Categories
Wellbeing

How To Survive Your First Yoga Class

I always dread trying a new fitness class. Personally, I tend to avoid the unknown and trying new things – especially things I don’t expect to be good at.
I’ll never forget the first time I tried yoga. It was a bit of a mystery to me because it has always been something I avoided like the plague. I like doing things I’m strong in, and flexibility is not one of those things.
I’m also very energetic and don’t sit still well either, so the thought of being still and quiet was a terrifying. Ironically, the things we need most are typically the things we avoid. I knew I needed yoga, but I had put it off for so many years.  Finally, it was time to take the plunge and try yoga for the very first time.
If this sounds familiar, here are a few little things I learned that might help you get through your first class gracefully.

1. I came prepared.

If you are a nervous Nelly like me, do yourself a favor and call the place ahead of time to find out what you will need. I knew I needed a yoga mat. Even though most places have extras, I wanted to put my own feet on my own personal mat, plus it made me feel like a real yogi. I picked up a cute pink mat at a local discount department store for really cheap, and I fit right in.
My yoga instructor suggested I bring water and a gym towel to wipe up sweat. I had no idea I would even sweat in class, but low and behold, I sweat like a pig and was sure grateful I had that towel – and water bottle!
Then, there is wearing the right clothes. I wanted to blend in and look the part, but I didn’t realize just how important wearing the right clothes was. There is a reason people wear fitted clothing that moves with your body without restricting movement. Luckily, I chose wisely, but I did see some other people around me fighting their clothes the entire time.
Lastly, most instructors will suggest you eat prior to class. However, you should allow approximately two and a half hours for food to fully digest. Reaching for your toes can be challenging enough without having a belly full of food in the way.

2. I left my pride at the door.

As I said, I HATE doing things I am not good at, and I put unnecessary pressure on myself to perform well. But, everyone has to start at the beginning – and everyone in class had their first day too. As soon I embraced this thought, I could relax and be okay with being the newbie in the room.
I didn’t expect to be able to do every pose. I modified poses when necessary and, believe it or not, no one thought any less of me. While my pride wanted to rock the class, I had to accept that I wasn’t going to be a professional yogi overnight.

3. I avoided every unnecessary embarrassing moment possible.

I HATE being called out in a group. I want to be under the radar, so I did everything possible to stay on the down-low.  I showed up early and I was committed to staying to the end of class. Most studios recommend you come fifteen minutes early to complete any necessary paperwork. But, more importantly, I wanted to be early enough to find a comfortable spot in class – like finding a dark corner in the back of the class to hide in!
Luckily, I remembered to turn my phone off. I can imagine the embarrassment if my phone had gone off in class. That is definitely not a way to make yogi friends.

4. I did a quick body check.

I knew my little piggies would also be making a guest appearance, so I did a quick pedi. I doubt anyone really cared or noticed, but it sure made me feel more comfortable.
I showered and shaved before class too. The last thing I wanted to worry about is body odor or hairy legs. However, one thing I didn’t think about was lotion. I slathered my lotion on like normal, but that ended up being a very bad idea. My yoga mat turned into a slip and slide within the first ten minutes of class!
Although you don’t have to be prepared to have a good first yoga class, I hope you can learn from my experience (and my mistakes) to make your first class a total success.

Categories
Nosh

Here's What Happens When You Drink Coffee In The Morning On An Empty Stomach

As I’ve mentioned here before, I can’t stand coffee. But I’ve seen the research, and whether I choose to partake or not (and I don’t), there are a number of health advantages to drinking coffee. As with most things in life, however, timing is important. Millions of people around the world start their day with a cup of java. But despite its many benefits, drinking coffee (even decaf) on an empty stomach can cause (or aggravate) a number of health problems.
Most of those problems start off in the intestines and digestive tract, but their effects go far beyond the stomach.

