Is Everyone Sick?

No matter where I go there seems to be a new medicine for a new disease that nobody has ever heard of. Next time you sit down to watch TV, you will probably see at least 5 different commercials for problems, diseases, or symptoms that seem way out of the mainstream.

Am I being insensitive? I don't think so! Consider that doctors and particularly pharmaceutical companies benefit from convincing people that they are sick, or that their symptoms can be treated with their new fangled drug.

People, I assure you that you are better off looking towards a natural approach to any and all illnesses. Not to discount the advice of a medical professional, but you have a right to know why and what you are putting into your body.

What is Healthy Living?

What is healthy living and what does it mean to you? To most, healthy living is defined as just eating well and getting some exercise every now and then. However, the truth is that a healthy lifestyle should encompass your entire daily routine, every day of the year.
A healthy lifestyle can only result from making right choices about what you eat and drink, what activities you perform, and what you surround yourself with everyday. It can also include such things as getting appropriate exposure to the sun, getting proper rest, eating natural and organic foods, using natural cures, and balancing the mind-body-spirit connection. In short, it means continually surrounding yourself with the right environment for optimum health and well being.
Let me give you an example. Have you thought about the types of products you use and how they affect your health? Did you know that even the most common household products can sabotage your efforts in achieving a healthy lifestyle?

Take for example your air freshener. Most likely it is full of synthetic chemicals, with a large warning on the side of the can. Even still, millions of people spray those chemicals into the air for the whole family to breathe.

What about the foods you eat? Even if you are focused on eating the right mix of proteins and carbs, while eliminating excessive fats, you may still be eating unhealthy. How? If you are like many people, you are eating processed foods. In other words, foods that have been grown with loads of chemicals and pesticides and produced using fillers, refined sugars, and other flavor enhancers.
The better choice for a healthier lifestyle is by going green! Choosing organic and whole foods will provide you with better tasting and more nutritious meals for you and your family.
Believe it or not, your body was created to be naturally healthy, and healthy living will promote the body's own ability to regulate its functions, prevent illnesses, and heal itself when necessary.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that every illness or malady must be dealt with by using expensive drugs and surgery. It’s just not true. There are literally thousands of alternative therapies and natural remedies that promote your health and ultimately help you avoid the doctor’s office!

At Natural Health Lifestyles our goal is to help you find a better way! We show you practical and easy to understand information on how small changes in your lifestyle choices can lead to dramatic benefits for your Health and Wellness. Our site will incorporate expert opinions, and fact based information so that you can lead a more balanced, more energized, and a more focused Natural Health Lifestyle!

Processed Foods

There has been much said about the negative impact of processed foods in a persons diet, but rarely is anyone pinpointing why that is. Let’s break it down.

Processed foods are those foods that have been put together to produce a marketable and easy to use snack or meal. On the surface, this doesn’t seem very sinister does it? It is simple economics that may create the unhealthy element.

When companies mass produce foods, they look for the most cost effective means of production, which includes the use of fillers, additives, and cheap, easy to find, often low quality ingredients. Take for example a hot pocket. Does anyone really think that the meat they use is even remotely high quality? Absolutely not! Although, I am sure the kids in college don’t mind too much.

Beyond the quality concerns, food processing creates foods that have often lost their nutritional value. Further, the refined sugars, excessive salts, and flavor enhancers can dull your ability to taste and can certainly play havoc on your digestive track.

As a natural health enthusiast, your focus should be less on the dangers of processed foods, and more on the benefits of organic foods. Natural and organic foods are all the things processed foods aren’t. They are fresh, free of pesticides, and good for the environment.

It’s now up to you to reach into your freezer and trash those unhealthy and unwanted foods and immediately get back on track to your natural health lifestyle. Trust me, you’ll feel better.

Understanding Mesothelioma

As a stern reminder of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and the dangers of the toxins around us and in our homes, a form of cancer called mesothelioma has been becoming more common as a result of exposure to asbestos. The disease affects the abdomen, chest, and the areas around the heart and can sometimes be fatal.

