Evening primrose oil is one of the best natural sources of GLA. It has been shown that women who regularly take evening primrose oil can have less noticeable PMS symptoms. Symptoms like mood swings, excess water retention, and extreme food cravings are lessened with daily doses of evening primrose oil. Evening primrose oil has also been shown to ease heavy bleeding, which can shorten the duration of a woman’s menstrual cycle in addition to lightening the bleeding during the period itself.

Evening primrose oil is fairly inexpensive, and can be bought in capsules that are usually 500 mg in size. Recommended dosages range from taking one to six capsules per day. Since it can directly affect hormone levels, it is important to gauge your individual body’s reaction to evening primrose oil and adjust your dosage accordingly. Some women may need a lower dosage than others. Always discuss it with your doctor before you add a new supplement to your diet.

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Now, of course, some women are more reserved about it…some are more formal and are not comfortable feeling such good feelings with someone until they know them well. Some women are just closed off and don’t like anyone to enter their space, and even in a relationship, they resist having another person touch them so easily…And some women simply do not like being touched. They find it unpleasant and they recoil from it. But the truth is, women in those last two categories (ABSOLUTELY those in the last one) have had some trauma in their lives, probably child sexual abuse, that has damaged them to the extent that they can’t accept this natural and beautiful form of shared pleasure. That’s a sad truth of the world.

For the other women, depending on their degree of shyness, touch is always a pleasure and a treat…assuming they like the guy that is touching them, and it’s appropriate to the relationship. By appropriate, I mean, a female friend might love it if you rub her shoulders, but might be uncomfortable with something more “romantic,” like caressing her hair and cheek.

I am going to talk about touching in a romantic context, whether it be on a first date or with your wife of 20 years. And I’m not talking about directly sexual touching.

Sensual touching is an art that you should definitely spend some time mastering — because it will be incredibly rewarding to both you and the woman in your life.

1.  Touch her more. However much you are already touching your girlfriend, wife, or lover…you can do it more often. I can’t emphasize enough how much of an emotional connection and bond can be formed by this simple action. Women link many feelings of sexuality,love, and trust with the sensations that are aroused in them when a man puts his hands on her.

It can make her feel both sexually excited and safe at the same time. It can also make her body release certain chemicals into her blood that make her feel more attraction to and more comfort with the man that she is with.

How’s that for the simplest tip ever?

Try it out. I promise that it is as effective as it is simple.

2. Look into her eyes. Well, here’s one that’s even more simple…but again…it’s so much more powerful than it sounds. When you are putting your hand on her, whether you are caressing or squeezing…or petting or holding or any other kind of touching…Look into her eyes as you are doing it.

You will find that if you hold eye contact with a woman — even if she looks down for a moment — she will be drawn into your gaze and that you can hold her there. This will add an amazing amount of emotional intensity to your touch. She will feel it deeply in her body.

You may think, heck, I already look at her when I touch her…But just try this — try being aware of intentionally holding her eye contact as you touch her.

I think you will find that it makes a very big difference.

3.Try touching her in new ways. There are particular types of touching that women find more romantic, more sensual, and more arousing than others. And, of course, since all women are different, you’re going to have to do some experimenting to find out what the woman in your life responds to most. The key is to really tune in to her and notice how she is responding. That tuning in or “Paying Attention” that I always talk about, is actually the really important part of this tip…

But here are a few ways you should try touching her — most women respond very positively towards ALL of them.

Pay attention to see which ones your girl goes for:

# Use the very tips of your fingers and run them very, very lightly, so that it is almost a tickle, anywhere (or everywhere) on her skin.

# Stroke her gently, but not tentatively with the entire face of your hand. Try running it up her back, her neck, her legs, arms, or the side of her face.

# Just hold her firmly. This can be such a powerful feeling for a woman. Just place your hand on her shoulder, the back of her neck, her thigh, arm, or hand…and just hold her. Let her feel your masculine strength, but don’t, obviously, hurt her. If you do this right, she should feel the tenderness and protectiveness behind your touch.

# Cup her with your hand, and stroke gently with your thumb…This combines the first idea of gentle finger tips with the last one of holding her firmly…

I particularly like to hold the back of her neck and then gently stroke her cheek with my thumb…while looking into her eyes. Also try holding the back of her head and stroking her temple, or hold her arm and stroke her shoulder, or her thigh and stroke her knee.

Add eye contact to all of these and she will melt.

