging the new-style bulbs are sold in. There are also worries over how the bulbs will be disposed of.

There are fears that without a proper disposal system, the mercury content could contaminate water supplies.

And dermatologist Dr John Hawk, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that some people already find it difficult to tolerate the fluorescent-strip lighting that is widely used in schools and offices, which works in the same way as the eco-friendly bulbs.

He said: “Fluorescent lights seem to have some sort of ionising characteristic where they affect the air around them.

“This does affect a certain number of people, probably tens of thousands, in Britain, whose ailments flare up just by being close to them.

“Certain forms of eczema ? some of which are very common ? do flare up badly anywhere near fluorescent lights, so these people have to just be around incandescent (old-style) lighting.”

Energy saving bulbs are also said to be a threat to epileptics according to another Daily Mail article.

I find it extremely worrying that there are no warnings on the packages regarding the risks involved, and I find it even more worrying that we will be forced to use these light bulbs in future.

I feel like I’ve been blogging about the wedding, and setting up house till infinity already. I’ m sorry if I’m boring anyone of you, but this is just what’s going on in my life at the moment, and I suppose it just takes up so much time that I struggle to think about anything else.

Well, today I’ve decided to enlighten myself with something completely different.

I’m a pear body shape, as you might (or might not) know. And though this might have upsides, I’m a real female, and I usually see only the downsides. After searching the internet for ‘what to wear’ for my body shape, I came up with nothing substantial. So I’ve decided that it doesn’t matter WHAT body shape we are, we’re usually unhappy with it anyway. I’ll wear clothes in which I am comfortable, and I’ll try to maintain a healthy body, as in shape as I can possibly manage, and for the rest I’ll have to try and make peace with it.

I was particularly inspired by The Pretty Pear blog. The author, Colleen, is also a pear, and she’s is totally at piece with it. Its just really amazing to find someone who has made peace with the way they look, but also admits that its not always easy.

It got me wondering though, are guys also sensitive about their body shape? Do they also feel like they would’ve rather looked like ’so-and-so’? I guess they don’t talk about it as much if they feel the same way!

In my line of work, its quite important to see well. One of the downsides though is that sitting in front of a computer screen eight hours a day does NOT really do my eyes any good. I need to go for an eye test soon, and I suspect I might have to get prescription glasses. Glasses are such a schlep, and sometimes really uncomfortable, but my eyes are way to dry for contact lenses. *sigh* I know I should just go… but really. I just can’t get myself so far. I found Great Discovry:$ 8 Prescription Glasses From Zenni Optical, maybe those will be easier!

I get health tips every day in an e-mail. This was today’s – just too gross to think about!

Your bed is crawling with life: 10 000 dust mites call it home. They live off the half litre of moisture you sweat out every night as well as bits of shed skin.

Take action:
Mites cause allergies. Use clean bed linen as a barrier between you and the dust mites and wash bedding every week at 60 degrees Celsius. Regularly air your mattress in the sun.

I’m desperately trying to lose some weight – just one dress size! I can’t believe how hard it is. I’ve been going to gym, eating less, drinking a lot of water, and still NOTHING.

Maybe I will consider the magnetic weight loss programs which I found online – LOL.

Not that I can explain how they work, but if it helps, who cares!?

One very bad habit I have is to slouch. I suppose it came with the office job where I sit in front of a computer screen 8hrs per day (and sometimes an extra 3hrs at home).

Since I started gyming I found it easier to maintain a healthier posture, but still I find myself slouching at times – specially when I’m walking. Its strange how these things change – at school I never had a problem with my posture, as I had modern dancing classes where they print it into your mind that you have to stand up straight with your shoulders back.

Why am I making such a fuss of this? First of all it gives me terrible back aches, and sometimes these turn into headaches. And secondly, it looks really sloppy. I’ve seen people who slouch so badly that they can no longer straighten up – their muscles kind of shrunk? Of course this can be changed over time, but it takes a lot of stretching, and a lot of concentration to keep yourself straightened up.

There are quite a few exercises that can be done to enhance your posture, so either Google it, or check with your trainer at the gym! Make sure you have a good chair if you are one of those who spend the majority of your time in front of a computer screen. And lastly, STRETCH – take breaks at work, and concentrate on holding a good posture!

I joined the gym this week! Since I work practically next door to it, I decided that now is a good time to join. That, and the fact that I hear horror music in my imagination when I picture myself in a bikini – seasons are changing to summer in SA.

I went yesterday for the first time, very conveniently in my lunch, and felt sooo good afterwards. Though I am unfit, I completed ten minutes on cardio – that’s A LOT for me I did a bit of muscle exercises, and then had a lovely shower.

The bathrooms are really clean, and that is a strange thing in SA. These ones were particularly nice. I was however shocked when I was joined by an oldish lady starting to undress right there in front of me. I realize that I was after all in the change rooms, but still – it was a shocker. She walked around there in her knickers!! Weighing herself, going to the steam room, and eventually to take a shower – the whole time parading like she was a show horse or something. I was there long enough to see all this, because I myself was still getting dressed, and doing make up and all, but still, I don’t walk around butt naked :O

Anyway. Hopefully I will get into a gym routine, and I will be ready for my bikini before the summer is over. Wish me luck