Gastrointestinal Issues

There’s hydrochloric acid in our stomachs, which we need to digest our food. But coffee kicks hydrochloric acid production into overdrive, especially when there’s no food in the stomach to cushion the blow. If that happens often enough, the body may gradually lose interest in producing hydrochloric acid on its own. As a result, digestion slows down. Certain bacteria in our guts love to gorge on undigested proteins and other food, and when they do, they gleefully produce hydrogen sulfide (the same stuff that gives rotten eggs their lovely smell), which in turn produces some pretty nasty farts.
But farting is only the beginning. As stomach acids increase, so does the likelihood of developing heartburn, indigestion, and irritation to the intestines. If that goes on for long enough, it can lead to acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcers.
In case you were wondering, caffeine is not the culprit here (other sources of caffeine don’t produce the effects I just mentioned). In fact, studies on the gastrointestinal effects of coffee have found that decaf is actually worse than regular coffee. There are a number of other compounds in coffee—various acids, enzymes, and oils—that can do the real damage.

Nutritional Problems

A study done at Yokohama City University School of Medicine in Japan found that coffee facilitates what’s euphemistically called “gastric emptying,” meaning that it gets food out of your stomach more quickly than it would on its own. When food doesn’t spend as much time in your intestines as it should, vitamins and minerals don’t get absorbed properly, possibly leaving us with nutritional deficiencies. Again, it’s not just the caffeine; decaf is at least as bad.
There is one area, however, where caffeine plays a role. It speeds up the process of getting liquids out of the body by flushing them through the kidneys, causing frequent trips to the bathroom. That doesn’t give the kidneys enough time to absorb calcium, magnesium, zinc, or other important minerals. Magnesium is especially a problem, because according to some estimates, only 20 to 25 percent of Americans are getting anywhere near enough of it. Magnesium deficiency has been clinically associated with a wide variety of negative health conditions, including anxiety and depression (more on that below), asthma, blood clots, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, migraines, infertility, osteoporosis, and even tooth decay.

Anxiety and Depression

People who “need” their coffee first thing in the morning are drinking up because they want the jolt of caffeine. But caffeine also increases anxiety and depression in a number of ways.

  • It can boost levels of the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.
  • It interrupts the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s associated with senses of calm and well-being. Some of the most popular antidepressants (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and others) are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which work by keeping serotonin levels in the brain high.
  • It messes with levels of another important chemical, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is associated with calming and lowered stress levels.
  • It accelerates secretion of B vitamins and interferes with absorption of what’s left. B vitamins are extremely important for mood regulation, relaxation, and stress management.

Bottom line

If you need something to get you going first thing in the morning, consider something other than coffee—especially if you have a history of any stomach or gastrointestinal problems.

Categories
Health x Body Wellbeing

Think E-Cigarettes Are Safe? Think Again…They Actually Are Linked To This Terrible Disease