Typically, people who have developed mesothelioma have worked at jobs where they have inhaled the asbestos particles in the form of dusts and powders. Some have even been exposed by their spouses bringing the particles home on their clothing. Even worse, some people have been exposed for years in their own homes.

The recent cases of the disease aren’t actually recent. In fact, the original exposure to the asbestos that caused the mesothelioma may have occurred as long as 20-50 years prior. As you can imagine, mesothelioma lawyers are everywhere and are winning huge sums of money.

Some symptoms of mesothelioma cancer include:

Anemia

Persistent coughing

Shortness of breath

Chest pains

Wheezing in your chest

Abdominal pain and swelling

Weight loss

Fever

Swelling in the neck and face

Trouble swallowing


Although asbestos is rarely used in today’s building, its impact on many lives is still present. Upon realization of the impact this disease has had on people’s lives, it is clear that creating a green home through environmentally friendly building practices is of paramount importance.

In an effort to maintain your healthy home, it is highly recommended that you search for asbestos in your home. Particularly if you have an older home, you may want to do an extensive search to ensure your safety.

What You Need To Know Before You Buy Natural Health Supplements

When looking to buy natural health supplements and natural tonics for health and wellness, chances are you'll find your options are limited in local stores. But if anybody wants to buy natural health supplements online, there are many possibilities.

But the question is how to know which health natural nutritional supplements to buy. While buying natural health supplements, the most important thing in the list should be the daily vitamin or mineral or nutrient supplement that is the basis of our supplement program. Two important natural tonics for health and wellness should be considered while buying health natural nutritional supplements: -

- High-Quality Daily Vitamin/Mineral/Nutrient Supplements - A daily high-quality, broad-spectrum anti-aging natural supplement will help a lot to fill in the dietary gaps that everyone will have. There are a very few persons who obtain the minimum recommended servings of 5-9 cups of vegetables and fruits per day. In the process, they do not obtain the health benefits associated with these vital foods.

One must also know that taking one of the cheap one-a-day vitamins is probably a waste of time and money. When considering buying health natural nutritional supplements, vitamins and minerals are just the beginning of the process. The body needs and prefers to use a wide array of anti-aging natural tonics for health and wellness substances - amino acids, antioxidants, bioflavanoids, neuronutrients, herbal extracts, enzymes and other nutrients such as L-Carnosine, alpha lipoic acid and acetyl L-Carnitine and so on. Latest research shows that these nutrients must be in the correct proportions to each other, otherwise the intake may not be healthy and useful.

- Omega 3 Supplements – If you are looking for health natural nutritional supplements, Omega 3 benefits are too good to ignore if you are interested in health, as it covers a wide variety of diseases, starting from heart health to depression treatment to pregnancy health. Three of the top Omega 3 food sources are cold-water fish, grass-fed (not grain-fed) meat and eggs. Omega 3 oils provide DHA and EPA in a natural form that your body can easily assimilate. The body as is required for flax oil, for example, requires no conversion. Most of the clinical studies on Omega 3 benefits are based on fish oils from consuming fish and fish oil supplements.

In addition to these, there are also other factors that needed to be considered while buying health natural nutritional supplements. They are...

- Natural Cholesterol Lowering Supplements – Among these health natural nutritional supplements, policosano is the most effective as it comes from sugar cane. Its cholesterol-lowering abilities are published in over 80 clinical studies, which are more studies than for most prescription drugs. Policosanol significantly lowers total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol without the side affects associated with the statin drugs.

- Arthritis Supplements - There are various types of nutrients that have been shown to reduce inflammation, swelling and stiffness. The aim must be to achieve long-term pain relief by targeting the cause, not just the arthritis symptoms. To reach a long term solution should be the goal of health natural nutritional supplements arthritis natural tonics for health and wellness.

