Whilst headaches are an unfortunate common occurance for many people, once you have an understanding of their causes, the remedy for curing them does not have to be medicinal, but a natural method that will provide your whole being with benefits beyond that as a cure for headache pain.

In general, it is difficult to pinpoint the precise cause of an infrequently occurring muscle tension or vascular headache, but sometimes the anatomy of the headache—how it starts, where the pain is felt, and how long it lasts—provides valuable clues about its source.

Originally, it was accepted that there were just two simple explanations to thew source of headache pain. Vascular, such as migraines, occurred when blood vessels that supplied the brain and muscles of the head and neck dilated or were constricted. Tension headaches were thought to result from the tensing and contracting of muscles of the head, face, and neck in response to physical stress, such as injury or emotional distress.

However, it is now understood that there are complex chemical changes in the brain associated with pain. Tension headaches are associated with neurochemicals in the brain —varying levels of serotonin, endorphins and other chemicals that serve as neurotransmitters (substances that nerves use to send messages to one another) helping nerves to communicate.

These chemical changes observed in headache sufferers may cause, or be caused by, muscle tension. It is possible that tensed muscles in the neck and scalp may trigger a headache in someone with altered neurochemical levels or, on the other hand, the neck and scalp muscles may be tensing in response to these neurochemical changes. The rise and fall of these chemicals are thought to not only activate pain pathways to the brain but also interfere with the brain’s own capacity to suppress the pain. By adopting the benefits of massage therapy, muscle tension can be eased thus reducing the causes of headaches.

As headaches often result from or involve pain referred from problems associated with the bones and muscles in the neck, shoulder, and back, massage focusing on the cervical spine (the vertebrae in the neck behind the skull) can help to relieve headache pain. Shiatsu massage, a Japanese technique in which pressure is applied with the fingers, thumbs and palm to acupuncture points, also may help to reduce headache pain. Another therapeutic touch technique that seems to help sufferers is known as the Trager Approach. This techniques uses massage to literally stretch the body’s muscles and joint in order to enhance relaxation.

Some tension headaches may be relieved by a specific form of massage therapy called trigger point therapy (TrP). Trigger point therapy is the application of pressure to specific points such as along the trapezius muscles (the muscles extending from the base of the skull to mid-back located along the spine) and sternocleidomastoid muscles (muscles on either side of the neck). This pressure interrupts the nerve signals that not only cause the headache pain but also create the trigger point. This massage therapy aims to relieve pain and to re-educate the muscles so they assume healthy positions and postures that do not generate pain. The beneficial effect of massage therapies to manipulate the body’s muscular structure is now a recognised method of natural treatment for the causes of headaches. Whether a full soothing body massage or therapy concentrating on the back and neck, facial or head, the techniques used can reduce stress levels and improve blood circulation leaving the person feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/massage-a-natural-cure-for-headaches-606447.html

Obesity is the most commonly found word in health magazines nowadays and is no secret that many people all over the globe are getting more concerned about their body fat and flab. There are many diseases that kill people and we do know about these diseases. Till a few years back, few people knew that body fat too was a silent killer, lurking in the body of countless people. Research has shown that most people who are fat beyond a certain limit are prone to getting heart attacks apart from a myriad of other diseases, making obesity the third biggest killer worldwide, only behind cancer and aids. This is just the tip of the iceberg and in the near future this problem of obesity might well become the number one killer worldwide unless steps are taken to control it.

You might not agree, but maintaining a healthy body is now a must. Most people are afraid that if they go in for various treatments they might loose their health and hence they do not bother to go about for a specific fat loss regime. Did you know that if you just walk briskly for a few minutes every day, it helps you remove the extra flab in your body and this is a healthy fat loss method for you, exercising many parts of your body too? There are people who go in for sauna treatments to reduce the excessive fat in their body. Though this does help, this is not the ultimate way to lose weight and should be followed up with other exercises. The eating habits, too, should be changed.

The modern generation has grown up eating fatty food. The potato chips that you eat every day are one of the major sources of body fat as are the other fast foods that you consume. Taking a proper diet helps a lot to ensure that body fat does not build up. It makes no sense to go in for fat reducing exercises or consuming fat loss pills and at the end of the day eating these junk foods that replace back the fat that you have lost. Reducing fat is not tough and a few simple routine exercises that can be fun too go a long way in helping you to maintain a slim body. Just jog for a few minutes in the morning. This is one of the best ways to burn away the extra fat in your body.

