Celebrating Summertime

Summertime is here! Summertime is beach time. Are your swimsuits, sandals and terry romper ready girls? How about your sun protection paraphernalia like sunblock, sunglasses and a handy water container?

What the handy water container is for? Though you are out in the sun during safe hours (not between 10AM and 3PM), the temperature now is too hot outside. How will you lower your body temperature if you have no water to drink on hand? Our body needs more than 8 glasses of water if we stay under the sun because we tend to sweat more than usual.

With too much heat outside, you will not just feel thirsty and have sunburn but is prone to increase in body temperature and dehydration. I even heard a news yesterday about street kids who have suffered from heat stroke. The worst thing of staying for long hours under the sun? A skin cancer. Thus, we need to know some precautionary measures before celebrating summer through outdoor activities like sunbathing at the beach.

Light and comfortable clothing like terry romper are advisable to wear during summer. Dark colored shirts are not advisable to wear because it absorb more heat compared to light colored and of light material clothing.

As you go outside between 10AM to 3PM, it is advisable that you take protective measures like staying on the shade or take an umbrella with you and not to stay under the heat of the sun for more than 30 minutes if possible (though you are wearing sunblock) to avoid sunburn, dehydration, heat stroke and skin cancer.

Have fun under the sun this summer but remember to have precautionary measures for you to enjoy all the summer activities you are planning to do.

Diet, Exercise and Water For A Healthier Body

While other people are struggling to lose some weight, losing weight and maintaining it is so easy for me. It’s just a matter of diets that work, exercise and water intake.

Choosing the kinds of food to eat plays the biggest role. If you love to eat fatty, sweet, preserved and processed foods rather than fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains, better not expect to lose some weight.

Yes, you may lose some weight if you just take it in in small amounts but there’s a big tendency for you not to maintain your desired weight. A healthy low-fat and sweets diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables and grains could not just help you lose weight but also not to worry about gaining pounds back. You just need to make it part of your lifestyle so as exercise.

Water is of great help too in lossing weight aside from diet that work and exercise. Drinking 1-2 glasses of water at least 30 minutes before meal could make you feel full, making you eat less while it helps your body burn fat more efficiently and wash the toxins out of your body. So, better practice to drink at least 8 glasses of plain water a day.

The Great Advantage of Having Walk In Bath At Home

Most people don’t realize the great advantages of having a walk in bath, at home, and others are already using it, however, they are not aware what kind of gem they’ve got! and yet they are reaping the health benefits from their great buy and feel greater than ever. Among those two types of people, the luckier ones are the latter.

A walk-in bath has great health benefits that enhances our physical condition. It works like a natural spring, walk in bath give an equivalent benefit that you can have in your own home. People who are suffering from any kind of stress and arthritis and those who are suffering from insomnia are the most benefited individuals because of its natural hot spring effect on the body.

I must say, we are truly blessed to have natural hot spring and cold spring close to our place.  And the more amazing thing about it is that, hot and cold  water in both springs are coming from the Volcano… I really love to soak for at least thirty minutes on the hot spring especially when I feel so tired physically, mentally or emotionally. The flow of hot water relaxes my body and calms my mind. Then, I usually go to the cold spring after or take a cold shower for me to be alert again and be ready to face all the daily stresses in life.

Hydrotherapy really gives great benefit in almost all health problems. So, it is really advantageous to have a walk in bath at home.

Tips for a Healthier Digestive System

Eat a balance diet, increasing fruits and vegetables in your diet. Nowadays people are fond of eating processed and refined foods, they forgot the importance of whole grains, legumes, variety of vegetables and at least 5 servings of various fruits everyday that plays a major role not just in our digestive system but health in general.

Insoluble fibers from plant foods help prevent colon cancer and digestive disorders. It helps eliminate constipation and sometimes prevent hemorrhoids. Fibers also help prevent and treat diverticulosis, small pouches in the wall of colon that can become inflamed. For more info about fibers just click here. Nutritionists agree that it is best to get fiber in foods rather than in supplements, but supplements are better than no fibers at all.

Plant foods contain phytochemicals that protects our cells against cancer causing agents.

