Category: English

Being a healthy eater requires you to become both
educated and smart about what healthy eating
actually is. Being food smart isn’t about
learning to calculate grams or fat, or is it
about studying labels and counting calories.

Healthy eating is all about balanced and moderate
eating, consisting of healthy meals at least
three times per day. Healthy eaters eat many
different types of foods, not limiting themselves
to one specific food type or food group.

Eating healthy requires quite a bit of leeway. You
might eat too much or not enough, consume
foods that are sometimes more or less nutritious.
However, you should always fuel your body and
your brain regularly with enough food to keep
both your mind and body strong and alert.

A healthy eater is a good problem solver. Healthy
eaters have learned to take care of themselves
and their eating with sound judgement and making
wise decisions. Healthy eaters are always aware
of what they eat, and know the effect that it
will have on their bodies.

When someone is unable to take control of their
eating, they are also likely to get out of control
with other aspects of life as well. They could
end up spending too much, talking too much, even
going to bed later and later.

You should always remember that restricting food
in any way is always a bad thing. Healthy eating
is a way of life, something that you can do to
enhance your body or your lifestyle. If you’ve
thought about making your life better, healthy
eating is just the place to start. You’ll make
life easier for yourself, those around you, and
even your family.

This article is about weight loss and how to live a more healthy life, I hope you find it interesting to read and beneficial. I have had a lot of problems with my weight over the years and by the age of twenty-two had had enough of being obese. In the article I write about how I eventually lost my excess pounds.

I have always struggled to keep my weight under control. Being over-weight affected my whole life, I was unable to wear the clothes I wanted to and I often felt guilty after eating certain foods. I was adamant that if only I could lose a couple of stones my confidence would increase and that I would ultimately be a lot happier.

I read many books and attempted to follow a range of diets. For whatever reason this did not seem to help me, mainly because I could not stick to their weight loss programs due to my love of fatty foods.

One day I was talking to a neighbour who was not only very nice but also quite thin. She looked very fit and healthy and I enquired as to how she kept so trim.

This neighbour who is called Gillian seemed quite taken aback and even flattered by my question and went quite coy. She stated that at one point in her life, she had also had a weight problem and had not been happy about it. What she was about to say was quite a shock to me, however would eventually change my life.

She went on to say that wherever she went to at this stage of her life, she would travel to by car. Gillian had realised that in an average week, she did very little exercise and at times did none at all. She then went out and bought a dog and would take this pet for a walk at least twice a day. This was not a choir for Gillian and over the next few years even resulted in her meeting a number of new friends. Previously, Gillian had seen exercise as a hassle and very time consuming but on various days she would take her dog on four walks, she enjoyed it that much.

Gillian quickly noticed that not only was she losing weight but that she also felt a lot healthier. It was not long before she was at a weight she was happy with.

After listening to Gillian’s story I decided to follow her weight loss program. Yes I went and bought a dog and am happy to report that it has also worked for me.

If truth be told most of us want to be a lot fitter then we are. It is something we should all be aiming for, a better level of fitness. So where do we all start. Well a quick internet search reveals too many pages to provide a good and reliable source of information, and there is a great deal of in formation provided on the TV channels, books, newspapers and countless fitness DVDs. To be honest there will always be something out there that will help, or maybe you can take a little information from each one to build your own fitness regime.

Are there any benefits to being fitter? Guess what the answer is. Yes, fitter is better. Fitter equals less body fat as this is something that is burnt off during exercise and exercise is how to become fitter. You could just diet to become slimmer but your chances of loosing weight will be much greater if you exercise as well as diet.

A fitter person has a lower heart rate which improves your well being and as you will be breathing harder during exercise this will increase your lung function so you will enable your body to absorb more oxygen to feed your brain and muscles.

If you have hypertension, being fitter can help to lower this and can positively affect both diastolic and systolic levels. This has helped me recently as I am suffering from hypertension and one of the side effects of my medication has been to lower my heart rate. A lower heart rate means less oxygen circulating round my body, and less oxygen means less brain food. This explains why some days I have been slightly confused and somewhat forgetful. I decided to raise my overall fitness level and have been working out for several months now. My confusion has gone, my weight is down, my excess body fat is dropping and my hypertension is much better.

