Women's Health Tips

As you may have noticed, there are lots of things that you need to consider when trying to stay fit and healthy. More often than not this mass of information becomes overwhelming and most people start off with good intentions but give up in the long run, slipping back to old ways and habits. To help you maintain that healthy lifestyle, below are the top ten things you should be doing to keep yourself healthy and happy.

1) When trying to keep to a healthy lifestyle, the first thing you need to consider is your diet. A good balanced diet is essential in maintaining a healthy body. Remember, 'rubbish in = rubbish out'. Eating junk food, fatty food and other convenience foods will result in a feeling of lethargy, tiredness, depression and bad complexion just to name a few. Simple changes to make would be avoiding too much red meat, high fat foods and high calorie foods instead substituting this with high fibre low fat food, mixed with a regular intake of fruit and vegetables. Fibre is great for digestion whilst fruit and vegetables will help keep vitamin and mineral levels up.

2) Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day. One of the risks of not drinking enough water is the onset of kidney stones. If you know anybody who has had kidney stones, you'll know this is to be avoided! Drinking plenty of water will keep you hydrated which in the long run will help you cleanse your body of impurities. You will start to feel more alert and less tired, you may notice your skin improves with a new radiance. If you are lactating, it is vital that you keep well hydrated to ensure your milk is at its best. Most research suggests that eight glasses of water per day is a minimum.

3) Consider taking vitamin and mineral supplements, especially at the beginning of your new healthy schedule. Some of the more important ones specific to women are Calcium and Iron. Calcium is essential for women of all ages but especially menopausal women to ensure good bone strength and minimise problems from onset of Osteoporosis. Iron supplements are especially important for menstruating women and women who suffer heavier blood loss during that time of the month. Vitamin E400 is worth taking as this has been shown to reduce flushes and sweating at night. For the skin, consider Vitamin E as as a dietary supplement.

4) If you smoke, GIVE UP!! Yes, I know that is much easier said than done but any reduction in the amount that you smoke will be beneficial. If you find the idea of giving up a step too far why not try cutting down? A great way to cut down is to try and extend the time between your cigarettes. If you can maintain this, you will gradually start to smoke less without feeling the withdrawals as much. If you are pregnant, then smoking is a big 'NO-No'. The toxins in a cigarette can cross from the mothers bloodstream and into the baby. Also your chance of breast cancer is much higher if you are a smoker. Overall reducing alcohol and smoking less are great ways to a healthier happier life.

5) Try and introduce a regular exercise into your daily routine. There are simple ways to get exercise without really trying. You could try walking home from work if it's not too far, don't take the elevator all the time - try using the stairs. When your kids are outside playing, take a few minutes to go and play with them. Not only will you be getting fit but you'll be spending more time with your children. Everyone wins! Yoga is also a great way to stay toned and supple. This can be done in the home with a minimal investment in equipment. There is lots of free info. on the internet related to yoga. A simple cheap way to stay healthy.

6) Try and avoid sources of stress. Stressful situations whether at home or at work can leave you with excess amounts of adrenaline and other 'fight or flight' by-products. These can affect heart muscle, upset sleep patterns causing insomnia and much more. Exercise can help to burn off some of these stress by-products but any high stress situations should be avoided.

7) A lot of women are a sucker for a good suntan but there are hidden dangers. Recent research has indicated that over exposure to sunlight and sun tanning beds could increase your chances of skin cancer by up to 30%. A lot of the damage is done in younger life and may not show for years. Simple ways to avoid danger would be to use high factor sun creams, don't lie out in direct sunlight, consider using a tanning cream and avoid those nasty UV rays altogether.

8) Make sure you attend regular smear tests and ensure you visit your Gynaecologist on a regular basis. A lot of 'womens' problems' can be detected in the early stages and treated accordingly. Cervical cancer, chlamydia and Warts are just a few of them. Avoiding your Gynaecologist is akin to playing Russian roulette!!

9) Make sure you practice safe sex. STD's can be easily transmitted and even a long term partner could be harbouring some unknown stowaways. Sexually transmitted diseases can lie dormant for years. Until you are 100% sure you and you're partner are free from STD's practicing safe sex is the best way to stay healthy.

10) An often overlooked area of personal health is dental hygiene. Not looking after your oral hygiene may result in gum disease, tooth loss, halitosis to name but a few. Keep regular appointments with your dental hygienist and make sure you floss regularly to keep a beautiful bright smile.

