Water Therapy

In a recent health update, water therapy (hydrotherapy) is becoming a more common type of physical therapy to use in healing the body and mind. It provides patients with an option to heal less painfully, without the gravitational pulls on their bodies to bring them down. However, this therapy technique has been used in ancient times-centuries ago.


When I first got my German Shepherd puppy, the vet told us that he had problems with his back legs, and recommended we send him to get hydrotherapy for dogs. Major rehabilitation centers are now using water therapy as their major technique in healing and exercise. I also heard about people that are overweight and have other physical illness, use hydrotherapy as their main way of exercise to reduce pain and be more effective.

E. Coli Season Alert!

Every year, April through September has been known as E. Coli season. So start being aware of your food, especially ground beef, which has been a frequent carrier of E. Coli in past years. Scientist have yet to figure out why warmer weather causes E. Coli to break out. Just this week, the USDA started working toward improving the government's ground beef testing, to try to prevent future break outs of E. Coli.

Hopefully, this E. Coli season will prove to be more successful and preventative than the previous years. I do not know anyone personally who has had this infection, however, I am aware that it is a problem that causes many deaths and sickness in the United States.

For more information about the upcoming E. Coli season, click here.

Four Signs of Hunger

According to Health Day News, people can sometimes think they are hungry when they are not. Here are four vital signs to tell whether you are actually hungry or not:

1. Stomach growling
2. Hunger pangs in stomach
3. headache/hard to concentrate
4. grumpy/bad mood
   

Anybody could have guessed the first two signs, but I do not think I would have come up with the second two on my own. Who knew being hungry could give you a bad mood and headache? I sure didn't.

Medpedia.com

Medpedia.com is a very new, long-term making, beta website that has potential to be the world's best place to get your medical information. Although its still in the producing, feel free to check it out and see what is available for use already. In includes input and help from many colleges and universities, medical professionals, and various medical organizations. The goal of medpedia.com is to create a new model view of how the world analyzes, critiques, maintains, assembles, and accesses the health systems. I'll have you know, this is a universal website.

Personally, I hope it works. When I visited the site and looked around for awhile, I saw the five star graphics and descriptions that seemed so professional. It was so fast and easy to get the correct medical knowledge that I wanted. Knowing that its a reliable source is also a plus.

14 Kids: One Mom

On January 26th, 33 year old mother, Nadya Suleman, gave birth to a set of octuplets, while already having 6 children to take care of at home. She has been given the name Octo-Mom by many tabloid and news pieces. And lately, has been attracting many curious reporters.

When I first saw this picture on the news -quite awhile ago- I thought about doing a post on it, but never go to doing it until now.

As I researched into Suleman's story, I found that she has her own website, that mainly asks for donations to support her children. Is she trying to make people feel bad for her? This was her decision to get pregnant from a sperm donor using vitro fertilization. I have also read that the police know who Suleman is, and have visited her house for various reasons. Some say she is mental, others say she is greedy, but most are just too shocked to speak. The main deal is, this mother may have wanted kids thinking she could provide for them, but while under huge financial debt already, this was clearly a bad choice that cannot be undone. For more recent updates and details read more recent articles.

Good For Health and Weight Loss: Herbs

Herbs are known to be healthy for your body, but which ones are the best?
According to healthnewsjournal.com, here are the top 5 healthiest:

1) Garlic- Apparently, it contains Allicin, which is known to kill cancer cells and tumors. Its also known for helping to decrease risk of heart disease. Who knew?
2) Turmeric- I had no idea what this was until i read about it, but it seems to be a popular herb from India, also used in teas in Japan. It has possible health benefits for fighting Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and liver disorders.
3) Green tea- Ever since ancient times, everybody knows its supposed to be healthy. It helps cure headaches to depressions. (But from personal experience, it doesn't taste very good.)

4) Hoodia- This herb grows deep in the Kalahari Desert, on African soil. It can be used a diet supplement, aiding you to feel fuller after eating.
5) Ginseng- It protects the liver from toxins, helps reduce cholesterol, improves circulation, increases memory, strengthen lungs, nourish body fluid, and calms the spirit. How do we know this? Its the most widely studied herd throughout the world.

America Loves...Potatoes?

Potatoes seem to be continually topping the list of what Americans eat most frequently. According to a news update from HealthNewsDigest.com, almost half of the American nation eats potatoes fours days a week.