Being fitter can also have a positive effect on cholesterol levels, reducing LDL cholesterol, (which is good), yet helping to raise the HDL level, (which I understand is also good). Greater fitness can also help your heart and lower the chance of having a stroke. I used to smoke which wasn’t good for my heart and found exercise very hard. I decided to stop smoking and coupled with a fitness regime I now feel much better and a lot fitter.

My stamina and strength has increased greatly since working out and this is even more important to people as you get a little older.

A great way of developing a fitness regime is to seek help and your local gym should have a personal trainer, (or you can find your own). These will advise you on the best way to become fitter and remember they are the experts. A personal trainer knows the things we don’t and it is sensible advice to listen to their advice. They will not set up a fitness regime that is so strenuous that it will kill you on day one. A personal trainer will help you build up your strength and stamina by developing a sensible program of exercise. To develop a sensible fitness program we need to consider 4 important areas.

Aerobic exercise is a form of exercise which is low in its intensity but lengthy in its duration. Put simply this means not too hard but goes on a long time such as walking, swimming and aerobics on your own or in aerobic workout classes.

Another way of getting fitter is to pull weights which is known as resistance training. My experience of this training is limited but to do it sensibly start with low weights and build up the weight as your fitness builds up. Remember, be sensible and don’t over do it as you can damage your body easily with unsupervised weight training.

You could take up a fitness regime involving flexibility exercises such as yoga. Remember though you still need to eat a properly balanced diet of sensible foods as part of your fitness program.

Getting fitter can be easy, just do easy exercises a little at a time and then do it properly and intensively. To get fit quick though, consider being advised by a specialist fitness trainer, either a personal one or one based in a gym. They will help you find out what is best for you. Books and web sites can give you guidance as to how to get fitter and this is what a personal trainer will do, but a book or a web site cannot tailor the advice to you and your circumstances. A personal trainer can, and will, do this. Another thing they can do, which is usually something I need, is they can help to motivate you in order that you can develop your own fitness regime. Becoming fitter takes time and time is something that many of up are short of in today’s modern world. Just remember that you need to keep working at a fitness regime to develop a better level of fitness. Fitness is not something you can buy at the supermarket. In order to become fitter you just need to take things steady at first but there has to be a first, you have to start somewhere. Just look at me. I used to be a heavy smoker and drinker; I was grossly overweight and had hypertension. Now, I am much fitter, can jog miles without problems, the hypertension is much more controlled and my waistline has shrunk. How, well I started a fitness program which was easy at first, and just built up from there. Start small and build up to a more developed program. Good luck. I did it and so can you.

The healthcare industry will see a great amount of growth in the next ten to fifteen years when the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age and transitions in to nursing care facilities. As our population ages, we will need to have a strong system of qualified healthcare personnel to help manage all aspects of health care management. The healthcare industry will see a great amount of growth in the next ten to fifteen years when the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age and transitions in to nursing care facilities. The baby boomer generation is considered to be one of Americas largest generations ever. This is an explosive time for the health care industry. Anyone involved in health care is going to have steady work for years to come.

Health care is a large industry that encompasses many different areas of expertise. There are doctors, pharmacists, and nurses to take care of patient needs. There is also a large business and administrative side to the health care industry. This portion of the business provides the infrastructure that allows patients to receive medicine and treatments they require, as they need it. People who are looking to pursue a health care career have almost endless job options. You can be involved in direct patient care, medical billing and coding, working for insurance companies, or even practicing holistic medicine. No matter what avenue you pursue in your healthcare career, having your degree and training will ensure your marketability in the workplace.

*According to the bureau of labor statistics, health care provided 12.9 million jobs-12.5 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 382,000 jobs for the self-employed. Of the 12.5 million wage and salary jobs, more than 40 percent were in hospitals; another 22 percent were in either nursing or residential care facilities; and almost 16 percent were in offices of physicians. About 92 percent of wage and salary jobs were in private industry; the rest were in State and local government hospitals. The majority of jobs for self-employed workers were in offices of physicians, dentists, and other health practitioners-about 265,000 out of the 382,000 total self-employed.

