Prevent colds, flu, disease with proper sneezing and healthy lifestyle habits

Prevent colds and flu and other airborn illness by sneezing correctly. Here is the appropriate way to sneeze. Government officials like Health & Human Services' Kathleen Sebelius aren't the only ones who can teach you how to sneeze effectively, to prevent the spread of disease. Elmo, a favorite Sesame Street character, also knows how to sneeze in the right direction. Watch this video clip, demonstrating your best moves when sneezing:

What else can you do to prevent getting a cold, or flu?
Wash your hands often, especially when you are out in public with many people.
Avoid sick people. They don't have the courtesy to stay home when they are sick, but it doesn't mean that you must be around them. Respect yourself by creating your own healthy space.
Get plenty of sleep. When you lack good-quality sleep, your immune system is compromised. Sleep patterns can change, too, as our daylight time shifts. Make adjustments.
Eat healthy, nutritious foods. Bright-colored vegetables are the nutritional key to disease prevention. Being overweight represents a disease state, and it puts you at risk for more disease, so manage your weight and keep it healthy.
Exercise! Get plenty of exercise to boost your immune system. It is one of the few free, simple, gifts that we can give ourselves to stay healthy. Not only does exercise boost the immune system and prevent disease, but it also aids sleep, improves mood, and relieves stress. If you're sleeping better, feeling happy and stress-free, then your body can optimally resist getting sick!

Skin cancer cautions: Prevent, Watch, Reduce exposure

Sunshine and warm days mean "skin cancer season" is coming on. Did you know that you can eat vegetables for sun protection? Did you know that your blood glucose is related to skin cancer risk? And exercise reduces risk of all types of cancer, so it's an important form of protection!

Olessa Pindak shares her expertise on skin cancer prevention in this video clip:

Low Energy from Statin drug use may lead to other health risks

Statin drugs can create many possible side effects, including low energy, amnesia and memory problems, inflammation, and stiff muscles.
These side effects can cause you to avoid some of the healthy lifestyle habits that are critical to lowering your cholesterol naturally! Exercise is critical to cholesterol reduction. This can be tough if the statin drug is causing you to have low energy and stiff muscles.

Watch this video clip to find out more about decreased energy due to statins:



Exercise is critical to good health. If you have high cholesterol, exercise and nutrition are important to naturally lower it.
If your statin drugs are reducing your energy, here are more tips so you can lower cholesterol naturally and boost your energy:
* Get short bouts of exercise throughout your day, whenever you have energy. For example, run errands for work on foot like post office visits and buying supplies.
* At work, take regular stretching breaks. When you get up for a bathroom break, walk briskly. Take the stairs.
* When driving places, park farther away to walk a little extra.
* Kick Caffeine! Take a weekend and go off all caffeinated beverages. Over time, our bodies build up a tolerance to caffeine, so we end up more tired and lifeless!
* Eat nutritious, high-energy foods for snacks, like nuts and dried fruits. But do not snack in between each meal. If you keep your digestive system working 'round the clock, it might "drain the brain" and leave you less alert or focused.

Exercise Intensity for weight loss and health improvements

Exercising for health? Speed Up! Too many Americans exercise at a leisurely pace. But working out at a slow or moderate pace may not produce the benefits of a rigorous workout. So, how much exercise is necessary for health improvements? This short video describes some research indicating the intensity of exercise that's best:



How can you exerciseintensely enough for weight loss, toning up, and improving overall health? Here are some tips:
* Regularly try new activities. Keep your mind and body challenged. Your muscles want variety, and you will see greater results when you vary your workouts.
* Try Interval Training (IT). This involves bursts of greater intensity. If you are walking, pick a visual spot in the distance and jog to it. Then go back to your brisk walking pace. Or include some weight-training intervals mixed into your cardio workout. IT will give you an intensity boost, plus give you variety.

Gym workouts corrected: tips for optimal exercise

Getting a good workout at the gym is almost an art. It's important to exercise, but also to exercise correctly. You want your workouts to be effective!

