Cholesterol - Eat your way to lower cholesterol

10 Easy Tips to Eat Your Way to Lower Cholesterol. 

Tips to Lower Cholesterol - Do you have high cholesterol and need to lower it?

 That is no surprise considering how many people have high cholesterol these days. To help lower your cholesterol, here are 10 tips you can get started with today. As with anything health related, diet and exercise are the two crucial components. What you eat is critical to lowering your cholesterol levels, so that is what is included here. One thing you should know is the difference between LDL and HDL cholesterol. Simply think of HDL as "healthy" and LDL as "bad for health." HDL can actually help carry cholesterol out of your blood vessels while LDL allows it to deposit inside your artery walls. The good news is that you can change your cholesterol for the better. Here is how to do just that: 1. Have a nice sandwich on whole wheat bread or/ and lots of fresh veggies. Skip the hot dogs, bologna, and salami, and hold the Mayo. All of those are highly processed and filled with fat and cholesterol. 2. Fish, like salmon, is good. Look for wild red salmon varieties, which are very high in Omega-3 fatty acids (good fat.) Also, flax seed is a good source of Omega-3s. 3. Avoid Trans fats! Not only do they raise the lousy LDL cholesterol, they can also lower your HDL levels! Stay away from foods like margarine, shortening, and processed foods containing partially hydrogenated soybean oil. 4. Go ahead, go nuts! Look for walnuts mainly but also try almonds, nuts, cashews, and pecans. Nuts are high in fat, but it's the good kind. (Also, use natural peanut butter instead of the normal kind which contains unhealthy Trans fats.) 5. Limit desserts and try to eat only the healthier ones like angel food cake, graham crackers, Jell-O, and fat-free frozen yogurt. 6. Eat foods that are high in fiber. Examples include whole wheat bread, oatmeal, fruits, vegetables, beans, and some cereals. (Look for the boxes that say "may help lower cholesterol.") 7. Use the grill. If you're going to have steak or burgers, grill them at home and use lean meat. This practice avoids the grease, is fun, and the meat tastes great. 8. Find a new salad dressing. Most of them are full of Trans fats and cholesterol. Olive oil is good, and maybe add vinegar or lemon juice. Also, skip the bacon bits, croutons, and egg yolks. 9. Go overboard on fruits and vegetables. They contain no cholesterol and they have lots of nutrients like antioxidants. Here are some examples: green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, oranges, mangos, papaya, pineapple, tomato, garlic, onions, spinach, water chestnuts, bananas, apricots, blueberries, and kiwi. 10. Avoid fast food like french fries and anything else from the deep fryer. Those foods will raise your cholesterol like crazy, so stay away from the burger joints if you can. 11. Bonus tip: Use spices like pepper and oregano to add flavor to your dishes. They are a healthy alternative to other toppings like Mayo. That was easy, wasn't it? Just make some of these changes and get plenty of exercise like walking, jogging, swimming, or playing basketball. You will have lower cholesterol in no time!

The basics of excercise and training

The Basics of Exercise and Training 

In abiding by an exercise and training regimen, it's crucial that particular guidelines be abided by in order to get more effective results. Knowing about exercise and training basics will supply the basis on what and what might not be considered as great practice in the training regimen. Here are a few of the general training guidelines to keep you decently guided fitness-wise.

Cardio training plans help strengthen the cardiac muscle as well as the lungs. Not only will such training accomplish that, it will likewise help in bettering a persons endurance. Cardio training may likewise help the body burn calories more efficiently which in turn aids in slimming down. But not all cardio training plans may be ideal for everybody. It may commonly be set according to an individuals personal fitness level and would deviate from person to person.
However as a general rule, a regular cardio training plan ought to consist of at least 15 to 30 minutes of exercise. It may either be continuous or in short bursts. Cardio training ought to likewise become a steady part of the complete fitness program at least for three to five days a week. The aim ought to at least get your heart reaching 70 to 90 percent of your maximum pulse rate in order to be effective. 
Stretching exercises to better flexibility is believed by most fitness experts to be among the most unnoted exercise programs. Many individuals never seem to bother working at their stretching exercises believing that it doesn't matter that much. However having them as part of the common fitness program may help promote greater movement and improve flexibility. Flexibility exercises may likewise help promote better muscle relaxation after finishing up on cardio or strength exercises. 

Strength training commonly involves working with free weights in order to beef up the muscles, bones and the connective tissues surrounding them. It's crucial since strength training builds muscles, help increase body metabolism and bring down body fat.

The common strength exercise and training comprises of at least 8 to 10 exercises, each centering on the different major muscle groups of the body. Building strength and the muscles in the lower back, shoulders, chest, and the arms may be accomplished with at least 8 to 16 repetitions for every set of the exercises. Muscle groups may be built up for 2 to 3 days each week. But it shouldn't be consecutive to allow much required rest periods. Suitable form is likewise crucial in doing the exercises in order to prevent injury.

Dr S K Vidyarthi

Health blogger 

Exercise and training

Common Exercise And Training 

Effective exercise and training plans follow particular principles that help individuals keep fit. It might be known in assorted terms and is accomplished through different means. Recognizing them and applying them in your own fitness regimen may help make it more effective in getting the results that you require.

How effective are the exercise routine that you adopt would depend upon particular factors. This will help determine how fast you are able to slim down, improve stamina or increase athletic performance. Here are some exercise variables that you have to consider when attempting to develop your own fitness plan or regimen.

Exercise Frequency- this refers to how frequently you exercise. The frequency will let you develop an exercise regimen that you do on a particular schedule, let us say, a weekly basis. If you plan to exercise for 2 days in a week, you are able to speed up getting results by adding another day of training for the week.

Exercise Intensity- this refers to the level of physical activity of your exercise plan. How hard you press yourself in every exercise session is likewise a factor in the effectiveness of a work out and training program. For instance, using jogging one time and walking one session would have different results. Doing more running instead of short bouts of walking or jogging would certainly have a different result from walking each session.