Melissa Steele

Health is wealth. By being physically fit, it can make a person look lean both inside and out.

There is a lot a person can do such jogging or walking in the morning, playing basketball or any other sport with friends but if a person wants to have muscles and look lean, the best thing to do will be to sign up and workout in a gym.

Just like taking any medicine, one should first consult the doctor before undergoing any form of exercise.

Physical exercise is beneficial because it helps maintain and improve ones health from a variety of diseases and premature death. It also makes a person feel happier and increases ones self esteem preventing one from falling into depression or anxiety. It has also shown to make a person with an active lifestyle live longer than a person who doesn’t.

The best exercise plan should have cardiovascular and weight training exercises. This helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase ones metabolism and make one either gain or lose weight.

A person who has never worked out before should do it gradually. Doing it too much for the first time can make one pull a muscle or have an injury making it worse. Endurance will never be built in a day and doing it repeatedly will surely be good to the person.

Focusing on certain portion in the body can help make it improve. A good example is going to the gym and doing a workout more often in a specific area such as the abs can give one a chest pack.

But beauty is not only about having muscles which is what people can see. It is also about enhancing the beauty within.

Here are some things one can do everyday to stay beautiful and healthy;

· Reading books and other reading material more often keeps the mind sharp just like working out keeps the body in shape.

· Work no matter what kind it is produces stress. One can reduce this by taking the time out to do something special like lying in a hot tub, shopping or watching a movie. Studies have shown it is reliever and helps one from looking haggardly.

· Pollution is something people cannot control given the size of the problem. When one goes out, it is best to put some form of protection such as beauty products that contain antioxidants that protect the skin from damage. There are also other beauty products available and choosing the right one with the help of a dermatologist can help the person.

· Another way to stay healthy is to give up some vices. Most people smoke and drink. Smoking has been proven to cause lung cancer and other diseases as well complications for women giving birth. Excessive drinking has also shown to do the same.

· For people who don’t smoke, it is best to stay away from people who do since studies have shown that nonsmokers are also at risk of developing cancer due to secondary smoke inhalation.

· Lastly, it is best to always start the day with a positive outlook. Just as studies have shown that exercise makes a person feel happier, smiling produces the same effect. A smile can do a lot and it is contagious in a positive sense. It brightens the day of not only one but others as well.

How do you regularly stay fit, healthy and flexible? A hale and hearty diet of nutritious fruits and vegetables is the key as well as regular and continuous exercise.

The best exercise is one that you are really and sincerely going to be working out on, be it push-ups, stretches, jumping jacks or the regular jogging or the much tamer walking. However, there are people who prefer to work out using fitness equipment in their own homes.

The following are a few basic and important things to consider when buying those exercise equipments.

Do not believe what you see and hear

At least not everything, it is good if you assess all those claims exercise equipments declare in their advertisements. It is so hard to accept as true for example some statements that assure people that they will lose several pounds off their weight in as little as seven days or that you will decrease your pants size in one month. Even with the assistance of dietary supplements, it is not possible to accomplish changes as major as these in just a few weeks, much less days.

Fat Burner is a No Burner

Be skeptical about claims that say you will be able to burn a tremendous amount of fat in a specific area of your body, such as the hips, thighs, waist just by applying a specific type of ointment or lotion, etc. The only sure way to burn all those fat way is by changing what you eat. Exercise is the best solution to works out every area of the body whose fat you want to get rid of.

The only testimonial that counts is yours

Before and after pictures of people who claim that they were able to lose weight because of using such and such equipments may or may not be true. If ever they are, their experience is purely personal and that is no assurance that your unique body weight, body make-up will also undergo the same change they went through.

Read the fine print

It is always advisable to read the fine print of anything. Though you believe that the fitness equipment you are planning to purchase is a good one, reading the fine print really wouldn’t hurt as it may say that you also have to decrease your calorie intake and not just rely on what the machine could do for you.

