Jane Thurnell-read asked:


Here are some quick health tips and information. Choose one and put it into practice straight away. When that’s part of your life, add another one. Small steps lead to big changes:

Reduce the number of times you go to the supermarket. The more often you go the more you are likely to buy unhealthy food. Eat something before you go to – research shows you buy more when you’re hungry.

A bath made by adding 4 or 5 drops of chamomile oil, or several cups of chamomile tea is relaxing and can help dry, itching or sunburnt skin.

Eat garlic, leeks and onions for the probiotics they contain. These feed the healthy bacteria in our guts.

Watercress contains 12 times as much vitamin C as lettuce and more iron than spinach. Eat some today!

Most people take 3000-4000 steps a day. For the sake of your health (and your weight) you should be taking at least 10,000. Buy a pedometer and get walking.

Some migraine sufferers find that the supplement Coenzyme Q10 reduces the frequency of attacks.

Eating processed meat products such as bacon, sausages and smoked ham increases your risk of getting stomach cancer.

Research has shown that water plays a vital role in our immune systems ability to fight infection, making those who drink sufficient less likely to suffer from flu and colds. A cheap health tip – drink more water.

If you are giving up smoking or cutting down on alcohol, change the routines that are associated with these activities, just for a while.

If you suffer from stress incontinence, learn how to do pelvic floor exercises. They work for both men and women.

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine researchers have found that men carrying a few extra pounds in early adulthood nearly double their chance of developing painful knee and hip osteoarthritis later in life. Want to get fit, eat more healthily, lose weight? Find a buddy who wants to do the same things.

Drinking tea with meals increases your chances of suffering from anaemia as tea decreases the absorption of iron.

The American Chiropractic Association says: When standing, keep one foot slightly in front of the other, with your knees slightly bent. This position helps to take the pressure off your low back.

Try valerian tablets if you can’t sleep.

An Israeli study found that those who suffered from job ‘burn out’ were twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. Your job is important, but so are you.

Eating pumpkin seeds has been shown to be good for the prostate. They’ve got a great taste too – add them to salads or just eat them as they are.

Don’t take health advice from unhealthy people. It has been estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 patients in the USA die each year as the result of medical mistakes. Speak up if you are concerned. Be actively part of the process.

Gum disease has been linked to an increase in heart problems. Bizarre as it may seem, flossing your teeth and seeing a dental hygienist may help prevent heart disease.

Symptoms can be nature’s way of telling us something is wrong. When you just try to stop the symptoms, you may be killing the messenger?

Eckee asked:


A person’s health will always be its greatest asset. Ask anyone and he will tell you why I always prefer to want material things, it has always been blessed with good health. The importance of Good Health should be taught to children while they are still young so that when older, and have come accustomed to a healthy lifestyle.

Some parents give their children everything and let them eat unhealthy foods. That the reason they can allow their children to eat whatever they want because they are still young and have all the time in the world to look after their health when they grow old. This seems to be a mistaken notion, because a child lives by what has been taught since I was a baby. Thus, a child who was raised eating unhealthy foods will always have a yen for this type of food, even when it is already an adult.

Every responsible parent should teach their children the general health advice that children should live, and when they become older. Training children to live and the right to eat healthy foods can make a difference in how to care for their health later in life. It is always wise to teach children to drink plenty of water instead of carbonated drinks, while they are still young. Water is an elixir of health. Drink plenty of water can do wonders for the skin and overall health of a person.

Every child should be taught the value to start the day by eating a healthy breakfast. A healthy child who has proper nutrition and exercise for better performance in school than a child who skips breakfast and exercise. Sanitation should also be part of health councils, which must be given to children. This should include regular washing of hands with soap and water. This practice can minimize the transfer of bacteria when children are playing dirty with the sick or playing with objects.

However, parents should also ensure that children have completed the shooting of vaccination at an early age. They also ask their doctors for new vaccines that can be given to children to prevent the spread of new diseases. Even parents need to practice these tips to serve as General Health as good examples for their children. It is foolhardy to teach children to practice the same things when the parents do not preach.