- Sexual Enhancement Supplements - Many sexual problems and health problems are related to nutrient deficiencies. Many men suffering from cardiovascular disease suffer from impotency problems. People suffering from Type 2 diabetes or those who are taking prescription drugs generally suffer from sexual dysfunction problems. If you restore your general health you will find that your sexual health will automatically improve a lot.

There are also many health natural nutritional supplements available that slow down the aging process. So, whenever you go to buy natural health supplements, have a look into the above-discussed factors.

Dan Ho is chief editor and passionate consumer of nutritional supplements and natural health living. To learn more about how to buy natural health supplements that are of high quality visit: www.nutritional-supplement-info.com/alternative-health-supplements.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Ho

Natural Health Choices

With all of the health issues saturating the internet, perhaps it's time we look to a more natural health in our daily lives. Recently, I had the opportunity to view Qi Gong, a meditative exercise which brings calm and balance within. Used for 4000 years by the Chinese, it has become an effective and proven way to achieve health and well-being.

Qi, pronounced Chi meaning life force; and Gong, meaning exercise.

It comprises slow moving motions which not only heal the body, but the mind as well. Modern medicine, while necessary for certain diseases, cannot come close to Qi Gong in providing the body with increased energy and physical health.

These gentle breathing, stretching and strengthening movements activate the Qi energy and blood circulation in your body, helping to stimulate your immune system, strengthen your internal organs, and give you abundant energy. Qi Gong can be practiced either in a sitting or standing position, and anyone can engage in these simple and effective exercises in as little as fifteen to twenty minutes a day.

Instead of deriving assistance from unnecessary drugs and stimulants; using our own bodies as instruments for change can occur. It seems as if we have become more dependent upon drugs to treat ailments than listening to our bodies. This is not to say diseases can be treated using this method; but certainly stress and other problems which sometimes incapacitate us can be dealt with differently and effectively.

Subliminal messaging CDs are becoming more popular; whether they actually help or not is up to the individual. However, meditation has been around for thousands of years, and yoga has always been a favorite among those who seek alternatives to pills and other conventional methods.

It seems to this writer we have to find our way back to a simplistic lifestyle, where stress and worry have no place to invade our minds and spirit. This may sound naïve, but evidence has shown that meditative practices are effective.

Upon a visit to a big city, one tourist remarked, "Why is everyone rushing around? Where are they going?" No truer words were spoken. Our lives, admittedly, are stress filled; with both parents working to pay the bills; save for a house or their kids college education; with the high cost of rents and oil; trying to meet deadlines at work on a daily basis; it's no wonder everyone is tightly wound. Eventually, it will catch up with all of us.

To this end, maybe it's time to find a balance; a way in which we can live life to the fullest and still achieve the goals we set. It's a question we all need to answer in our own way.

Join us at Think Healthy Forums and learn or teach about natural healthy http://www.thinkhealthyforum.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lambert_Klein

Investing in Energy - Tips for Developing a Fatigue Free Lifestyle

Your body possesses a vital energy that takes care of repair and restoration, that energy is challenged by stress, tension, adrenal strain and lack of quality rest.

In Chinese medicine this vitality is referred to as latency. Latency is your personal quota of energy and vitality, it’s your constitutional “starter pack”. Some of us are gifted with a stronger constitution than others, and some of us spend it faster than others.

We are all very individual in our expression and usage of our vital energy, but one fact holds true for us all - once you start running low, your immunity is challenged and you can find yourself at tipping point with your health.

CFS - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - is a typical example of a low latency situation, Chinese Medicine considers it a condition where the energy balance dips into the red and the body suffers the final straw that takes it off-line.

Ayurveda (India’s ancient science of natural health care) regards CFS, ME, and other exhaustion states in a very similar way. The challenge to us all in maintaining helath and vitality is to preserve what vitality we have and be sure that it isn’t squandered by situations and behaviours that will ultimately present a challenge to our functionality.