To this very day, smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. We can argue all day about a lot of things related to health and wellness—everything from Atkins to Zumba—but this one fact is about as far from controversial as it gets: Smoking cigarettes is basically the worst thing you can possibly do for your health.
Here’s the thing, though. We don’t really like hearing that we shouldn’t do something, or that something is bad for us. Instead of taking the often difficult path of eliminating that habit or substance entirely, a lot of us look for a “better” alternative. Enter e-cigarettes and the popular vaping trend.
Electronic cigarettes have exploded in popularity over the past few years. The percentage of individuals claiming to have ever used one increased nearly tenfold from 2010 to 2013 (1.8 percent up to 13 percent), while current users went from 0.3 percent to 6.8 percent in that same time frame. Young adults (ages 18-24) are most likely to use e-cigarettes, and although the majority of current users also continue to smoke traditional cigarettes, a solid 32.5 percent do not.
All of those statistics to say: A lot of people are vaping, but there is something very, very important to understand about this troublesome trend.
E-cigarettes may appear “cleaner,” but tests have shown that their vapor contains known carcinogens and toxins (think formaldehyde and diacetyl, among others), and we have no idea what kind of effect they are going to have long-term. My guess? Not great.
Harvard researchers seem to agree with that hunch, with a 2015 press release linking the diacetyl found in many e-cigarettes to an irreversible respiratory disease. (Honestly, though, are you actually surprised that a hobby that involves inhaling artificially flavored smoke is not totally awesome for your lungs?)
The respiratory disease in question is called bronchiolitis obliterans, or “popcorn lung.” It got its colloquial name after workers at a microwave popcorn manufacturing plant developed the disease from exposure to diacetyl-containing artificial butter flavorings. Five of those eight plant employees who originally got bronchiolitis obliterans have since died of respiratory-related diseases.
If you think of a lung like a tree, where the branches get smaller as they get closer to the center (trunk), “popcorn lung” affects the very smallest of the lung’s “branches,” thus compromising air movement. Severe cases require lung transplantation, but even milder forms of it can cause coughing and shortness of breath and compromise activities of daily living.
The Harvard study was met with fierce opposition by proponents of e-cigarettes, however, who pointed out that the amount of risky diacetyl in e-cigarettes is hundreds of times lower than what’s in actual cigarettes. They expressed concern that such sensationalized headlines lashing out at e-cigarettes would only lead to individuals deciding they might as well go back to smoking traditional cigarettes. Let’s be very clear about this: The only time someone “might as well” go back to lighting up in any context is the literal apocalypse.
Here’s the thing, though. Diacetyl and popcorn lung are not likely the end of vapers’ concerns. E-cigarettes are currently unregulated, which is a huge problem. Regulating organizations are not perfect, but when there is absolutely no oversight of a product, manufacturers can do whatever they want. They can literally put anything inside those e-cigarettes, and not only would we not know about it, but it would be perfectly legal.
In the end, inhaling any amount of addictive and toxic chemicals is not going to be advisable. You don’t have to be a cardiothoracic surgeon to draw that conclusion. Our lungs have to filter out so much junk on a daily basis (I’m looking at you, pollution), so why not give them a little bit of a break when we can?
You’ll save money. You’ll breathe better. And you won’t be cursing yourself 15 years from now if the research goes the way of traditional cigarettes and shows some very, very unsettling health concerns.
Is a little bit of flavored smoke really worth that risk?

Categories
Lifestyle

She Had Itchy Red Bumps All Over Her Skin, But Couldn't Figure Out Why. Until She…

Gluten is a protein that’s found in wheat, barley, and rye. With dozens of studies identifying gluten as the culprit behind a huge number of health issues (including acne, attention deficit disorder, depression, fatigue, headaches, stomach problems, and even some cancers), it’s no wonder that about one-third of Americans are now taking steps to avoid it. The market, of course, has responded positively: Sales of gluten-free foods have more than doubled in the last five years, and a number of market research firms expect them to do the same over the next five.
But here’s the billion-dollar question: Should you be going gluten free? As with most health-related questions, the answer is complicated. For people with legitimate medical conditions, the answers is a definite “yes.” For everyone else, not so much.

The Case for Gluten-Free

About one in 133 Americans—roughly 3 million of us—has celiac disease, which is a serious autoimmune condition. In people suffering from celiac disease, gluten causes the immune system to attack the small intestines and prevents the body from properly absorbing nutrients from food.
Another 18 million Americans may be what’s called non-celiac gluten sensitive. For those people, gluten doesn’t cause physical damage to the intestines, so eating it isn’t as dangerous. But many of its symptoms mimic those of celiac disease.
A much smaller number—about 1 million people—have an allergy to wheat, which contains gluten. Untreated (or undiagnosed, which is the case for the majority of people with all of these conditions) gluten-related issues can cause a dizzying array of symptoms, including:

  • Skin problems. Acne, eczema, hives, psoriasis, and itchy skin are common, as is a condition called keratosis pilaris (rough, dry patches of skin and tiny bumps on the arms, legs, or butt).
  • Digestive problems. Gluten messes with the function of the intestines, causing pain, cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation. It may also cause or aggravate lactose intolerance (trouble digesting dairy products), which in turn can produce some of the symptoms just mentioned.
  • Nutrition problems. When gluten damages the intestines, it leaves them less able to absorb vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients from food.
  • Balance problems. People with any kind of gluten issues often complain of dizziness or attacks of vertigo.
  • Mood problems. Poor nutrient absorption can cause anxiety, depression, sadness, and other mood issues.
  • Pain problems. Digestive system problems are often associated with chronic migraines or other severe headaches. Celiac disease is also associated with fibromyalgia.
  • Energy problems. Not getting enough nutrients from your food could cause iron deficiency or anemia, which will leave you feeling constantly run down.
  • Inflammation problems. Gluten issues can cause swelling of the joints in fingers, hips, knees, and elsewhere.
  • Thinking problems. People with gluten issues frequently complain that they feel foggy or confused after eating.
  • Behavior problems. Gluten can be associated with attention deficit disorder and other behavioral conditions.

The Case Against Gluten-Free

Thanks to the explosion in the number of gluten-free foods on the market—and to the prominent placement of the phrase “gluten free!” on food packages and restaurant menus—63 percent of Americans believe that a gluten-free diet will improve their physical and/or mental health, according to a national study done by Consumer Reports. The top benefits that survey participants attributed to ditching gluten? General health, better digestion and gastrointestinal function, lower cholesterol, stronger immune system, and weight loss.
Unfortunately, the truth about going gluten-free isn’t nearly so appetizing. In fact, a gluten-free diet may have the exact opposite effect of what you expect. For example:

  • Vitamins and minerals. Many grains are enriched with iron, folic acid, calcium, and other nutrients. Avoiding grains could cause deficiencies.
  • Fiber. We get a lot of our daily intake of fiber from grains. Less grain means less fiber, which could lead to constipation.
  • Bacteria. Eliminating gluten may decrease the number of good bacteria in our intestinal tract. That could weaken the immune system.
  • Fat and more. Do some package label comparisons. You’ll find that gluten-free alternatives tend to be higher in fat, calories, sugar, and sodium than the regular products.
  • Arsenic. Gluten-free products often use rice flour as a replacement. Consumer Reports tested more than 60 products that contained rice and found measurable levels of arsenic in almost every one.
  • Your wallet. Gluten-free products cost more—often a lot more—than their gluten-y cousins.

Bottom Line

If you suspect that you or someone in your family has celiac disease or another type of gluten issue, do not diagnose it yourself or put yourself (or anyone else) on a gluten-free diet. To diagnose celiac disease, your provider will need to do a blood test and possibly an intestinal biopsy. To diagnose other gluten-related conditions, you may also need to see a dietician or nutritionist.

Categories
Wellbeing

Quick And Simple Ways To Rapidly Heal Wounds

Every year, millions of Americans suffer skin-breaking wounds that are serious enough to require medical care from falls, accidents, or deliberate attacks. And millions more have wounds that are caused by surgery. Many heal just fine on their own, but not all do.
For thousands of years, humans have sought out new and horrific ways to injure and maim each other. And for thousands of years, we’ve also sought out ways to heal our wounds. The ways we try to kill each other—wars, terrorism, and mass casualty attacks—have remained pretty consistent over the years. But new technologies in wound care are enabling us to reduce infection and greatly speed up the healing process.
Here are just a few of the latest innovations (some of which are new twists on ancient techniques):

Crab Shells

Researchers from Britain’s University of Bolton recently developed a fabric called alchite, which is derived from algae and chitosan, which is a mineral in crab shells. Chitosan has well-known anti-microbial properties that speed up wound healing. The university has a patent on alchite bandages, and expects to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties.
Chitosan also has the remarkable ability to help blood clot more quickly and even reduces pain. Other bandages incorporating chitosan have been successfully used by the U.S. Marine Corps and a number of local emergency medical departments to treat severe, heavily bleeding wounds.

