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4 Simple Anti-Aging Steps

2007-04-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

By Donovan Baldwin

Anti-aging articles are all the rage these days, so I thought I would chip in my two cent's worth. Well, at a penny a tip, four cents.

We cannot do much about the fact that we age, but we can do something about the effects that aging has on us. Here are four simple things you can do to delay and diminish the effects of aging.

Exercise
Eat
Play
Sleep

Think you can handle that assignment?

Exercise

One of the most obvious effects of aging is what happens to the outward appearance of our bodies as well as what happens to our ability to use them. When we age, systems slow down, or even break down, we lose muscle mass, our heart begins to have problems, we lose our balance more often, we are more likely to break bones. If injured, we recover more slowly. Wrinkles form, breasts sag, stomachs poke out, and we gain weight.

Simple fact: Regular moderate exercise tightens muscles, builds lean muscle mass, helps keep us flexible and strong. It keeps systems and organs in peak health and operating at optimum efficiency. There are people in their 80's and 90's who are doing "athletic" things. While some of this is related to our genetic makeup, of course, almost anyone can improve their overall fitness through an exercise program.

Exercise doesn't HAVE to be exercise, by the way. Gardening is exercise. So is walking, bicycling, aerobics in front of the TV (Richard Simmons, ladies), yoga, weight training, and playing with the grandkids.

Divide exercise into three types: Muscle building and toning, aerobic (cardiovascular) activity, and stretching. A simple weight training routine two or three times a week, a walk five times a week, and a few minutes of stretching every day should do it. Regular exercise keeps you looking, and feeling, good.

Eat

When people age, their nutrition often suffers. First of all, we have all kinds of exhortations to eat less, lose weight, etc. At the same time, as we age, our metabolism slows down and our body's ability to process certain nutrients diminishes as well. Many seniors lose interest in food. Our taste buds even betray us.

For seniors, eating should be fun, of course, but it needs to become a bit more logical. The body requires nutrients, but is having a hard time processing nutrients. Metabolism drops, fat starts packing on, but we need to keep our nutrient level up at a time that our sense of taste is deserting us and we are losing interest in food and a lot of other things anyway.

The exercise I was talking about earlier will help keep the appetite up while raising metabolism and increasing our enjoyment of life as well. It will also be necessary to make yourself eat what you are supposed to eat when you are supposed to eat it. If you have any doubt about your ability to get the appropriate nutrition from the foods you do eat, supplement your diet with vitamins and minerals. At the least, you might want to take a daily multivitamin supplement. Look for the ones that say they are for seniors.

Seniors also tend to not get enough protein. You might not need to butcher a whole cow, but try to make sure that you are getting your protein. While not perfect answers, supplements such as Ensure can help you get protein and other nutrients if you are not sure.

If you are exercising regularly and eating properly, you will feel more like having fun!

Play

Having fun can have many benefits to anybody at any age, but can be of particular importance to seniors. As we age (I am 62) many of us begin to feel isolated as we quit going to work, friends die, it gets harder to get around, everybody around us (those young folks) seems to enjoy things that seem meaningless to us. Based on what a friend of mine, a geriatric nurse, told me, this is the slippery slope that leads many perfectly healthy and normal people to a chair on a senior daycare porch. She told me that many of her patients were fine, they had just figured that there was no reason to be interested in life any more.

Social interaction can keep juices flowing that otherwise would dry up, and I am talking actual chemicals, hormones, and enzymes. Spend time with friends and family. If you do not have a daily job to go to, volunteer to keep physically, mentally, and socially active. Find something you always wished you could do, but didn't have the time because you were so busy earning a living. People with partners and pets live longer, healthier lives. There's a clue.

Keep your mind active with puzzles and games. Believe it or not, a little Sudoku, or a few logic puzzles can not only help mental alertness and thinking ability, but can actually contribute to physical health.

Just thought I'd mention, sex is good for you too!

Sleep

Rest is important at all stages of our lives, and it becomes very important as we age. Regular exercise, proper nutrition, and some fun will help you fall asleep at night and sleep well. Most of us should be getting between six and eight hours of sleep a night. Just because you wake up a couple of times to take care of some urgent business doesn't mean that you need to stay up.

If you feel you are not getting enough sleep, or are just not rested enough, by all means have it checked out medically. In the meantime, maybe some meditation during the day can help. Hey! That's M-E-D-I-T-A-T-I-O-N so you don't need M-E-D-I-C-A-T-I-O-N!