Vital energy is burned by: anxiety
anger
frustration
long-term stress
excessive alcohol consumption
smoking and recreational drugs
promiscuous relationships
poor sleep


Vital energy is nourished by: a peaceful lifestyle
meditation
milk, almonds, dates, honey and ghee (clarified butter)
devotional practices
qigong
yoga & pranayama (breathing exercises designed to calm the mind and nourish the nervous system)

Beware Energy Draining Foods

To feel energised you need to eat energy i.e. foods rich in vital energy (prana) that nourish the mind and body. Good examples of high energy living foods are nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and grains. Anything fresh and colourful is good for building energy.

Anything dead, stale, old, or preserved, depletes energy and leaves you feeling sluggish and sleepy. That's because these foods possess no vital energy and while they might fill you up, the contribute little else to your body than low quality bulk. They're hard work to digest and contain little nutritional value.

Almonds = Energy

Sweet almonds are nourishing to the nervous system and support energy and vitality in the body. Ayurveda (India's ancient science of health& longevity) considers almonds to be beneficial to all bodily tissues especially the reproductive tissues.

Massaging the body with sweet almond oil is a wonderful and relaxing way to nourish the tissues from the outside in.

For an energy boosting drink, try almond milk - available in all natural health stores.

Bedtime Energy Booster

Boil a cup of whole organic milk, then let it cool to drinking temperature. Put in a blender with a pinch of cinnamon powder and 5 dates (with the stone removed) blend thoroughly and drink before settling down for the night.

Building Your Energy Budget When you take the time to consciously rest, relax, meditate, and eat well, you are preserving what vital energy you already have and also taking the opportunity to cultivate more. This is of paramount importance to your quality of life, level of immunity and your physical and mental stamina.

Ananga Sivyer is a health writer with a passion for helping people feel positive and in control of thier lives.

For more articles like this and FREE meditation & relaxation MP3 downloads join on her Living by Design Blog at http://www.ananga.squarespace.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ananga_Sivyer

Creating a Feng Shui Home Design

Probably the best application of feng shui is the use of the concepts in your home. According to these concepts outlined in feng shui philosophy, this is a big step towards creating healthy lifestyle.

Feng shui can be used to get your house is in order and to ultimately make it a sanctuary where you feel de-stressed and relaxed. Further, it is claimed that it will literally set your life up for greater wealth, happiness, and even romance.

The basics are just that, basic. The primary focus should be on how your house looks and feels upon approach. This includes the outer décor and landscaping, as much as it does the interior.

Let’s go over the main functional areas

Outside

The outside of your home should be set up for a positive chi, as it has many impacts on your health. Some tips include making sure your address is clearly visible from the street and getting rid of any dead brushes, shrubs and flowers. Keeping them there indicates that your wealth will die.
Keep the yard clear from any clutter and trim any overgrown plants throughout the yard. This follows the ideas that a clean and organized area allows you to feel harmony upon entrance to the home.
Light the walkway to your door at night, as it will light the way to your wealth and prosperity for years to come.

Family Room

The family room is where everyone comes together and is considered the heart of the home. Thus, is important to make sure it is comfortable and cheerful. Aim to satisfy the needs of those that may be visiting as well as you own needs in your design. Either way, it should be free of excess clutter, which will allow Chi to flow naturally throughout the room.

Keep plenty of natural light in the room and accentuate that light with a color scheme that reflects your own personality, while promoting a natural positive chi. Don't use harsh colors or colors that contrast your other decorations and furniture. Soft pastels are always good. Before making a final decision on color, understand their symbolic definitions.

Red = happiness
Yellow = authority
White = purity
Green = longevity
Blue = heavenly blessings

Bedrooms

The master bedroom should be as far away from the front door as possible, for the security of the homeowner. The foot of the bed should not be placed so that the occupant’s feet face a doorway. This is a negative since this is the way the deceased are carried from a room. Part of the bed should always touch a wall because it helps people feel more stable.