Wet or Dry

There’s been a lot of debate over the years about whether wounds heal better if they’re dry (after being cleaned and any bleeding has been taken care of) or wet. Today, the pendulum seems to have stopped swinging squarely in the wet wound camp. In one major study, Johan Junker and his colleagues at Brigham and Women’s College compared wet, moist, and dry wound care techniques and found that wet or moist treatments allowed for “precise delivery of antimicrobial agents and analgesics” to the wound. They also greatly reduced inflammation, scarring, and healing time (wet wounds in the study healed in six days, moist ones in seven, and dry ones in eight).
Among the most successful wet/moist wound treatments? Good, old fashioned petroleum jelly (Vaseline) and honey. Several studies have shown that honey’s natural anti-microbial properties make it a viable, natural alternative to antibiotics. When the sugar in honey comes into contact with the sodium that’s on our skin, it breaks down into hydrogen peroxide, which kills all sorts of nasty bugs and pathogens.

BioWeld1

An innovative Israeli company called IonMed developed a device uses plasma gas to seal surgical incisions in a way that controls bleeding, enhances tissue repair, and minimizes (or eliminates) scarring. Because BioWeld1 eliminates the need for stitches and staples, it may be especially popular for plastic surgery and cesarean sections.

Categories
Wellbeing

Have Scientists Found A CURE For Type 1 Diabetes?

Diabetes is a particularly nasty disease. By itself, it’s the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 75,000 Americans every year. But it’s also a major cause of hypertension (high blood pressure), heart attacks, strokes, blindness, kidney disease, and amputations. As such, it contributes to the deaths of several hundred thousand more people, according to the American Diabetes Association.
There are actually two kinds of diabetes: Type 2, formerly called adult-onset diabetes, accounts for 85 to 90 percent of cases and is generally associated with obesity and lack of physical activity. Type 1, formerly called juvenile onset diabetes, accounts for the remaining 10 to 15 percent of cases and is most often caused when the body’s immune system–which is supposed to protect us from invading viruses and bacteria–turns on itself and destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.
Although type 2 diabetes can often be prevented or controlled by eating healthy foods, getting plenty of exercise, and making other lifestyle changes, there is no way to prevent type 1. The only treatment for type 1 is insulin, typically delivered to the patient via daily (or more frequent) injections or an insulin pump.
So you can imagine the excitement when scientists at Harvard University announced that they may have discovered a cure for type 1 diabetes that could stimulate the body’s ability to produce its own insulin.

Here’s how it works:

The scientists were able to implant healthy, human insulin-producing cells (called islet cells) into mice. The cells were encapsulated in a special compound derived from brown algae called triazole-thiomorpholine dioxide, which prevented them from being attacked and destroyed by the body’s over-aggressive immune system. Once inside the mice, the encapsulated islet cells immediately began producing insulin—and continued to do so for six months, which was as long as the study ran.
Professor Doug Melton, the man behind the discovery, has been working toward this goal for more than 20 years, ever since his son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as an infant. Melton has a younger daughter who was also diagnosed with the same condition as a baby.
Melton is the co-director of Harvard’s Stem Cell Institute and co-chair of the university’s department of stem cell and regenerative biology. The next step for him and his colleagues is to do the same encapsulation and implantation techniques on humans with type 1 diabetes.
Julia Greenstein, president of discovery research at JDRF (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), the organization that partially funded Melton’s mouse studies, is thrilled. “JDRF is excited by these findings and we hope to see this research progress into human clinical trials and ultimately a potential new type 1 diabetes therapy,” she said in a JDRF press release. “These treatments aim to effectively establish long-term insulin independence and eliminate the daily burden of managing the disease for months, possibly years, at a time without the need for immune suppression.”
Melton’s studies were published in the journals Nature Medicine and Nature Biotechnology.