# Pet her hair. I have never met a woman who does not enjoy having her hair stroked. For girls with straight hair, you can let your fingers run through it. If she has curly hair, just pet, so that you don’t get stuck and start yanking on her knots!

To really send her into orbit, start at her neck and use your fingers to pet upwards into her hair along her scalp. You can bring a woman very close to orgasm with this one.

4.Feel With Your Feelings. I saved the best one for last…but it is also the one that is most complicated to explain, and can be more challenging for some men to master. That’s because, as guys, we’re just not as “in touch with our feelings” as women are. But this is of HUGE importance if you really want to rock her world in ways that will make her forget any other guy she has ever been with.

The basic truth is: A woman can FEEL, not just the physical sensation of your hand on her skin, but also she can FEEL the emotional content of your touch.

I know this sounds a little bit “out there,” but again, as always, I challenge you to TRY it before you dismiss it because this is really an incredibly powerful truth. When you touch a woman while thinking sexual thoughts about her, and when you focus that intent into your touch, she will FEEL it very strongly… and her body will respond to it. That sexual energy will flow from you and into her.

Likewise, when you feel tender feelings of attraction and protectiveness for your woman, and you stroke her hair, it makes her feel loved and safe. And there is nothing that will provide you both with a more amazing night of mind-melting sex than when the woman in your arms feels loved and safe.

I know that I’m leaving a lot out here, and that, especially this last tip is kind of hard to wrap your brain around. The truth is, that this issue of touching with emotion is part of a MUCH bigger picture of understanding women and female sexuality, and just too big a topic for this article.

However, don’t hesitate to get started by using the great tips above. You will be amazed that even these brain-dead simple tips
can make a huge difference in how women respond to you sexually.

If you are in a relationship, you will be even more amazed at the positive changes that just a tiny bit of information can cause. You can go to a marriage counselor, or talk to a therapist, or read books on “communicating” better, but there is NOTHING in my experience that improves a relationship more or strengthens the bond between a man and a woman than touch and sex.

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In the collaborative study led by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), the researchers have identified 10 genetic variants in two chromosomal regions associated with age at menarche (the first menstrual period), and 13 genetic variants in four chromosomal regions associated with age at natural menopause.

Menarche and natural menopause are two important physiological events in a woman’s life.

The researchers explained that an early onset of menarche and later menopause are well-established risk factors for the development of breast cancer and endometrial cancer.

On the other hand, early menopause increases risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

Previous studies have suggested both menarche and menopause may be partially under genetic control.

And thus, to identify common genetic variants influencing these states, the researchers analysed more than 317,000 gene variants in a total of 17,438 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Women’s Genome Health Study (WGHS) based at BWH.

“At these newly identified loci, fine mapping or sequencing might lead to identification of the causal variants, and thus expand our knowledge of the underlying physiology and biological regulation of these traits. Insights into the genetic factors influencing the timing of menarche and natural menopause might shed light on normal reproductive function and the prevention of the diseases associated with these two traits,” Nature magazine quoted lead author Chunyan He, a doctoral student at HSPH, as saying.

Daniel Chasman, Director of Computational Biology in the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said:

“The collaboration of the WGHS and the NHS represents a great example of how large cohorts with genome-wide data can complement each other. While only one locus reached near genome-wide significance in the NHS alone, the meta-analysis of combined data had much more statistical power and revealed a total of two loci for timing of menarche and four for timing of menopause.”

Chasman, also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, added: “Of the loci for timing of menopause, three were already strong but not proven candidates in the NHS; these loci reached genome-wide significance in the WGHS alone, supplementing the meta-analysis by a second mode of validation through replication. The remaining locus, for timing of menopause, would not have been identified, even as a candidate, without the joint power of these two cohorts working together.

“Future collaborations will hopefully continue to leverage the combined power of the two cohorts for association studies directed at other clinical characteristics.”

Titled ‘Genome-wide association studies identify loci associated with age at menarche and at natural menopause’, the study has been published online in Nature Genetics.

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Flaxseeds are the richest source of a wondrous bioactive substance known as SLD (secoisolariciresinol diglycoside) that provides the body with a multitude of benefits. In fact, flaxseeds contain 800 times more SLD and related compounds (mammalian lignan precursors) than any other food on earth. Ingesting the equivalent of two heaping tablespoons of ground flaxseed (flaxseed powder) or approximately 40-50 gm of flaxseed is of great value in protecting female reproductive organs, and the male prostate gland from disease processes, keeping cholesterol within a safe range, supporting liver and gallbladder function, improving large bowel health, reversing fibrocystic breast disease, possibly supporting bone density and improving the texture and smoothness of the skin (an effect that almost everyone notices within the first few weeks of use). Here’s how and why flaxseed should be part of your daily wellness plan whether you are a woman or man.

