8 Simple Ways to Detox Your Body

1. Cut your sugar intake.

A seasonal detox is an effective way to clear your body of toxins, which will also speed up your metabolism and enhance your overall health. Start by decreasing the amount of sugar you consume, says Matt Dower, spa director at Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles, NY. And that includes honey, molasses, and artificial sweeteners.

"If you eat more sugar, you ask your body for more insulin, straining your pancreas and wearing yourself out," he says. "In the long term, this kind of habit can cause you to become chronically fatigued, diabetic, develop cancer, and pack on excess weight."

2. Start with water.

Dower also suggests you drink a tall glass of water with juice from half of a lemon in the morning. "Lemon helps re-hydrate the system and promotes digestion, which will help the flow of waste out of your body," he says.

3. Move your body.

Regular exercise encourages circulation in the blood and lymph system, Dower says. Doing so will also enhance digestion, reduce tension, lubricate joints, and strengthen your body. It's a proven fact. "People who exercise regularly have far fewer total toxins in their systems," he points out.

4.Drink a lot of tea

"Not only is tea full of antioxidants, it hydrates you (especially if it's herbal) and fills you up," says Ashley Karr, a research psychologist and wellness coach. "This means you will be less likely to overeat or eat the wrong things!" Keep in mind, the caffeine in tea is different than the caffeine in coffee—it's gentler on your system. It'll also give you a pick-me-up minus the jitters.

5. Eat organic

Chad Sarno, research and development chef for Whole Foods' Health Starts Here initiativesuggests you reconfigure your diet this year. "A colorful variety of fruits and veggies should be the main focus of your diet, along with whole grains, beans and legumes, and small amounts of nuts and seeds," he says.

You should eat whole plant foods because processed foods lack the nutrients your body needs. Dark green vegetables, for instance, are full of micronutrients and are very low in calories, so you can eat a lot of them.

6. Combat environmental pollutants

Don't forget that pollution and allergens are all around you. They're in the air and can trigger allergy symptoms (such as yucky, puffy, red eyes). Dr. Travis Stork, host of daytime talk showThe Doctors advises you flush your nasal passages regularly with a Neti Pot. Doing so can eliminate the side effects of air pollutants and lead to better breathing naturally. If you use the Neti Pot before bed, even better—it will enhance your sleep.

7. Sweat it out in a suana

Forbes Riley, creator of fitness product SpinGym who you may also remember co-hosting Jack LaLanne's juicer infomercial, is a big fan of detoxing. It's how she lost her pregnancy weight gain at the age of 42 after giving birth to twins. She suggests you use a sauna regularly. "There's nothing more detoxing than sweating it out," she says.

8. Exfoliate

"Skin brushing and oil massages will help exfoliate the toxins from your skin and refresh circulation," says Christina Chodos, a certified health counselor and educator from Chicago, 

Eating eggs is can be a great way to get your daily dose of nutrition.

Eating eggs can be a great way to give yourself a healthy boost. Packed with nutrients and rich in calcium, iron and protein, eating eggs is can be a great way to get your daily dose of nutrition. Here are some reasons why you need to eat eggs.

To boost weight loss: Contrary to popular belief, eating eggs can help boost weight loss. Including eggs in your breakfast can limit your calorie intake for the rest of the day by more than 400 calories.

To protect eyes: Eggs contain Lutein and Zeaxanthin -antioxidants which prevents the onset of cataract and early onset of blindness.

To lower blood pressure: The protein in the egg acts as an inhibitor, which can lower hypertension.

To improve reflexes: A study found that tyrosine, an amino acid found in eggs, helps improve the reflexes of the body.

Health is wealth: 10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

Health is wealth: 10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

10 Common Habits That Damage the Kidneys

Kidney disease is one of the costliest illnesses in the world 
and managing kidney disease is very expensive.

Each year, lots of people die of kidney disease all over the world, and 
the number of people suffering from chronic renal failure, and need 
dialysis or kidney transplantation to stay alive keep increasing.

Statistics have it that, worldwide, millions of patients are waiting for kidney
transplants, but only a few thousands will receive transplants because of 
shortage of suitable organ donors.

Patients usually feel surprised when they are diagnosed with Kidney Failure.

Experts have found the explanation from your daily life habits.

Here are the top habits which lead to your kidney failure:

1. Not emptying your bladder early:
   

  Maintaining a full bladder for a long time is a quick way of causing bladder damage.
That the urine stays in the bladder for a long time can cause the bacteria breeding
in urine to multiply quickly. Once the urine refluxes back to ureter and kidneys, the
bacteria can result in kidney infections, then urinary tract infection, and then nephritis,
even Uremia.

So, no matter how busy you are, remember to drink a lot of water and urinate regularly.
Once you form the habit of holding back urine, it will ultimately damage your kidneys.