Raw plant food diet is rich in enzymes that may aid in digestion process.
Here is a list of some enzymes that are useful in digestion process:
Bromelain and Papain are general and both break down many foods. We can get bromelain from fresh pineapple and papain from papaya.
Lipase – breaks down fats and oils. We can get lipase from avocado, eggplant, oats, coconut and some beans.
Amylase – breaks down starch and sugar
Protease – breaks down proteins
Lactase – breaks down dairy products
Cellulase – breaks down vegetables and cellulose material

Have a regular mealtime, and eat your meal leisurely and chew thoroughly. Our body needs structure and routine, regular mealtime provides rhythm to our digestive system. You will have healthier digestive system if you introduce food at the same regular interval and almost the same amount each meal.

Eat with all your senses, masticate the food properly, slowly chew and savor the food before swallowing. Remember that proper digestion begins at the mouth.

Control nervous tension and emotional upsets. Anger, excitement, fatigue, worry, and anxiety tend to retard digestion by slowing down the flow of digestive juices.

Exercise to stimulate activity of the digestive organ. Another way to maintain a healthy digestive system is by exercising at least 30 minutes every day. When your muscles in the abdomen are strengthened your digestive system will be more efficient. Sluggish feeling may come from a poor digestive system; keeping fit will help you feel better.

Drink 8 glasses of water every day. We need water for proper digestion, bowel functioning and cleansing. Fiber will not work properly without adequate water. Fiber especially insoluble fiber is good for our digestive system but it can form a plug inside you if you do not drink enough water.

Drinking water between your meals cleans the stomach and digestive tract. It gives rest to the stomach so it can stop producing acids.

Avoid caffeinated and alcoholic drinks because these drinks are diuretics, fluids may be drawn from your colon -leaving your stool hard.

For more info about water please visit the following:

Water, how important is it to you?

Water, The Lubricant of Your Functionality

Understanding Our Thirst

Water for Skin Rejuvenation and Beauty

A Daily Water Intake Reminder

Consume probiotic drinks or supplements at least ones a week. It maintains the natural balance of organisms in the intestines. We can find lactic acid bacteria (probiotic bacteria) in yogurt and in dietary supplements. Water, enzymes and good bacteria all work together to maintain optimum digestion, nutrient absorption and health.

Establish regular bowel habit. Bowel movement usually occur just about the same time each day.

Water As An Alternative Medicine

water as an alternative medicine

Water as an alternative medicine is not new to us. It has been practiced by old folks before the time synthetic medicines have been discovered.

I have posted some articles here about water:

Water, how important is it to you?

Water, The Lubricant of Your Functionality

Understanding Our Thirst

Water for Skin Rejuvenation and Beauty

A Daily Water Intake Reminder

Why am I doing this? Because I believe that being properly hydrated is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to stay healthy.

Did you know that water can even cure some health problems? People called it water therapy. As far as I know, there is no scientific evidence about it yet but, I firmly believe that water can help cure certain health problems because our body consists of more than 60 percent of water. And, water therapy is not new to me because since I was a kid, my family’s usual practice  is  to do water therapy first instead of instantly taking in some synthetic drugs as treatment for constipation, hyperacidity, cough, colds, headache and some kidney problems. Usually, those problems can be cured by adding few extra glasses of water from your usual daily intake.

Lately, I learned from a friend that aside from the common health problems I have mentioned earlier, water therapy lowers blood sugar level, blood pressure, and uric acid level. It helps a lot too in people suffering from acne problem; migraine; allergies; sinusitis; arthritis; rheumatism; some respiratory problems; obesity; anemia; leukemia; and certain CANCERS (please ask your physician if it is okay for you to drink plenty of water). Is it not amazing?

Lots of people have tried and found it helpful. Are you interested to give it a try? Here are the 3 simple steps:
1. As preparation, see to it that you have not taken any alcoholic drinks before retiring to bed.
2. Early in the morning, upon waking up, gargle to clean your mouth from accumulated bacteria while you were sleeping then, drink 1.5 liters of water. If you are not used to drink such plenty of water in one setting, just start with 2-3 glasses of water then gradually increase it until you are able to drink 1.5 liters upon waking up.
3. You may proceed to your usual schedule afterwards but NOTHING BY MOUTH (no food or drinks should be taken) should be implemented for 1-2 hours after drinking the 1.5 liters of water.

Note: It is not necessary that you should do it upon waking up, what is important here is you start and end up your water therapy session with an EMPTY stomach. You may start this therapy at least 2 hours after taking your breakfast or lunch.

Please remember that the 1.5 liters of water you will consume is for therapy or cleansing purposes and not part of your daily water intake which is 8 glasses a day. You may train your child as young as 3 years old to drink 2-3 glasses of water upon waking up and take 6 glasses of water everyday.