Flaxseed and Breast Health

The SLD in flaxseeds are converted by large bowel bacteria into two estrogen-like substances known as enterolactone and enterodiol.

Enterolactone and enterodiol are classified as phytoestrogens (plant-based estrogens), which means they can bind to estrogen receptors on breast tissue, the endometrium of the uterus and cells on the cervix, and tone down the over stimulation of the body’s more potent estrogens to these tissues. This is important because over stimulation of these tissues by the body’s estrogens (or hormone replacement therapy or the birth control pill) is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer and cancer of the cervix.
The phytoestrogens derived from flaxseed are so effective at protecting a woman’s reproductive tissues from estrogen over stimulation that a recently published Toronto-based hospital study demonstrated that flaxseed supplementation greatly improved symptoms in women who suffered from cyclical mastalgia.
Other studies have demonstrated that flaxseed supplementation can normalize estrogen production and reduce the build up of more cancer permissive estrogens (decrease synthesis of 16-alpha hydroxyestrone). Furthermore, flaxseed ingestion has been shown to directly slow down the breast cell division rate (antiproliferative), which is a factor in the prevention of breast cancer development. All indicators suggest that every adult woman (by age 16) should capitalize upon the benefits of flaxseed as it impacts the lifelong health of reproductive tissues.

Flaxseed and Prostate Health

The phytoestrogens derived from flaxseed helps to preserve prostate health in various ways. These phytoestrogens (enterolactone and enterodiol) block the over production of estrone hormone within fat cells. With weight gain, fat cells become larger and tend to manufacture more estrone hormone, which encourages prostate cells to synthesize more dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT, in turn, stimulates rapid cell division of prostate cells leading to prostate enlargement. DHT also promotes the growth of any existing prostate cancer cells. By age 50, 15 to 30 percent of men already have some cancer cells present within the prostate gland. Keeping DHT levels in check is considered to be an important step in preventing those cancer cells from dividing and spreading en masse throughout the prostate gland and metastasizing to other parts of the body. Thus, the ingestion of flaxseed on a daily basis provides important bioactive agents that indirectly slow the rate of prostate cell division, reducing the chances of prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia) and hindering the promotion of cancer development. These same phytoestrogens also bind to receptors on the prostate gland helping to block the influence of other hormones, which may stimulate rapid prostate cell division. Other herbal compounds such as saw palmetto, pygeum africanum, soy isoflavonoids and beta-sitosterol can also block the build up of DHT and support prostate health. However, the daily ingestion of 50 gm of ground flaxseed each day should be included as a primary anti-aging, disease prevention strategy used by every adult male; as prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and prostate enlargement problems will affect 80 percent of men if they live to old age.

Flaxseed and Cholesterol

Studies reveal that the same amount of flaxseed required to help maintain male and female reproductive tissue health (approximately 40-50 gm ground flaxseed) can also lower blood cholesterol by up to 10 percent in people with high cholesterol levels. More importantly, it lowers the bad cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) by approximately 15 percent and concentrations of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] by 7 percent. Lp(a) is now recognized as a significant risk factor for heart disease and flaxseed supplementation is the only known dietary intervention that can lower Lp(a) into a safer range if it is elevated. As it turns out, flaxseed contains soluble dietary fiber, which has proven cholesterol-lowering effects. All in all, daily flaxseed supplementation factors into a heart-healthy lifestyle program as well.

Flaxseed and Bowel Function

Flaxseed also contains insoluble dietary fiber, which acts as a bulking agent or roughage in the promotion of more regular bowel movements. Studies indicate that flaxseed supplementation provides a natural and gentle laxation effect, which is associated with relieving constipation, and promoting the health of the large bowel. Most people ingest less than half of the recommended amount of dietary fiber. By providing both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, flaxseed is one of the few natural nutrition products that can help to keep cholesterol levels in check and maintain more optimal bowel function at the same time.