At first, this seemed surprising to hear. But when I thought more about it, I realized that potatoes are mashed and baked and sliced with butter and/or sour cream for a quick and easy meal. Of course, there are also french fries, a food commonly eaten and loved by any true American. Potatoes have grown to be such a needed part of an average persons life. No wonder why our society allows kids to play with a mr. potato head toy.

Feng Shui: For Your Heath?

In recent years, feng shui has been a term used in America, mostly by interior designers, to try to get people to spend money on rearranging their rooms in their homes, thinking it will rearrange their lives also. However, it's actually an ancient art science meaning "wind-water", and developed in China over 3,000 years ago. It teaches people to balance the energy (chi) in any given space to insure good fortune and health. (Meaning, its a cleaner and not as cluttered version of your room before you spent all that money redesigning it.)

In English, its pronounced fuhng-shway, and is utilized by a bagua (below) to maximize the enhancement of energy througout the room. By enhancing the energy, it is told that the person's life will also be enhanced.

This type of health is natural and mental. If you really believe in it and go all out with it, it should satisfy you. However, I dont believe it's really nessary if you dont have the time of money to redesign and rearrange the right way. A recent news article talks more about how feng shui is being used in American more as a health feature than a design feature.

Obama's New Stimulus Package Has an Effect on Health Care

Obama signed the stimulus package today in hopes to build back the day-by-day slowing of the economy. The stimulus package also included the health care hope of $1.1 billion going toward comparing and analyzing treatments for many different illnesses to determine the effectiveness of them on their patients. For more on the stimulus package's imact on health care see visit this health news site.

I hope this part of the package will help people realize Obama's intentions in already trying to change the way America's health care plan runs in his first hundred days. Clearly, I am an Obama fan so I hope what he is doing really gets past those tough republicans and is understood and accepted by the American people.

Nurse Shortages

There has been a report of a shortage of nurses with the harshness of the economy kicking in as the months go by. Since the shortage is having an effect on many hospitals all over America, nurses fresh out from school are being thrown into the job with little instruction and supervision, therfore causing them to quit their job and try something else.

I think this is a great oppurtunity for students at the highschool/college age who are still determining their futures to choose to take a nursing career now and get proper schooling for it now, so that if times get worse, the demand for good nurses will be higher, possibly making the average salary higher. Every hospital is going to start needing nurses, especially if the government starts picking up on the problem. Without nurses doctors and hospitals cannot properly function. I know some nurses and I know that they are doing the best they can with the shortages, despite what outsiders say about them.

Wii Fit

A news article released today states that playing the Wii Fit could potentially help senior citizens prevent falling, by improving their balancing skills. Doctors say falling is the biggest cause of accidental injury related death from older people.

So, when doctors tried to find something to decrease the risks of falling for seniors, they found expensive medical fitness equipment, but could not get funding to spread it. After searching again, they found that the Wii Fit was very similar to the expensive stuff, but on a much cheaper scale.

The Wii fit seems pretty enjoyable to me, and if it seems to work as a good fitness tool, as many people have said it does, then why not try it? Its affordable, entertaining, and health-friendly. Whats not to like?

Budokon: Way of the Spiritual Warrior

Okay, the title seems a tad different from what you would expect to see in your typical health blog, if you are unfamiliar with this type of exercise. Yes, budokon IS a type of exercise that is getting more and more popularity every week. It has been popping up in magazines and health articles all over the place lately, and is also Hollywood's new technique of getting slimmer, so I figured I'd say something about it. Supposedly, its a mixture of meditation, pilates, yoga, and martial arts, and healthnews.com is calling it a new "miracle exercise". Personally, I think its only getting popularity because its new, not because it works any better than the already "invented" exercises going around. Everyone just needs something new to say, or something new and improved to work towards, (not that its any better). People seem to be getting more boring as the years go by.

Eat Smart: Decrease Calorie Intake for Another Reason

Everyone is always saying that the number one way to lose weight is to simply limit daily calorie intake. But does that statement drive you enough to actually do it? Psh, it wouldn't for me.

As I was searching for a recent article on the limiting of calorie intake, I came across an interesting article explaining another reason to cut the calories. The article mentioned a test group, over a 90 day period, that took in various calorie amounts. As it turned out, the group who lowered their calorie intake not only lost several pounds, but also averaged about a 20 percent improvement in memory function.

It seems pretty believable, actually. I bet many people are going to think more about how many caloires that take in, especially since good memory is not something most people today have.