Sort of Exercise- this refers to the sort of exercise included in your regimen. There are different sorts of exercises to pick from with each type being able to develop a particular part of the body better than the other. Knowledge of these sorts of exercises may help you develop a particular regimen that may be centered on improving target parts of the body.

Length of Exercise- this refers to the time that's spent in doing the exercises. How long you do every exercise session will ultimately decide how fast or how slow that you acquire results. This is important to avoid injury and improve results.

These exercise and training variables may be used in developing a sealed exercise plan that would allow better performance as well as results. You might be able to begin with utilizing the different exercise variables in a way that you feel comfortable with. Along the way, you are able to then alter any or all of these variables to either better the efficiency as well as to reach the target results. The variables may also be utilized ideally just to make the exercise plan even more interesting once they begin to become too routine.

Easy ideas for successful weight loss

Easy Ideas For Successful Weight Loss .

Successful weight loss means losing weight and keeping it off. People who shed pounds rapidly tend to put them all back on. Before you can set out to reach a healthy weight, you must understand how important it is to adopt a whole-lifestyle change.

In this article we will tell you how to make this transition. A great way to lose weight is to start doing HIIT cardio. "HIIT" is short for high intensity interval training. This training is great because you drastically reduce the amount of time you spend in the gym, and this method is proven to be more effective than regular cardio. If you want to make a lifestyle change that will help you to lose weight now and keep it off in the future, switch from drinking coffee to green tea. The caffeine in coffee can cause you to retain water and become dehydrated. The antioxidants in green tea not only help you to feel better, they can also aid in maintaining a healthy weight. If you have a blender, you can make some terrific treats that will help you lose weight. Blended drinks are a great way to incorporate fresh fruits into your diet; a tasty, high-fiber way to drink your breakfast. Just combine any mixture of your favorite fruits in season (berries, oranges, bananas, and peaches are all good choices), or dry milk powder or yoghurt for a protein boost, and you will have a wonderfully refreshing quick breakfast that gives energy to your day and gets your motor running. Use less sauces and dressings in your foods. Sauces and dressings are often made with oil or contain lots of sugar. Drowning your green salad in dressing or smothering your baked potato in sour cream, adds a lot of fat and calories. You can try using substitutes, such as non-fat sour cream, but you should also experiment with more spices to flavor your food. Eat breakfast every day to help you slim down. In general, people who eat breakfast weigh less than those who do not. Because you have not had anything to eat since before you went to bed, by morning your body has started into a fasting mode. Breakfast ("break" the "fast"), breaks that cycle and keeps your metabolism normalized. If you go another four or more hours without eating, your body begins to enter starvation mode and you are much more likely to overindulge on a high-calorie snack or a huge lunch. To keep your nutritious diet in check, don't feel that you need to restrict any particular food. By doing that, you are going to crave that food even more and that will throw your diet completely off track. Just eat the not so healthy food in moderation and you will be fine. Again, the key to real weight loss is lifestyle adjustment. Apply what you've just learned to lose weight and then maintain it. This article provides a compass when you lose your way on your weight loss journey.

Clean eating lifestyle

Why You Should Choose a Clean Eating Lifestyle.

Clean eating is a lifestyle trend that has been growing in popularity over the past few years. Clean eating focuses on whole, unrefined foods rather than pre-cooked or processed alternatives. 

The alternatives tend to have much of their nutritional value removed as a result of making them last longer or cost less. Does your diet consist mostly of fast food or instant meals? Here are a few of the thing you can gain by adopting a clean eating lifestyle.

A Healthier Heart

Many whole foods can have a positive impact on your heart health. Nuts are high in heart-healthy nutrients such as vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. Almonds are particularly high in monounsaturated fats, which help lower the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood. 

Whole grains such as brown rice, oats, or whole wheat bread are also great sources of fiber, which helps your body to process cholesterol. However you do it, lowering your blood cholesterol levels lowers your risk of heart disease.

Less Risk of Diabetes

Sugar tastes great. Which is unfortunate, because it’s not a healthy part of your diet. Sugar provides what are called “empty calories,” meaning that it offers no nutritional value other than calories. 

Regularly eating too much sugar can also cause your body to build up an insulin resistance. This means that your cells are more resistant to insulin’s normal effect of transferring glucose into them from the bloodstream. Insulin resistance can contribute to the development of disorders including metabolic disorder and type II diabetes.

More Energy

Processed foods have a high glycemic index, which means that they are broken down quickly by your body. They give you a sudden, short-term burst of energy due to the spike in your blood glucose levels. However, these sudden bursts also mean sudden declines, which has the potential to leave you feeling sluggish and fatigued. 

Clean foods, on the other hand, tend to have a lower glycemic index. This means that they take longer for your body to break down and are a more stable source of energy over a longer period of time.

Expand Your Horizons

When you plan a menu around packaged or pre-prepared meals, you take some of the freedom out of your menu choices. It may not seem like this is the case, since there are so many different flavors and varieties of these packaged meals to choose from. But, there are countless recipes available from sources like cookbooks, cooking magazines and food-related websites. Look for recipes that stick to whole foods as much as possible. 

Clean eating is all about getting the nutrients that your body needs without taking in extras which may be harmful. Eating clean can help reduce the risk of kidney damage, heart disease, type II diabetes and a stroke. Whole ingredients may be a bit more expensive, but the resulting health benefits are well worth the extra cost.  

Dr S K Vidyarthi

Health blogger 

Diabetes - How to Recognize and Prevent Complications

Know Diabetes

Learning to recognize the complications of diabetes in yourself and others can save a life. Sometimes diabetes goes unnoticed, and until there's a complication, the person doesn't know he or she has diabetes. If a shrewd friend can see some symptoms before the complications hit, it may give the diabetic an edge on treatment. It's also a good idea to learn some of the signs and symptoms of complications and how to stave them off in yourself. 

Here are some tips to help you prevent and recognize diabetes complications.

Prevention

There are some specific actions you can take to help avoid complications and keep them from developing.

1. Don't smoke

Smoking is one of the worst things a diabetic can do. First of all, smoking constricts blood vessels, further complicating the compromised circulation that comes with diabetes anyway. Secondly, smoking increases diabetics' risk of cardiovascular disease and even vision problems. So a good step toward staving off these complications is to stop smoking (or don't start!). 