This is best done in the morning. You can follow this up by walking briskly for a few kilometers in the evening. While there are pills and supplements that help you to reduce your body fat, there is nothing that can replace the natural method of reducing fat. Ask your physician and they will help you to chart out a proper exercise routine. Prevention is better than cure, hence try to reduce your body fat when there is still time and age is on your side. Later on it might become too late.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/fat-loss-the-easy-way-615561.html

High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. For example, currently, over forty-three million Americans suffer from high blood pressure. It has also been said that something like ninety per cent of Americans who haven’t got high blood pressure soon will unless the appropriate lifestyle changes are implemented. ‘These facts and figures generally reflect the rest of the western world.

There are three reasons for high blood pressure:

1.Atherosclerotic plaque; fatty deposits lining the inner walls of the arteries, which obstruct blood flow cause high blood pressure.

2.Acid wastes deposit on the inner walls of blood vessels. Because the vessels become narrower, blood pressure has to increase in order keep the same vital blood supply as before.

3.Because of too much acid waste, high blood pressure is caused by a lack of oxygen supply.

Sadly, the above root-causes are not addressed by orthodox medicine. High blood pressure patients are given drugs like lotensin, mevacor or procardia… These drugs work by inhibiting calcium channels. This weakens the heart. In effect, less blood is then pumped out: Hence the blood pressure gauge reads lower than before. But the weakened heart muscle is less able to give vital blood supply to areas of the body: The target organs get less oxygenated blood than before, so side effects start to kick in such as dizziness, sluggishness, fatigue, impotence, loss of memory, mood changes, and depression…

However, with a real commitment towards a healthier diet and lifestyle, this condition may be reversed. ‘This is where the underlying root-causes of high blood pressure can dealt with.

Here are my Seven Steps For Lowering High Blood Pressure: They have no order. As long as all are implemented then success will be yours.

1.Eliminate or reduce acid causing foods from the diet. Certain foods, when eaten, give rise to an acid ash residue when absorbed into the body. There is much information online that distinguishes these foods.

2.Eat more alkaline ash foods. Information on these types of foods can be found online. Alkaline water is also a good option. ‘These factors alkalise the body.

3.Garlic, onions and beetroot are excellent blood pressure lowering foods, which indeed, can be eaten regularly. Other foods include those containing vitamin C and folic acid.

4.Get plenty of vitamin D. Sunlight is an excellent form and pays dividends…about twenty minutes a day will suffice.

5.Exercise. About half-an-hour a day. This lowers high blood pressure, improves cardiovascular function as well as loses weight.

6.Learn to handle stress. For example, meditation has shown to significantly lower blood pressure.

7.On perhaps a more miscellaneous level, get electro-acupuncture. This has shown to greatly reduce blood pressure. Chelation therapy is also effective.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/learn-seven-steps-for-lowering-high-blood-pressure-615903.html

The Top Strategies For Losing Weight In This Lifetime…

By: Mark Battalini

Before you go on any diet you really need to ask yourself the following questions:

- do I really need to go on a diet, or do I just need to be a little more disciplined about my eating habits?



- would doing the minimum extra regular workouts make more sense than not working-out at all, but eating less?



- If I go on a diet, is my body going to be receiving sufficient minerals and vitamins to sustain itself?

Here’s why all the questions.

Large numbers of people go on diets that don?t really need to do so, they are doing so simply to comply with some warped belief that the world expects everyone to look thin.

In fact, it could be quite counter-productive to go on a diet, if your body is not going to be receiving its required vitamins and mineral intake to replace those naturally lost during the day.

As a result of the above, before you decide to go on any diet, you might benefit from knowing that the most successful people at losing weight are not necessarily those who go on crash diets, but more likely those who increase (or start) their regular exercise program and eat more healthy meals a day.

However, if you are thinking of embarking on a diet, don?t risk doing so and risking further harm to your body without making sure you take vitamin and mineral supplements to replace those lost during a normal day.

So with that in mind, what diet plan you choose will ultimately end up either making or breaking your results…

So let’s find out what kinds of diets MOST people are familiar with, and why the “MAINSTREAM” diets or fat loss diets aren’t always the best choice.

What I mean by that is your typical dieting system or plan boils down to these three styles of diets:

-low fat diets



-low carbohydrate diets



-low calorie diets

Up first:

“Low Fat Diets”

Here’s a good example of why low fat diets don’t always forward you the results your hoping for and why you may need to consider an alternative dieting system.