Flaxseed and Liver & Gallbladder Support

The daily ingestion of ground flaxseed has been shown to improve the flow of bile from the liver to the gallbladder, and ultimately into the intestinal tract. This effect helps to reduce the chances of gallstone formation and related gallbladder disease. Essentially, flaxseed supplementation induces a type of liver flushing effect, preventing the stagnation of bile, which can harden into stones if not eliminated in a timely fashion. Flaxseed supplementation also helps to prevent the conversion of bile into cholesterol, further facilitating a cholesterol-lowering effect by this action in the liver.

Flaxseed and Your Skin

Although the mechanism of action remains a mystery, virtually everyone who begins using flaxseed supplementation on a daily basis comments on the improved texture and smoothness of their skin all over their body. This is an effect that is usually noticed within the first month of using flaxseed on a daily basis. For those of us who use it, this is a wonderful additional benefit to its other premiere health-enhancing attributes.

How to Use Flaxseed

You can purchase ground flaxseeds (often marketed as flaxseed powder) or you can grind whole flaxseeds in a coffee grinder on a daily basis to maximize freshness of the product. Make sure your flaxseeds or powder are from organic sources.

Studies reveal that ingesting 40-50 gm of ground flaxseed per day provides the health-promoting benefits reviewed in this article.

This is the equivalent of two heaping tablespoons of ground flaxseed (flaxseed powder).

It can be mixed into a protein shake or fruit juice (e.g., orange juice). Many people sprinkle it on to their cereal or mix it into a bowl of low-fat yogurt. It can also be baked into low-fat muffins or flax-bread. The important thing is that you consume at least 25 gm per day, but more ideally 40-50 gm through whatever delivery system works for you. The best news is that it has a nutty, flavorful taste that is very palatable and enjoyable.

Flaxseed is truly one of nature’s gifts that you should incorporate into a proactive, anti-aging, disease prevention lifestyle. I personally recommend that you use it on a daily basis throughout your life.

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Salicylic acid is classified as a keratolytic, or peeling agent, and works by causing the outer layer of skin to shed. It is a common and effective treatment for a wide variety of skin problems. As a psoriasis treatment, it acts as a scale lifter, helping to soften and remove psoriasis scales.

Strong salicylic acid preparations can cause irritation if left in contact with the skin too long. The body may absorb too much salicylic acid if used over large areas of the skin. Salicylic acid may also weaken hair shafts and make them more likely to break, leading to temporary hair loss.

Coal tar

Tar derived from both coal and wood (e.g., juniper, pine) are both used for medicinal purposes. However, coal tar is the type used most commonly to treat psoriasis. Tar can help slow the rapid growth of skin cells and restore the skin’s appearance. In addition, it can help reduce the inflammation, itching and scaling of psoriasis. Tar products can vary dramatically from brand to brand. Generally, the higher the concentration of tar, the more potent the product.

Tar can irritate, redden and dry the skin. Test a tar product on a small area of the skin first. If reddening occurs, try applying the tar on top of a moisturizer. Tar can stain clothing, bed linen, and light-colored hair. Tar makes skin more sensitive to sunlight, so be sure to wash it off thoroughly, use sunscreen and monitor your sun exposure. Tar remains active on the skin for at least 24 hours, and you are at increased risk of sunburn during this period.

Studies show some of the chemicals in coal tar may cause cancer, but only in very high concentrations, such as in what is used in industrial paving. Anyone using tar regularly should follow a regular skin cancer checkup schedule. California requires OTC coal tar shampoos, lotions and creams that contain more than 0.5 percent coal tar to be labeled with cancer warnings. However, the FDA maintains that OTC products with coal tar concentrations between 0.5 percent and 5 percent are safe and effective for psoriasis, and there is no scientific evidence that the tar in OTC products is carcinogenic.

Other OTC treatment

There are other products which don’t contain salicylic acid or coal tar that are beneficial for treating psoriasis. Ingredients such as aloe vera, jojoba, zinc pyrithione, capsaicin and others, are frequently used to moisturize, soothe, remove scale or relieve itching.

The effectiveness of some of these products is not known. Be aware that “natural” ingredients can also cause side effects or allergic reactions. If irritation occurs, discontinue use.

Inverse psoriasis can be treated with Castederm, a liquid that is painted on the affected skin to help to dry moist lesions of psoriasis in folds. The use of powders may also help to dry the moist lesions associated with inverse psoriasis.

Moisturizers

Keeping the skin lubricated on a daily basis is an important part of psoriasis care because it reduces redness and itching and helps the skin heal. Dermatologists recommend heavy creams and ointments to lock water into the skin. Cooking oils and even shortening can be effective and economical substitutes for commercial moisturizers.

