Philippine Health Tips

You took the first step already—creating your weight loss goal—and now it’s time to set yourself up to achieve! The road toward arriving at the slimmer and trimmer you will be long and filled with many temptations. But taking the right steps will prevent you from succumbing to them. The grocery store for instance used to be innocent enough, but now the place might seem like a minefield. Snacking with reckless abandon was once a means of relieving stress, but no more! The following tips will help you keep from detouring down the beaten path of giving in to temptations, and instead shed that weight you set out to lose! 1. Get a Good Night’s Rest It’s astounding. Just one night of insufficient sleep can result in weight gain, because your body naturally craves foods higher in sugar while it operates on less rest. So commit yourself to set aside enough time each evening to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. We recognize it’s tough to leave work at the office, but as with most thi...

When thinking about health, people don’t usually think of nails as an important marker. However, changes in the growth, shape, texture, and color of the nails can indicate that something might be going on with your health. Nail abnormalities can be huge clues to all kinds of health conditions. In the orient the condition of the nails is more commonly used for diagnosis than in the west and their system takes into consideration more “esoteric” factors such as nail shape. One of the unexpected signals they look at is the size of the “half moon circle” at the base of the nail. The smaller this is, the better the person’s overall health is said to be. Here are 10 nail abnormalities and their interpretations. 1. Clubbing No, clubbing of the nails doesn’t involve disco lights and dancing – it’s a condition where the nails on the fingers and toes begin to grow or curve downwards, looking more like the back of a spoon – as in the image accompanying this page. The nail beds become so...

Are you too nice to people and feel sad or depressed all the time? There is a link between being too nice and depression. Yes, people can be too nice, too giving and too caring. If you want to overcome your depression, you have to stop letting people walk all over you all the time. It is easier said than done, but you have to stand up for yourself, you don’t always have to give in. If you don’t want to do something, say so, don’t let someone else push you into doing something. If you suffer from depression, you could be a people pleaser. These people are often a slave to others; doing whatever someone asks them to do or just laying over and taking the heat for someone. These types of people often suffer from depression. You try to do everything in your power to make someone happy, do whatever they ask you to do, sometimes not even when they ask. You want them to like you, to accept you, and you are killing yourself by doing this. You are trying so hard for someone to notic...

When you shower, chances are you take a warm or hot relaxing shower. However, its actually more beneficial to take cold showers. Cold water is not the first thing you think of when you take a shower, if you like nice hot water! But, the truth is cold or cool water is the best way to go. Here's why! 1. Cold showers increase mood and alertness. When you take cold showers, your breathing deepens in response to the shock of the cold. Your heart rate also increases, resulting in a rush of blood through your body that will help you get energized for the day. 2. Cold showers boost recovery after exercise. Taking a quick cold shower after your exercise is known to reduce soreness of muscles and help to relieve pain. 3. Cold showers give you more attractive hair and skin. Hot water dries out your skin, while cold water tightens your cuticles and pores, preventing them from getting clogged. You can also use cold showers for shinier, more attractive hair. Cold water will ...

Do you often suffer from a sore throat? You are about to learn how to keep your throat healthy so that you can avoid these problems. The throat carries food to the esophagus and are to the windpipe. It has an important role in health. But, many of us rarely care about our throat unless it feels scratchy, dry and tight or starts to hurt when we swallow. Most people forget that the throat needs care as the rest of the body. Here are some habits you should start to maintain throat health. 1. Stay hydrated: The vocal cords are made of protective cushioned layers of soft tissues that have to be kept moist to stay healthy. Stay away from caffeine and alcohol that prevent the body from retaining water. Instead, grab a bottle or a glass of water, not sodas. It is recommended that we drink 6-8 glasses of water per day, or higher. 2. Clean toothbrush: The toothbrush needs cleaning like the mouth need regular cleaning. The toothbrush can harbor germs and bacteria from the food and ot...

If you've been working hard at your fitness routine, one thing that you must not neglect is a proper stretching routine. Stretching is very often left out of many people's workouts simply because they figure the payoff isn't that great and with time being a hot commodity, they'd rather spend more time doing cardio or strength training workouts. But, stretching, when done properly, can actually improve your performance for those exercises while reducing your injury risk as well. This said, there are a number of stretching myths that circulate, so let's take some time to dispel these myths so they don't catch you in their trap. Myth #1: Stretching Should Hurt The first myth surrounding stretching is that it should hurt to do. Many people think that it's going to cause great pain to move through stretching exercises. Realize there is a difference between pain and discomfort. You will feel some slight discomfort when you stretch, thanks to that mu...

Sometimes when you go to the gym, you have a great experience: you have energy, you feel enthused, and your body’s just working well. But then, sometimes you have workouts that just don’t click: you feel drained and weak, you have a hard time concentrating, and you just have a generally lousy time. What makes the difference? They say that preparation is half the battle, and this is definitely true with exercise. What you do before you work out can be as important (or even more so) than what you actually do during your workout time. Here are 5 things that you should make sure you avoid before your workouts. 1. Skipping Sleep Sleep is incredibly important. In addition to supporting your mental and emotional health, it is crucial to helping you get the most out of your exercise. A lack of sleep contributes to an increased incidence of accidents and injuries (something you don’t want when you’re lifting heavy weights), impairs your alertness (which is bad for if you’re trying to...

You can lose weight by overcoming your cravings now. Here are the latest tricks of the trade from researchers and experts: 1. Avoid your triggers. You crave what you eat, so if you switch what you’re eating, you can weaken your old cravings and strengthen new ones. This can happen pretty fast. The first few days are always the hardest, and you probably can’t completely eliminate your old cravings. But the longer you avoid your trigger foods, the less likely you may be to want them. In fact, you’ll probably begin to crave the foods you eat, a real bonus if you’ve switched to fresh fruit. 2. Destroy temptation. If you’ve succumbed to a craving and bought a box of cookies or some other trigger food and start to feel bad while eating it, destroy it. Don’t just throw it away; run water over it, ruin it. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment that you’ve licked your binge. Don’t think about the money you’re wasting. If the cookies don’t go into the garbage, they’re going straig...

When was the last time you had your blood pressure measured? Was it high? Blood pressure measures the force pushing outwards on your arterial walls when your heart beats. Over time, high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can stretch and damage the walls of your arteries. The result is increased risk of arterial rupture, stroke, blood clots, increased plaque build-up, high blood pressure, organ damage, and heart failure. If you are over the age of 20, it is recommended that you get a blood pressure screening at least every two years. If your blood pressure results are high, you can take steps to lower your blood pressure to a healthy range and reduce your risk of stroke, heart attack, and other health consequences. A reduced salt diet known as the DASH diet to control your blood pressure. The Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension , or DASH, diet is a healthy eating plan that reduces blood sugar by eating foods low in saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, salt and sod...

Fruit is amazing. It tastes delicious, and it is almost always good for you. Whether your favorite fruit is bananas or grapefruit, you’re doing your body a favor by eating it. One fruit in particular that is packed full of nutrition is grapes . Grapes have a ton of health benefits, and they make a great snack. 1. Heart Disease Eating grapes can reduce your risk of heart attacks and heart diseases. They increase nitric oxide in your blood, which prevents blood clots. Grapes are packed with flavonoids, which are antioxidants that can combat free radicals in your body. Grapes not only taste refreshing and delicious, they also keep your blood healthy and free of toxins. 2. Asthma Grapes do wonders for asthmatics because of their anti-inflammatory properties. Grape seed extract can actually improve lung function and reduce the symptoms of asthma. It does this by reducing leukotriene levels in the body, which is naturally produced as a response to inflammation. That means that...