Do the math

There are advertising statements that say you could pay off the fitness equipment in a number of easy payments or by paying a mere thirty nine ninety five a month. Do not forget to inquire about shipping and handling costs and include that in your calculation. Also, add-on the required sales tax, delivery fees, set-up fees. Know all the details before you purchase.

Guarantee the warranty

It is best that you consider asking about details on their thirty day money back guarantee. Though this could sound good to you as the consumer, it may or may not actually do you good if for example you are going to return the item. You may actually pay for the humongous shipping cost and it could cost you more than what you could guarantee to receive in thirty days.

Call customer service

Make sure you contact their customer service hotline. Usually, they have toll-free numbers that you must be able to easily contact as well as a customer service representative who must be glad to be able to take your call and answer thoroughly all or any questions you may have about their products and services.

All diets designed to promote heart health are low in fat and cholesterol and high in fiber. Vegetarian diets, then, are natural choices for those who want to reduce the risk of heart disease because vegetarian diets are naturally low in fat and cholesterol and high in fiber! Eliminating meat, poultry and fish, which are among the foods highest in fat and cholesterol and lowest in fiber, can be a giant step toward improving heart health. Another step, which comes naturally to vegetarians, is to increase the consumption of plant-based foods that are naturally high in fiber. Plant-based foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, also provide antioxidant protection for the heart.

The following guidelines from www.d-vegetarian.com are recommended for cooking heart-healthy vegetarian meals:

Sauté foods in water or very small amounts of olive or canola oil. Olive and canola oils are considered the healthiest oils because of they help to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. Low fat cooking methods are also recommended for heart health. Such methods include broiling, steaming, roasting, baking, poaching, boiling, and stir-frying with little or no oil. You can also try replacing some of the oil, butter or margarine in recipes with water, juice, applesauce, or puréed prunes. Frying foods, particularly deep-frying, is never recommended for those concerned about heart health.

Since egg yolks are high in cholesterol, whole eggs can often be replaced with bananas, tofu, applesauce, or egg replacers in most recipes. You can also replace the yolk with the white of another egg. For example, if a recipes call for one egg, use two egg whites and discard the yolks.

When shopping for ingredients for heart-healthy meals, buy plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fat free or low fat milk products. Avoid frozen vegetables with cheese, cream or butter sauces. Read the labels on snack foods to find out how much fat and cholesterol they contain. The best snacks are popcorn, fresh fruits and vegetables, rice cakes, and pretzels. There are also lower fat baked versions of many chips that would ordinarily be high in fat.

Fiber helps to cleanse the blood of cholesterol, which is why high fiber diets are considered beneficial to the heart. To fiber intake, choose whole grain breads and cereals and limit the consumption of refined (white) breads and cereals. Also limit consumption of sugary baked goods like croissants and muffins, which tend to be low in fiber and high in fat.

Eating out can be especially challenging both to vegetarians and to those concerned about heart health. Some simple guidelines can make it easier. For example, choose stir-fried entrees, steamed vegetables, and pasta with tomato sauce. Order baked potatoes without butter or cheese, and choose vegetable-based soups. Avoid mayonnaise-based salad dressings, and always ask for dressings and sauces to be served on the side so you can limit the amount you eat. Saturated fats and trans fats should be avoided, while monounsaturated fats are generally considered good for the heart. The fact that saturated fats are mostly found in animal products is another natural advantage for vegetarians concerned with heart health. But saturated fats are also found in coconut, palm, and palm kernel oil, so these oils should be avoided on a heart healthy diet. Trans fats, which may also contribute to the development of heart disease, are found in margarine and many baked goods. Monounsaturated fats, the kind that are good for the heart, include canola oil, olive oil, flax seed oil, nuts, avocado, soy, and nut butters.

A vegetarian diet that includes soy products may add an extra benefit for heart health.
Many studies suggest a connection between soy, such as tofu, soymilk, and soy yogurt, and lower rates of heart disease. The usual recommendation is 25 grams of soy protein per day.