Bath solutions

Bath solutions can be beneficial in treating psoriasis. Adding oil, oilated oatmeal, Epsom salts or Dead Sea salts in a bath can help remove psoriasis scale and soothe itching. Soak for around 15 minutes and apply a moisturizer or oil to the skin immediately after getting out of the bath.

Scale lifters (keratolytics)

Scale lifters help loosen and remove scale allowing medications to reach the psoriasis lesions. There are scale-lifting products designed for the scalp, body or both. Note that scalp products are usually stronger and may be too harsh for other skin sites. OTC products that contain an active ingredient of salicylic acid, lactic acid, urea or phenol can be used as scale lifters.

Occlusion

Some topical medications or moisturizers can be occluded (or covered) to increase their effectiveness and the amount absorbed into the skin. With occlusion, the topical is applied to psoriasis lesions and the area is covered with plastic wrap, cellophane, waterproof dressing, cotton socks or a nylon suit. Always check with your doctor before occluding a steroid or other prescription medication.

Anti-itch

There are several ingredients that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating itch. Some of these include calamine, hydrocortisone (a weak steroid), camphor, diphenhydramine hydrochloride (HCl), benzocaine and menthol. Beware that these ingredients may increase irritation and dryness.

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Hydration Is Number One
Before looking any further, remember this. In order for your body to have healthy skin, each of the skin cells needs to provided with enough water. There is no easier way to do this than to just drink enough water each day. What you may not realize, too, is that water plays an extra role in the process of keeping skin looking young. It aid in flushing away all of the cells that have died. This helps to keep your outside layer of skin as healthy as it can possibly be.

Antioxidants Are Essential
If you are hoping for a way to help reduce the signs of aging, you can do so through antioxidants. Antioxidants are the very powerful element that is found in vegetables. They work to keep skin cells as healthy as possible. These are the cleaners of the body. They work to remove waste product from cells which in turn allows the skin to remain great looking. Antioxidants are a type of exfoliation for the skin that comes from the inside out. They also are great at removing build up in your arteries and blood vessels, which can prevent cancers and aid in the removal of dead cells.

To get these benefits, eat a diet that is rich in antioxidants. Choose vegetables and fruits that have deep colors. For example, deep greens are important. Choose a wide range of colors, too. Yellow squashes, orange melons, and blueberries are full of antioxidants that can provide this benefit to your skin.

When it comes to your diet, it does play a role in the health of your skin. There is never a time when you want to consider over the counter medications and anti aging products if you have not taken the time to improve the quality of your diet. Your diet has a direct affect on the quality of your skin.

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Depression comes in many guises which have spawned a plethora of labels.  You may have recently started to feel depressed having never experienced this condition before. It may scare you to feel this way and the thought of your emotions being out from under your control is indeed a daunting prospect. If you go and see a medical doctor you may be prescribed powerful psychotropic (mind altering) drugs. Besides being addictive these drugs have terrible side effects, behave as toxins to your system and deplete sorely needed vitamin and mineral.

Before looking at purely psychological problems with drugs as the only solution first examine physical factors that could affect your mental heath. You will be surprised how a diet high in refined carbohydrates and low in protein and vegetables can attack your normally cheerful disposition. Most people don’t connect nutrient deficient food with adverse effects in their mental faculties. They believe that as they are feeling sad, anxious or tearful these reactions are psychological in nature and only psychotropic drugs will help. Not true.

Food, the quality of, and nutrients have a huge impact on your well being. Do you eat very little breakfast or none, have a sandwich and a sugary drink for lunch then eat an enormous dinner when you get in at night because you’re starving. Does your blood sugar level yo-yo continuously? Additionally if you’re very hungry when you get home at night chances are you don’t try and eat a square meal. When hunger– the most powerful of urges — is the impelling force then food that is very quick to get at wins over better quality. Low blood sugar can cause headaches, mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiousness and apprehension. These factors aside, to build blood and bone you need to eat food that supplies the bricks and mortar of the body. Junk foods supply nothing. If you exclude the nutrients your cells need then your body will tear itself apart to get those building blocks. Below is an example of how your body does that and what effect it has on your mental health.