2. Take your medication regularly

To help your body stay on an even keel, it's a good idea to take your prescribed medication as directed. Don't self-medicate. If you want to change medications or try something different, make sure you do so under the care of a professional.

3. Regular check-ups

Getting regular physicals is important, but so are check-ups specifically for your diabetes. Your vision in particular should be monitored to prevent vision complications such as glaucoma later on. 

4. Maintain a healthy weight

Eating a healthy, diabetic-specific diet and getting enough regular exercise is key to maintaining a healthy weight. You don't want to crash-diet, but getting on track with the right foods and activity level is a good place to start. 

Recognition

Recognizing complications early can help, whether it's an urgent, short-term complication or a long-term one. Here are some tips.

Sources say that the body parts most affected by diabetes are:

* Eyes

* Kidneys

* Nerves

* Heart and blood vessels

* Gums

* Feet

Watching for abnormalities in these areas of the body is the first step toward recognizing any complications in that area. 

1. Neuropathy 

Burning, tingling sensations in the hands and feet, sharp night-time pain, and difficulty walking are signs of diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage). Swollen, red feet are also a sign of serious nerve complications.

2. Vision problems

If you have blurry vision, sudden losses of vision, what seems like flashing light or grey, drifting films across your eyes, it could be a sign of diabetic vision complications. Pain and pressure in the eye are also symptoms. 

3. Kidney complications

Diabetics are prone to kidney problems. Signs of kidney complications include fatigue, poor concentration, painful urination, and/or edema (puffy swelling) in the abdomen, around the eyes, or in the ankles and feet. 

4. High and low blood sugar

Symptoms of very low blood sugar may include nausea, extreme fatigue, confusion, emotional imbalance, and ravenous hunger. High blood sugar may cause excessive thirst, headache, and increased, frequent urination. High and low blood sugar need to be addressed immediately. 

The Best Foods to Eat When You Have a Viral Fever

Healthy diet for viral fever patients.

If you're feeling under the weather with a viral fever, it's important to give your body the nutrition it needs to help fight off the infection. Choosing the right foods can help boost your immune system and provide the energy your body needs to recover. Here are some of the best foods to eat when you have a viral fever:

Fruits and Vegetables

Eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is one of the best things you can do for your body during a viral fever. They are packed with immune-boosting nutrients such as vitamin C, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. Some of the best options include citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, as well as leafy greens like spinach and kale.

Lean Protein

Protein is essential for repairing tissues and building new cells in the body. Choose lean sources of protein such as chicken, fish, and beans, which are easy to digest and won't cause any digestive upset.

Whole Grains

Whole grains like brown rice and quinoa are excellent sources of complex carbohydrates that provide sustained energy to the body. They also contain fiber, which can help regulate digestion and keep you feeling full for longer.

Herbal Tea

Staying hydrated is important when you have a viral fever, but sometimes water can be difficult to keep down. Herbal teas like ginger, chamomile, and peppermint can be soothing to the throat and provide a comforting way to stay hydrated.

Probiotic Foods

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that help support a healthy gut microbiome. Eating probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut can help maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria and support the immune system.

Avoiding certain foods is just as important as choosing the right ones. Foods that are high in sugar, processed foods, and fried foods can all contribute to inflammation and weaken the immune system.

In conclusion, following a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and probiotics can help support your body during a viral fever. Staying hydrated with herbal teas and avoiding certain foods will also help your body recover more quickly. Remember to always consult with a healthcare professional if you have any concerns about your health or diet.

Relief from knee pain

Have you ever had a knee injury? Knee injuries are quite painful and people suffering from such a condition will immediately look for effective pain relief. Your knees are one of the most important body parts. If you encounter repetitive knee injuries or accidents, you should know about the various techniques to ease the pain. 

When you encounter any injury or accident, you must attend to it at once. You can use this technique which is more popularly known as RICE. ‘R’ stands for rest. You need to take a rest after you’ve cleaned the wound or injury. Place your legs in a relaxing position. ‘I’ stands for ice. Put ice over your knees. ‘C’ is for compression and it is important when you have a knee accident. ‘E’ stands for elevation so don’t forget to elevate them as well. 
A lot of pressure is exerted on the knees so you need to ensure that when you have a knee accident, the pressure is removed. Rest is vital if you want to relieve pain. Don’t even try to put your knees at work. Blood flow should be slowed down and you can do this by placing ice over the affected area. By doing so, you can reduce swelling. Get some bandage and put it over the injury. Don’t make it too tight. The healing process is also promoted through elevation. Try elevating your knees and you will notice that there is less pain. 
Repetitive injuries can cause progressive pain. You can get rid of the pain by taking pain relievers. Ointments and creams are also available without doctor’s prescription. Again, don’t remove the bandages because it will help in stabilizing your knees. The discomfort is already part of the injury but you can still reduce it to moderate by taking medicines.
You will need immediate professional assistance once you meet a knee injury. Consult an ( medical expert) orthopedic expert or a physiotherapist so that you will know what to do. Don’t take medicines without a doctor’s supervision because it might worsen your condition. The orthopedic physician ( physiotherapist)can teach you effective exercises and methods that can ease the pain of the injury. It may take a while before you can exert pressure on your knees again but it’s worth the wait; if you put your knees at rest, complete healing can come sooner. Always follow the doctor’s instructions and if you need to take medicines, take them on time and at the right dosage. 
You can’t do your routine activities if have a knee injury so make sure that you recover from it as soon as possible. Thanks to the modern technology of today, there are now countless medicines (natural and conventional), techniques, and other procedures that can speed up healing. 
Affected individuals should also be determined to get well. If you think positively and you’re doing everything to get rid of the pain, you will gain positive results. Your brain tells you when you’re in pain and to some individuals it’s all in the mind. While you’re trying to recover from the injury, don’t think too much about the pain because it will only get worse. Watch a movie, read a book, etc. but make sure that you maintain a resting position. If you don’t exert pressure on your knees, your knees will be in shape once more.

