Archive for October, 2009
Trick-or-Treat-Give Me Something Good to Eat
It’s that time of year again, the beginning of the season for consumption of all things sweet. Halloween marks the start of the holiday season that extends until the beginning of January. The tendency to overindulge in sweet treats rises, the sugar rush ensues, and waistlines expand. Considering the rise in childhood obesity, here are some ideas to curb the sugar rush, and still keep the kids happy and healthy.
For the ghosts and goblins that come knocking: Select dark chocolate options for trick-or-treaters. Dark chocolate has health benefits such as antioxidants. Give out granola bars, 100% fruit chews, and yogurt or carob covered raisins. Look for the fun or mini size candy options for the ghouls and goblins; the smaller the better. Or, avoid candy altogether and hand out coloring books and crayons, glow sticks, or stickers.
And for your little pumpkins, avoid all unnecessary sugar on the day of Halloween. Omit soda, fruit drinks, certain cereals and other sugary stuff since you know they’ll be eating candy. Feed them a healthy meal before they go out roaming the neighborhood. The hungrier they are, the more candy they will eat along the way. Get them exercising! Throw in a Thriller mix and have a little zombie dance party. Also, have them walk from door to door.
Do you have any tips for healthy treaters?
Protect Against Colds With Exercise
As the weather turns colder, the noses turn runnier – but incidence of colds can be greatly reduced by making exercise a part of daily life, according to an expert from the American College of Sports Medicine. David C. Nieman, DrPH, FACSM, says that multiple studies have shown a 25- to 50-percent decrease in sick time for active people completing at least 45 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (such as walking) most days of the week.
Yoga
Top 13 Yoga Exercises To Avoid Backaches
—Know About The Postures And Positions That Prevent Back Pains
The old east originated meditative art- yoga is making a good impact in the present scenario.
It is adored all around the world and is supposed to be very effective in keeping body flexible and kept in good shape [Power yoga].
It has a wonderful therapeutic impact as well. Yoga is comprised of many postures and sets of breathing exercises (Pranayamas).
These breathing exercises work on the muscles of the upper back to prevent it from pain or reduce the pain.
Yoga postures too have the potential to decrease tension and stress, which sponsors back pain. Yoga teachers have tailored a set of postures and pranayamas, which are especially recommended to avoid or reduce back pain. A check on these breathing exercises and yogic poses listed below will surely help you.
1. Pelvic Tilt Posture
This is recommended to offer a support to the lower back. It also supports abdominals, sacroiliac joints and adjacent structures of the body.It is supposed to be wonderful in cases of problems related to the lower back.
Sometimes, poor posture and muscle atrophy cause severe jerks in the lower part of back, which are very painful. The pelvic tilt posture offers a spinal stabilization in such case.
2. Triangle Pose
Triangle poses are effective on the hips, which have a brawny influence on the spine.The spine is directly associated with back pain.
Hence, a triangle pose is very effective in the reduction of back pain. Nevertheless, it is a bit bizarre type of pose but is very powerful in controlling back pain.
3. Side-Angle Postures
This posture is supposed to be great in alleviating back pains. Side-angle poses of yoga assist with postural conditions, which are very effective in back pain such as those that result from scoliosis and kyphosis. They are also effective in stretching the core muscles of the body, which includes the oblique abdominals too.
4. Standing Forward Bend Positions
This yogic posture is supposed to be a challenge for the performer’s sense of alignment. ‘Uttanasana’ is the most famous posture of forward bending. It works wonders with regard to problems of backaches.
It is considered to be a great posture to remove skeletal disk related ailments. However, you must be careful while performing yoga poses such as ‘Uttanasana.’ A wrong posture can increase the pain instead of diminishing it.
5. Mountain Pose or Tadasana
The elevating yoga position is supposed to be very useful in alleviating back pain. This posture needs the utmost level of your attention because it offers the best results; that is if you know what you are doing.
It develops an ideal spinal alignment and offers an instant relief for back pains. It is also a must for patients with back pain.
6. Corpse pose
To get this yogic posture, lie flat on your back in a relaxed manner and raise your arms at your sides. Have your arms alongside your trunk but slightly away and have your palms facing upwards.
Spread your legs in a natural way. While performing this, you should turn your knees out slightly but if it hurts, perform the yoga in the best possible way of comfort. Release the tension and take deep breaths.
You must be feeling relaxed when you do this because this yoga posture is supposed to be a great exercise in getting a relief from backaches and other ailments as well.
7. Cat Stretch
It involves your back, knees and hands. You start with the hands and knees with a flat back, which brings your shoulders and hands in an alignment. This yogic posture is known for its gradual impact to help relieve backaches.