Low fat diets have been in the mainstream for a really long time but if you look statistically speaking, more and more people in our society are getting more overweight year by year. With that fact alone it should tell you that just a low fat diet is not going to be the answer or end all be all to your weight loss issues. Why it’s definitely not a bad start, consuming a purely low fat diet is not the answer to your weight loss concerns.

Up Second:

“Low Calorie Diets”

Trying to lose weight using a Low Calorie Diet STRUCTURED Plan is a sure fire way of failing even quicker than using a low fat diet plan. The problem with using a low calorie diet in and of itself is that you will do your body more harm than good. Simply stated, by using this type of method for weight loss all you?re doing is slowing down your body’s fat burning capabilities which destroys all chances of losing weight. (You can lose weight using the low calorie method but all you’ll lose is probably a few pounds of weight loss for the first few days, after that all weight loss stops — this is known as a dieting plateau). You can never get slim by not eating and starving yourself.

Last but not least?

“Low Carbohydrate diets”:

Although the popularity of the Low Carb diet has definitely hit the mainstream of dieting fads at super warp speed this is probably one of the HARDEST ways of trying to lose weight. The problem with Low Carb diets are that they are to regimented and tough to follow for the average dieter. As well they tend to deplete your system or body of too much energy (carbs) which in essence makes it almost impossible to stick with that type of plan for any length of time. Hence, another failed attempt.

So where do you go from here?

There’s one system I have been fortunate enough to discover that has been working for me just fine.

It incorporates a structured balance between dieting and real world living.

In other words let?s face it, dieting is no easy chore. But if you want to get ahead of the curve (no pun intended) you need a system that you can incorporate into your everyday lifestyle and still be able to achieve the results you want. As well without wanting to strangle the poor bastard in the cubicle next to you for doing absolutely nothing just cause you?re so irritable because you?re STARVING TO DEATH!

And you definitely don?t need some fluffed up un-achievable, un-realistic diet plan system that has you starving all day long and is no way intended for you to succeed. In actuality the only thing it EVER succeeded in doing was costing you money and making you a complete train wreck for the short period of time (hopefully for everyone around you) that you were on it. (Oh yeah, it also makes the fat cat shareholders at these big dieting corporations a lot more richer too!)

If you want a personal recommendation for discovering a diet plan that works, that is TOTALLY REALISTIC and ACHEIVABLE and doesn?t make you the FBI?s most dangerous (for irritability) check out fat loss for idiots dieting system. I?ve personally tested this product and I can say that without a doubt it makes more sense to me than any other plan I?ve attempted or read about thus far to date.

What I liked the most about fat loss for idiots is it?s straight forward no B.S. style weight loss strategies about getting back to a healthier you and stop wasting time on every diet plan out there (not to mention your money) and to stay focused, take action and make it happen.

It?s a real world solution for a real world problem.

So if you’re ready to discover The ?Ten Idiot Proof Rules? to Dieting and Fat Loss, and you?re ready to find a perfect Dieting Method for losing 9lbs. every 11 days. Then you need to unveil a True Powerful System that will change the way you think about eating. I recommend and encourage you to visit this webpage and learn everything you?ll ever need to know about losing weight and keeping it off once and for all!

Quite honestly, if you?ve ever even considered wanting to lose weight in this Lifetime than you need to go here now and see for yourself what Fat Loss For Idiots can do for your life and you?re health.

All The Best,



Mark Battalini

Article Source:

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7153.shtml

Why Going Under the Knife is the Last Resort to Weight Loss

By: Mary Watson

So you’ve tried every diet going and you’ve tried all the pills, patches, potions and hypnotherapy programmes and still nothing has produced the desired results. You’re now desperate to the point of suicide, but you have some money put by for an emergency. Money can buy just about anything right? But, can it buy you a new body?

The answer is yes!

But before you seriously consider putting yourself at the mercy of the surgeon’s knife, let’s look at this drastic action in more detail.

The most common form of weight loss surgery is the gastric band, which will set you back around £8,000. Undoubtedly, the gastric band is a highly effective weight loss surgery procedure used to help overweight people achieve significant and long-term weight loss.

Basically, it’s a an inflatable silicone ring that is placed around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach with a small opening to the rest of the stomach. The band controls the amount of food that passes from the stomach into the digestive tract.

The object is to make you feel satisfied on much smaller amounts of food and digestion is slowed down, making you feel full for longer periods and resulting in weight loss.