The body’s milieu interne “the internal environment” was discovered and noted by Claude Bernard. Milieu interne is the name given to the extracellular (outside cells) fluids that surround the cells. The maintenance of constant conditions in these fluids is referred to as homeostasis. Your body regularly checks its temperature, the glucose levels in the blood, the amount of blood you have flowing in your arteries and veins and various other states that have to remain even. One constant of body fluid that has to be maintained is the balance of acid and alkalinity in your blood – it must remain slightly on the alkaline side.

Calcium is an alkaline forming element. Calcium is essential for regulating the transmission of fluids through the cell walls. Fluids that bring nutrients to the cells and fluids that dissolve and take out waste. All controlled by calcium. Now what happens to you when you don’t supply enough calcium to your body? As calcium levels drop your nerve tissue is much easier to irritate. How does that translate into depression? With unfortunate ease. Small silly things begin to irritate you. Noises that normally wouldn’t bother you suddenly become huge problems. Your calcium sinks lower; you snap at work mates for the slightest things; are short with your loved ones over minor transgressions. They naturally take offense at such silliness and fight back. You can’t control your temper. You’re easily angered as your nerves jangle. You snarl and bark then feel terrible about your behaviour. Remember your body has rigid parameters that it must keep within to survive. If the body has limited calcium it will neglect nerve tissue requirements to keep fluids flowing through cell walls. A surly disposition will lose you friends and family, but it definitely won’t kill you. On the other hand if fluids stopped flowing through your cells….

That’s the dilemma faced by your body when you put the wrong food into it. Calcium comes from mustard greens, spinach, parsley, collards, asparagus, dairy foods, salmon, sardines, seafood, broccoli, cabbage and water cress. How much of those foods do you regularly eat?

Now look at how a single substance that millions of people consume daily pump cells full of acid and force the body to pull alkalinity i.e. calcium from your nerve tissue and bones.

Acid Forming Food – Refined Sugar.

Why is refined sugar such a culprit? Because it’s hidden. Most western foods are loaded with sugar especially savoury foods where you’d never think to look for sugar. Sugar may be couched in different terms: sucrose, glucose and natural cane sugar (once sugar cane has gone through the sugar milling process it’s about as “natural” as a Martian). Added to all the sugar-laced foods you may be eating if you are also taking a teaspoon of sugar in your tea or coffee, then drinking three or four cups per day, your body is fighting a losing battle against calcium depletion.

The result? Nerve tissue that reacts far beyond what it should to stimulus. If your job is quiet (office work, accounting or paperwork) and your calcium levels are low you will be tense and on edge. Usual job pressure causes this as your body removes calcium from nerve tissue and re-directs it to more vital areas. Kick that up a few notches to a job that is really stressful, and loud, with lots of randomity and motion (teaching, crèche work, noisy thumping machinery, complaint desks, traffic department etc) then the amount of stimuli soaking your nerve endings is enormous. At the end of each day you arrive home exhausted with a pounding headache seeking only a hot bath and a quiet space. How are you going to cope tomorrow?

How Does Sugar Form Acid?

The first step towards controlling something is to understand how detrimental it is to your mental health. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate and in its refined state has small molecules. You may have heard a great deal about simple and complex carbohydrates. A simple carbohydrate is in a form that as soon as it hits the intestines it is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. This shoots up your glucose levels far too rapidly causing an imbalance of oxygen. With too little oxygen the glucose is not burnt up completely. This noncompletion of the burning process results in the production of organic acids namely lactic acid, pyro-racemic acid, butyric acid and acetic acid. Every time you flood your system with an abundance of sugar the end result is acid. The solution? Switch to Xylitol (a substance recommended by the British nutritionist Patrick Holford) and make a concerted effort to scale down on anything that has sugar, sucrose etc in it. With this single step you have made a huge advance towards improving your mental health by slowing down that thing which robs your body of calcium.

Magnesium and B6

Both are water soluble so if you are drinking your eight glasses of water every day to remain hydrated you’ll be washing out your B6 and magnesium. Don’t stop the water – just increase your intake of the nutrients. Alcohol does a thorough job of removing B6 and magnesium from the body. If you are a sociable drinker your magnesium and B6 will almost certainly be low. Unfortunately many people that are feeling down use alcohol to give them a lift. Alcohol burns up the B vitamins and rapidly depletes magnesium. Symptoms of a B6 deficiency are: irritability, sensitive to noise, over-reaction to loud sounds.
Magnesium has long been recognized as food for the nervous system and is often called Nature’s tranquillizer. Magnesium is intimately involved in the normal functioning of the brain, spinal chord and all nerves. With even a slight deficiency of magnesium you can become tense, anxious, apprehensive and combative. The recriminations that magnesium deficient people experience after they have had a heated outburst over some trivial incident quickly lead to sorrow and fear over their inability to control their emotions.