A Cure For Asthma?

In recent researches and observation, the dust mite has been found to trigger asthma attacks. The Executive Director of the American Asthma Foundation says that they knew dust mites caused it, but until now, they did not know why it was so strong. This research was funded by the American Asthma Foundation's Strategic Program for Asthma Research (SPAR). The investigators found that house dust mites trick the immune system into believing that it is facing a bacterial infection. While unaware, the immune system mounts a strong allergic response to the mites, a response that can trigger asthma attacks.

I find this interesting that a cure for asthma is on its way. I have had asthma since I was a little kid, so its always good to hear an improvement for people that have the same condition as I do. Now that the main cause for asthma has been found, maybe a cure will be on its way. Maybe they can create a drug that can keep this allergic response to dust mites from even starting to happen, instead of inhalers.

Sleeping

As you have probably heard many times before, getting enough sleep is essential to living with good health. I have heard that people should be getting at least eight hours of sleep every night, but I know that can be tricky to do with the mishmash of things going on these days. Since we are in cold and flu season, I have looked into some prevention for it, and found that an increase of sleep can actually help prevent cold and flu related sicknesses. A recent CNN article released that people who get less than seven hours of sleep were more likely to get a cold than a peson who gets 8 hours or more sleep regularly. So remember around this time of year especially, to get your sleep. I reccomend limiting noise, keeping it dark in the room, and turning off any distractions such as laptops, cellphones, etc. Have a good night!

Exercising 101

Everybody already knows that it is important to take your vitamins and exercise daily in order to stay fit and healthy, but come on, who really does that? Sports and games make it easy for teens and kids to stay fit, but what should adults be doing to keep their bodies in shape? Those cheesy exercise videos that guarantee they will put you in shape may work, but who is really willing to turn on their VHS or DVD player, bring out their exercise mats and big blow-up ball every day and actually exercise...for FUN?! I know I definitely wouldn't do that. So what else is there? You could try running/jogging to stores or restaurants near your house, get a quick snack break there, and then go back, (I like to do this sometimes). If you can't seem to find time daily to do this, start weekly, and build from it. Or try doing it when you would otherwise be sitting like a lump on the couch watching television. There are so many ways to give your body the exercise it needs, some more ideas are; swimming, going to the gym and playing around on the complicated machines, stretching/yoga and weight lifting. Remember, you will be keeping your body busy, while building muscle and energizing yourself so you don't have those nothing-but-coffee days.

However, there is such a thing as over exercising. It is never good to over work your body, especially when it is already tired. If your muscles are sore, try to wait until they feel better, so you can make your exercise count. Click here to view a current article on over exercising your body.

No Peanut Butter!!

As you may know, Salmonella has been found in our peanut butter nationwide. Its not just in peanut butter itself, but also in related foods such as; candy, cookie dough, ice cream, cereal, and even dog treats. Almost 500 people have been affected so far, causing at least six deaths.



I don't know about you, but I love peanut butter, and it saddens me to hear that I wont be able to eat anything with peanut butter in it. I especially like the peanut butter crackers, (but I heard those were the most infected). I just hope the FDA can get to the bottom of this so we can have it again.


For more information, click here to view a recent news story about the recall.

Unhealthy v. Healthy Eats

Hello, and welcome to my healthy lifestyles blog.


As you may know, good overall health is becoming an issue in the United States for many Americans. With so many fast food choices, many people are finding it hard to eat healthy. They are also unwillingly gaining weight and increasing their own risk of heart failure and other disease. People today are not putting up much of an effort to stick to the professionally designed food pyramid (above), and instead are just going with what they think they need. I am finding that fruits and vegetables are becoming less and less popular, while sweets, salts and grease seem to be becoming more popular than ever before. Dieting plans and goals for the new year are seeming to get tougher and tougher everyday when the average American is out and about, and cannot seem to find anything but fatty and unhealthy foods, like the tasty looking burger shown below, to eat in a hurry.




Fitness doctors in a recent article that i found on diets, say that people tend to eat with their their eyes, rather than their stomach; that they eat until their plate is empty, rather than when they are full. I agree with that article 100 percent. If people want to be healthy, then they should avoid buying unhealthy foods and storing them in their homes, (if they do not have it, then they cannot eat it). However, for those uneducated or just plain old lazy, I suggest that you start being more aware of what you choose to put into your body, because can possibly find yourself in difficult and unwanted long-term situations out that you will regret.