Dr. Jordan Metzl, sports medicine physician, shares observations on common workout mistakes (like forgetting goal-setting) in this little video clip:



More details to correct those common mistakes and stay on track:
* Start small. Take baby-steps first, when goal-setting.
* Variety is the spice of life! Your muscles get bored, too, in addition to your mind. Vary your workout every 4-6 weeks. Change the intensity, frequency, type of exercise or time spent.
* Get a workout buddy. Don't try to do it alone. Workout buddies can help you maintain good technique. Hire a trainer and get started on the right path. You can save money by hiring a personal trainer with your workout buddy, so you split the cost and can keep each other on track.
* Balance your exercise. Include flexibility, cardio and strength-training. It's easy to get stuck in your "comfort zone" and ignore some of the critical elements of physical fitness.

Post-40 health habits can age, just like our bodies and routines

At 40, our bodies are changing. Many women feel like they are always rushed to catch up. Our metabolisms slow down and we have to work harder to stay fit.

Alas, there is news to indicate that we don't have to be as vigilant about all of these changes and the way we deal with aging bodies. In this video clip, we learn which habits do not require as much diligence as previously thought:



By 40, some of our healthy routines should be changed to accommodate a changing lifestyle. Our work, careers, families, and children have all "aged". Our daily habits have changed, and we can adjust our health accordingly.

Here are some ways we can slightly alter our healthy routines to adjust to our varied lifestyles:

Exercise in spurts. If we don't have time to do our cardio, strength-training and stretching all at once, then break them up. Do your Cardio first, in the morning, to energize your day and get the blood pumping. Stretch at lunch-time, especially if you have been cramped behind a desk for hours. Then strength-train with weights as soon as you get home, to clear your mind and prepare you for the evening (if you dive into house chores and cooking then you might skip the weights).

Mix our sleep times. We might not be able to get 8 hours of sleep all at one time. First, know that your body might only need 5-7 hours of good-quality sleep each night. So, take some pressure off yourself if you think you must get 8 hours. Next, take cat-naps and "power-naps" when you can. Use the weekends and car-rides to catch a few. But focus on getting sleep that is good-quality (versus quantity)

Explaining odd physical reactions

Our body sometimes manifests strange physical reactions that leave us wondering. We cry when we cut onions (there is a solution to this!). We shiver with goosebumps. We laugh when we're sad or cry when we're upset. It can be a mystery, or not... Prevention magazine's editor explains why our bodies sometimes do what they do:



Iron regulates body temperature, but metabolism also does. There are healthier ways to rev up your metabolism than eating red meat (which is linked to heart disease and high cholesterol). Give your metabolism a boost anytime with a burst of exercise! If you're at work, or have limited space to move around, then here are some "small solutions" to creating big heat:
Do jumping jacks
Jog in place
Stretch your whole body
Lift weights!
Do calisthenics

blog technical problems: front page whackiness

We're temporarily having technical difficulties with this blog's front page. If you do not immediately see blog posts here, then go to the blog post archive and select a date. Hot topics on this blog include:
Pain Relief issues like wrist pain and carpal tunnel symptoms, stretches for back pain, exercises for neck pain
How hip-hop stars are giving troubled kids a brighter future
One swimming woman's journey across the Atlantic
The latest stem cell studies and future research needs
Eating healthier and consuming less
Natural pain relief methods and alternative medicine
Recovery from injuries: for athletes, work-related injuries, hobbyists
Therapeutic effects of play for children
Healthy weight loss: goal-setting, changing your mind about weight loss
Starting a new exercise program and selecting the best home gym equipment for your fitness goals

Edgerrin James' workouts and workout buddies surprise some, but keep him exercising

Edgerrin James has some unusual habits for getting his exercise workouts. But having workout buddies is part of what keeps him fit.

Watch this video about his different approach to exercise and the workout buddies he chooses:

Childhood Obesity, Wii-Fit and fat testing: where do video games draw the line?

Yes, childhood obesity is an epidemic in the US and most industrialized cultures. Children are not getting enough exercise and physical activity. Makers of video games like Wii-Fit are trying to make an impact and get children more active.

Unfortunately, Wii-Fit's intentions may be good but there methods include a sad flaw. They determine a child's BMI (Body Mass Index). They will tell the child if they fall into an overweight or obese category, too.

Labeling a child based on a generic test is making some folks angry. Elizabeth Hasselbeck (of Survivor and the View TV shows) and English obesity experts are taking issue with the Wii-Fit tactic of measuring body fat through BMI (Body Mass Index).