Dr S K Vidyarthi

Health blogger 
 

Chronic pain relief

Relief for Chronic Pain Naturally

Are you currently suffering from chronic pain? If your answer is yes, how do you relieve such pain? It’s natural for the body to look for pain relief when it is in pain or when it’s not functioning properly. Is there really a need to look for relief for chronic pain? This is a question that deserves a very good answer. 

All the techniques to relieve pain are based on the philosophy that in order to be an effective pain relief tool, it should be able to manipulate the body. Some examples are shakes and applying pressure in the affected area. 

People today are always busy and they don’t have enough time to rest. Most of their time is dedicated to work and other household responsibilities. Indeed, you need to tell your body to work doubly hard in order to earn good income but you’re also putting too much stress on your body. If this continues, you will suffer from chronic pain. 

Getting a massage every now and then can really make you feel good. But do you really think that if you force ‘pain relievers’ to your life, you will feel better?

Well, you’re wrong. There is no need to force the pain relief techniques. If you can manipulate the therapies or techniques to relieve pain, you can expect better results. 

People are already used to ‘doing’ something in order to achieve a certain goal. By doing so, people are stressed out which brings about chronic pain. It is very easy for people to forget that they are just human beings. 

Try to observe nature. What do you see? You can see birds flying, trees swaying, wind blowing, and plants growing all over the fields. As you may have noticed, these things happen naturally and no force is required. 

According to studies, people who suffer from chronic pain should forget about ‘doing’ something about the pain. So what can you do? You can try relaxation and meditation. However, you might find it difficult to do this especially when you’re feeling excessive pain. 

In every therapeutic or meditation process, it is vital for you to relax. To some individuals, the pain will become more evident when they are in a relaxed state. Try to find a position where joints are centered and your voluntary muscles are disengaged. Quiet your mind; don’t think about the pain. Feel the stillness around you. Soon you will realize that your body is no longer in pain. 

This idea may seem ridiculous since people are already used to ‘doing’. However, if you try it now, you will not lose anything. So what are you waiting for? If you’re suffering from chronic pain, find a comfortable position where you can relax. It would be best to do this at home. Lie comfortably and put your body at rest. Forget about everything and empty your mind of thoughts. Try to feel the silence and stillness. Think positively so that your brain will not think of the pain. 

Before you even think that this technique is not effective, try it out yourself. By the time you’ve finished this technique, you will notice that the pain is going away. Don’t expect immediate results. It may take some time especially if you’ve been suffering from chronic pain for a several years now. Just try to be patient because your efforts will be rewarded and there are no costs involved. 

Dr S K Vidyarthi

Health blogger 

Lower back pain relief

The work environment varies but in most cases, jobs require employees to sit all day on their desk doing tons of paperwork and other tasks. Sitting for a very long period can cause lower back pain. Just imagine that you’ll be sitting on your office chair for the rest of the year every day. It’s no wonder many employees suffer from stress and constant pain particularly on their lower back. This is the best time to choose an effective pain relief. 

True enough, sitting at the office is less strenuous as compared to hiking, biking, or traversing rough trails. Because of the sedentary lifestyle of many people, their bodies suffer greatly. According to studies, back pain is a very common condition and most of today’s workforce is suffering from it. With the cool atmosphere provided by the air-conditioning systems and limited body movement, the body is inactive all throughout the day. There may be ways to address pain on the lower back but most of them are not effective. 
People whose jobs are office-based tend to suffer from back pain which includes the lower portions of the back. The pain may be chronic especially to those who have been working at the office for a long time. New office-based employees are just beginning to feel such pain and if you don’t want the pain to last, you should make use of the appropriate pain relief. As you can see, lower back pain should be addressed at the soonest possible time for best results. 
There are lots of online and offline resources that can help you in addressing back pain. However, not all these stuff work. eBooks on pain relief are all over the internet and they offer possible solutions for your back pain. If one treatment doesn’t work, you can always try another one. Don’t resort to drugs and surgery. If you simply take time in looking for effective pain relief treatments, you will surely find one that you can afford and one that will work for you. 
Lower back pain starts with the muscles around the spine. When the muscles are weak or quite tight, you will feel pain. It is very important that you have good blood circulation as it can also bring about back pain. Even when you’re in the office, you should stretch up a little. Don’t just sit down. Try to move from time to time; stand up and stretch your arms. By doing so, you can reduce the tension on your lower back. When muscles are stretched and moved, it will not become too tight. 
You need to lie down on the floor and under your knees, you need to put pillows. Bend your knees and feet. By doing this position, the weight is taken off from your back. If your back still hurts, you should lie down in this position. Try to walk from time to time to get those muscles moving. 
If you feel muscle spasms, use heating pads. You can use it for 20-30 minutes. For additional relief, you can also try massages and ice packs. Some individuals take non prescription medications like aspirin, naproxen, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and ketoprofen. These medicines can reduce swelling and pain. 
Search for the best lower back pain relief that you can use at home or in the office. You can do the exercise; take medicines, and many others. The choice is yours. 

Dr S K Vidyarthi

Health blogger 

Alternative pain relief options

Certain drugs have undesirable effects and for this reason, a great number of individuals have second thoughts in using them. Here are alternative pain relief options for you. 