A major benefit is that the band can be adjusted if necessary and can be kept in for life, ensuring that you never again become a victim of over-eating and obesity.

It’s obvious that weight loss surgery works better than weight loss drugs or diets but what are the risks? There are some risks with this kind of surgery so doctors will usually only recommend it after you’ve tried several other ways of losing weight. Even then, surgery is not suitable for everyone. For example, your doctor may consider surgery too risky if you have heart or lung problems.

Another quite common surgical weight loss procedure is a gastric bypass, which will cost in the region of £11,000.

Known as a Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass, this is a highly effective weight loss surgery procedure.The operation creates a small stomach pouch in the same way as the gastric band. This is then attached to a section of the small intestine. Food then bypasses the rest of the stomach and some of the intestine. This results in you being able to consume a significantly reduced volume of food.

It is the most common form of Bariatric Surgery and is a proven method of weight loss. When combined with a supervised diet, increased physical activity and a change in behaviour habits, it can lead to long-term weight loss with all the associated health benefits.

It differs from a gastric band as it has a 2 way weight reducing effect, both restricting food volume and reducing the amount of calories the body absorbs. Also, gastric bypass surgery is preferable to some people as it does not require any adjustment, making it more convenient if you live some distance from the hospital or do not want to attend for adjustments.

Although the long-term benefits of gastric bypass surgery appear to outweigh the short-term risks, the immediate risks associated with gastric bypass surgery to treat obesity may be much higher than was previously thought.

A recent study shows that the risk of death within the first 30 days after gastric bypass surgery is at least four times higher than previously reported, and much of that risk was attributable to the surgeon’s inexperience. Subsequently, the risk of dying within 30 days of surgery is about 1 in 50.

Is that a risk worth taking? I suppose it all depends on just how desperate you really are. Well, no matter how desperate you are you should always try every alternative method first. Like the much cheaper and no-risk herbal remedy option.

With this option you won’t need to spend your life savings on surgery and you won’t have to risk your life to lose the excess weight.

Article Source:

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7095.shtml

Understanding The Kinetic Chain – A Personal Trainers Guide To Movement Dysfunction Part 1

By: Dax Moy

In this current era of ‘functional’ training, core stability and balance-oriented training it’s easy to get carried away with learning what I call the ‘HOW’s’ of exercise.

HOW to balance on a swiss ball, HOW to integrate movement patterns and HOW to devise exercise programmes that have a high transfer into ‘real life’ situations.

After all, these are FUN elements that demonstrate a greater application of knowledge, skills and abilities to our clients. Or do they?

Interestingly, when asked, many of my students (all qualified personal trainers and therapists) had little real foundational knowledge of what makes their exercises ‘functional’ beyond “they have a carryover into real life”.

I call this a ‘lack of WHY?!’

This ‘lack of WHY’ is a ‘disease’ of almost epidemic proportions within our industry and one which, in my opinion, will keep us from ever reaching professional status if left unchecked.

Simply put, too many fitness instructors are prescribing exercise based upon the latest trends, personal preferences and outright exercise mythology.

This is like visiting your doctor and being prescribed medicine based upon ‘it works for me so let’s give it a go’. I’m sure that you wouldn’t be too impressed if this happened to you, but what about your clients?

What kind of ‘professional’ service are they receiving?

The aim of this series is to provide you with the WHY’s necessary to make your exercise prescription much more than a ‘hit and miss’ process and plant your feet firmly on the road to professionalism.

We start our journey with posture, the foundation from which our function, and ultimately all personal training is built.

What Is Posture?

According to the American academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons posture committee as far back as 1947, posture is:

‘That state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects the supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity, irrespective of the attitude in which these structures are working or resting. Under such conditions the muscles will function most efficiently…’

The key to the above statement is Balance, for it is balance or it’s antagonist imbalance that appears to be one of the major influences in creating structural deformation resulting in pain.

Indeed there is much evidence to suggest that chronic imbalance can result in Postural Distortion Patterns that can perpetuate the cumulative injury cycle. This appears to make sense, especially if the kinetic chain concept is applied to the equation.

The kinetic chain is best described as a movement system consisting of myofascial (muscular), Articular (joints) and neural (motor) components with each being dependent on the others for optimum performance, both statically and dynamically. This movement system requires precision of movement based on the alignment and mechanics of each joint as well as how these joints are recruited to create a movement pattern.