It is also a good idea to undergo annual checkups to ensure that there is nothing wrong with the person. Thus, diseases are easily detectable and can be treated at an early stage before it worsens.

While there are diseases that are transmitted genetically, a person should always take care of your health and your family by hitting the boards of health.

There are other things you can do to lead a healthy life, but the important thing is to be conscious of what you have to do and what one must avoid to keep a healthy life.

Tracie Johanson asked:

At any given moment, millions of people in this country are on a diet. From Weight Watchers to the South Beach Diet to the newest diet pill, folks are trying anything and everything in an effort to write their own weight loss success story. Unfortunately for those seeking fast weight loss, the vast majority of weight loss programs on the market today simply do not work.

Diet plans and diet products that offer quick weight loss without exercise are especially prone to failure. “In fact, nearly 95 percent of those who go on low calorie diets regain their lost weight, plus some, within five years. Not a resounding endorsement for low calorie dieting” (Source: Performance Press; April 2006).

That’s not to say that all the weight loss tips and diet tips are without merit, however. Tips on losing weight can have a powerful effect when they’re combined with regular exercise. That’s why we’ve created this list of the top 10 health tips for easy weight loss.

Is weight loss easy? Not usually, and the reason is that most people try to make huge changes all at once. Pumped up with commitment and willpower, they jump into the latest weight loss product or diet program with both feet. They make too many changes in too short a time period. Drastic lifestyle modifications are rarely sustainable, and all too often lead to failure. If you’ve been living on junk food for years, trying to switch to a healthy diet overnight will only make you feel frustrated and deprived.

A much better approach is to make small changes that you can stick with for life. So check out the sound advice you’ll find in our top ten list, and you’ll get the weight loss information you need for success.

** 1) Our first bit of health advice is to skip the super size option. In this tip we’ve assumed that you visit McDonald’s once per week. That may a low average for some of you, so keep in mind that if you’re eating fast food more than once per week the results you’ll achieve by following this tip will be even greater than the example shows. We’re not asking you to give up fast food completely (small, sustainable changes, remember?). Instead, we’re asking you to say no to the SuperSize portion. Just by ordering a ‘regular’ McDonald’s meal instead of the SuperSize option, you will lose almost 6 pounds of fat this year! Want even more good news? This example only factors in the french fries. Add in the calorie savings you’ll get by drinking a regular soda vs. a SuperSize soda and the results are truly amazing.

** 2) The second recommendation in this fitness advice guide is to eat 5 – 6 smaller meals per day. “Eating small meals causes a lower blood sugar response than large meals. A high blood sugar response provides you with quick energy, but it is associated with a large insulin release that tends to cause a blood sugar ‘crash’ soon thereafter. Many small meals taken throughout the day will normalize blood sugar and insulin levels, providing a sustained and consistent energy supply to the cells. A meal every three hours or so is recommended.” (source: Fitness, The Complete Guide; 2001; page 8.4)

A note of caution here, however: This health tip does not mean that you eat 6 big meals per day. Instead, you should take the amount of food you’d normally consume and spread it out over six meals instead of the usual three. For someone on a 2,000 calorie per day diet, that would translate into 333 calories per meal x 6 meals.

** 3) The next tidbit of expert advice is to know the numbers. Everyone on a weight loss plan should know, at a minimum, how many calories they should be consuming every day. This number is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), also commonly referred to as the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) or simply the Burn Rate. Although your doctor can help you calculate your BMR most accurately, there are some resources that can assist you in estimating your number.

Your BMR is your ‘calorie target’, assuming that you wish to maintain your current size and weight. For the best fat loss results, cut calorie consumption moderately…..say, 500 below your caloric target.

If you’re seeking fat loss, then it’s important to also understand that body fat percentage is one of the most important measurements of fitness. All the medical advice agrees that reaching your ideal body weight is best achieved through permanent fat loss (as opposed to muscle loss). With this in mind, this health tip for easy weight loss is to know your BMR and your body fat percentage, along with the corresponding goals.