Five Simple Health Tips to Jump Start A New You

Creating a heather lifestyle doesn't have to be complicated but it does require commitment. It takes 21 days to create a new habit, and 6 months for that habit to become ingrained in your routine. Since life can get in the way, I recommend small changes one step at a time. The list below represents five simple health tips that you can incorporate into your life and make a huge impact on your health, energy, and vitality. Choose one item at a time and do it for at least 3 weeks before adding another component to your lifestyle. When you are doing it without having to constantly remind yourself, then you are ready to move on to the next item.

1) Drink half your "ideal" weight in ounces of water per day. If your ideal weight (not your actual weight) is 120 pounds, you should drink 60 ounces of water per day. Even mild dehydration will cause a 3% drop in your baseline metabolism. That means you will gain 1 pound of fat every 6 months! Drinking water minimizes bloating and water retention in women. These symptoms are often a result of lack of hydration. Drinking plenty of water is how you flush the fat and toxins stored in your fat cells, and also how you can prevent muscle cramps. When muscle cells don't have adequate fluids, they don't work as well and performance can suffer. When exercising, you should try to drink 3-5 ounces of water every 20 minutes. Downing your 8-10 glasses of water all in one sitting doesn't cut it. For maximum effectiveness, staying "evenly" hydrated throughout the day is how our bodies metabolize fat. Also, proper hydration keeps our kidneys and bowel function healthy. Getting the proper hydration also gives you more youthful looking skin. Symptoms associated with mild dehydration are weakness, muscle cramps, headaches, irritability, fatigue, trouble concentrating, heart palpitations, and anxiety.

2) Get your Vitamin D levels tested. Over 80% of Americans are Vitamin D deficient. This is especially prevalent during the winter months. Research shows that proper levels of vitamin D can boost your immune system and decrease your risk for cancer. You can buy Vitamin D3 in a supplement form or you can spend some time in the sun, although your body can only generate vitamin D from UVB rays and during certain times of the day. There is an app for smartphones called Dminder. This app will let you know what time of day, based on your geographic location, the sun is at the proper angle and generating UVB rays so your body can create Vitamin D. In some geographic areas there will be times of the year that you cannot generate vitamin D from sun exposure and will need to get it in the form of supplementation or special tanning beds. This app takes all of the scientific data into account plus your personal profile which includes skin pigmentation, weight, and age. When you are ready to begin your sun exposure, input the type of clothing you are wearing and start the timer. When you've maximized your Vitamin D production for the day, an alarm will sound to end your session. For those of you who don't enjoy the outdoors or live in a location where you can't generate Vitamin D, there are plenty of Vitamin D supplements. Look for Vitamin D in the form of D3. The daily recommended amount is controversial, but generally, 1000-5000mg is recommended. For more info on this topic visit mercola.com

3) Get to bed before 10pm. Since I know this is going to be challenging, start with going to bed just a little earlier each night and work your way to 10pm over a three week period. The latest sleep studies indicate that the deepest and most regenerative sleep occurs between 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. If your body is chronically deprived of "regenerative sleep" between 10 p.m. - 2 a.m., then you may still feel tired and have difficulty getting up in the morning. At 10 p.m., your body goes through a series of transformations following the rise in melatonin production. Melatonin not only helps regulate your sleep/wake cycle but is also responsible for the repair and restoration of your body. A reduction of your mental and physical activity is necessary for this 10 p.m. shift to occur. Watching television, reading from an electronic device, or bright LED clocks all impact melatonin production and the subsequent chain reaction that leads your body into deep sleep. This is one good reason to buy paperback books and a book light! You can also listen to relaxing music. Getting a good night's sleep can create longevity and health. Deep rest during the night helps you fight stress, maintain a healthy weight, and keeps your energy levels high. A simple health tip for those wanting to lose weight: get a minimum of 5 hours of sleep per night.

4) Eat more fruits and vegetables. When we eat a diet high in whole foods, we feed our bodies thousands of micronutrients which stabilize our blood sugar and cholesterol, decrease weight, boost the immune system, reverse heart disease and prevent cancer. An apple a day may keep the doctor away but a mushroom a day will help keep cancer away! The micronutrients found in fruits and vegetables are very powerful antioxidants. Micronutrients create many cell protecting compounds. Many of these compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, and phytoestrogens have significant health benefits and are an essential component to optimal health. Micronutrients high in carotenoids are found in carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, broccoli and spinach. Vegetables that are deep red, purple or black provide rich sources of polyphenols. Flavanoids are found in nuts, seeds, grains, green tea, red wine, kale, and lemons. Phytoestrogens are found in soybeans and flaxseeds. If you do not have access to a fresh variety of produce, then supplement your diet with a good whole food concentrate formula. It's important to incorporate both raw and cooked vegetables into your diet. A simple health tip is that roasting vegetables is easy, quick, and delicious! Cut your vegetables into bite size pieces, drizzle them in olive oil, add salt, pepper and a little cayenne. Roast at 420 degrees for about 20 minutes. To change it up, add raw nuts or dried cranberries in the last five minutes of cooking. You can squeeze fresh lemon juice or shake some parmesan cheese over the top for added flavor.