In simple terms, the movement produced at any joint in the kinetic chain directly affects the joints above and below it. Dysfunction in any one of these systems may have direct and detrimental effect on the function of its neighbours.

Clearly then, there is much to concern ourselves with when prescribing exercise and stretching programmes to our clients, as every programming decision we make will affect the systems of the kinetic chain. This is obvious of course, but have you ever stopped to think of it in this way before?

Now ‘understanding the WHY’ becomes much more important doesn’t it?

Why Do These Imbalances Occur?

Firstly, we are ALL imbalanced to some degree, even if our posture is considered optimal (we’ll talk about this later). This is because there is actually an inbuilt ideal imbalance between the muscles crossing any joint e.g. Knee extensors/flexors, plantar flexors/dorsiflexors. This is simply a reflection of the functional roles of these muscles and beyond the scope of this article.

The muscle imbalances that we must concern ourselves are those that create alignment distortions that affect structural function. These can be caused by but not limited to:

Postural Stress

Living, as we do, under the force of gravity has created a structure, which seems to have placed the ideal imbalance in favour of our extensors; after all, structure determines function.

Unfortunately, modern living creates a ’synthetic’ environment where sitting dominates our function and as a result affects our structure.

For simplicity, it is useful to think in terms of postural stress as ‘training for posture’.

Imagine ‘training’ 16 hours/day 7 days/wk for a specific event. You’re probably going to get very good at it aren’t you? Well, most people get very good at ‘bad’ posture!

Many posture experts tend to use VladimirJanda’s ’short and tight’ vs. ‘long and weak’ classification system (8) as a way of simplifying the processes that create and result from postural distortion and often classify muscles as ‘tonic’ and ‘phasic’.

This oversimplification tends to ignore individual differences in terms of ‘normal’ posture as well as making assumptions based purely on static posture.

When a muscle becomes facilitated (not necessarily ‘just’ short and tight) it increases in ‘tone’ and may decrease the neural drive to its antagonist. This is known as reciprocal inhibition and is a normal quality of the kinetic chain.

However,it becomes a problem when muscles that are supposed to be ‘turned off’ during a movement sequence remain ’switched on’. This has the effect of creating a situation known as synergistic dominance, where synergists are forced to take on the role of a prime mover due to inhibition.

Pattern overload

Using our ‘training for posture’ analogy above, it becomes clear that any movement pattern repeated often enough has the potential to create strain upon the tissues creating that movement.

This may create stress patterns in the joint structure, leading to arthrokinetic inhibition where the joint itself causes inhibition of the surrounding tissues or lead to synergistic dominance as an avoidance pattern.

It is important that the stresses applied to our joints be changed regularly through changes in exercise, loads, planes and ranges as well as changes to postural alignment, if pattern overload is to be avoided.

Painful or prolonged noxious stimuli

Injury to a joint creating swelling and/or pain may activate the type 4 joint receptors (nociceptors) that are receptive to these stimuli. These receptors are capable of creating arthrokinetic inhibition in order to protect the joint from further damage.

Lack of core stability

This has been indicated as a possible cause postural distortion and pain. We all train for mobility but how many of us train for stability?

Just how much spinal flexion strength do we need in this vertically loaded body of ours?

Probably not that much! Simply stabilising the platform that our spines work off seems to improve the function most of the clients that I work with (myself included).

Other problems occur here when the tone/strength of Rectus Abdominis is greater than that of the Erector Spinae. Again, reciprocal inhibition and synergistic dominance have the opportunity to ‘take root’.

In Conclusion

Our postures are often the only clear indicators of the forces acting upon our bodies. More importantly, they illustrate our ability to cope with those forces.

A clear understanding of WHY muscular imbalance and postural distortion occur is fundamental to every exercise that you will ever prescribe.

With this knowledge of WHY, it becomes easier to see HOW, WHEN and WHERE to apply exercises and stretches to your clients in order to bring about functional and aesthetic improvement.

When, and only when, you can do this you will truly be applying personal to your training.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2 of this series will examine postural types and how to assess them both statically and dynamically.

Part 3 will examine manual muscle testing and Range of Motion assessments.

Part 4: Putting it all together. Programming for postural improvement.

Article Source:

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7142.shtml

Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Health

By: Mary Watson

The choices you make are important to healthy living. If you are one of the many people who has begun to think about what lies ahead for you, it?s time to begin to look toward doing something about it. The choices you make now and in the future will determine how well you will stand up to the perils of life as you approach your senior years. By taking the time to learn some ways you can improve your life now can help you live longer and healthier.

