Daily Health News Blog

Eating to Lose! Your body need nutrition each and every day so you can perform at your best. You need to consume calories or your body can’t function at its best. We gain weight because we take in too many calories that don’t have the nutrition that our body needs so we store this as fat. Eating the Right Foods Our diet needs to be high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, nuts, and seeds so we get the nutrition that we need. The main problem is that we have gone away from wholesome eating and instead rely on a diet of heavily processed and unnatural foods. These foods cause us to gain weight as we don’t get too many calories that lack nutrition. When we consume foods that are nutrient dense they give us the energy we need to get through the day and they also tend to be lower in calories. You actually east more food but still lose weight because you’re eating good nutritious food and not garbage processed food that is high in calories but very low in nutrition.

It happens every holiday season. You have to buy a present for someone who’s fussy or has everything. It’s never easy, but it can be manageable, if you follow some simple steps. For example: 1. Psyche out your friend. Is the friend practical or flighty? Is eclectic your friend’s middle name? Buy for the personality. 2. Figure out in advance what you are prepared to spend. This focuses you and helps prevent last-minute panic buying, which can be expensive. 3. What’s changed? Has your friend moved or signed up for an exciting trip? A travel diary or a housecleaning service gift certificate might be appreciated. 4. Give the gift of you. Offer to sew curtains or cook a special dinner. A photo album with pictures of the two of you or a special event or trip is thoughtful. 5. Don’t overlook donations. Many people with everything would appreciate a donation in their name to a favorite charity.

Brushing your teeth, buttoning your shirt, opening a jar -- these are routine daily activities that most people take for granted. But if you have arthritis and it affects your hands, performing these and other basic tasks can be challenging. Fortunately, "exercising" your hands can help reduce the pain, improve your range of motion and, ultimately, enable you to perform more easily the various tasks of daily living.   Where does it hurt?  Arthritis of the hands manifests differently depending on what kind of arthritis you have.  Osteoarthritis.  The most common cause of hand arthritis is osteoarthritis (OA). In osteoarthritis, the protective cartilage that covers the ends of your bones gradually deteriorates due to wear and tear or, in some cases, to injury. If your hand pain is caused by osteoarthritis, the affected joints are painful and may swell or develop hard bony nodules. The joints most likely to be affected in hand osteoarthritis are the trapezio-metacarpal (ba

We all know that fashion changes with the seasons, but did you know that you should also change your beauty regime based on the month of the year? The cold, dry winter air can be bad news for your skin and hair, so here's 9 tips for making sure you stay looking just as beautiful in December as you do in June. 1. Moisturise Frequently The winter air can quickly dry out your skin, so it is important to moisturise reguarly throughout the day. For an extra moisture boost you might also want to use a body lotion in the shower in the morning, which will help to lock extra moisture into your skin. 2. Cut Down On The Alcohol Don't worry, we don't mean the kind you drink! Hair and skin products with high alcohol content can strip away moisture, so they should be avoided where possible in the winter. 3. Turn Down The Water Temperature When you wake up on a winter morning and it's freezing cold while you wait for the heating to kick in it can be tempting to turn the wate

Did you know that if you had chicken pox as a child, the infection can stage a painful reappearance later in life in the form of herpes zoster -- better known as shingles? Your risk of shingles increases with age: As you get older, the virus can reactivate and migrate along the path of a nerve to the surface of the skin. This can cause severe burning or shooting pain, tingling and itching that's typically concentrated on one side of your body, usually on your chest or back, but sometimes on your face. Within a day or two, a rash of blisters may form in a band or strip pattern on your skin and persist for up to 14 days.   The immune system link.  Shingles is thought to be caused by a weakened immune system owing to aging or illnesses such as chronic lung or kidney disease and cancer. People with autoimmune diseases are at increased risk as well: Several studies suggest that immune-suppressing drugs used to treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel synd

Everyone knows that it's unhealthy to be overweight or, especially, obese. But what if you are physically fit? Could fitness cancel out the health risks? Some studies suggest this, including a recent one in  Circulation . The study looked at 14,345 middle-aged men; 47 percent were overweight, another 10 percent obese. Those who maintained their cardiorespiratory (aerobic) fitness levels during a six-year period were 30 percent less likely to die over the next decade, notably from heart disease, or stroke, than those who became less fit; those who became fitter, 40 percent less likely. This was true regardless of their weight status. Simply put, overweight or obese men who became fitter, on average, fared as well as or better than lean men who became less fit. So fitness may trump weight when it comes to life expectancy. Some previous research found this is less true for women, however, and it may not apply to very obese people, who were underrepresented in this study. Sti

There have been thousands of studies on garlic, but its health effects remain something of a mystery. Garlic is a key part of the Mediterranean diet and many cuisines around the world. And it has been used medicinally since ancient times. Some people still eat it, at least in part, because they think it is good for them. But does it lower cholesterol, as well as fight cancer, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and the common cold, as it's touted to?   Allicin Wonderland Garlic contains interesting compounds that have been linked to many proposed health benefits. One is allicin, a sulfur compound formed in raw garlic after a clove is cut or crushed. Allicin is a major source of garlic's taste and smell. But not all scientists agree that allicin is the key ingredient, since it breaks down quickly into other compounds. And the enzyme that forms allicin can be destroyed if the whole clove is cooked before being cut (that's why cooked cloves tast