Archive for September 2009
Coffee – Good Or Bad For Your Health
Is your morning coffee an ok option on your healthy eating plan? If coffee really bad for you or is it actually good?
I get these questions about coffee and health all the time and as a coffee drinker myself; it is smart to take a look at both the good and the bad.
Now, I’m not here to tell you that coffee is good for you. If I did, I would be telling only the good side of the story and I’m not a politician. I am here to give you the good and the bad and tell you how you can incorporate your favorite coffee or tea into your healthy meal plan.
The Ugly Side of Caffeine
Most coffee and tea contains a lot of caffeine. This is usually the primary reason people make coffee their drink of choice in the morning. Caffeine is a drug like any other and comes with a long list of side effects. Have you ever tried not having your coffee in the morning? Yeah, pass the Excedrin, right? The headache that comes on when you try and kick this habit can be brutal (just like with other drugs) and creating a dependency and addiction like this is harmful to the body.
Second, coffee is extremely acidic. Our bodies function at optimum levels when they are slightly more alkaline (the opposite of acidic). It is best for us to greatly reduce any foods that will drive our body’s pH to be more acidic and eat more foods that are alkaline (like fruits and veggies). An acidic body pH is like a magnet for all kinds of illnesses. Also, an alkaline body has a much stronger immune system, making illness much less likely.
Last but not least, the caffeine in coffee and tea is abuse to your adrenal glands. Your adrenals release your “fight or flight” hormones basically giving you a nice “boost” when needed. Unfortunately, people who drink coffee all day long are consistently beating on their adrenals. This is equivalent of whipping a tired horse even when he is exhausted. Eventually he will not move at all.
The Pretty Side of Caffeine
Coffee tastes oh so yummy and makes me feel great in the morning. (What? Is that not a good enough reason to drink it?)
Many studies have shown that coffee can help in the prevention and treatment of diseases and illnesses as varied as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, liver disease, skin cancer, Parkinson’s disease and more. Although, I don’t believe coffee will be the cure to any of these diseases, many ancient cultures did rely on the coffee bean to cure a long list of ailments. Not to mention, small doses of caffeine can increase performance and mental focus.
Green tea is also a great drink to include with a long list of benefits. If nothing else, green tea is a wonderful source of antioxidants which are important in cancer prevention. Green tea has even been found to raise metabolism and aid in fat burning. Before you go take a green tea bath, its effects are really minor when compared to the effects of sound nutrition and exercise plans. Now that I’ve said that, don’t think you can eat junk food and just wash it down with green tea!
What is a coffee and tea drinker to do?
1. Limit your coffee and tea intake to 2 – 8 cups per day. No, not 2 of each, 2 total. Any more than that is considered as a heavy addict. (I know. I’ve been there).
2. If you are currently dependent on a lot of caffeine each day, replace 1 or 2 cups of coffee with green tea instead. Green tea has much less caffeine than coffee and will help to combat the ugly detox symptoms.
3. Do not jack up your coffee with sugar, milk, syrup and whip cream (So I guess that means no Starbucks, huh?). Use stevia or xylitol to sweeten and avoid all the empty, harmful calories. A teaspoon of half won’t hurt either. Please oh please, do not use any of those flavored creamers. They are closer to someone’s chemistry experiment than they are to real food.
4. Make sure to make your food choices healthy. Avoiding other acidic foods like sugar, artificial sweeteners and processed foods will lighten the acid load on the body.
5. Make sure the coffee you drink is organic. Conventional coffee is filled with pesticides and chemicals and should be avoided at all costs.
There is no need to give up your morning coffee but it is important to drink the right types of coffee, without the added unhealthy extras and as with most things, in moderation.
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Understand Agoraphobia And Prevent It Effectively
Agoraphobia comes from Greek words meaning “marketplace” and “fear.” Agoraphobia, characterized by a person’s fear of fear, is actually a form of social anxiety disorder. People avoid specific circumstances that offer no chance of escape when diagnosed with agoraphobia. In addition, diagnosed patients also avoid places such as malls, airports and markets, especially when these places are large and unfamiliar. In most cases agoraphobia patients see their home as the only “safe place,” restricting their activity.