Eating a Healthier Diet

Most of us are guilty of not eating foods that are good for our health. We develop poor eating habits at an early age, and we tend to put off making changes that will improve our well being. We may make small changes when the need for losing weight is important or during a time when certain foods may take a tool on the way we feel, but it takes something major for us to really make a change in the way we eat. The problem is that quite often by the time we make the decision to make changes, it?s too late for them to make a difference. We must begin early in life to develop healthy eating habits, and we must continue those habits through out our lives.

Develop an Exercise Routine

Exercise is an important part of remaining healthy. If you don?t have an exercise routine already, you should develop one based on your own abilities. Even if you are only able to walk around the block a few times a day, you will be doing something that is good for your body. No matter what the condition of your health may be it?s important to exercise on a regular basis. Aerobic exercises such as walking, swimming, skiing, and bicycling are best, and you want to perform your routine long enough to increase your heart rate.

Reduce Stress

Stress is always an important issue, but as we get older, it begins to take a greater toll on our health. It?s important to learn to reduce stress levels before they cause severe health problems, and the best time to do that is when you are still young enough to fight the impulse to allow stress to consume you. Even every day conditions such as asthma, allergies, and even colds and hay fever can be caused by stress. Stress can cause the immune system to break down, and when that happens, it is ripe for many different conditions and illnesses.

Maintain a Proper Weight

In order to stay healthy, you need to keep your weight within normal range. If you are overweight, you will have less energy and thus be unable to exercise or even do household chores. Excess weight also puts a strain on your heart and makes you more likely to have a heart attack. Of course, maintaining a proper weight falls in directly with the other methods of developing a healthy lifestyle since you need to exercise and eat healthy foods in order to maintain a proper weight. Since many people have a tendency to overeat when they are under stress, keeping that in control can also help you keep your weight within normal range. Although some recent evidence suggests that being up to 10% overweight is healthier than being 10% underweight, it is healthier to be as close to a normal range as possible.

Making the choice to change your lifestyle is essential if you want to live a healthy and pain free lifestyle. There is no substitute for healthy living, and healthy living comes from making lifestyle changes that affect your complete body and mind. Only by making those important changes can you expect to live a normal, healthy life into your golden years.

Article Source:

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7088.shtml

Blow Away Your Dandruff

By: Darren Brent

Do you suffer from itchy scalp but embarrassed to scratch in public?

Do you have hair loss while you always have white flakes shedding on your clothes?

You are not alone as there are millions like you who suffer from Dandruff. Understanding what this skin disease is and how to combat it effectively is the only solution. Dandruff is the name given to the shedding of skin on the scalp, and appears as white flakes in the hair causing discomfort. Although our skin sheds dead cells and renews itself every fortnight, the word dandruff refers to the unsightly shedding of dead skin which is known to be caused by a fungus. The common symptoms are itchy scalp and white flakes visible in the hair and surface when you scratch.

Dandruff is usually two fungi, Malassezia Furfur and Pityrosporum ovale, that reside in the human body. The fungus sometimes creates an imbalance, so that the renewal of skin cells leads to an overload of dead cells being shed. Most of the dandruff shampoos which claim to reduce dandruff contain Zinc Pyrithione and Nizoral. However, the more chemical you apply to your skin, the more the chances of an adverse reaction increase. In the case of an allergic reaction, consider trying out natural and herb based shampoos, which can contain the growth of dandruff.

You will need to wash your hair very frequently with these highly chemical based shampoos to curb the spread of these fungi. The main function of anti dandruff shampoos is to wash away and remove the dead skin cells faster than they can be shed. This is the only way to keep your scalp healthy and clean. Anti Dandruff shampoos contain strong chemicals which break down oils and contain fungicides to kill the microbial and fungi growth for cleaner hair and a healthier scalp. Lemon, orange, basil, papaya, cloves and other citrus fruits contain astringents that help keep the scalp clear of dead skin.

Applying herb based oils containing Lemon have concentration of anti fungal properties. Lemon oils are used to treat skin allergies which occur due to intense oil production. Lemon has a unique quality of sapping away excess oil which helps to eliminate acne and dandruff. Washing your hair after oiling it well with coconut oil is also known to benefit curbing dandruff. You can also condition your hair using eggs, once a fortnight as egg is known to give a beautiful shine to your hair.