5) Exercise for 20 minutes a day. It is not necessary to kill yourself at the gym for hours at time. You can get tremendous benefit from just 20 minutes of activity per day, and even walking the dog counts! If you can think of exercise as a play-date, then it can be something to look forward to rather than something to get done! Find something you enjoy doing, and do it. It could be tennis, swimming, hiking, jogging, weightlifting, Zumba aerobics, dancing, pole-dancing, kickboxing, boxing, cardio barre, Nia, yoga, biking, jump rope, hula hooping, climbing stairs, or even just shooting baskets. Think about something you used to love doing and then do it again! If you can commit to anything physical for 20 minutes a day you can make a big impact on your health and really boost your metabolism! Running on a treadmill for 20 minutes a day at 4 mph will take 26 days for you to lose 1 pound of fat. That's a total of 14 pounds of fat in one year from this simple health tip. That's a lot of pant sizes! There are so many fun ways to lose weight and get in shape while improving your heart health, reducing stress, increasing endorphins and building muscle.

None of these simple health tips are rocket science. In fact I bet you knew most of this stuff already, you just don't do them. I spent years looking for complicated diets and supplements to get myself into optimal shape. The best medicine I had, I already knew - I just didn't do it. Make your New Years Resolution a lifestyle change to incorporate healthy habits three weeks at a time!

Hi, I'm Anu Fergoda and helping people feel better is my passion. Although I am not an expert in nutrition, diet or exercise, after gaining 26 pounds in one year, being chronically fatigued, and prematurely aging, I decided to take my health and well being into my own hands. After 8 years of wading through mountains of expert articles and opinions, and trial and error, I discovered simple and convenient solutions that worked for me, my family and our busy life. Click here to get your free report on Better Health Through Solutions That Work!

Health Tips - Weight Loss Top Tips

Losing weight and keeping it off are major concerns for an increasing number of people around the world, and the advice offered on the subject will usually be conflicting. Celebrities seem to lose weight as easily as breathing, leading to many people trying to emulate what they do. However, this is not necessarily the best way to go about weight loss, particularly if long term results are what you want. The following five tips will help you to reach and maintain your ideal weight.

• Eat regularly throughout the day. This may seem counter-intuitive, as eating less will lead to your body using its reserves of energy, but you do still need food. Avoiding meals will affect your metabolism, slowing it down and making it more difficult for you to lose weight. If you are hungry most of the time, you will also choose less healthy options when you do eat. Small, frequent meals allow you to maintain a higher metabolic rate, burning off calories and reducing levels of fat.

• Don't cut out any food groups. Unless there is a medical reason and you have been advised to do this by your doctor, don't cut out an entire food group from your diet. This will not be sustainable on a long term basis and, like skipping meals, will slow down your metabolism. Your body will think that you are starving, and try to reserve as much of your food intake as possible, by converting it to fat. When you do reintroduce the food group (carbs, for example), you will experience weight gain. Cut down on the offending types of food, but don't avoid them completely.

• Eat from a smaller plate. While large dinner plates look great on your table, research has consistently shown that people eat more as a result. It is thought that this is because we feel the urge to fill the plate, rather than just taking what we require. A smaller plate looks full much sooner, so you will eat less overall, if you do this at every meal.

• Keep a selection of healthy snacks available. Reaching for a chocolate bar can often be the downfall of many diets, as the quick burst of sugar followed by the dip in energy will leave you feeling hungry. Foods that release energy slowly throughout the day will help to prevent this. Even when you are at work, you should have snacks available; fruit and nuts are both great options.

• Boost your intake of protein. Salads are usually the most popular choice of lunch for people on a diet, but it can lead to hunger setting in during the afternoon. Adding protein and a light salad dressing will help to satisfy your hunger more effectively, without increasing the calories too much. Grilled chicken breast is an excellent addition to a leafy green salad, or you could choose salmon instead, which also contains healthy omega 3 fatty acids, which are considered to be one of the healthy fats.