Categories
Health x Body Wellbeing

Man Is Given 2 Weeks To Live. That's When The Doctor Asks Him What He's Been Eating…

After hearing about a popular new protein supplement that helps you lose weight, 27-year-old Australian man Matthew Whitby went online and purchased it. Not long after he began taking the supplement, doctors told the young father he only had two weeks to live. His liver was failing, and he needed an emergency transplant if he wanted to survive. Whitby was so close to death that he accepted a donated liver that was infected with Hepatitis B.
The American College of Gastroenterology has reported that green tea extract can be toxic to some susceptible individuals and doctors say that it was most likely this ingredient that caused Whitby’s liver to fail. Professor Gary Jeffrey, a liver specialist, says that doctors have been seeing more and more cases of [linkbuilder id=”6436″ text=”liver damage”] they believe to be caused by these herbal remedies.
“People who have normal liver function can develop liver problems with herbal extract toxicity,” Jeffrey said. “There have been a number of countries around the world that have removed slimming agents from the market because of the increased rate of liver damage.”
HealthyWay
In Australia, there are no warnings listed on products that contain green tea extract, but Whitby is now speaking out about the potential dangers of these supplements. “I didn’t think something you could buy online or just over the counter did the damage that it did to me.”
The Therapeutic Goods Administration released a statement about the case which is currently under review, saying “the results of which will be made public if there is sufficient evidence of a safety issue to warrant further action.”
According to experts, it is still safe to drink green tea in moderation, as problems are more likely to arise when using the concentrated form.

Categories
Nosh

Doctors Say This Drink Destroys Your Bones From The Inside And Harms Every Organ On Its Way Out

Most sodas are a carbonated cocktail of additives and chemicals mixed together to trick your taste buds into thinking it’s a sweet safe treat. While it may taste delicious, soda can harm your body in many different ways.
Did you know that a typical 20-ounce bottle of soda contains about 17 teaspoons of sugar from high fructose corn syrup? That’s a lot of sugar!
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has received a lot of unwanted attention over the past few years. It is a sweetener made from corn and can be found in many foods and beverages on grocery store shelves, ranging from candy and soda to bread and ketchup.
HFCS is much sweeter than cane sugar and much cheaper to produce, which is why it’s poured into processed foods throughout the supermarket. HFCS is highly processed and has been linked to all sorts of health issues, including obesity, cavities, and a host of other health concerns and diseases. Another downside to the overuse of HFCS is that the environmental impact is huge.
If that’s not enough to turn you away from your next can of soda, the corn used to make HFCS most likely contains genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Currently, up to 92 percent of U.S. corn is genetically engineered.
And HFCS isn’t the only questionable ingredient in a can of soda.
If you’re opting for sugar-free soda be wary of the artificial sweeteners. According to a University of Iowa study, “Drinking two or more diet drinks a day may increase the risk of heart disease, including heart attack and stroke, in otherwise healthy postmenopausal women.”
The revamped Diet Pepsi formula replaces the toxic artificial sweetener aspartame with a blend of sucralose (best known by the brand name Splenda) and acesulfame potassium. Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than regular sugar, and acesulfame potassium is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Sucralose may be responsible for several health issues, including contributing to weight gain and obesity.
Many diet sodas continue to contain aspartame. Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners in use today. It is sold under the brand names NutraSweet and Equal. Aspartame and sugar have the same number of calories, but aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar, so less is needed to sweeten a food product.
Some sodas (mainly colas) contain phosphoric acid, which is added to soft drinks to provide a sharper, tangy taste and to help slow the growth of molds and bacteria. The phosphoric acid in cola leaches calcium out of our bones. Diet and regular colas both contain high levels of phosphoric acid.
Another ingredient commonly added to soda is caffeine. Caffeine in high amounts can cause bone loss. It interferes with calcium absorption and causes a slight increase in the amount of calcium in urine.
If you’re looking for a healthier option, steer clear of soda and stick with water or other drinks that don’t contain harmful ingredients that could contribute to bone loss and a host of other health conditions. If you’re looking to lose weight, forgo the diet soda and start adding more real food to your menu.