Entries Tagged 'Health' ↓

“PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A STICKY POST WHICH WILL REMAIN AT THE TOP UNTIL THE ROOIBOS TEA COMPETITION IS OVER [31 OCT 2007], AND NEW POSTS WILL ONLY APPEAR BELOW THIS ONE!!!”

After Beth mentioned that there was Rooibos tea for sale on e-bay, I had a I decided to send out some Rooibos tea to my international fans (just kidding). But really now, I will send three readers from abroad a packet Rooibos tea each. I won’t send to South Africa, or neighbouring countries, as this is senseless. The whole point is to give the international readers the opportunity to try Rooibos. I will pay for the shipping, but you will be responsible for import tax if applicable, as this is only charged when the parcel is picked up from your post office (works that way in South Africa in any case). The winners will be selected randomly by myself on the 31st of October @ 6pm GMT+2, and the winners will be announced shortly afterwards. The parcels will be sent out a.s.a.p. after that – depending on how quickly you provide me with your mailing address. Your real name, mailing address, and any other personal information will be kept confidential.

The conditions for entering are as follows. Each person can enter as many times as they like. You can:

a) leave a comment, [1 entry]
b) do a short post about me giving away rooibos tea (provided that you link back to this post) [3 entries]
c) refer a friend, the friend can leave a comment or do a post with your name in the comment or post.(also provided that you link back to this post) [comment = 1 entry, post with link back = 3 entries, referral = 1 entry]
d) adding my blog to your Technorati favourites [2 entries]

Please note that you MUST notify me about your entries either by commenting, or e-mailing me. If I am not aware of your entries, I cannot include them in the draw.
Because I want to treat every person fairly, I may change the rules or add rules at any time, should I see fit. I may also disqualify any person should I believe that they didn’t comply with the rules as stated above.

Like Green Tea is for the Chinese, so is Rooibos Tea for South Africans.

For those of you who are not from South Africa, this might be very interesting for you too – and strange at the same time. Aparantly Rooibos Tea isn’t readily available abroad, but still is – so if you can afford to pay the price, you should give it a try

The taste might be a bit strange at first, but its quite nice, for me in any case (I grew up with it though)

Here are some Rooibos Tea facts which might fascinate you like it did me…

With its many positive attributes, Rooibos Tea is a great choice of drink for health conscious people.

Rooibos Tea contains no colours, additives or preservatives, making it a natural beverage. It contains no caffeine. According to studies conducted in South Africa and Japan Rooibos Tea has been shown to aid in health problems such as insomnia, irritability, headaches, nervous tension, and hypertension.

Studies also show that this tea contains anti – spasmodic agents, which can relieve stomach cramping and colic in infants. Rooibos Tea in South Africa Rooibos has been used to treat allergies such as hay fever, asthma and eczema very effectively .

It is also used to treat irritated skin. Rooibos Tea is brewed and placed directly on infected areas. Rooibos Tea contains anti – oxidants which can help slow the ageing process and boost the immune system.

Rooibos Tea is a great thirst quencher and is an excellent beverage for active people, including children. Most kids will drink Rooibos Tea without added sugar or sweeteners.

This tea contains almost no oxalic acid, making it a good beverage for people prone to kidney stones. Rooibos Tea contains the following minerals: copper, iron and potassium, calcium, fluoride, zinc, manganese, alpha- hydroxy ( for healthy skin ) and magnesium (for the nervous system) are also components of this tea. In South Africa pregnant women and nursing mothers drink Rooibos Tea because it contains no caffeine.

Source: AfricanTea

Often I have felt that it is extremely unfair for people who smoke. They get to have smoke breaks all the time, while non-smokers have to work. It might seem a bit strange for a non-smoker to stand on the balcony just for the fun of it, but if its a smoker, its OK.

I suppose its better that way, and I really wouldn’t want them smoking inside, but it would be nice to be able to have a break every now and then, but then people can call you inside any time. However if they see that you’re smoking, they understand immediately that you NEED YOUR BREAK. Suddenly they find nothing wrong with it that you spend so much more time doing nothing that the rest of us.

To get a bit technical, suppose a smoker smokes 6 cigarettes a day (at work) – which I have found to be average for the people I know? Help me right if I’m wrong – they would typically spend 7 minutes outside for the whole little procedure (5minutes is just too short, and 10 too long). That would mean that smokers have 42 minutes which they spend, tending to their dirty little habit – while the rest of us are working!