Ever since humans existed, pain is already a part of life. Pain also has varying degrees. An individual can suffer from emotional pain, physical pain, etc. It would be impossible to avoid pain all the days of y9ur life. You must accept the fact that pain is part of life but if you don’t want to use conventional medicine, you can always turn to alternative methods. 
Famous drugs can indeed help especially in the case of tooth extraction or when there is injury. Trademark medicines are numerous these days and there are also creams to relieve any kind of pain. For common pains, you can also use certain natural treatments and herbal supplements. 
What are the alternative options for pain relief? Well, here they are:
Massage – many years ago, ancient civilization was already using massage to get rid of certain body pains. Oriental traditions believe that at the center of the massager’s palm is an energy source that can immediately rid the patient of pain. Its efficacy has long been proven. Have you ever heard about infant massage? Mothers are encouraged to give their babies infant massage to relieve muscular pains. At present, massage therapy is already considered a profession. If you don’t want to take medicines, consider this an effective and affordable pain relief option. 
Acupuncture – this ancient science was first used in China. In this method, the acupuncturist inserts tiny needles to the ‘meridians’ found in the different parts of the body. You can find a lot of information about acupuncture on magazines, newspapers, and on the internet. If you want to choose this option, make sure that you contact a real acupuncturist to ensure your safety. Get only the professional. 
Herbs – herbs have healing wonders. Depending on the location and nature of the pain, there is always an appropriate herb that you can use. You can now find natural herbal supplements and preparations for ease of use. Minor pains can be effectively addressed using herbs.
Relaxation Therapy - you need to achieve deep relaxation of the mind and body. A therapy is now widely prescribed by some medical experts; examples are Reiki and Yoga. 
Even if you plan to use these alternative options, it is still important that you seek medical attention from a qualified professional. If you plan to turn to herbs, you need to consult an herbalist so that you can make the appropriate herbal preparations. The other alternative options also require professional attention so that you can ensure the efficacy and safety of such methods. It may take a while before you can see the effects but you need to be patient especially if you’re learning Reiki and Yoga. 
If you exert a little effort in learning the alternative methods, you can achieve desirable results. For centuries, people relied on natural ways to relieve pain. There is no harm in trying and if such alternative methods don’t work, you can always go back to using conventional medicine. Safety should always be your first consideration when using pain relievers. Who would want to worsen their situation right? So what’s its going to be – massage, acupuncture, herbs, or relaxation therapy? Choose now and experience a different way to get rid of pain.  
Dr S K Vidyarthi

Health blogger 

healthy weight loss 💖

 The Ultimate Guide to Healthy Weight Loss - Nutrition, Medical Science and Ayurvedic Diet Plans Explained

Introduction: What is Healthy Weight Loss?

Healthy weight loss is a process that involves making sustainable lifestyle changes to reach and maintain your desired weight. It's important to note that healthy weight loss isn't just about dieting or exercise; it's also about making small changes in your daily habits, such as getting enough sleep and drinking plenty of water. Healthy weight loss involves eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and making other lifestyle changes like reducing stress levels. These small changes can lead to big results over time, helping you achieve and maintain a healthy weight for life.

Nutrition-Based Diet Plans for Weight Loss

Nutrition-based diet plans are becoming increasingly popular among people who want to lose weight. These plans focus on providing the right balance of nutrition to help people reach their weight loss goals. By following a nutrition-based diet plan, it is possible to achieve sustainable weight loss and improved overall health.

Nutrition-based diet plans focus on providing adequate amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals in the right proportions. They also ensure that the calories consumed are balanced with physical activity so that excess calories are not stored as fat. This type of plan can be tailored to suit individual needs and preferences, making it easier for people to stick with it for long-term success.

Medical Science-Based Diet Plans for Weight Loss

Weight loss can be a difficult process, but with the right diet plan, it doesn't have to be. Medical science-based diet plans are designed to help you lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way. They take into account your current health status, lifestyle habits, and dietary preferences to create a personalized plan that is tailored to your individual needs. These plans can include meal plans, exercise regimens, and even supplements that are backed by medical research and proven to work for weight loss. With the help of medical science-based diet plans for weight loss, you can finally achieve your goals without sacrificing your health or lifestyle.

Ayurvedic Diet Plans for Weight Loss

Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine, offers a range of diet plans for weight loss. These diets are tailored to individual body types and help to balance the three doshas - Vata, Pitta and Kapha - that make up an individual's constitution. The diet plans include foods that are easy to digest and promote weight loss while also providing essential nutrients. Ayurvedic diet plans can be used in combination with other forms of exercise and lifestyle changes for optimal results. By following an Ayurvedic diet plan, individuals can not only lose weight but also improve their overall health and well-being.

Tips on How to Stick to Your Diet Plan & Achieve Your Goals

Eating healthy and staying fit is not easy. It requires dedication, discipline, and consistency. But with the right diet plan and a few simple tips, you can make sure that you stick to your diet plan and achieve your goals. Here are some tips on how to stay on track with your diet plan and reach your desired results.

Dr S K Vidyarthi

Health blogger

Many faces of stress

The Different Kinds of Stress

The Many Faces of Stress

Stress affects each individual differently, according to the cause and its effects. Therefore, there are different kinds of stress as recognized by clinical and research studies. It is important for an individual to recognize the cause of stress in order to know how to deal with it, and hopefully reduce stress levels. Moreover, each type of stress have different approaches to treatment. 

Basically, there are three known types of stress: acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. However, a fourth kind – psychological stress – is also becoming more prevalent and is considered as a legitimate type of stress.

Acute Stress

This is the most common form of stress, which results from the pressures one is subjected to in their everyday life. In small doses of acute stress, it can actually be beneficial to an individual. Think of athletes that are about to compete in an event. They experience acute stress, which triggers the production of adrenaline and giving them a burst of energy needed to perform their best. 

The symptoms for this type of stress are easily recognizable and mostly affects a person only in a short term. Common symptoms include back or neck pain, muscular tensions, headache, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, cold hands or feet. 

Episodic Acute Stress

As mentioned above, acute stress is quite common to most people. However, there are a few others who experience it more often than others. These people are the ones who are so focused on achieving organization and yet always fail when it comes to performance. Therefore, it is not surprising that they often become irritable, if not with themselves then their initial environment. This also explains why they find the workplace quite a stressful environment. 

Other forms of episodic acute stress are those people who keep worrying. They have become so pessimistic about the environment that they always project something wrong would happen. Hence, they end up feeling awful, tense, or anxious without having clear reasons for feeling that way.

Chronic Stress

This is the type of stress that wears one out. Plus, it builds up over time and can produce long-term effects on a person, whether emotionally or physically. Most forms of chronic stress are caused by trauma that they find difficult to let go and so it continues to disrupt their everyday lives. 