Get Qualified Advice

The B vitamins work together therefore if one is taken to the exclusion of the others severe deficiencies can be created. As B6 is a key nutrient in helping the body keep the nervous system calm and nourished, this vitamin taken alone will create deficiencies in other vitamins especially B2 and pantothenic acid. Your body’s ability to repair itself is always so badly underestimated. Most people don’t really know how all the nutrients work together. They have a stab at this and that and usually the results are disappointing leading them to believe that their body must be irreparable/different/unusual. To prevent this hit and miss affair when you go to purchase your vitamins ensure that you get a good quality B complex recommended by your health shop or Naturopath. There are excellent brands on the market that are manufactured by companies committed to improving health. Corporations that produce quality nutrients employ Naturopaths and Nutritionists to carefully formulate their vitamins and minerals. These same companies then do extensive training with health shops so that the staff at the health shops is well trained on the products they sell. It is this training and guidance which you seek when choosing a B complex.

When you avoid nutrient thieves and concentrate on eating foods and taking supplements that are rich in the nutrients you need for normal mental health a remarkable improvement in your attitude, emotions and zest for life will return.

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Understanding osteoporosis means understanding what the disease is, what its risk factors are, and what can be done to prevent it. Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by a decrease in bone density. This leads to fractures and other bone problems. One of the first things to do to prevent osteoporosis is determining if you are at risk for developing the disease.

Identifying Your Osteoporosis Risk Factors

There are several things that can determine the likelihood of developing osteoporosis. Being female, for example, is a common osteoporosis risk factor. Women, particularly Caucasians or Asians, are the people the most likely to get osteoporosis. Few males will develop the condition. If you are a woman, chalk up one risk factor in your count.

Osteoporosis often runs in families. If your mother or grandmother had osteoporosis, you are likely to develop the condition unless you modify your lifestyle. Along those lines poor nutrition is also an osteoporosis risk factor. Women who do not eat enough calcium and vitamin D are going to be at risk for bone loss.

Some people have a condition known as malabsorption. This condition causes them to not absorb nutrients properly from their digestive system. If you have this condition, it can cause you to not absorb the calcium you need correctly. This is also a risk factor for osteoporosis, and many patients with this condition are surprised because they have a healthy diet yet still develop osteoporosis.

Menopause and the lowered levels of estrogen that occur at this time in a woman’s life is another risk factor to consider. When you lose your menstrual cycle, whether when you are in menopause or when you are younger, you are also at higher risk for osteoporosis. If you are in menopause or have unexpectedly lost your period, you should talk to your doctor about osteoporosis testing.

Finally, if you have been immobilized because of a medical condition, such as a stroke, you are at a higher risk for developing osteoporosis. If you have several of these risk factors already, even if you are young, you may want to schedule a bone density test and start following an osteoporosis diet. The test can determine if you have damage from bone loss, and the diet will help keep it from developing.

Preventing Osteoporosis Through Diet

If you have risk factors for osteoporosis, you should consider some dietary changes that can help prevent the disease from developing. The earlier you start these dietary changes, the better. Following a good osteoporosis diet will help all areas of your health, particularly your bone density.

First make sure your diet is high in fruits and vegetables. As early as you can start implementing these foods into your diet, do so. There is a direct connection between high bone density and fruit consumption. The alkali buffers in fruits and vegetables help reverse the normal loss of calcium that your body undergoes.

Vitamin D is another important part of an osteoporosis diet. You can get vitamin D simply by spending some time in the sun. This essential vitamin helps your body absorb calcium better. Twenty minutes of sunshine each day will prevent a deficiency of vitamin D. If the sun is out of the question for you, then you need to eat foods with fish oils, such as fatty fish meat. Fortified foods, like fortified milk, also provide your body with vitamin D.

You can add calcium supplements into your diet to help prevent osteoporosis. Make sure that any multivitamin you take has calcium. You can also chew a couple of tablets of Tums antacids every day to help you get enough calcium.
Drinking milk or eating cheese and yogurt also provides your body with the calcium it needs to fight bone loss. Incorporate as much dairy into your day as your body can handle. This way you are giving it every chance it needs to absorb calcium.

