Curiously Awesome

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Ten tips for women to stay fit and healthy:

1. Eat a balanced diet. Maintain a healthy weight for your age. If you are trying to lose weight, focus on a healthy diet instead of a crash diet. Unprocessed foods with high fiber and low fat should be included in your grocery list instead of red meat, sugars and fats.

2. Drink enough water. We need to drink at least eight glasses of water everyday. This cleanses the body from impurities.

3. Take Vitamins and Supplements including a Calcium supplement. Calcium intake is beneficial for women of all ages. Pre-Menstrual Symptoms can be improved with calcium intake. Sufficient calcium also prevents Osteoporosis - especially for menopausal women. Vitamin E will boost a strong immune system. If you are menopausal consider taking Vitamin E-400. This will help with night sweats and hot flashes.

4. Quit smoking. Recent studies have shown that women smokers are more prone to diseases than men. Women who smoke have a high risk of getting breast cancer. Limit your alcohol intake as well.

5. Exercise daily. Exercise helps in limiting the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

6. Avoid stress. Stress has been known as cause many different illnesses. Make sure you get adequate sleep.

7. Avoid sunburn but allow limited exposure to the sun daily. 15 minutes is considered adequate exposure.

8. Visit the dentist regularly and keep current with necessary dental work.

9. Visit your Gynecologist. Women over age eighteen should have a yearly exam.

10. Lead a non-promiscuous lifestyle.

Pregnancy is very hard on a woman’s body. The demands placed on an expectant mother’s body…both physically and emotionally…can be very difficult. A wonderful way to alleviate the associated discomforts of pregnancy is a pregnancy massage. The physical benefits are many…and what’s more…nurturing the mother-to-be also nurtures the new life growing within her.

This Pregnancy Massage Video provides a step-by-step demonstration of how to provide therapeutic massage techniques focusing on the special needs of the mother-to-be during all three trimesters of her pregnancy. With this video, anyone can properly perform these techniques.

Massages can be prohibitively expensive for many moms. This is an affordable option for every mother-to-be! Nurturing Pregnancy Massage Techniques I can be ordered for $54.95, and Nurturing Pregnancy Massage Techniques II can be ordered for 49.95, plus shipping. Order by calling 1-800-414-2434 or visit their website. The complete set can be purchased for $84.00 and this saves 20%.

Pregnancy Massage Video

Massage Videos |   Pregnancy Massage

Wal-Mart has announced that all the store-brand milk sold in both Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club in the US will now be from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.

Roughly 18 percent of dairy cows in the United States are injected with rBGH.

Most cows are not treated with rBGH but the milk from many different cows is often mixed together before being packaged. This means that unless otherwise labeled, most milk sold in the US probably has rBGH in it.

Wal-Mart said that its decision came in response to rising consumer demand for hormone-free milk.  Wal-Mart is the largest grocery retailer in the United States.

BGH has been criticized for damaging the health of cows. Concerns have also been increasing about the health impacts of drinking milk from rBGH-treated cows.  The use of rBGH is banned in Australia, Canada, Europe and Japan.  In the US rBGH has been approved for use since 1993.

More than 50 percent of US residents now regularly take prescription drugs for at least one chronic health condition. Approximately 51 percent of children and adults in the United States took at least one prescription drug for a chronic health condition in 2007. Compare this to 47 percent just six years ago.

Unbelievably, 25 percent of children, 52 percent of adult men, 67 percent of women over the age of 19, and 75 percent of seniors over 65 are taking at least one drug…most daily.

A large increase was in the use of obesity and diabetes drugs among children. Our couch potato culture is catching up with us. It is thought that the drug use has probably increased due to aggressive marketing by drug companies. The most heavily marketed drugs are those for chronic conditions.

A bedtime snack that combines a concentrated source of tryptophan that is also high in carbohydrates can be a huge help in inducing sleep if you are having trouble sleeping.

Tryptophan is an amino acid that your body doesn’t make itself. You must get it from the foods that you eat. Once tryptophan your brain, it is used to make a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin acts within your body to promote feelings of sleepiness, calm, and relaxation.

If you don’t have adequate levels of serotonin in your system, you likely won’t feel sleepy enough to rest soundly. Without adequate levels of tryptophan within your brain you will not be able to produce significant amounts of serotonin.

Here’s the challenge. Tryptophan has to compete with other amino acids for access to the limited number of channels that line your blood-brain barrier. Tryptophan is usually outnumbered by other amino acids in natural foods.

The key is to combine a tryptophan-rich food with a carbohydrate-rich food before bedtime. Ingesting a carbohydrate-rich food causes your body to release insulin and this diverts many of your other amino acids away from your brain. This leaves tryptophan with easier access to the blood-brain barrier to gain access to your brain.