Things You Can Do To Lower Your Cholesterol Level

various fruits and vegetables

exercise under sunlight

There is much you can do to lower your cholesterol level. Eating too much, especially eating too much of the wrong thing and less of the right thing and, or inactivity are the usual cause of high cholesterol level. Now that we know what causes it, we can say that eating healthful foods and regular exercise really helps a lot in reducing cholesterol level. Healthy heart and blood vessels demands no trans fats, low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet. It needs a well-balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Limit or if possible eradicate food rich in cholesterol, trans fats and saturated fats such as processed meat, untrimmed fatty meats, solid fats, cream, egg yolks, regular cheese, butter, whole milk and foods made with them.  Eradicate coffee from your diet, either it is regular or decaffeinated,  because it increases cholesterol level. If possible, avoid fried foods, broil or grill instead of pan frying. On occasions that you really need to fry, use canola, corn and olive oil instead of hydrogenated margarine, lard, butter or saturated oils like coconut and palm oil.

Eat a well-balanced diet. Consume 5 or more servings of variety of fruits and vegetables, variety of grain products and limited amount of nuts and seeds every day. You may enjoy limited serving of grilled or baked fish, beans and peas as substitute for meat. If consumption of meat is unavoidable, lean meat and skinless poultry can be consumed in a limited amount only.

Incorporation of water therapy upon waking up, cardiovascular exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and 15-30 minutes exposure to early morning sunlight to your healthful diet will do that much on lowering your cholesterol level at the same time will keep your heart and blood vessels healthy.

Regularly visit your doctor, for monitoring and setting a plan for reducing your cholesterol level. Some people may need to take medication aside from changing their lifestyle that is why monitoring is necessary.

A Daily Water Intake Reminder

When is the right time to drink the 6-8 glasses of water per day?

Here I am again posting a daily water intake reminder to emphasize the importance of water to the body. An average person should drink 6-8 large glasses of pure water a day, and should be increased when doing physical activity and in other cases that cause excessive loss of water from the body.

A safe guide to know if you have taken enough water is to observe the color and quantity of urine. Dark colored and excreting urine in small amounts shows concentrated urine, which means there is a shortage of water in the body.

Many people are accustomed to drink iced or cold water. Small sips may not harm you, but quickly taking half a glass or more of iced or cold water may chill the delicate membranes of the stomach thus, hampering the digestion due to decrease the production gastric juice in the stomach.

Drinking half a glass or more of pure water at least 30 minutes before mealtime, during mealtime and, or less than an hour after mealtime may hinder digestion by diluting the gastric juice in the stomach. And, the food within the stomach that is mixed with water tends to pass more rapidly without thoroughly digesting it. But, reasonable quantities of soup or milk can be taken in with food because it contains calories that are taken by stomach as food.

When is the right time to drink the 6-8 glasses of water per day? It is best to drink pure water when stomach is empty, that is at least an hour before, and after a meal. Because, when a stomach is empty, water passes through quickly and is promptly absorbed in the body. We must not wait that our body signals for thirst to drink in pure water. A schedule when to drink water will help you achieve the required amount per day.

Harmful Effects of Soda Drinks

harmful effects of soda drinks

It is not surprising to hear that consuming soft drinks was linked to overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. What surprised me was that people who only consume diet soda tend to be more at risk of obesity than regular soda drinkers.

Several studies showed that devoted diet soda drinkers become fatter than their regular soda-drinking counterparts. For every can or bottle of diet soda that a person consumes each day, there is a 41 percent increase in the risk of being overweight.

One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body. Empty calories stimulate your appetite more because your body lacks nutrients. Artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there is growing evidence that they can stimulate the appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more. Therefore, you are not really saving any calories at all.

Studies have also shown that artificial sweeteners increase fat-storing hormone production. They stimulate high insulin levels in your body, increasing hunger for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink, which again can promote fat storage.

Another possible reason? Believing that diet soda has less calories, people tend to drink more of this, and eat more food  resulting to an increase in their total calorie intake.

Some studies showed that soda drinks draw phosphorus from the bones and teeth that made it a possible cause of osteoporosis and erodes teeth enamel.  Consuming soft drinks was also linked with kidney problems, diabetes and obesity. Diabetes may lead to other health problems like loss of eye sight, and obesity is a risk factor of various cancer and heart diseases.

Feel thirsty? Why not drink pure water instead of soda drink to quench your thirst. If you really care for your family health, train your family’s taste buds and avoid soda of all kind at all times.