Article Source:

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7136.shtml

Top 10 Reasons Why you should NOT \”go\” on a Diet

By: Holly Rigsby

The only thing growing faster than the $65 billion diet industry is the American waistline. If one of your New Years resolutions was to Go on a Diet, the only place I guarantee you will go….is up in weight.

It’s a Fact – Diets will only make you fatter.

When it comes to the latest in Diet fads, we are quite gullible and easily tempted by a Diet’s empty promised. Reason being….the diet industry KNOWS we are in search of the “quick fix” and will only play with our emotions – our desperation for the quickest way to relieve looking and feeling fat.

Diets are nothing more than Temporary Solutions with many lingering, negative side effects.

Here are the Top 10 Reasons Why you should NOT “go” on a Diet

1. Diets do NOT work.

Diets have a 99% Failure Rate. Have you noticed a pattern yet? Lose weight….quickly regain it? Over time, studies show if you diet you are more likely to be overweight than people who eat normally and make small gradual changes to their lifestyle. No, the Law of Averages does not apply to this faulty system.

2. Dieting can be Dangerous.

Any time you severely restrict the amount or types of foods you eat you put your health and life at risk. Dieting has been related to injuries and sudden deaths from electrolyte imbalance, malnutrition, and heart arrhythmia’s. Weight cycling, or yo-yo-ing weight, is associated with higher death rates – especially if some type of pills are being used. At no point should you ever place weight loss above your health.

3. Dieting Destroys your Metabolism.

Diets will cause your weight to quickly cycle up and down. Sure, you may lose weight quickly because you are simply not eating enough. In the initial stages, the first seven to nine pounds lost are water, presenting a real danger of dehydration and mineral deficiencies. Even more terrifying ins the break down of lean muscle due to inefficient nutrients and calories. If you are losing more than 3-4 pounds a week, you can be sure this is what is happening – very little fat is lost this state.

Now, any muscle loss will cause your metabolism slow to a crawl. The cumulative effect takes place for you cannot survive very long on very low calories (1200 or less) and you will eventually eat more – on top of a slower metabolism. All those excess calories will be stored as fat – causing rapid weight gain.

4. Dieting is Exhausting.

Diets are just reduced calorie Fads disguised by a clever gimmick. “Lose weight while you sleep” “Eat all you want and still lose weight” Not eating enough or cutting out certain food groups means your body may not be getting the energy it needs, or may lack certain nutrients. You will feel exhausted, light headed and experience some not-so-fun mood swings.

5. Dieting is Disruptive.

Dieting negatively affects your normal eating patterns. Diets can lead to binge eating, overeating and chaotic eating. When you diet, it is common to override your internal signals telling you to eat. You end up trying to use willpower or resist hunger signals and may even go as far as taking appetite suppressants. This results in being unable to know when you really are hungry or wore….when you’re full.

6. Dieting can lead to eating disorders.

Experts state that the high rates of eating disorders in the U.S. are due in part to people dieting, losing weight, rebounding, and becoming chronic dieters.

7. Dieting Causes Food Obsessions.

If you spend a large amount of time and energy depriving yourself of food or certain types of food – you will spend more time thinking about food and become obsessed attempts to control your weight by what you choose to eat or not eat. How long do you want to live like this?

8. Dieting Diminishes Women.

There is way too much attention focused on our appearance and an arbitrary number on the scale. In the midst of this focus – we end up avoiding what really matters to us – our dreams and ambitions. Even worse, it erodes our confidence and self-respect.

9. Dieting Intensifies Negativity.

If you diet, you are more judgmental and critical of yourself and others. Once again, wasted time and energy.

10. Diets Put Your Life on Hold.

Does this sound familiar….”I’ll be happy when I weigh “x pounds.” Guess what, the issues in your life are not related to your weight. Take responsibility and take back control of your life. Decide to be happy now and do what it takes to live a lifestyle that reflects your priorities.

So this year resolve to NOT go on a Diet. Set Yourself Free from this miserable, guaranteed to fail weight loss cycle. Do NOT let the diet industry make money by taking advantage of you. It is time to stand up for yourself and take control.

Article Source:

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7161.shtml

A Simple Plan to Diagnose and Treat Low Thyroid Function

By: Mark Hyman, M.D.

It?s an epidemic problem — and you could have it.

Low thyroid function affects more than 30 million women and 15 million men. And it can lead to problems losing weight; decreased sex drive; depression; anxiety; thinning hair; and poor quality, thick, cracked fingernails.