Watch this video to see what's got them fired-up:


Perhaps Wii-Fit will make more children active. And perhaps some children will wonder what BMI really means. But it seems that the producers of Wii-Fit are making a costly mistake by attempting to take fitness measurements and then scoring children.

Wii-Fit is still a video game. And that is not the best medium for accurate measurements and health education lessons.

Common Cold Strains: Prevention and new research

Why can't scientists create a vaccine against the common cold? As the "rhino-virus" gets more study, answers reveal how the strains develop. Furthermore, the cold strains change and vary as they afflict humans. Watch Dr. Timothy Johnson describe some new information about the common cold in this brief video clip:



Avoid sick people! Yes, this is important. But it does become a social contraversy. Should sick and contagious co-workers stay home from work? What if they need that income, and they take medicine to disguise symptoms?

EXERCISE is one of the TOP immune system boosters that you can do yourself, naturally! Don't skimp on your exercise during cold and flu season!

Focus on getting good-quality sleep.

Also, reduce stress at home and work. Create more relaxing, peaceful environments around you. Stressed-out bodies attract sickness.

Post-Exercise Nutrition Tips for better metabolism and insulin control

You know that exercise increases metabolism, and that an "energy bar" is a good post-workout snack, right? Yes, it's a metabolism-booster, but NO, energy bars might undo some of the good work you just did!



Do you know how exercise regulates insulin? And do you know which are the best post-workout snacks? Read this article and learn what 2 recent studies determined about exercise, insulin control, and post-exercise nutrition:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Post-Workout-Nutrition---Retain-Exercise-Benefits-and-Regulate-Insulin-by-Reducing-Carb-Intake&id=1880683

Those "energy bars" might actually zap your energy if they make your metabolism and blood glucose levels come crashing back down.
For better post-workout nutrition:
* Read your nutrition labels of your foods
* Avoid eating immediately after you exercise unless you are hypoglycemic or feeling famished.
* Get out of the habit of snacking in response to exercise. Instead of "rewarding yourself" with food, try healthier rewards like >extra time in the jacuzzi; >getting a massage; >5 minutes of "you time" with your favorite music and candlelight; or >buying a new workout outfit.
* Unless you are bodybuilding or training for an endurance event, you do not need to follow exercise with food. Learn about your nutrition needs and how your metabolism responds to exercise.

Seniors: Reduce Calories, Remember More

Dr. Sam Gandy, of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, describes recent research which demonstrated that overweight seniors improved their memory as they lost weight and improved their physical fitness.

Watch this video clip to find out more about the study:



Not only did they get more "memory-fit" as they were losing weight, they also found that the amount of weight lost was proportionate to the amount of improvement. In other words, the more you pounds you lose, the more memory you gain.

They note that other studies have associated the same positive effects from regular exercise.

The part about this video that is sad and surprising is the reporter's comments at the end: "At a time when medications have had such little impact, basic lifestyle changes now appear to be the most effective ways to protect, and even improve, an aging memory." (No, John, they always have been the most effective ways! Duh!)

Give your new exercise workout a boost: get in shape and stay fit with these 4 simple changes

Time for a new exercise workout? Do you want to make a few changes to your current exercise program so you can get in shape faster?

Personal trainers and their fitness clients rely on a few tricks to turbo-boost your "same-ole workout". You'll get in shape quickly, and you'll want to keep practicing these 4 so that you stay in great toned!

Read this article by top trainer Nina Schnipper to get the most out of your workout:

http://ezinearticles.com/?New-Year,-New-Workouts---4-Tips-For-Getting-in-Shape-Fast-With-New-Exercise-Workouts&id=1871000

You see, with a few little changes to your exercise program, your workout can work better for you!

Exercising out a cold: detox and sweat your sickness away

Is it possible to exercise a cold or flu out of your body? Can sweating and detoxing get rid of sickness? Some doctors think so. Watch this video to figure out if it's the way to relief and better health (then read below for the contraversial other-side to this story!):



Although this approach might get sick folks headed to the gym, Not So Fast!...
In the first stages of being sick, you are highly contagious. Any trip out in public will get others sick. This is especially true in a gym, where you are breathing "stale" (recirculating) air in a confined space, plus you exchange sweat and bodily fluids everywhere.
Also, in the early stages of sickness, your body needs to use its energy to heal. Too often, people get back into exercise without giving their bodies a chance to heal. Instead of feeling better, their cold/flu never goes away. Your energy is now getting diverted to exercise instead of healing. So, you stay sick longer.