Since cholesterol is only found in food of animal origin, such as meat, eggs and dairy products, vegans do not need to worry about cholesterol in the foods they eat.. Grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, vegetables and vegetable oil are all naturally cholesterol free. Conversely, only vegetarian foods provide heart healthy fiber. Oats, carrots, fruits, and beans are especially high in the kind of fiber that helps to lower cholesterol levels in the blood.

If you are interested in more specific guidelines for a heart healthy vegetarian diet, the ebook Vegetarian Cooking is a good resource. Available at www.d-vegetarian.com, the book provides listings of heart healthy nutrients as well as which foods contain them and in what amounts. There are also dozens of other topics covering all aspects of the vegetarian lifestyle and its benefits.

The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is actually much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.

When you take into account how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount actually equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how easy to reach this daily goal really is.

One great way to get the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables every day is to take full advantage of the variety of these foods available. Eating the same thing every day quickly becomes boring, so why not pick a variety of fruits and vegetables, in every color of the rainbow and in every conceivable shape, size and texture, to give yourself a varied diet every day.

When shopping for fruits and vegetables, it is important to choose a variety of different colors. This is for more than purely artistic reasons. Different color fruits and vegetables have different types of nutrients, and choosing a variety of colors will help ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need each and every day.

Finding new recipes is another great way to ensure you get those five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Everyone likes to try out new recipes, and these new recipes may just provide the impetus you need to eat all those fruits and veggies.

New recipes can also provide you the important opportunity to try out some fruits and vegetables you have never tried before. For instance, everyone has eaten oranges, but have you tried kiwi fruit or mangoes? How about spinach or kale? Trying new things is a great way to find new favorites while getting the best nutrition available.

Many people mistakenly think that they do not need to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day if they just take a vitamin supplement. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. That is because fruits and vegetables contain far more than the micronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills. While these micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E are important to good health, so too are the hundreds of other elements that are contained in healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. These elements are not available in any pill, they must be ingested through a healthy, balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are much less costly than vitamin pills. Fruits and vegetables are very inexpensive, especially when purchased in season and grown locally. In the long run, getting the nutrition you need from the food you eat is much less expensive, and much better for you, than popping those vitamin pills every day.

So don’t forget to get your five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. It may seem like a lot, but you can meet this quite reasonable goal simply by including fruits and vegetables as snacks, as garnishes, as side dishes and as meals.

Life without emotions is like an empty canvass. Our life should have some color once in a while, or else life would be completely dull and boring. Emotions are so important in daily life. For that reason, human emotions have been the object of research and study for thousands of years. What has changed over the years has been the general approach to this investigation. For many years, researchers in psychology focused on what seemed to be rational and what could be directly observed through physiology. Hence, emotion was neglected as it was seen as more part of mind than body.

All humans have basic emotional needs. These needs can be expressed as feelings, like the need to feel important, accepted, and respected. While all humans share these needs, each differs in the strength of the need, just as some of us need more water, more food, or more sleep. One person may need more freedom and independence, another may need more security and social connections. One may have a greater curiosity and greater need for understanding, while another is content to accept whatever he has been told.

Unlike physical health, many people including physicians have somehow neglected the importance of emotional stability. A person’s emotional stability is vital in achieving overall health. Emotional stability contributes to the individual’s sense of well-being. Without this, one can be prone to internal chaos, depression, despair, and isolation. In fact, emotional health influences other aspects of health such as physical, mental and social health.

Stress leads to the release of certain chemicals to prepare us for action. When this is not required, these excessive chemical levels can cause damage to our body over time. Emotional issues may manifest themselves as illness. One very difficult form of stress to cope and manage is emotional stress. It is often self-created, it can come out of nowhere and the stress caused by it only heightens the emotions felt. As the emotional stress increases, the emotions get worse, heightening the emotional stress. Thus, the problem recreates the cause and the problem only gets worse.