So what?s responsible for low thyroid function and why are so many people affected?

Chronic thyroid problems can be caused by many factors, including environmental toxins such as pesticides, which act as hormone or endocrine disruptor\’s and interfere with thyroid hormone metabolism and function.

In one study, people released pesticides from their fat tissue as they lost weight.

This interfered with their thyroid function and caused hypothyroidism. The toxins slowed metabolism and prevented them from losing more weight.

This study is significant, because it shows exactly how toxins interfere with thyroid function.

Heavy metals such as mercury can also affect thyroid function. I see many people with chronic hypothyroidism and other thyroid problems because mercury interferes with normal thyroid function.

The other big factor that interferes with thyroid function is chronic stress. The more stress you are under, the worse your thyroid functions. Correcting poor thyroid function must address the effects of chronic stress and provide support to the adrenal glands.

The next major factor that affects thyroid function is chronic inflammation. The biggest source of this chronic inflammation is gluten, the protein found in wheat, barely, rye, spelt, and oats. This common allergen affects about 10 to 20 percent of the population. This reaction occurs mostly because of our damaged guts, poor diet, and stress.

I also think eating so-called Frankenfoods, such as hybridized and genetically modified grains with very strange proteins, makes us sick.

Our bodies don?t recognize these foods and create antibodies to fight them. This chronic inflammatory response interferes with thyroid function — and contributes to the epidemic of inflammatory diseases in the developed world.

Lastly, nutritional deficiencies play a big role in thyroid dysfunction. These include deficiencies of iodine, vitamin D, omega-3 fats, selenium, zinc, vitamin A, and the B vitamins.

There are so many reasons for low thyroid function, yet conventional doctors tend to ignore them.

One young female patient of mine had more than 30 percent body fat and was unable to change her body, no matter how hard she worked. She ate perfectly, exercised with a trainer every day — and her body still wouldn?t budge.

She also had a slightly depressed mood and other vague symptoms.

So I treated her with a low dose of Armour Thyroid, which is a natural thyroid replacement.

What happened?

Well, she not only lost 20 pounds and improved her body composition, but her mood improved and all her other symptoms went away.

I knew she had low thyroid function because I did the right tests.

Most doctors just check something called the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which doesn?t give a full picture of the thyroid. In fact, even the interpretation of this test is incorrect most of the time.

The newer guidelines of the American College of Endocrinology consider anybody with a TSH level over 3.0 as hypothyroid. Most doctors think that only anything greater than 5 or 10 is worth treating.

Unfortunately, this leaves millions suffering unnecessarily.

Other tests, including those for free T3, free T4, and thyroid antibodies, are essential.

I also look for associated problems such as gluten intolerance, food allergies, and heavy metals, as well as deficiencies of vitamin D, selenium, vitamin A, zinc, and omega-3 fats.

Low thyroid function is one of the most common problems I see, and treating it properly makes one of the biggest differences in my patients? quality of life.

Unfortunately, by using the old guidelines and thinking, conventional medicine misses millions who suffer with hypothyroidism.

In fact, in one study, researchers tested everybody who walked through the gates of a county fair with conventional thyroid testing. They found that according to even conservative conventional standards, half of all the people who had hypothyroidism were undiagnosed, untreated, and suffering.

Once you have confirmed that a sluggish thyroid is contributing to your symptoms, the good news is that there are many, many, many things you can do to help correct thyroid problems.

I have developed a seven-step plan to address hypothyroidism:

1. Identify and treat the underlying causes of hypothyroidism, like food allergies, gluten, heavy metals, nutritional deficiencies, and stress.

2. Support your thyroid with optimal nutrition, including foods that contain iodine, zinc, omega-3 fats, selenium, and more.

3. Eliminate adrenal exhaustion and minimize stress by engaging in a comprehensive stress management program.

4. Engage in thyroid stimulating exercise, which boosts thyroid function.

5. Use supplements to help enhance thyroid function, including all the nutrients needed for proper thyroid metabolism and function.

6. Use saunas and heat to eliminate stored toxins, which interfere with thyroid function.

7. Use thyroid hormone replacement therapy to help support your thyroid gland.

I believe a comprehensive approach is needed to address chronic thyroid issues and to diagnose them. Most of the options for healing by conventional care are quite limited and only provide a partial solution. But by following my seven-step plan you can achieve optimal health and UltraWellness.

Article Source:

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_7155.shtml