** 4) It’s good advice to know the difference between cheat food and junk food. Cheat foods are those foods that don’t belong in your everyday diet, but still have some redeeming qualities. Junk foods are those foods that don’t belong in your diet at all, ever.

This tip is really a critical one: Understand the difference between ‘cheat’ foods and ‘junk’ foods. Cheat foods have some nutritional value, so although we shouldn’t eat them every day it’s not the end of the world if we enjoy them from time to time. Junk foods, on the other hand, give us absolutely no benefit whatsoever. Again, we want you to make small changes that you can stick with for life. You don’t have to give up the occasional ‘cheat food’ treat – just try to eliminate all the ‘junk food’.

For example, compare a slice of Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza with a Hershey’s chocolate bar. Neither are what you’d consider healthy, and both have roughly the same number of calories. But with the pizza, at least you’re getting some nutritional value because that delicious slice contains 11 grams of protein compared to just 3 grams in the candy bar. Cheat foods are not health foods, but at least they’re not junk foods. Choose wisely.

** 5) When you’re trying to lose weight fast, some sound advice is to chart your progress. What gets measured gets done, so charting your fat loss progress is a simple step that will help you get motivated and stay motivated. Create a chart for each challenge you face, whether it be working out or dietary habits. The important thing to remember is that there is no right or wrong way to chart your progress – what works for you may not work for anyone else. So come up with your own system, create a tracking chart, and post it where you will see it several times each day.

** 6) Do not decrease your caloric intake far below what is required of your BMR, or you risk forcing your body into starvation mode. “Do not under-eat by too much. If you consistently eat way too little, your body will start to think it’s in a starvation state and for the initial period, weight loss and fat loss may become harder than anticipated. After a while of severe underfeeding, instead of preferentially burning fat for energy, your hard-earned muscle will be burned for energy” (source: Fitness Rx; February 2004; page 93). So if healthy weight loss is your goal, and you only want to burn fat while you preserve your valuable muscle, then take great care to not starve yourself.

** 7) Don’t shop when you’re hungry. Shopping when you’re hungry is asking for double-trouble, and eliminating this bad habit will help you lose fat by removing temptation from your home. Shopping while full greatly reduces your chances of impulsively buying sweets and treats. This allows you to shop with your brain and not your stomach. Skipping all the extra fattening foods will make one thing fatter, however…..your wallet.

** Take (at least) 20 minutes to eat. Once you start eating, it takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that you’re full. The problem is, many of us eat so quickly that by the time our stomach has had the chance to send that message we’ve already put down more calories than we needed.

Here are a few ways to solve this problem: a) Drink a large (8 or 12 oz.) glass of water 20 minutes before each meal. b) Physically put your fork down between each bite. c) Enjoy your family. Have a discussion that stretches out the length of the meal. d) Serve the meal in courses, starting with a large salad.

** 9) Have a treat once a week. If you deprive yourself of all treats, then you’re just setting yourself up for failure. “Being too stringent on a diet can beget a downfall. To prevent this, once a week, for one meal, have your favorite foods” (source: Fitness Rx; February 2004; page 96).

One of the major reasons people fail in their fat loss efforts is that they adopt the all-or-none mentality. When the attempts to stay away from all treats fail, it’s easy to think ‘Oh well, I’ve already blown my diet. Might as well eat another slice’. Planning a weekly treat will help curb those cravings, making a binge less likely.

** 10) Be inefficient. Make extra work for yourself. Take two trips to bring in all the groceries from the car, even if you can do it in one. When running errands, park as far away from each business as possible. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, even if you’re carrying something. In short, be inefficient. “Being inefficient in this way can easily double your activity level and you’ll be burning calories without even trying” (source: Fitness Rx; February 2004; page 96).

Remember that walking burns about 108 calories in 30 minutes. Small walks count too. Even if you don’t have time to walk 30 minutes in one session each day, shorter walks that add up to 30 minutes will still burn that same 108 calories.

If you’re looking for the best weight loss program available, give these health tips a try. With a little effort, you may just put that weight issue to rest once and for all.