I’m not jealous of smoking though, and I suppose they do need their perks too – besides, they will live shorter than the rest of us, so maybe I just need to understand too. And let them have their little breaks. While they can still enjoy it

Almost everyone I know has been, or are, at that place in their lives where they try to lose weight. Its winter, and we all know how easily the extra kilo’s gather with all the cozy snacks.
Its so much nicer to cuddle under the duvet, watching a DVD, with a cup of hot chocolate and some popcorn, instead or having a glass of water and celery sticks. Most people use the excuse that they use more energy to warm their bodies during winter.

This is a very convenient argument, and we’ve probably all said it to ourselves when we wanted to buy our favorite chocolate bar, or potato crisps, or pizza… and the list goes on. The problem is this: if your input is more than your output you will gain weight.
If you don’t exercise at all you’re burning very little calories. In turn you’re probably eating more than you’re burning.

A friend of mine recently told me that she started a new diet, and after three days she hadn’t lost any weight, so she quit. LOL. I just laughed at her, and told her that these things take time. The weight she wants to lose didn’t gather around her hips in just three days. She’s been building on that for nearly a year.

Little exercise is definitely better than none at all. You’re burning more calories than you would’ve done if you didn’t exercise.
Exercise doesn’t ONLY burn calories, it strengthens & tones your muscles, and one of the most important muscles being your heart. Cardio exercise does wonders, but I hate it. I hate the burning in my chest & the sweat and all that. I don’t mind stretching, and weight training so much, but cardio is a real drag for me.

I found a BMR Calculation which is quite helpful it tells you how many calories you burn just by being alive – doing no exercise.
Keeping in mind that exercise is essential to keep you healthy, thus saying that you shouldn’t just cut out calories and expect to feel better.
Eating exactly the same as you’re doing at the moment (given that you’re not gaining weight) and just doing (more) excercise should cause you to lose weight.

This doesn’t always work though. A lot of people struggle because their metabolisms are slow, or due to other medical reasons.
Speeding up your metabolism is a whole different story. Some people start their day with drinking warm water & lemon juice, others swear by a fiber rich diet. I think for each person the recipe is different. You have to find what works for you. You’re not likely to follow a eating program consisting of foods you don’t like. You have to find foods which you like, but are healthy at the same time. Same with exercise. Find a sport or exercise which appeals to you. You’re most likely to continue that in the long run. For myself I have running, but I love a cross trainer. For this very reason I will not join a gym. I find it more convenient to exercise at home, and given that I have a cross trainer, I know I will stick with my exercise program.

Its very important to make both your eating plan, and your exercise program a habit. This will ensure that your weight is steady. Its OK to have a chocolate bar every now and again. And its OK to eat out one a month or so. What is important is that it doesn’t become a habit.

I spent part of the weekend @ the hospital again. Nothing too serious, and I wasn’t the patient either, but still not nice.

At least I had breakfast with a good friend on Saturday before going to the hospital. The breakfast was great. Except for the chats, the food was also great. I had a BBQ Bacon & Mushroom omelet at Maxi’s – you should really try it. It was YUM.

Other than that I’ve developed a sore throat / cold / flu. Don’t know where that came from since I’ve been taking my vitamins.

Yesterday I went home early because I felt awful. I slept the whole afternoon till 7pm, and went to bed again at 9pm. Which is why I didn’t write yesterday. Sorry.

I’ve also signed up with Pownce, so if you want an invite, just leave a comment. These invites are obviously not scarce, so I wouldn’t be surprised if no one wanted one. I’m indeed impressed with Pownce, and I have to agree with the general opinion, its a bit better than twitter. If you’re already a member on Pownce – add me as a friend!

Hope you’re all doing well. I’ll post again soon. Just wanted to let you know that I’m still here.

Most of you have read the scare-mail about the person whose kidneys were stolen while he was passed out. Well, read on. While the kidney story was an urban legend, this one is not. It’s happening every day.

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago. It was just
that quick. I went to sleep in my body and woke up with someone else’s thighs. The new ones had the texture of cooked oatmeal. Who would have done such a cruel thing to legs that had been mine for years? Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine? Hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans and Sheer Energy pantyhose. Then, just when my guard was down, the thieves struck again.

