Wellness
Healthy Snacks: Eating Kiwis Can Make You Feel Better
The results of a recent study conducted at the University of Otago, in New Zealand, indicate that eating kiwifruit can make one feel better. This is accomplished in two ways: energy is increased and mood is improved. Over a period of six weeks, 54 young and healthy university students consumed kiwis on a daily basis. The study participants were split into two groups. The men in one group ate only half a kiwifruit each day, while everyone in the other group ate two kiwis per day. The researchers concluded that those who ate two kiwis per day experienced less fatigue (due to increased energy) and less depression than the other group. continue reading
Eight Ways To Boost Your Immune System
The ultimate goal of health care is not simply to avoid illness, but to have an abundance of health. If abundant health is a goal of yours, consider how to strengthen your body’s natural defenses.
You can get started on this path today with these Eight Ways To Boost Your Immune System continue reading
How a Healthy Lifestyle Benefits Your Mind as Well as Body
We all know that a healthy lifestyle, such as not smoking, keeping your weight down, eating right, regular exercise, and low moderate alcohol intake contributes to long-term health benefits. The recently completed Caerphilly Cohort Study expands the known benefits of a healthy lifestyle to include more evidence for improvements in cognitive function, and a reduced incidence of dementia.
The study began in 1979, and spanned a full 35 years. The health habits of 2,235 men between the ages of 45 and 59 were correlated to their incidences of diabetes, vascular disease, cancer, cognitive impairment, dementia and death (from all causes). The study tracked five healthy behaviors: continue reading
Can You Use Acupuncture for Weight Loss?
Everyone is looking for the secret to weight loss, without falling victim to the latest gimmicks. With so many different opinions about how to lose weight, it can be difficult to tell what will really work.
Fortunately there is a technique for weight loss that has been tested for centuries: acupuncture.
This technique is safe, sound and reliable. And, even more exciting, using acupuncture for weight loss helps you lose weight in several different ways. continue reading
The Definitive Guide to Chronic Fatigue and Alternative Treatments
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a mysterious condition. There is no known cause. While the symptoms can be debilitating, there is no test to diagnosis it. Women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with CFS. And most sufferers are between 25 and 45 years old, although there are cases in childhood and middle age.
Some people with CFS live active lives while 25% of the cases are disabled. Sometimes the disease is persistent and other times there is a pattern of relapse and remission. No one knows how many cases there are of CFS because The CFIDS Association of America estimates that fewer than 20 percent of CFS patients in the United States have been properly diagnosed.
CFS has several names. It is called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS). No matter what it is called, the most effective way to manage chronic fatigue is with alternative treatments. continue reading
Sticking to your New Year’s Resolution: The Trick is Not What You Think
It’s New Year’s again. It’s time to make a resolution.
And you know the drill. You set goals. You work on them for a couple of weeks. You begin to flag.
Many times you give up by February.
Your New Year’s resolution becomes a distant memory until the next New Year’s when you feel slightly guilty and begin the whole process again.
If each year you make a resolution and each year you break it, something has to change. The only way this year can be different is if you do something different.
The trick is not changing your resolution. The trick to achieving your resolution is to use an entirely new plan to reach it. continue reading
Interesting Ways to Help Your Kids Exercise in Winter
It’s cold and dark outside.
You come home with the kids and all you want to do is snuggle on the couch.
Snuggling in winter may be fun (and I’m not going to say you shouldn’t snuggle) but your kids need something more. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), kids need at least 1 hour of physical activity—every day. And depending on your children’s school program and sports activities, they may not even get close.
There are many benefits. Exercise helps kids feel less stressed, have higher self-esteem, focus at school, sleep better and maintain a healthy weight. You’ve probably noticed that parenting children who get enough exercise is also easier than parenting those who don’t.
Winter is a time for yin activities. It’s healthy to be introspective and quiet. However, children need physical activity—even in the winter.
But on a cold, dark day, how do you get your kids to exercise? continue reading
The Holiday Survival Toolkit: How to Not Drink at Parties (And Still Have Fun)
The holiday season is upon us and we all know what that means—parties.
Parties at work, parties at church, parties at school, fundraiser parties, caroling parties, Secret Santa parties…
It’s the season of so many parties that we long for a weekend night with nothing scheduled.
All the parties can lead to excess, but the biggest party of the season, New Year’s Eve, can be the topper. Many people drink so much that it can take days to feel healthy again. And even if you don’t drink to drunkenness, your extra alcohol intake in the month of December can take its toll.
I think it’s great to celebrate and enjoy the company of your loved ones, but I don’t want to see you sick. Find out how to not drink (or at least drink less) this party season. continue reading
6 Facts to Know When Using Acupuncture to Quit Smoking
Smoking is a strong, complicated addiction. Quitting smoking is no small task and you will need lots of support to be successful. You need the best tools to help with the physical and emotional symptoms, and acupuncture is a great resource to help you succeed.
Here are the 6 things you should know about using acupuncture to quit smoking. continue reading
The Surprising Truth about Migraine Triggers
How much do you really know about controlling your migraines?
New research suggests you may not know as much as you think.
According to Timothy T. Houle, Ph.D and co-author Dana P. Turner, M.S.P.H., both of the Wake Forest Baptist anesthesiology department, migraine sufferers make inaccurate conclusions about what triggers their migraines. Houle and Turner conducted a 3-month study of 9 women who suffered from migraines. They tracked the women’s hormone levels, their stress levels and the weather. The women kept daily diaries. At the end of the study, the scientists could not accurately predict which triggers would cause a migraine.
Their conclusion—most people can’t isolate the many complex variables in everyday life to accurately determine their migraine triggers.
So what can you do? Can you start eating anything you want? Do you give up managing your migraines?
