Archive for August, 2009

How Consumption Of Water Reduces The Risk Of Heart Disease

water consumption, heart disease,glasses of water a day,drinking water, tap waterOne of the most remarkable medical research findings is how consumption of water reduces the risk of heart disease. That’s water, plain water.

Professor Jacqueline Chan of studied the water consumption habits and health histories of 20,000 people. She found that drinking three or four glasses of water a day reduced the risk of coronary heart disease, 40 percent for men and 43 percent for women. What about drinking even more water? Consumption of five or more glasses of water a day cut heart disease risk 62 percent for men, but oddly only 39 for women.

Here are even more really unexpected results. That risk reduction from drinking water was greater than that found for other more acclaimed heart-protecting steps, namely quitting smoking, reducing cholesterol, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight. It was even better than taking a daily low-dose aspirin or having a glass of wine.

What is in drinking water matters. Other research found that drinking hard water results in less cardiovascular disease than drinking soft water. Hard water has more calcium carbonate and magnesium in it. Similarly, it has also been found that people who drank water higher in Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) had lower death rates from heart disease, cancer and chronic diseases than people who drank water with low amounts of TDS. TDS not only includes calcium and magnesium (the hardness factors), but also zinc, copper chromium, selenium and other elements.

Beware, drinking other fluids, notably coffee, soda, milk and other caffeinated drinks did not reduce heart risk. Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics, meaning they pull more water out of your body than they put in.

The average person loses about 2 percent of their body weight every day by producing urine and perspiration. Replacing this water is crucial in keeping your blood volume normal. Otherwise your blood gets heavy and harder for your heart to pump. Water protects against blood clot formation by decreasing blood viscosity.

Naturally, exercising in hot and humid weather means even high water loss. The American Heart Association recommends drinking 8 ounces of water before, during and again after exercising. Drinking too much water without replacing electrolytes can be dangerous. Many sports drinks provide electrolytes, but try and use the low calorie versions.

Also, recognize that some foods provide another way to get water in your diet. Soups, stews, vegetables like celery and peppers, and juicy fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges and grapefruit.

In addition to reducing heart risk, maintaining adequate water intake helps prevent getting kidney stones, constipation and fatigue. It also helps you lose weight.

Never take water for granted. And don’t think that expensive bottled water is necessary or better for you than your tap water.

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Is Sunshine Really Ok For You?

In a nutshell, if you abuse it, it is bad for you, but what isn’t bad for you when you abuse it? The truth is in moderation the sun “on your skin” is VERY good for your health. Even fair skinned individuals can bask in the sun in moderate doses. There is too much media scare hype about how the sun causes skin cancer. Many things cause cancer when you abuse them.

We Need The Sun Absorbed Into Our Skin

We need the sun absorbed into our skin pores because that is how we receive real Vitamin D. Vitamin D is an important vitamin for health that helps us to have a strong immune system. Many people are not aware that they may be deficient in Vitamin D. The body that is lacking in this crucial vitamin is more prone to bone disease and weakness, rickets, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, osteoporosis, lowered immune system, and many forms of cancer.

Vitamin D is needed to utilize calcium in our body. It’s fairly easy to eat plenty of calcium rich foods but having the calcium actually absorb into our system is another thing. Without adequate amounts of Vitamin D, the calcium we receive from the foods we eat, will not properly absorb into our body. Now were lacking in two vitamins.

How Much Sun Do We Need For Proper Vitamin D Dosage?

If we lay out in the sun all day, before our skin has a chance to be ready for all-day sun, we will burn. This burning on the skin is what causes cancer! If we abuse the sun when we are children and into adulthood it does extensive damage to the skin cells. Some skin cells can become so damaged they never repair themselves.

Moderation is the key. You must allow your skin to get used to the sun in doses. Fair skinned individuals should only spend fifteen to thirty minutes in the sun daily. By doing this they will be getting adequate amounts of Vitamin D. Darker skinned individuals should lay out for thirty minutes to an hour every single day. The most skin exposed to the suns rays the better.

Don’t be intimidated by the sun. The sun will treat you right if you treat it right. Vitamin D is stored in the blood for a several weeks and in the fat for a few months. In the winter months you can eat your vitamin D. This is exactly what supplements are for, to supplement. Foods with high levels of Vitamin D are cold-water fish, tuna fish, cod liver oil, milk, and fortified orange juice.

When to Apply Natural Sun Blockers
If you are going to make it a day at the beach, lake, skiing, or anywhere where you will be in the sun most of the day then you will want to use something on your skin. Here is the rule to remember. If you wouldn’t eat your sunscreen then it is bad for your health because what you put on your skin absorbs into your bloodstream. Chemicals in sunscreens have been known to cause reproductive problems so you will want to use something natural made with botanicals.

Studies have revealed that eating a lot of dark green and red fruits and vegetables gives some protection against burning when in the sun for longer exposures. Look for sunscreens with green tea extract, zinc oxide, and jojoba as the active ingredients.

The bottom line is sunshine on your skin in moderate doses is very healthy. We should bask in the sun every single day. Remember if you want to lay out for longer periods work yourself up to it first. Don’t be afraid of the sun! The sun heals wounds, improves skin tone and complexion, helps rid acne, and even diminishes the appearance of scars, cellulite and stretch marks. Enjoy the suns rays!

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