2. Not drinking enough water:       

The main functions of the kidneys are to regulate erythrocyte balances and 
eliminate metabolic wastes in urine. If we do not drink enough water, the blood 
will be concentrated and the blood flow to the kidney will not be adequate, thus 
the function of eliminating toxins in from blood will be impaired.

3. Taking too much salt: 
        
95% sodium we consume through food is metabolized by the kidneys. Exceeding the
salt intake will make the kidneys work harder to excrete the excess salt and can lead
to decreased kidney function. This excess sodium will cause water retention, causing
edema. Edema usually elevates blood pressure and increases the risk of developing
kidney disease. The daily salt intake should be controlled within 6g per day.

4. Not treating common infections quickly and properly: 
      
Common infections, such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, common cold etc, usually triggers
or aggravates kidney damage. They do this by causing an acute attack of acute
glomerulonephritis or chronic nephritis. So, you will see that people who get kidney
disease for the first time or whose illness condition becomes worse usually present in
hospitals with a history of cold or sore throat.

If after having cold, symptoms like blood in urine, swelling, headache, nausea, vomiting,
fatigue, poor appetite appear, you should consult your doctor immediately, to assess
your kidney functions, and start treatment if compromised.

5. Eating too much meat:
 
    

Eating too much meat and protein can increase the metabolic load of the kidney.
For those suffering from proteinuria, meat consumption too may aggravate protein
leakage, worsening renal pathological lesion. 
It is suggested that protein intake should be 0.8g/kg per day. This means that a
person with 50 kg should consume 40g of protein per day. Meat consumption per
day should be limited within 300g.

6. Not eating enough:  
    

This is equally as dangerous as eating too much, both of them will lead damages
to your digestive organs where is full of mucosal tissues. Mucosal tissues relates
closely to your immune system. This is why many kidney failure patients are diagnosed
with ��utoimmune kidney damages��

7. Painkiller abuse:   

The use of analgesics for a prolonged duration may reduce the flow blood and greatly
affect kidney function. In addition, patients with analgesic-induced renal failure are more
likely to suffer from bladder cancer.
Use analgesics only when it�� absolutely necessary, learn to rest instead of taking to the
bottles. If you have been on pain killers for a long term, it�� about time you had a test to
access you renal function done.

8. Missing your drugs:  
    

Hypertension and diabetes have been shown to precipitate or accelerate kidney damage, so if you are diagnosed as having any of these disease don�� live your life in denial,
USE YOUR DRUGS. 
This will ultimately help control your condition while also helping to preserve your kidneys.

9. Drinking too much alcohol:     

Drinking alcohol without limitation may cause the deposition of uric acid in renal tubules,
causing tubular obstruction and increasing risks of kidney failure.

10. Not resting enough:        
In our society, hypertension as a severe threat to life is largely due to stress.
A common symptom of stress is insomnia. Blood pressure may increase by
an average of 2-5mg/Hg because of insomnia. Chronically elevated blood
pressure can cause damage to kidney capillaries giving rise to kidney problems.
Thus, we need to develop a good attitude to life and strike a good balance between
work and rest to protect your kidneys and live a healthy life.

At the early stage of kidney diseases, there are usually no the special symptoms,
so lots of patients are not diagnosed until the acute attack appears or the illness
condition develops into the late stage. So you should endeavor to do kidney function
test from time to time to assess how healthy your kidneys are.

Never ignore the soreness of waist, swelling of the feet, changes in urine color or volume,
increase in night urination, palor, high blood pressure and other such symptoms. 
  Once found, you should go and see your doctor immediately. 
    

Drink Water Right After You Get Out Of Bed.

The current health trend is drinking water immediately after getting out of bed. Scientist have confirmed the medical value of this to be completely beneficial to our health.

Drinking water when waking has been linked to curing and prevention of certain disease and ailments such as headaches, body aches, arthritis, heart problems, epilepsy, obesity, tuberculosis, meningitis, kidney disease, vomiting, gastritis, diabetes, constipation, uterine disease, ear and throat disease.

The Method:

1. Upon waking, before doing anything else, drink four 6 ounce glasses or water. Remember if there is some reason you cannot hold this much water at one time, start with as much as you can and increase the amount.
2. Brush your teeth and perform your morning oral hygiene routine, and then wait 45 minutes before eating or drinking anything.

After the 45 minutes is up, eat breakfast as usual, and then do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours.

Specific diseases

If using the above method, the research shows that the number of days the regimen must be followed to cure each disease.

High blood Pressure- 30 days

Gastric Problems- 10 days

Diabetes- 30 days

Constipation- 10 days

Cancer-180 days

Using this treatment method has no side effects other than increased urination at the beginning of the program. Drinking water and staying healthy and active are the ways that will better our lives.