While osteoporosis is not curable, you can help prevent the disease from progressing through a proper diet. If you have not yet been diagnosed with the disease yet have risk factors present, you can help prevent the disease from occurring at all through a good, healthy diet that is rich in calcium.

Related posts:

1. Prevent Osteoporosis to Avoid Broken Bones
2. Preventing Osteoporosis through Diet
3. The Benefits of Calcium

Most women are apprehensive about the pre-menopause period, and rightly so. There are a lot of changes that take place in the body during that time and most of them are highly unpleasant. A few changes in your daily schedule and food choices can do wonders in combating most of these dreaded symptoms.

There is plenty that can be done to prevent and circumvent most of the unpleasant effects. Here are some simple ways to ease the transition.

Introduce exercise in your daily routine.

Exercise is a must for anybody – young or old. However, for pre-menopausal women, regular exercise is even more important because it eases their mood swings, increases restful and restorative sleep, fights depression, and improves digestion. This is a good time to practice yoga and other such exercises that combine meditation (mental relaxation) along with body fitness for overall health and a sense of wellbeing.

Avoid coffee and caffeine.

This is a time when coffee, carbonated drinks, tea and other such drinks should be avoided as these promote hot flashes. Avoid consumption of alcohol for the same reasons. Carbonated drinks decrease the ability to absorb calcium and may leave you more vulnerable to osteoporosis and tooth loss. Have plenty of fruit juice, vegetable juice, and water. You need plenty of hydration to counter the dryness of the mucus membranes of the body, and juice will replenish some of the vitamins and minerals your body so greatly needs right now.

Consider HRT.

Hormone replacement therapy involves literally putting hormone levels back in balance and sustaining that balance. Though some studies show that this therapy sometimes increases the risk of breast cancer, this method is still the fastest way to get relief from many of the pre-menopausal and menopausal physical symptoms.

Try natural remedies.

You might be pleasantly surprised with the variety and efficiency of natural remedies. Beta carotene, fish oil, flaxseed, and soy bean products are only a few of some excellent natural products that can work wonders in preventing and eliminating the majority of the pre-menopausal symptoms.

Pre-menopause can be a frightening and confusing time in the life of even the most self-assured woman. By taking simple, proactive steps, you can step into this new stage of adulthood with confidence, health, and grace.

Related posts:

1. Fcupuncture for Hot Flashes
2. Warning For Women Who Use Herbs To Beat The Menopause
3. Urinary Tract Infection: How to Prevent Recurring Attacks

A urinary tract infection (UTI), and particularly one that recurs, can be the bane of a woman’s life. The symptoms are often acutely painful, and if your infection is one that recurs only a short while after you’ve managed to clear it up, it can also be frustratingly annoying! There are no home remedies that will effectively treat a UTI; only a course of antibiotics from your doctor will do that. However, there are a number of simple steps a woman can take to help prevent infection recurring.

Urinary tract infection usually occurs when bacteria enter the opening of the urethra and then multiply in the urinary tract. Women are more prone to UTI because we have shorter urethras and therefore it’s easier for bacteria to enter. Some symptoms of UTI are back pain, blood in the urine, pain on urination, and an inability to urinate despite a persistent urge.

In order to help prevent bacteria from entering the urethra, it’s important to keep scrupulously clean and to wipe from front to back. Emptying the bladder after sex will also help flush out any bacteria that might have managed to enter the urethra during intercourse. Studies have shown that women who use a diaphragm or whose partners use a condom with spermicidal lubricant are more at risk of developing a UTI than those women who use other forms of birth control.

Cranberry juice has taken on almost legendary status where the prevention of UTI is concerned, and not without good reason. Eighty-five percent of UTIs are caused as a result of E. coli bacteria. Cranberry juice produces hippuric acid in the urine which acidifies the urine and inhibits the adherence of E. coli cells to the lining of the bladder, thereby reducing the risk of infection. Look for 100 percent cranberry juice which is usually sold in health shops; the regular cranberry juice sold in supermarkets isn’t concentrated enough and contains a lot of sugar. Cranberry juice won’t clear up a UTI but it’s a good preventative measure if you suffer from repeated attacks.

Drinking water will also help flush out any impurities in the bladder so keep up your water intake at all times—before, during, and after a UTI.

Related posts:

1. Cystitis – Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention
2. Urinary Incontinence Heavily Affected By Diet
3. How to Prevent Osteoporosis Through Diet