One problem with chronic stress is that people often believe that it is something that is innate to them and that they cannot get rid of. Thus, it makes treating this condition difficult because it is often ignored by the person affected by it. It can, however, be treated through stress management procedures and behavioral treatment. 

Psychological Stress

Stress has its own set of complexity. With the different types stated above, psychological stress concerns more of a person's ability to respond to a given situation. To be specific, the loss of that ability. During dangerous situations, your body produces hormones known as adrenaline and cortisol that prompts the body to make a response. 

Compare this to charging a battery that produces high voltage that must be discharged. In the case of a person suffering from psychological stress, the body fails to discharge that burst of energy that is produced. The continued raise in your heart rate and the production of adrenaline could result to fatal problems in your heart. 

There are several reasons as to how one acquires psychological stress but it can include trauma suffered from an emotionally disturbing event in the past or other emotional anxiety. The problem with people suffering from psychological stress is that they tend to induce more stress in their lives by subjecting themselves to stressful situations. Today, several groups hold counseling to help those who suffer from this condition and regain control over their life.

Stressful jobs

Stressful Jobs and Handling Them

Stress is always a part of work. However, there are a few naturally stressful jobs due to the type of service or the industry to which they belong. Given that you are subjected to these stressors on a daily basis, it is important for you to find means in order to reduce the amount of stress you had to deal with. This will help you achieve a more productive and healthier working environment. 

Medical Care Professions
Doctors, nurses, social workers, or medical assistants have an understandably stressful job. The nature of the job in itself is quite difficult, given that the health and well-being of others are put in your hands. Plus, there is an added pressure of their action potentially resulting to negative impacts to one's health. Therefore, so much weighing in on their job that there's almost no room for mistakes. 
One way to deal with stress is to identify its source, in order to determine the proper coping mechanism to employ. This will also doctors and other medical professionals to learn how to cope with the possibility of committing mistakes while on the job since that is one of the leading causes of reduced performance levels. 

Law Enforcement Jobs

As with the medical professionals, there are also a lot weighing on law enforcers. It is, after all, their responsibility to protect the community, maintain peace and order, and employ judicial efforts. That is aside from the personal security risks involved. 

You can eliminate or reduce stress in your profession by giving yourself a break in between. This will allow your body and mind to recuperate from the amount of work you'd have to deal with. Since law enforcers typically have a lot of work on their itinerary, having proper time management and organizational skills will also help you deal with stress. 

Teaching Professions

While there are a few who enjoy the teaching profession, it does reach a stressful level too. First off, dealing with a wide range of kids can be difficult, much more being able to successfully teach them. Inner city teachers are also considered being in a stressful job since these types of environments are rather harmful due to the high levels of crime known in these areas. On top of this, teachers are also expected to attain an emotional relationship with students as a vital aspect in learning. They are also under the close scrutiny of the community, which continually expects them to be role models in the society.

Teachers can deal with these stressors by trying these strategies: 

• Be flexible. This will enable you to adjust to the differences in your students' behavior and opening up more opportunities to build an emotional relationship with them.

• Set realistic goals. When you aim to teach your students something, you need to take it one day at a time. If not, then it will only frustrate you and lead to further stress. 

• Take care of yourself, whether physically or mentally. 

Jobs Involving Sales

This type of jobs are very stressful knowing that your employment lies on your ability to produce sales. Jobs involving sales therefore require you to meet high levels of standards and often requires you to deal with the public and their demands. Since most of the stress involved in this job is associated with the results, learn how to not focus much on the results. Instead, if you are really in line with sales, use your skills and creativity to get people to buy the products you are trying to sell. After all, potential buyers know how to spot hard sellers. And if you do end up one, you'd become all the more stressed out.

Telecommuting Jobs

This is one naturally stressful job description, from having to meet deadlines to taking care of multiple clients and their inquiries. One way to reduce stress is to examine ways in which you can produce more organization into your work. If you want to achieve more work in less time, you must try to keep off any type of distraction so you can work peacefully and at a pace that you like. 

Whenever you feel stressed out, give yourself a break and do some deep breathing. Another contributor to stress is when you force yourself to speed up the pace. Try to slow down once in a while, especially when most of your deadlines are self-imposed. The less stress you have with the job, the more productive you become. 

stress relief

Stress Relief for Work Overload

Dealing with too much work will most certainly contribute to the amount of stress you are already experiencing in the workplace. Much of the stress is rooted in the problem associated with managing the amount of work. It is probably the biggest source of stress for some, which entails heavy workload and long period of working hours. Hence, immediate stress relief will not do it. Instead, finding a long-term stress relief plan will enable you to cope and manage it. 

Stress and Work Overload

Any working individual have experienced work overload at some point. And yet, it impacts an individual greatly that he or she experiences stress and fatigue from it. While it is inevitable, its long-term effect is not good at all. 

When you begin to feel stressed out with a heavy workload or start to exhibit symptoms such as over fatigue, headaches, or muscular tension, then you need to identify the cause of stress. First, it can be produced by pressures from your boss or colleagues. Or it could be internal, which results when you put too much pressure on yourself to meet certain job expectations. Internal work overload is a more difficult problem to deal with because it is self-induced. 

There are certain methods that you can apply to relieve yourself off stress from having to attend too much work. 

Time Management

The source of stress related to a heavy workload is due to lack of time to be able to squeeze in all those work. Hence, you can use proper time management method as an effective stress relief for excessive workload. A heavy routine is definitely a culprit for stress at work, so you need to develop the method of how to maximize your time without stressing yourself out.

The best start to improved time management skills is a change of attitude. You need to be focused on results since this will affect how you execute your activities. Start off by assessing how you handle your time as of the moment. Were you able to maximize the value of time? Are you meeting your priorities and their deadlines? Unless you determine this, you cannot make that initial step towards change. 

Then, begin to organize your list of jobs according to the most important or urgent ones. By doing this, you'd never have to find yourself scrambling to finish something. Then, you can adjust your pace once you have accomplished those important tasks without any added pressure. 

Making a To-Do List

This is a very basic yet fundamental method that you can apply for yourself. However, its success only relies on your ability to strictly follow them. One way it can help you reduce the amount of stress by providing yourself assurance that you were able to focus on the important tasks first and complete them on time.