Brain... Understanding a little of our Brain

Your Brain

The human brain is the single most complex thing in the known universe. Even in this time of medical wonders, we still have not been able to uncover the full secrets of this incredible organ. However, we do know some things about the most important organ in the body, and here are some interesting ones you should definitely know about:

1. The belief that humans only use 10% of their brains is incorrect. Each part of the brain has a specific function and the average person uses all the various parts of the brain.

2. Have you ever had such a headache it felt like your brain is going to explode? That's not actually your brain hurting, because the brain has no pain receptors at all. Mother nature assumes you don't need it because it's never exposed (thankfully) and is usually protected by our thick skull.

3.You must think that your buttocks are the fattiest part of the body, but it is in fact the brain with the most fat % in the body, about 60% of it is fat.

4. The brain has a texture similar to tofu, and enough liquid to fill a 2 liter (half a gallon) tank.

5. Thought creates 'pathways' that connect different parts of the brain. The more we repeat a thought, the more that pathway will become more central, wide and stable. That is why it is important not to think over and over about negative things, because they become permanent, and strong, pathways in your mind, and the chances are will force themselves on you more and more.

6. We think about 70,000 thoughts a day. A large part of these are 'automatic' thoughts that we repeat a lot, using our most 'established' thought pathways.

7. Most people dream about 4-7 dreams a night. 50% of those dreams are forgotten in the first minutes after waking. And the one we remember is usually one we were either just dreaming or a mix of all the dreams we had put together. No wonder they always seem so confusing.

8. Sleep is usually the time the brain uses to organize and put together the memories is accumulated throughout the day. And so, in many cases, before making big decisions it's better to 'sleep on it'.

9. The messages between the various brain cells (neurons) are passed in the form of weak electrical pulses. The brain creates 23 watt of electricity while awake, enough to light a lightbulb.

10. While we laugh, about 5 areas lit up in the brain simultaneously. So it's no laughing matter, laughing.

11. The reason tickling makes us laugh is that the brain becomes 'surprised' by this kind of touch, which is first interpreted as a threat. The uncontrollable laughter is actually a panic response by the body. That is why it's not possible to tickle ourselves.

12. The human brain has more 'wrinkles' and crevices than those of other animals. In this way, the brain gets more surface space, while staying at around the same size, and it is part of the reason for our increased intelligence.  

13. Brain cells, or neurons, are not only found in the brain, but exist everywhere in the body the brain needs to send orders to, and all of them are connected to the brain. 

14. Some archaeological findings think that our cranium has gotten smaller over the ages, but that doesn't mean our brain has become less powerful, only more efficient (see #12).

15. The brain alone uses 20% of all the oxygen we breathe and over 25% of the sugar we consume. Meaning, deep thoughts might cost the body resources just like sports can. Who said chess players are not athletes too?

16. The female and male sexual hormones cause a different brain to develop. Studies have found siginificant difference in the brain functions of male and female during social situations, decision making, pressure situations and more.

17. The brain isn't fully developed until the teen years are over. Multitasking, showing empathy and good decision making are some of the skills that develop a little later. This, we're sure you'll agree - explains A LOT.

18. The brain is constantly changing. Damage to one part of it may cause that part to change to a different location in the brain, especially if you are a baby or a child. Beyond that, every thought, experience or skill we encounter and learn changes the structure of our brain. 

19. Memories aren't built in a linear progression. We only remember 'pictures' or moments, and we put together a story from them ourselves. That is why it's tricky to trust your memory, because you may have done some 'editing' without knowing it.

Early to bed is a must for happiness

Going to bed early on a regular basis could be the key to a positive mood and to reducing anxiety, according to new research.

Going to bed early and keeping regular sleeping hours can reduce negative thoughts and worries, according to recent research at Binghamton University in the US.

The study involved 100 BU students who were asked to fill out multiple questionnaires and perform two computerised tasks intended to assess their levels of repetitive negative thinking by gauging how much they worry, ruminate and obsess.

They were also asked to respond to questions pertaining to their sleeping habits — what time they hit the hay and whether this was regular or staggered depending on exams and social events.

Those who described themselves as evening types, and those with short sleep durations and late bedtimes, reported experiencing more repetitive negative thoughts than those who kept a regular sleep schedule and slept for longer stretches, say the researchers.

Their findings also demonstrate that repetitive negative thinking is linked to sleep disruption and the research team strongly encourages those at risk of developing a mental health disorder to lend time to their sleep.

“If further findings support the relation between sleep timing and repetitive negative thinking, this could one day lead to a new avenue for treatment of individuals with internalising disorders,” says study co-author Meredith Coles.

Inspiration for the study came from the preponderance of links and associations between sleep problems and mental health troubles both minor and major, according to the researchers.

The study was published in the journal Cognitive Therapy and Research.