Emotional stress is often triggered by a dramatic event that puts a person’s nervous system under severe strain. This stress-inducing event could be losing a loved one, seeing someone die, ending a relationship, or being put into a life-threatening situation. These emotionally-charged occurences put a severe strain on a person’s mind. The incredible strain can cause changes in the way that the brain works. In fact, a severe emotional strain could even cause someone to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

Therefore, maitaining emotional health is necessary to achieve optimum health. It requires a multi-dimensional approach. The various aspects of this approach may include counseling, anger management, meditation, and physical exercise. People should not be haunted by emotional stress. Instead, they should look and try to understand where it is coming from. There are various support groups and solutions that are easily accessible to help someone cope with emotional stress and illnesses. One should not dwell on negative feelings and emotions, which can only hamper the beauty of the different colors of life.

Are you having trouble getting your insurance company to pay your medical health costs? Join the club. When managed care entered the insurance scene a decade ago, its mandate was to contain rising medical costs. One way to do that is to deny claims, even when claims are legitimate. The consumer backlash led to many states establishing independent review panels and requiring insurance companies to develop in-house appeal procedures. Forty-two states now have independent review boards whose decisions can override those of insurance companies. Most consumers don’t even realize these review boards exist.

Another problem is that too many people just give up when their insurance claim is denied initially. The appeals process can be long and frustrating and many people don’t have the patience or time to pursue a claim no matter how legitimate. People must be persistent and they can win. Particularly if there’s substantial money involved, the time you dedicate to appealing insurance company decisions can pay off usually more quickly than you think. A Kaiser Family Foundation study recently found that 52% of patients won their first appeal for each claim made. The insurance companies aren’t getting with out paying anymore.

If your first appeal gets turned down, press on. The study found that those who appealed a second time won 44% of the time. Those who appealed a third time won in 45% of cases. Which means the odds are in your favor no matter how long it take. Remember that every time you appeal it costs the insurance company more money to fight you and they are not only going to lose money to you, but also in court costs. Medical health benefits are particularly tricky because insurance companies usually have a cap on the amount of money they’ll spend in a given year, or on the amount of visits they’ll pay for. But there’s often some flexibility when you can document that you or your child’s health warrants more care than your policy usually covers. Here’s how to get started:

Do Your Homework

Read your Policy: What are the benefits? Which kinds of services are included? Outpatient or inpatient care? Is it a serious or “non-serious” diagnosis?

Know the law: Contact your local Health Association to determine your states legal requirements regarding insurance payments for all illness. Does your state require full or partial parity? Are parity benefits available only to patients with “Serious Illness” or is a so-called non-serious illness also included?

Provide written documentation: Some insurance companies may not consider some diagnosis’s serious. In this case, you will need documentation to validate required services. Obtain a letter of medical necessity from your doctor and get test results showing the medical need for you or your child to receive certain services, based on the diagnosis.

Keep good records: Remember, you’ll be dealing with a bureaucracy. Keep the names and numbers of everyone with whom you speak, the dates on which you spoke, and what transpired in the conversation.

Start early: If you can, start the appeals process prior to initiating treatment. If the doctor says your child will need to be seen once a week for a year, begin immediately to appeal your insurance company’s policy of reimbursing only 20 visits a year.

Call and Ask the Insurance Company:

What are the prerequisites for receiving health benefits?

How many visits are allowed annually for you or your child’s diagnosis? Can multiple services be combined on one day and be counted as only one day or one visit?

Which services must be pre-certified–by whom?

Be positive, polite and patient with the customer service representative. Remember that he/she is only the messenger, not the decision-maker. They are the gatekeepers and can either provide you with access to a decision maker or make your life miserable, depending on how you interact with them.

Be persistent. There are no magic bullets. Be like a dog with a bone and don’t give up until you get the answer you want. If you get nowhere after several calls, ask for a supervisor or a nurse in the pre-certification department.

Remember that you do have the right to appeal if your claim is denied. Most consumers get discouraged and will not continue to pursue a claim that should or could be paid. Insurance companies count on that happening, so get out there and claim what’s justifiably belong to you.