8. Supported Bridge Pose for Back Pain
This yoga posture is very famous among people suffering from backaches. This is considered as a good exercise posture, as it makes a connection among different parts of body to provide support. This exercise is usually included in the must-to-do list of yoga postures.
9. Stretched Out Big Toe Pose
Also known as ‘Supta Padangusthana,’ this yogic asana needs a gentle stretch of hamstrings and calves. A stretching of these body parts brings an awesome improvement in the condition of the person, who is suffering from backaches [chiropractic therapy].
10. Supine Spinal Twist to get relief from back pain
This trunk rotation movement deals with the twisting of the spines. Nevertheless, it is not an easy deal for everyone but its results are truly worth the effort.
Note: People with degenerative disk ailments must be cautious while performing this yoga.
11. Cat-Cow Pose – Yoga for Back Pain – A Yogic Pose for Spinal Alignment
This pose offers a tremendous effect in dealing with backaches. It comprises functioning of Pilates, yoga and core strengthening asana. The cat-cow position is famed for its therapeutic results and it is widely performed nowadays.
12. Yoga for Back Pain – Cobra Pose
Cobra pose is also known as ‘Bhujangasana.’
The movement of this posture asks one to lie-down on the floor on his or her stomach.
This is then followed by making an arch with the help of the performer’s forelimbs (hands). This is a brilliant stretch exercise that has the capacity to provide a great relief to all who is suffering from backaches.
13. Pranayama (Breathing yogic exercises to get relief from back pain)
As you know, Yoga is a complete package of different physical postures and breathing exercises. Its poses are great in terms of providing a relief for backaches but breathing exercises are also important.
They work as a stimulant for main poses and help you in thwarting irritating backaches.
‘Anulom vilom’ and ‘Nadi sodhan’ are the two most famous breathing exercises.These exercises work wonders in avoidance of a multitude of fatal ailments.
Incorporating functions of inhale and exhale, they let the body grasp more oxygen which is very helpful in blood purification. These asanas also decrease anxiety levels and make the mind calm.
A regular practice of these two exercises releases all the tension, which reduces the possibilities of severe backaches.
Though, there are various methods suggested by yoga experts to hasten an easier healing of the body, coupling it with a healthy diet is equally important. A person must take care of his or her dieting habits to put a control on the occurrence of ailments [Natural healing].
A hygienic food intake and good sitting posture will never lead you the pathetic condition of backaches. Moreover, because it is evident that many people are suffering from problems of continuous aches in the back it is widely recommended to get a good deal of vitamin D and calcium supplementation.
Lastly, one should not perform breathing exercises and yoga postures in a wrong manner for they only breed in health hazards instead of benefits.
Natural Detoxification Products that Help Regulate and Cleanse your Body
Everyone, no matter how careful you are, somehow consumes minute traces of toxins each day. Foods may contain tiny amounts of herbicides or pesticides in addition to growth hormones and various preservatives. Food dyes, chemicals, fillers and even tranquilizers and antibiotics have been found in food. Polluting your body has never been easier. That is why you need to detoxify your body on occasion for optimal health and performance.
These toxins can build up in your body, particularly in naturally detoxifying organs such as the kidneys, liver and even the skin. If these organs are compromised, so is your health. The good news is there are a few natural detoxification products that can help regulate your digestive system as well as cleanse the body. The result is a stronger immune system and the ability to fight off infection and disease. There is no need to follow any professed detoxifying diets as many of them are devoid of essential nutrients. By just adding a few key foods into your diet, your body will undergo a natural detoxification.
1. Flaxseed – Flaxseed has several properties which are beneficial for the body, with detoxifying properties being one of them. The natural oils of this flaxseed lubricate your intestinal walls so that any toxins are absorbed by the oil and then eliminated by the body rather than absorbed into the intestine itself. In addition, flaxseed provides both soluble as well as insoluble fiber which provides the bulk necessary to maintain function as well as “scrub” the intestinal walls of biological waste so that it can be eliminated normally.
2. Green Foods – The antioxidants and chlorophyll from green leafy vegetables in addition to blue green algae and spirulina bacteria help detoxify the body of pesticides, herbicides and heavy metal accumulation in the body. In addition, these green options cleanse the liver which helps in screening out the harmful effects of cleaning products and even smog. Good green food to incorporate includes Swiss shard, kale, dark green leafy lettuce, spinach, barley and wheatgrass.
3. Citrus Foods – Citrus fruits are one of the best ways to detoxify your body. Full of antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients, vitamin C is a powerful detox vitamin found in all citrus. Fruits like lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits work to not only flush toxins away but also kick start the enzyme processes in the digestive tract. Vitamin C basically latches onto the different toxins in your body and turns them into something that can be digested and eliminated. Drinking hot tea with lemon, freshly squeezed lemonade or orange juice can boost your detoxification process.