As with all rooms, color is important. The color of the bedroom should reflect tranquility and relaxation. One shouldn’t compromise their sleep by using too vibrant of a color. It is also recommended to use lower lighting in your bedroom, which can be accomplished simply by lowering the wattage of your light bulbs.

Dining Room

The dining room should be close to the kitchen and in the corner of a home to promote the gathering of chi. The seating should be set so that everyone can talk to each other easily. Round or octagon tables are the best choice. A round table is said to be good because it symbolizes stability.

When arranging furniture in the dining room ensure that chairs do not restrict doorways. There should be ample space for guests to walk around the table without having to maneuver around chairs or other furniture.

If your dining room has no windows a chandelier or a ceiling fan will assist the flow of Chi. Always use soft even lighting in the dining room as well as soft colors such as shades of green or yellow.

Bathroom
The bathroom represents homeowner’s finances, so it should be set up appropriately. Ideally, the bathroom should not be visible from the front door or to close to the kitchen. It should be clean, well lit, and well ventilated. Proper ventilation allows the negative sha energy to be relieved quickly, allowing the positive chi to remain.

Kitchen

In the kitchen, the placement of the stove and sink are the most important. The stove should be positioned so a person using doesn’t have their back facing a doorway. The chef needs to be able to focus and not be surprised.
The sink represents water, so it should not be side by side with he stove, which represents fire. Typically, a well placed mirror should alleviate any design issues you face.

There should be ample room to work around the sink and stove. They should be kept clean and work well to encourage favorable family finances. Good lighting and ventilation by the stove will reduce the influence of Sha, as will painting the kitchen white. White symbolizes purity and promotes good health.

Using Feng Shui methods around your home is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Everyone has their own needs, and everyone’s tastes are different. The bottom line for you is to follow the guiding principles and make your designs work.

With a little feng shui, anyone can improve their health and their outlook on life. However, it should be an understood that a healthy diet and regular exercise should also be incorporated into any healthy living resolution.

Home Remedies for a Hangover

With St. Patricks Day right around the corner, and with many beer mugs about to be raised, it's time to plan ahead for that hangover.

While a hangover is not a health condition, it is still good to know that there are home remedies for a hangover, and natural cures for hangover prevention.

The most common symptoms of a hangover include a headache, an upset stomach, nausea, bloodshot eyes, and a general lethargic feeling, otherwise known as “brain fog”. Obviously, the best way to avoid the symptoms of a hangover is to avoid the alcohol that causes them.

Alas, some of us just can’t help but indulge. There is always a party, a birthday, or a holiday to celebrate. For some, having to tolerate your own family may be enough to take you down the whiskey river! Now you need hangover relief!

The good news is that there are home remedies for a hangover that do not require over the counter drugs. Here is a short list:

Water! That’s right, water. Simple enough huh? Drink water in-between your cocktails and again before you go to bed. Hangovers are really just dehydration, so water alleviates the problem by rehydrating and flushing the excess toxins.

Avoid Tylenol and any pain killer with acetaminophen. It has been revealed that this may lengthen the time alcohol is in your system and can play havoc with your liver, causing you much greater problems than a hangover.

Take a multivitamin prior to drinking. Since alcohol is a diuretic, it makes you pee, which flushes vitamins out of the body. It also helps to flush out and process the acetaldehyde, which is alcohol's primary toxin.

A simple home remedy for a hangover, drink a glass of milk before going to bed. It has been known to calm the stomach and ease the nasea associated with a hangover.

Try taking some bifidus before bedtime. Bifidus is simply good bacteria that may help the intestines detoxify themselves. A teaspoon should be sufficient.

Never drink on an empty stomach. Food helps to absorb the alcohol and may help to digest it faster. More specifically, eat starchy foods like bread, or a favorite of mine, pizza prior to drinking.

The only complete cure for a hangover is time. No matter what a drinker does, the body still has to clean up all the toxic byproducts left over from the evening before.