Making a to-do list is mostly important when you have multiple set of tasks to attend to. This is one way for you to get organized, since losing focus is inevitable. More than a reminder, it is a ready guide for you to consult to with regards to what needs to be done first so you feel less burdened by having to sort things out yourself.

Performing Job Analysis

Pressures from the job typically come from your desire to meet expectations, which ends up with you accepting workloads than in reality you cannot actually keep up with. Hence, you need to re-analyze your job description to determine exactly what is expected of you. Consequently, you will also be enlightened about what your job priorities are and specify exactly what activities you need to fulfill. 

Only then will you regain control over your work, instead of slaving yourself with it. If you are so keen on making an impression on your boss, you need to understand that stress relief must be your focus. After all, stress can impact your job performance and reduce your level of productivity.

Stress and Your Health

Dangers of Stress

Stress is a constant part of most people's lives. And although it is quite common, it still needs to be addressed given its impact on an individual's health condition. When you experience stress, your body produces chemical changes in your brain that could also affect your health. 

While some sources of stress are temporal, there are those that are produced over a long period of time so that it builds up. Before you know it, it becomes so serious that it affects your health in various levels. Even if you do not have any existing health condition, it can actually enhance your risk of developing them. 

You can exhibit the following symptoms of stress, which eventually contributes to the health problems associated with stress:

• sleeping troubles

• lack of energy

• tension

• headaches

• depression

• anxiety

• high blood pressure

• pain in the back or neck

• weight loss or gain, etc

Stress Related Illnesses and Conditions

Continued research is being done to show more of the impact that stress has on one's overall health. But despite of this, there has been several scientific claims linking stress to several health conditions from backaches, to insomnia, and chronic fatigue syndrome. 

When a person experiences stress, it produces chemical changes in the body that consequently alters some biological processes. For instance, some women who had to deal with stress in their lives suffer abnormalities in their menstrual cycle. Others miss their menstruation, while some suffer from abnormal bleeding. Aside from that, stress could also result to hormonal imbalances that cause symptoms for fibroid tumors and endometriosis to exhibit. 

Heart disease is another common illness associated with stress. It intervenes with your cardiovascular condition such that people with stress can suffer from conditions like heart attacks, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and stroke. Other common illnesses suffered by highly stressed individuals include fatigue, emotional disorders, headaches, ulcers, IBS, infections, colds, and lowered immunity system responses. 

Taking Care of Your Body

Having known the impact that stress has on one's body, it is then important to take all the necessary steps to not only combat stress but also keep yourself free from any type of illness. Some people are too consumed with stress that they fail to pay attention to their body. Be more sensitive to your body and health needs. 

The following are helpful tips on how you can handle stress and improve your health:

• Take time off work to relax. Give your body a chance to recuperate.

• Get enough amount of sleep, especially if you are going to work excessively during the day.

• Eat well. Include enough amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet, as well as proteins. 

• Engage in a physical activity during your free time. Working out releases endorphins in your system, which is why it improves your mood. 

• Never resort to unhealthy methods of dealing with stress, such as drugs, smoking, or alcohol.

Seeking Professional Help

When stress begins to concern your health, it is important to seek professional guidance on the matter. The case is more important when stress has affected your health to a large extent. Indeed, there are professionals that can help you deal with the situation and overcome stress so your health can recover as well.

But a person can be too consumed with their stressful situation that they fail to recognize when help is necessary. The following are symptoms of too much stress and requires immediate professional attention:

• sleeping problems due to anxiety

• suicidal thoughts

• loss of appetite often leading to weight loss

• feeling of isolation or desire to be isolated from other people

• high irritability

Stress and Time Management

Time Management and Stress

Stress that is related to work are often brought about by lack of proper time management skills. With too much activity, one never have enough time to attend to work responsibilities within the alloted time, thus resulting to a stressful working environment. This applies on either small or complex projects, therefore careful planning of your schedule is crucial. 

Therefore, for individuals who had to constantly hold projects and manage their schedules are ones often subjected to a lot of stress. Plus, there are several factors involved in the planning method that are uncontrolled or cannot be prevented. All these add up to the level of stress that one had to go through. Therefore, stress management and time management are typically addressed side by side one another due to their interrelation with one another. 

Avoiding Time Wasters

When you talk about stress concerning proper time management of your activities, it is usually about your aim to increase productivity, whether at the office or school. Although stress is often a good stimulus to have in order to drive you towards achieving more, you need to also look at managing your time properly for higher productivity.

Below are some factors you need to avoid if you want to make the most out of your time and reduce stress at the same time:

• As with anything, there will always be a source of interruption. Learn how to deal with those interruptions effectively to save you time and you can get back to doing what you had to.

• Make sure to carefully plan out what you need to do and how you do it. This will make it more convenient for you later on when you have to execute your plans.

• If you are working with other people on a project, having proper delegation skills is crucial. This involves your ability to share the workload to people. But more than just sharing workload, it also involves your ability to determine which people are best suited to perform specific tasks for higher efficiency.

Symptoms of Poor Time Management and Stressful Life 

Effective time management can definitely do so much to change a stressful life and also boost your level of productivity. To get started on an efficient time management technique, one must find a strategy that he or she can use then adapt for a few days until he or she has become accustomed to it. Eventually, you will find it second nature once you got used to your new schedule. 

But the more important step towards making that change is recognizing whether you have poor time management skills that can lead to a stressful life. Here are tell-tale signs that you need to revise your time management methods:

• When you easily become irritable in the middle of doing your task.

• When you constantly end up feeling over-fatigued.

• When you have trouble concentrating on what you need to do. 

• Inability to track your activities and keep in tab.

• Inability to sleep well at night due to anxiety or unexplained worries.

Improving Time Management and Productivity

Proper management of your time often directly translates to increased productivity. Therefore, this should be one of your priorities if you want to reduce the level of stress you have to deal with on an everyday basis. Try out the strategies below and see if it fits you.