Instead of heading to the gym as soon as you can, take some time to rest and recover. If you get back into exercising too soon, you will make others sick and you will stay sick.

New Home Gyms and Functional Trainers: what's the difference?

Your exercise equipment is important to your work-out. Choosing the right equipment affects your program. And it's important to be getting regular cardiovascular conditioning, strength training, and stretching kinds of exercises.

If you have been thinking about using or buying a new home gym, then you have undoubtedly noticed a new style of home gym called a "functional trainer". How do they differ from older-model home gyms, and which is the best selection for your exercise needs?

Read this article to learn more about functional trainers and home gyms:
http://ezinearticles.com/?New-Home-Gyms---How-Does-a-Functional-Trainer-Differ-From-a-Home-Gym?&id=1815245

Nothing should stand in the way of your exercise. Your equipment needs to suit your likes, comfort level, skills, schedule, and goals. When choosing a new home gym, look at both older and newer models to make the best choice.

For more information about home gyms and fitness equipment, visit http://www.HomeGymInformation.com.
For more articles on exercise programs and fitness goals, visit this author's page at EzineArticles.com -
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert_bio=Nina_Schnipper

Treadmills make us exercise, and keep us exercising

Treadmills are simple, which makes them one of the most beloved fitness products. Read this article to learn how treadmills make us exercise, for the long-haul:

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-a-Simple-Treadmill-Can-Make-You-Exercise,-and-Keep-You-Exercising&id=1788360

Which kind of exercise equipment do you prefer? What motivates you to exercise?

Equipment plays a role in our exercise habits. Finding simple equipment that helps you reach your goals is important for staying motivated and exercising.

Exercise Work-Outs: a Prescription for Depression?

Exercise is a powerful healer. We know that physical activity is vital for a healthy body and disease prevention. Exercise improves most physical states. Some of its benefits include:
* Improves sleep
* Weight control
* Better digestion
* More energy
* Enhanced focus and alertness
* Faster metabolism
* Disease prevention
* Decreased blood pressure

But do you know...?
Its mental health benefits are profound! One research study showed how exercise can alleviate depression. But...Not So Fast!...
If a doctor prescribes exercise to a patient diagnosed with depression, will it work as effectively as these research participants' programs did?

Read this controversial article for yourself-

http://ezinearticles.com/?Exercise-is-Medicine---Can-Regular-Exercise-Work-Outs-Be-Prescribed-For-Depression?&id=1742221

What do you think? Are Exercise Prescriptions the answer to depression? Will they be a viable treatment option? Will people stick to exercise programs and feel happier?
Share your thoughts with us.

Will hi-tech sneakers make you exercise more often?

If they make you exercise more often, and make you feel better from your exercise, then these sneakers can contribute to greater health for millions of people world-wide. More exercise is a good thing!



Wearing fun clothes that you enjoy, shoes with more shock-absorption and cushioning, and any equipment that makes exercise feel easy to you gets a big "Thumbs Up!" from this fitness trainer!

Reduce inflammation and c-reactive proteins: don't overlook greater health problems by using statins for heart disease

The American Heart Association shares the annual conference's hottest news about statin drugs for heart disease:

According to the study, if you have high CRPs (C-Reactive Proteins), your cardiologist might consider prescribing statins. CRPs are an indication of inflammation.

Inflammation is just one indicator for disease in the body. It seems premature to prescribe a medication for heart disease if you have greater problems that might be "hiding" under the inflammation. Also, the doctor interviewed noted that they do not know the long-term effects of using statins! This should be a huge red flag!

If you have high CRPs, you should consider urgently changing your lifestyle and begin to Eat Healthier and get more Exercise.

Watch this video and cardiologist interview:


Before you consider the use of statins, Learn more about CRPs and inflammation. Weight the risks- Which is more important? Using a statin to reduce early indicators for heart disease, versus practicing Healthier Lifestyle habits (like eating more nutritious foods and getting more exercise) that will reduce inflammation and reverse the disease process.

If you choose to attack the CRPs yourself, with natural lifestyle changes, then you will prevent disease on a larger scale for yourself. And heart disease may be just one of the diseases that you can prevent!