Have a happy, healthy life

Donovan Baldwin is a Texas writer and a University of West Florida alumnus. He is a member of Mensa and is retired from the US Army after 21 years of service. In his career, he has held many managerial and supervisory positions. However, his main pleasures have long been writing, nature, and fitness. In the last few years, he has been able to combine these pleasures by writing poetry and articles on subjects such as health, fitness, yoga, the environment, happiness, self improvement, and weight loss. Click here for his collection of articles on health, fitness, diet, and weight loss.

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Which Aromatherapy Product to Use

2007-04-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

By Roger Michaelson

There are so many different aromatherapy options it can be difficult to decide which aromatherapy product to use. Here are some ideas for you to try.

For the Bath:

Close the doors and windows and then run a nice hot bath to the temperature you are most comfortable with. When the tub is full add 20 drops of essential oil to your tub mixing it up which will cause the scent to rise from the steamy water. Now choose the right aromatherapy product for the job:

To relax and calm – 2 drops lavender, 2 drops bergamot, and 2 drops cedarwood.
To reduce nervousness – 6 drops geranium, 4 drops lavender, 4 drops basil.
To eliminate insomnia – 4 drops chamomile, 4 drops lavender, 3 drops neroli, 2 drops marjoram.
To energize – 3 drops rosemary, 3 drops lemon.

For the Feet

After a day on your feet you come home with tired and sore feet that are so worn out you’re sure you can’t take another step. So which aromatherapy product do you use this time? Start by filling a container that’s large enough for both of your feed with warm water then add your essential oils and sit back and relax.

Try one of these

Add 3 drops peppermint and 2 drops frankincense
Add 3 drops peppermint and 3 drops lavender
Add 3 drops Rosemary and 3 drops lemon

Massage

There are several essential oils that are great for massage. You’ll just need to choose the aromatherapy product you like best. Massage with essential oils will increase the healing power while also creating a calming effect or energizing effect.

For massage use essential oils diluted in a carrier oil which will give you your aromatherapy product. Almond Oil, Grape seed Oil, Olive Oil, and Sunflower Oil are all good carrier oils. Store your oil in a dark bottle. You can use a funnel to pour the oil in. For every 1 oz of carrier oil add 20 drops of essential oil and then shake well. Use your choice of oils. Lavender is great for relaxation as well as for the nerves, chamomile is excellent for insomnia, and neroli is the right choice for relaxation. In fact all of the mixes used in the bath make a good choice for a massage aromatherapy product too.

There are so many different choices. You can mix essential oils however you want. You may have favorite oils that you like to use a lot and you may also have oils you prefer not to find in the aromatherapy product you choose.

You can also purchase your favorite aromatherapy product already made rather than making up your own. There are many great sites online that offer a full line of products for the bath, massage, home, or just about anywhere else you can use an aromatherapy product.

The hardest part about buying online is deciding what aromatherapy product you want. If I were you I’d put in a nice size order and fill up your cabinet with all the products you love. Then you’ll have choices to fit the mood and the moment.

Roger Michaelson writes for myaromatherapyinfo.com where you can get the latest information on aromatherapy.

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Acne Skin Treatment: 2 Easy Steps to Clear Skin

2007-04-08T04:50:00.000-07:00

By Brodie Heinrichsen

What is Acne? What causes it to appear? Why does acne affect some people to extreme levels where others have little to none? QUIK! Run to the sink and scrub your face, and stop eating that chocolate and fried food. Now that you’ve scrubbed your face raw and made yourself miserable because you no longer can have your favorite foods the results will out weight the negatives correct? WRONG! Unlike the urban myth Acne is not a result of un-cleanliness or not washing enough. Acne does not form because your skin or your pores have too much dirt in them. In-fact, if you scrub to much you may actually cause your acne to get worse. Acne also does not come from eating “bad food”. So go back to enjoying your chocolate and fried food because no food is going to make your acne worse.

The most common form of acne is known as Acne Vulgaris which usually appears on the face, neck, shoulders and back. It’s an inflammatory disease of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units. There are several factors that contribute to the development of acne. The primary problem is that the abdominal flaking of cells inside the hair follicle leads to the formation of a plug. The plug can grow larger and rupture the hair follicle. Oil and debris spill into the skin when a rupture occurs causing swelling and redness.

There is no one factor that causes acne. Acne happens when oil “sebaceous” glands come to life at puberty. They are stimulated by male hormones from the adrenal gland of both boys and girls. Oil is a natural substance that lubricates and protects the skin. Cells that are close to the surface block the openings of sebaceous glands and cause a buildup of oil underneath. The oil stimulates bacteria to multiply and cause the surrounding tissue to inflame. If the inflammation is near the surface of the skin, you get a pustule; if it’s deeper, a pimple will appear; even deeper a cyst will form. If the oil manages to break the surface, the result will be a whitehead. If the oil becomes oxidized the oil and changes from white to black and results in a blackhead. Below is a list of self treatments you can do at home to prevent yourself from getting acne.