My butt was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear end to the thighs they stuck me with earlier. I couldn’t believe that my new butt was attached at least three inches lower than my
original. Now, my rear complemented my legs, lump for lump. Frantic, I prayed that long skirts would stay in fashion It was two years ago when I realized my arms had been switched. One morning I was fixing my hair and I watched horrified but fascinated as the flesh of my upper arms swung to and fro with the motion of the hairbrush. This was really getting scary. My body was being replaced one section at a time. How clever and fiendish.

Age? Age had nothing to do with it. Age is supposed to creep up, unnoticed, something like maturity. NO, I was being attacked repeatedly and without warning. In despair, I gave up my T-shirts.

What could they do to me next?

My poor neck suddenly disappeared faster than the Thanksgiving turkey it now resembled. That’s why I decided to tell my story. I can’t take on the medical profession by myself. Women of the world, wake up and smell the
coffee. That really isn’t plastic that those surgeons are using.

You KNOW where they are getting those replacement parts, don’t you? The next time you suspect someone has had a face “lifted,” look again. Was it lifted from you? I think I finally found my thighs – and I hope that Cindy Crawford paid a really good price for them!

This is not a hoax. This is happening to women in every town every night. WARN YOUR FRIENDS!

P.S. I must say that last year I thought someone had stolen my breasts. I was lying in bed and they were gone! As I jumped out of bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept.

Now I keep them hidden in my waistband.

I told you previously that I was reading a book from Karen Kingsbury whilst being on holiday, the title of it being “Waiting for morning“, and the theme? Mmm… Its about a drunk driver who kills half a family, but most importantly, a repeat drunk driver. I realize that a lot of people have addictions. Even I do; coffee. Though I wouldn’t see it as an addiction really – I can go without coffee. Alcoholism is something so dangerous. In the book someone said that he wasn’t as afraid of a murderer because he could take precautions as to avoid them, but drunk driver are on the road with us each day. You probably won’t know who they are until they hit something, or someone.

In the beginning of the book I got really worked up about what the guy did. He didn’t even have a license at the time of the accident (and I know that its only a story), but still – this is happening all around us!!! Toward the end of the book I realized that there are still people with families. People who need help and inspiration from those around them.

Please, if you know someone with a problem encourage them to get help! Their addiction isn’t only dangerous to themselves, but its lethal to others. It destroys relationships and families. There are a lot of centres which offer programmes that run for extended periods of time. Have a look at the drug addiction treatment offered at Stone Hawk. They offer different programmes, which are highly effective, and advise you as to which programme would be best suited for you.

For the past three weeks I’ve been cutting down on the coffee. If you read my blog regularly, you’d remember my post about coffee a while back; aka Kill The Coffee. Back then I used to have about 5 – 8 cups of 100% pure coffee every weekday. There are various reasons why coffee is bad for you. For me, the main reason was this:

Just something that I found while browsing, and found it rather depressing since I love coffee so much. It was worth reading though, as I’ve only had 2 cups of coffee today, instead of the normal 5 – don’t know how long it will last though. What was more interesting to me is the fact that decaf is also bad for you. Also I always knew that caffeine was bad, I never knew the exact symptoms…

If you’re at work right now, look around you. How many people in the office need their coffee fix in the morning? And for their morning “tea” break, and of course after lunch as well. The first fix is so that they can “get going”, the second just revs them up another gear, and the third is to “pick them up” after a sluggish post-lunch feeling. And the day isn’t even over.
So if you’re one of those people, take a look at some alarming facts about coffee that may leave you feeling worse than what you felt like before that first cup.
Caffeine’s addictive properties utilises the same mechanisms as amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin.

• It promotes anxiety, mood swings, irritability, and depression.
• It exhausts the adrenal glands.
• It increases the risk of arterial inflammation and the incidence of heart attacks by some 30%.

And decaf has its own problems:

• Studies prove it raises LDL cholesterol levels
• It promotes fat build up in the liver

And decaf is not nocaf. Each cup contains about 7 mg of caffeine. Have 6 cups a day, and you’re up over 40 mg of caffeine a day.
Most decaf is made using solvents such as methylene chloride, which are poisonous.

And both kinds of coffee:

• Deplete calcium from the body
• Flush out the water soluble vitamins, including vitamin C and most of the B’s
• Cause stomach disorders including acid reflux and ulcers

Source: Cardies

After Reading THIS, you’ll NEVER look at a banana in the same way again!
Bananas Containing three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes. But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS: Forget the pills — eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure:This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives. Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in “The New England Journal of Medicine,” eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!”