Healthy foods that are naturally rich in tryptophan:

• Beans

• Whole grains, including rice

• Lentils

• Chickpeas

• Hazelnuts

• Peanuts

• Eggs

• Sunflower seeds

• Sesame seeds

• Miso

• Raw dairy products

There is a new study that has just been released that suggests that the pleasure of smelling coffee might provide as powerful an antioxidant as actually consuming coffee.

The purpose of the study was to demonstrate influences of roasted coffee aroma on rat brain functions and evaluate the impact. The impact was conclusive - roasted coffee bean aroma changes the mRNA and protein levels of the rat brain.

One of the fastest growing fields in alternative medicine today is aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is a holistic option that uses botanical oils that are inhaled or massaged into your skin. These oils work on the brain and nervous system by stimulating the olfactory nerves.

The sense of smell is the most complex and unique of our five senses. The effect of scents on the human brain have not been fully researched yet. This much is known, however. A pleasant aroma evokes deep emotions.

Scents are powerful tools for bringing back memories or eliciting emotional responses. These responses affect our overall health. Experts now know that when a scent is combined with a learning task, recall can be 50% improved.

Think about the implications of this for children with learning difficulties or brain trauma victims!

Cinnamon and peppermint scents have been found to improve attention, recognition, memory, visual-motor response speed, mood and energy.

There is more to be learned, obviously, about how aromas impact our physiological and emotional responses…but in the meantime…try using aromas to boost your performance and well-being!

Shea butter is an incredible ingredient as long as you are getting the real thing.

Shea butter comes from the Karite Shea tree in Africa. It bears fruit and it is the nut inside the fruit that contains the shea butter.

There is raw or unrefined shea butter and there is refined shea butter. There is a big difference between the two types. Raw shea butter is the most natural and least processed. The raw form is the purest and most effective. Refined shea butter is processed using chemicals and this strips the shea butter of its many healing properties.

When chemically processed it is refined, bleached, deodorized, and degummed, which destroys the shea butter.

Raw, unrefined shea butter is good for dry skin, skin rashes, skin peeling after tanning, sunburn, blemishes, cracked heels and skin, itchy skin, frost bite, stretch marks, scars, chapped lips, eczema, small wounds or scrapes, diaper rash, hair moisturizer, burns, athlete’s foot, insect bites and stings, arthritis, muscle fatigue, pets’ dry skin, sunburn, scrapes, and as a natural mechanics lubricant.

Once you have used true raw shea butter you will quickly see the difference between refined and unrefined shea butter and you will never go back!

Resolve not to resort to processed foods as food prices rise!

Protein:

Protein can be difficult to buy on a budget. Some items will be out of reach, but you can still find tasty meat for low prices.

Season and marinate your own meat.  Buy chicken with the bone and skin on.

Consider replacing meat with a protein substitute a few times a week.

Grains:

Buy less-processed grains.  Buy plain brown rice instead of boxed rice mixes. Buy larger containers of oats instead of individual packets of instant oatmeal.

Buy bread items when they’re on sale and freeze any extras.

Beverages:

Put a filter on your tap instead of buying bottled water.

Make your own coffee at home and make it special at home instead of splurging on coffeehouse drinks.

Single-serving snacks:

Instead of buying individual bags of snacks, buy a bigger package and divide it up into smaller servings yourself.

General tips:

Buy Generic

Buy bigger containers and boxes to save some money. Compare unit prices to make sure you’re getting the best price.

Stock up on non-perishables.

Use coupons only for items you would usually purchase.

Cook at home instead of going out.

Are you having a hard time stretching your grocery dollars during the current economic downturn? You’re not alone. Here are a few easy guidelines to follow for finding healthy foods.

Make your own coffee, buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, it’s fine to replace meat with protein sources like eggs and beans once in a while…but no matter how tempting it is, always avoid the fast-food drive-thru window.

Plan ahead, shop for sales and try out generic or store brands. These methods can save a lot of money.

Fruits and Vegetables:

Produce is not too expensive if bought in season. Buy fruit or vegetables by the bag instead of individually. If the produce you want isn’t in season, buy canned and frozen fruits and vegetables.

You might try growing your own vegetables also. A great way to get fresh fruits and vegetables is to plant a vegetable garden, or even a few plants in a pot.

NEXT: Protein and Grains done the frugal way

Health experts are at last warning women to stop using perfumes and products containing heavy fragrances during pregnancy. The chemicals in these cosmetics causes cancer and fertility problems for the unborn children.

Not coincidentally, the natural health community has been warning about the cancer risks of perfumes in these cosmetics for over twenty years. It’s high time the general public is being cautioned. Hopefully they will listen and heed.