Step 1. Wash your body once or twice a day with soap and water to remove excess oil from your skin. Avoid scrubbing too abrasively because this can actually irritate the skin and cause acne to worsen. Acne cleanser purchased at the drug store can also help.

Step 2. Prescription or non-prescription over the counter acne medications. These are used usually at night or in the morning. Follow the instructions listed on any acne product.

Brodie Heinrichsen writes for the Flex Your Health site where you can get more information on acne skin treatments.

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Stop Smoking and Retire Rich

2007-04-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Healthernatives.com did not write nor edit this article (save maybe for some minor proofing). It's here as a service to you. Go to the site for categorical summaries and other unique content not available here.

By Hannah Garcia

If you want to quit smoking but can't find sufficient motivation, let's look at it from the financial point of view.

It's possible to save vast amounts of money if you give up smoking. An average 20 a day smoker will spend approximately $3000 a year on cigarettes. Just putting that in an interest bearing bank account would allow you to build up a tidy sum over 20 years. Even with a modest rate of interest it would amount to more than $100,000.

However, there a various other savings that when taken into account will add up to substantially more over the years.

1) Being a smoker means that you'll have less money each month to repay your mortgage. This means that you'll take longer to repay the debt than you might have done, which means you'll have more interest to pay over the life of the loan.

Recent studies have shown that if the average smoker (20 a day) with an average mortgage of $200,000 used the money that they spend on tobacco to repay their mortage, they would repay the loan 8 years early (17 years rather than 25) and save almost $50,000 in interest repayments.

That's quite an incentive to stop smoking.

2) Being a smoker means that the cost of your insurance rises dramatically. Smokers have to pay substantially more for health, life and house insurance.

If you smoke, you're much more likely to develop a whole catalogue of illnesses and health problems, which means your insurance company will have to pay out more money, more often. So they'll need more money to cover the risk.

If you smoke, you're more likely to die early, which means the life insurance company is more likely to have to pay out. All that is bad news for the size of your premiums, which can be as much as 50% higher than a non-smoker of similar age. This is a major consideration if you need life insurance to obtain a mortgage or to protect your family.

The cost of your house insurance will also reflect the fact that you smoke, because you're house is more likely to go on fire than a non-smokers house.

3) Being a smoker will decrease the value of your house and your car.

If you regularly smoke in your house or in your car, it will quickly become full of the stale smell of smoke. And it's almost impossible to remove that smell completely.

So when it comes time to sell your house or your car, many non-smokers will not be prepared to buy these items. That means the number of potential buyers is dramatically reduced along with the eventual sale price.

It may be possible to reduce the impact that smoking has on your house if you redecorate regularly, or on your car if you have it professionally cleaned on a regular basis. But over time these expenses will add up and cancel out any corresponding increase in the price that you get for your house or your car.

And finally, smokers also suffer when selling smaller items through sites like ebay. Most bidders prefer to buy from non-smokers especially if the item is soft furnishing etc. If you disclose the fact that you smoke in the description, your item will receive fewer bids. If you don't, your buyers won't be happy and your feedback rating will suffer.

4) Being a non-smoker will help you greatly in the workplace. Few employers would openly admit to such discriminatory practices, but many employers with a straight choice between a smoker and a non-smoker of equal ability would select the non-smoker. The facts speak for themselves;

a) Smokers are more likely to catch colds and viruses, which they may pass on to their colleagues, which increases the number of days lost to sickness.

b) They have to keep going out for a cigarette which costs them five minutes every couple of hours and breaks their concentration.

c) Their health insurance premiums are higher, which is a major consideration when the employer is footing the bill

5) Being a smoker will cost you more to keep yourself looking smart. Your clothes will have to be washed more often and certain items of clothing will have to be professionally cleaned. All that means that they'll wear out faster, so you'll have to buy more clothes. This isn't too much of an ordeal for most people, but hey, it's an added expense that you wouldn't have if you didn't smoke.

Smoking also affects your teeth and your breath. So add in extra dental costs, and breath freshing products.

All these extra expenses quickly mount up and over thirty or forty years the extra cost of being an average smoker could, quite easily (if invested), add up to $500,000. That's a fairly substantially retirement lump sum. And one that you'll have more chance of enjoying if you take steps to stop smoking.

Hannah Garcia runs ICanHelpYouQuitSmoking.com providing free, impartial ideas on how to quit smoking.

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