4. Psyllium – Often found in diet fiber additives in powder and capsule form, psyllium husks aid in the digestion and elimination process. Psyllium bulks up your stool with increased water content which also makes the stool softer and easier to pass. This fiber additive forms a gelatinous mass which absorbs any toxins that pass through your digestive tract.
5. Natural Sulfur-Based Foods – Eaten raw or processed through a juicer, there are a number of vegetables containing sulfur compounds that aid the liver in detoxifying your body. Onions, cabbage, broccoli, garlic, brussel sprouts, kale, artichokes, beets and cauliflower contain sulfur as well as glutathione, a strong antioxidant which helps neutralize the toxins from food and the environment. Spices like oregano and turmeric also are helpful.
Whether you choose one natural detoxification product or a combination of them, you may have to experiment. Depending on the level or type of detoxification you need depends on which products you consume. For instance, if your bowels do not eliminate regularly, you will want to concentrate on the psyllium and flaxseed. However, if you are regularly exposed to smog, cigarette smoke, pesticide or herbicides, a combination of products with strong antioxidant properties like citrus, green and sulfur based foods would be best.
After Brain Radiation Exercise Can Aid Recovery
Exercise is a key factor in improving both memory and mood after whole-brain radiation treatments in rodents, according to data presented by Duke University scientists at the Society for Neuroscience meeting. “This is the first demonstration that exercise can prevent a decline in memory after whole-brain radiation treatment,” said lead researcher and graduate student Sarah Wong-Goodrich of the Duke Department of Psychology and Neuroscience.
Program Helps Kids Switch Over to Healthy Behaviors
Triple intervention enforces message at home, school and in the community, researchers say
TUESDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) — A family, school and community intervention program improved children’s eating and exercise habits and reduced the amount of time they spent in front of the television, a U.S. study has found.
The eight-month program, called The Switch, included 1,323 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at 10 schools in Lakeville, Minn., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The program was developed by the Minneapolis-based National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF). Read more
Can Making Affirmations Genuinely Change Your Life?
Is it actually realizable for you to control your individual life experiences and change your personal environment, at least to some extent, through the the regular practice of speaking positive affirmations?
From manifesting a parking spot or a new job, to attracting the perfect life partner or nurturing inner peace, there are quite a few demonstrations to support the power of affirmations to make positive change. We might want to take a personal “reality check,” however, to be certain that we actually trust that thought, our thought, has creative power before we try to transform the conditions in our life through a constant “mental focus” on the changes we want, so that we’re not just deluding ourselves.
If we believe that “certain occurrences” in our personal life have no mental substructure or thought equivalent, but instead are completely and unarguably physical in origin, then how can we presume to positively affect the circumstances in our individual life through positive affirmations? What difference would it make for us to make an effort to “change our thinking” about our self, or a particular problem, if we didn’t have a conviction that by doing so we could “change our life”? If we expect our positive affirmations to move a mountain in our individual life, we absolutely must have at least a mustard seed of faith in the power of our mental focus and affirmations to affect physical change in our life.
Everyday, each of us manifests a certain amount of faith. When was the last time you were “surprised” at a sunrise? Probably you didn’t worry the night before that there might be a possibility that the sun might not come up again in the morning. It’s highly unlikely that it’s occurred to any of us to question our faith in the earth’s gravitational relationship to the sun. So, there you are, we all have a a bit of faith, a “starter kit” of unshakable trust. We can start with that and build a mountain of faith to put behind our affirmations.
Doing affirmations while filled with doubt, seesawing between faith and fear, is like putting water into a balloon rather than air. Our desires wiggle here and bulge there, but they never take flight. Faith gives our affirmations soaring power because unshakable faith is mental insistence uplifted to a place of realization. This is the “secret” to creative mental power, turning mere words into substance. When our affirmations feel true, when what we say is what we truly believe, then affirmations can really change our life.
Sacramento Chiropractor is Keeping The Ironman Strong
Sacramento Chiropractor is Keeping The Ironman Strong
Every year tens of thousands, of triathletes around the world try to get a coveted spot in the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, held this year October 4-10. If you are a triathlete, you already know that there is no bigger day in this sport, which it had its first world championship in 1978 in Waikiki, Hawaii. It is the race that defined the triathlon from the beginning and continues to be the defining race for any avid triathlete.
Contact Information
Dr. Yong Kim
Performance Chiropractic and Sports Care
1707 Professional Way
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: (916) 483-6722
Email: dr.yongkim@gmail.com
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