• Plan your daily activities. When you list down the set of activities you had to do for a given day, rank them according to the most important ones to avoid rushing your work.

• Never agree to doing other works when you have already scheduled other important activities prior to that.

• Practice the ability to delegate tasks properly so you would not have to do the major chunk of work.

• In between your tasks, take time to evaluate whether you are spending your time efficiently. If not, then switch to another more effective plan...and quickly!

• If possible, avoid any form of distraction.

• Give yourself a break. This will reduce stress and increase your productivity. 

Relaxation Techniques for Stress Management

Relaxing in the Midst of Stress

Stress management is an important practice that most people nowadays need to learn. With a fast paced working environment, people are constantly subjected to tremendous pressure that result to unpleasant levels of stress in their lives. You need to be able to cope quickly with the amount of stress that you have to deal with since it produces several negative effects on your body in mind. 

First off, stress can cause your performance to drop because of your inability to focus on the tasks at hand. Stress can also affect your health and body. Oftentimes, stress can escalate into depression or anxiety. Relaxation is one of the best techniques used to cope with and reduce the symptoms of stress. Relaxation methods have been utilized for stress management during ancient times and they prove to be as effective today. Therefore, learning how to relax in the midst of too much stress in your everyday life will mean a world of difference. 

Starting a Relaxation Practice

As with anything, starting a relaxation practice is often the biggest hurdle that people are faced with. Once you begin to notice that you seem to quickly lose energy and constantly change your mood, then maybe it's time to re-evaluate yourself because this can be all caused by stress. There are several relaxation activities that help combat stress in your life whether as simple as deep breathing, stretching or meditation, to more advanced relaxation methods such as yoga or tai chi. 

To experience the full benefits of such relaxation methods, you need to take time each day to perform them. Only then would you be able to harness its relieving power so you can benefit from stress relief. It does not have to take so much of your time each day, maybe at least 10 minutes to as much as 20 minutes is enough for stress management. 

For better success at developing this practice, take note of the following tips:

• Determine a given schedule for each day when you can perform these relaxation exercises. If possible, schedule once or twice a day, whichever is most convenient for you. Then, make sure you follow your schedule strictly.

• Refrain from scheduling your relaxation practices near bedtime since you're sleepiness could get in the way. 

• Never opt for an exercise method that could stress you out all the more. Find a level of practice that are most comfortable and feel relaxed with. 

Stress Relief Through Deep Breathing

This is one of the easiest and simplest exercise you can perform to achieve stress relief. This would allow fresh air to get into your lungs. To perform effective deep breathing, follow these methods:

• Sit straight with one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.

• Breathe through your nose, enough to make your stomach rise. Make sure that your chest produce little movements. 

• Use your mouth to exhale and push the air out with as much force as possible. 

• Repeat the same process. Take note of the rise and fall of your lower abdomen. 

Muscle Relaxation, Yoga and Meditation

For further stress relief, you can perform different relaxation methods that involve your muscles and mind. In muscle relaxation, your objective is to tense and relax the various muscle groups in your body. To do this, find a comfortable position and start by taking slow and deep breaths. Then, create tension on your body by squeezing them tightly while counting slowly until its time to let go. Focus on the release of the tension in a specific body part until you feel relaxed. When doing this, start from foot and eventually move upwards. 

Yoga and meditation are also two other techniques used in stress management methods. These are associated with slow and steady movements, as well as gentle stretching. This practice is best for relieving tension in the body and mind, which is why it is recommended for stress relief practices. 

Overcoming Performance Stress

What is Performance Stress?

Performance stress is one of the most common sources of stress in the workplace. With a working environment that constantly subjects its employees to a given set of standard they'd have to meet, the amount of pressure can lead one to question his or her abilities on a given task. There's always this feeling of not being good enough in the standards of the company. 

This is especially true when one has scheduled to make an important presentation for the company. Before the actual presentation, one experiences a sick feeling on the stomach. Sometimes, the pressure is too much that one's performance is impacted during these situations. For those who are incapable of dealing with the level of stress they are subjected to in these situations, the importance of coping and overcoming performance stress is more important to maintain your ability to deliver within the company's standards.  

Performance Planning

Whether you are taking part in small or big events, creating a good performance is always important. One of the best ways to ensure that you perform well for a given project or task, you need to come up with a performance plan. This will serve to outline what you need to achieve and how you are going to do it.

The Performance Plan will include a list of things that must be accomplished since it will be useful during the performance. Here are basic performance planning tips, covering the physical and mental aspects of it:

• Check every aspect involved in your performance so you can make necessary adjustments in case some parts do not contribute to better performance;

• If there is some travel involved, arrange them in advance;

• Verify whether you have all the items and objects you need;

• Come up with an alternate plan in case anything goes wrong at the steps you have previously outlined;

• Keep your mind focused at the task at hand and as much as possible never entertain distractive thoughts. If possible, anticipate them before they happen so you can come up with a plan to counter its effects. 

Reviewing Performance

One of the best ways to ensure that you always perform at the top of your level is to constantly aim for improvement. This is one way to combat performance stress knowing that you always re-evaluate your own standards when it comes to job performance. By doing a performance review, it gives you the opportunity for the next performance so you can do better. 

Planning and reviewing your performance is a good technique to follow for effective stress relief. If possible, you can ask your superior or fellow officemates for opinion that you can use to improve your performance. Performance stress typically originates from your tendency to question your ability (or inability) to succeed at a given task. When you increase your confidence about your performance, you'd also be able to combat stress that is involved with it. 

Creating Proper Mindset

Establishing a mindset that will effectively help you before, during, and after a performance will help get rid of the stress it brings. To find relief from performance stress, you can try the following:

• Learn how to take criticism well. Instead of developing self-pity, utilize your mentor or co-worker's opinion as a pointer for areas in which you can improve your performance on.

• Never aim for perfection. While it is a good fuel, you must rather focus on the steps you need to make instead of the end result. This will also help you be able to have fun with what you are doing, which is another way to relieve yourself of performance stress.

• Comparing yourself against your fellow workers will not help your cause to get rid of performance stress. Instead, focus on where you are and where you intend to go.