Although agoraphobia’s main causes are still widely unknown, this disease is generally linked to stressful environments, substance abuse and generalized anxiety disorder. Agoraphobia treatment often includes a gradual treatment of drug dependence and also a period of abstinence, while the regular use of sleeping pills such as benzodiapines and tranquilizers can actually exacerbate the situation. Frequent panic attacks also characterize persons with agoraphobia, wherein restrictions from interacting with other people are made to stop panic attacks.
Common agoraphobia symptoms
When one is diagnosed with agoraphobia, not only does that person worries about panic attacks. Other symptoms include:
• Fear of being alone in public
• Fear of crowds
• Fear of restricted places such as elevators
• Overdependence on other people
• Helplessness feelings
• Panic attack symptoms such as chest pains, fast heartbeat rate, breathing difficulties, nausea, dizziness, excessive sweating and flushing
Consulting a doctor helps
Agoraphobia seriously affects your ability to socialize with other people, routine activities, or even your job. The quality of your life and then lives of your loved ones, like your family or your partner would also be affected. Truly, agoraphobia is a serious medical condition.
Whenever you suffer from agoraphobia, most likely, you will become a prisoner right at your own home. Patients suffering from agoraphobia would rarely leave their safe zone, for it is common for them to anticipate the coming of panic attacks. Places to socialize would become fewer and fewer, trapping the patient in a vicious cycle.
Anxiety and depression can also result from agoraphobia; due to the fact that it severely limits your association with other people, while limiting your daily activities. Also, most patients are even tempted to take substances in order for them to escape from the difficult realities of having this disease. Overcoming depression and stopping panic attacks may be very difficult task when agoraphobia treatment is not sought.
Things that you can do
It is understandable that consulting a professional would be a very difficult experience for people suffering from agoraphobia. Following are helpful steps to be done:
• Take note of the presence of symptoms experienced
• Pay attention in documenting experiences that have induced great stress or that have changed your life
• Diagnosed physical and mental health conditions should always be recorded
• In cases of appointment with professionals, the company of trusted family members would greatly help, giving you valuable moral and informational support
• Do not be afraid of asking questions when on appointment
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Herpes And Genital Warts: The Basics
Genital warts and herpes are two of the most widespread of STD’s around the world. It is very famous despite the fact that these infections are more common among Caucasians. These two infections are very prevalent regardless of your sex, age, race, and social status. Basically, it can infect everyone.
These two infections are often considered as the same. However, they are not. To give you an idea of what they are, here are similarities and differences of them:
• Both of them are highly contagious.
• Both of them are STD’s.
• Both experience a latency state wherein the infection slows down and the viruses appear to be dormant.
• Both of them have no quick cures.
• Both can infect at any places of the body.
• Human Papilloma virus (HPV) is the cause of genital warts. However, the type 2 human simplex virus (HSV) is the reason for herpes.
• The immune system can interfere with the growth of HPV but it cannot affect HSV.
• Sores and lesions around the genital area are the symptoms of herpes. However, genital warts are characterized by massive growth of wart clusters around the area.
• Herpes is much of a threat especially when the outbreak of sores and lesions already occur.
As I have said earlier, both are incurable. Even so, experts have formulated ways for genital warts herpes treatment. This does not cure the real sources of the infections but removes the symptoms and prevents it from growing again as much as possible. Here are examples of genital warts treatment cures:
• Cryotherapy – This is a method of curing warts through the use of liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen is then used in order to freeze the warts for it to be removed. This only involves minor pain but there is a risk of the other tissues near it gets damaged as well.
• Electrocautery – This method of genital warts treatment utilizes heat through electric currents. The metal probe is heated by electricity and once it is hot enough, it is applied to the destroyed tissue or warts to burn them. This needs regular attention and can bear pain during the operation.
• Cream – Though it may sound cliché, treatment cream for warts is also effective. It is easy to apply, but it may take some time until it takes effect.
• LEEP (Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure) – This method makes use of wire loops which are run through with electric currents. This has high success rates and easy to do. It is also cheap.
• Laser Surgery – As the name suggests, it uses laser to remove the wart. This is useful, popular, and very fast to do.
Before trying any of these methods, it is best to consult your trusted doctor for genital warts treatment advice. Also, remember that the methods only remove the warts and not the viruses causing it. Thus, it may recur.
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