Walking Your Way back to Health, it doesn't have to be hard.

Exercise doesn't have to involve absolutely killing yourself running hundreds over laps round the track, just taking that spare time when you would be watching the TV or sat in the garden to go walking can prove extremely beneficial to your health. The article below will fill you in with the details. For health and fitness advice, go to http://squidoo.com/health-fitness

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11 Reasons for Walking by Daniel Williams

Frequently, the simple things in life can be surprisingly beneficial. Take a walk, for example. This is a somewhat overlooked activity that can be good for the mind and body. The cost of using up some of your minutes in a 24-hour day is small when compared to the much greater rewards you can reap.
The following are 11 reasons why finding time in your schedule to take a walk a few times a week can make the rest of your week and life more enriching.
1) Enjoy the scenery. After being cooped up indoors all day, seeing some branching trees that have been around for many years and pretty, colorful flowers are a nice change of pace. The monotony of many bland office environments may contribute to staleness of thought and lack of creativity.
2) Breathe fresh air. Some people claim that indoor air can be more hazardous to your health than the great outdoors. Apparently, the air indoors seems to keep on recirculating with the same pollutants. Think of all the toxic cleansers that you stored and used indoors this past month. With inadequate ventilation, you breathe these noxious substances repeatedly. Some have studied this and say there is an increased risk of malignancies for the group who stays home all day contrasted with those who explore other environments.
3) Increased oxygenation to the brain. The activity of just walking can be enough to increase circulation and may even get some vitally needed oxygenation to the brain so you can improve your thinking.
4) Better sleep. With an increase of moderate exercise, some people report that they fall asleep as soon as their head plunks down on the pillow. Also, they enter into the deeper stages of sleep so they feel refreshed upon awaking after a good night of rest.
5) Cardiovascular workout. Exercise can help strengthen the heart muscle so that if it encounters later an insult, it is stronger to bounce back. Although walking is not strenuous, for aging people it still is touted as a good form of exercise.
6) Good for skeletal system. As one ages the risk of osteoporosis increases especially for women. However, as men live longer, this will apply to them as well. Activities that put some stress on the weight bearing bones and joints will help in counteracting the development of osteoporosis. A person who has osteoporosis is more likely to break a bone in an accidental fall. The recovery from such an incident may be much more problematical with those who have osteoporosis.
7) Self-esteem. If you have gained a few pounds from your earlier days, you may start feeling glum about the image you give to the world. Vanity doesn't stop at thirty. You may not like to admit it, but you may have loss that fit and trim look that made you feel good about yourself. That has an impact on your mood and how you interact with others. In addition, those who work into their golden years want to make a good impression when conducting business with the public.
9) Reduces centripetal obesity. The typical apple shaped body type may also be at a higher risk for developing some malignancies. Walking, a form of aerobic exercise, can help in shedding those unsightly and unhealthy pounds. Although a sensible diet is crucial when considering management of obesity, you will do better maintaining your desired weight if you couple a well-balanced diet with regular exercise.
9) Decreased risk of dementia. There is growing evidence that those age groups who are apt to develop dementia may benefit by exercising.
10) Socialize. Walking with someone else gives you an opportunity to socialize and at the same time get the exercise you need. A lively conversation is something many connected people value.
11) No special skills. Walking does not require any special skills or abilities. You don't have to have good eye-hand coordination, speed or agility. Most people have developed their own style since they were about one year old.
If you are not engaged now in a regular exercise program, consider walking on a regular basis. A very small amount of effort and time on your part can have enormous benefits.
About the Author
Author: Daniel Williams has been an online entrepreneur since 1998. He is webmaster of SarasotaFreeAds.com and lives in Sarasota, Florida 34237. You are permitted to reprint this article provided it is done so in its entirety including this signature box and remains unchanged except for formatting.

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World's Fight Against AIDS by Subhash kumar

Today, I thought I'd put in an article in relation to AIDS considering the huge death toll that it inflicts upon Africa and other areas of the world, I think it is something that we should remind ourselves of, and help us (those who are non sufferers) to realise how lucky we all are not suffer from this devastating disease. It helps you realise how much we often take our health for granted, and why we should do our best to keep in shape and healthy, and do everything we can to stay that way! For health and fitness tips, visit http://squidoo.com/health-fitness

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World's Fight Against AIDS
What is AIDS? : a serious (often fatal) disease of the immune system transmitted through blood products especially by sexual contact or contaminated needles.Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the final and most serious stage of the disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. Symptoms begin when an HIV-positive person presents a CD4-cell (also called T cell, a type of immune cell) count below 200. AIDS happens concurrently with numerous opportunistic infections and tumors that are normally associated with the HIV infection.
What is HIV?
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the virus that causes AIDS. A member of a group of viruses called retroviruses, HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce.
Transmission of HIV
A person who has HIV carries the virus in certain body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. The virus can be transmitted only if such HIV-infected fluids enter the bloodstream of another person. This kind of direct entry can occur through these ways a. Through the linings of the vagina, rectum, mouth, and the opening at the tip of the penis. b. Through intravenous injection with a syringe.c. Through a break in the skin, such as a cut or sore.
* Unprotected sexual intercourse (either vaginal or anal) with someone who has HIV. Women are at greater risk of HIV infection through vaginal sex than men, although the virus can also be transmitted from women to men. Anal sex (whether male-male or male-female) poses a high risk mainly to the receptive partner, because the lining of the anus and rectum is extremely thin and is filled with small blood vessels that can be easily injured during intercourse.
* Unprotected oral sex with HIV Positive partner . There are far fewer cases of HIV transmission attributed to oral sex than to either vaginal or anal intercourse, but oral-genital contact poses a clear risk of HIV infection, particularly when ejaculation occurs in the mouth.
* Sharing HIV infected needles or syringe. Laboratory studies show that infectious HIV can survive in used syringes for a month or more. That's why people who inject drugs should never reuse or share syringes, water, or drug preparation equipment. This includes needles or syringes used to inject illegal drugs such as heroin, as well as steroids. Other types of needles, such as those used for body piercing and tattoos, can also carry HIV.
* Infection during pregnancy, childbirth, or breast-feeding . Any woman who is pregnant or considering becoming pregnant and thinks she may have been exposed to HIV-even if the exposure occurred years ago-should seek testing and counseling. In the U.S., mother-to-infant transmission has dropped to just a few cases each year because pregnant women are routinely tested for HIV. Those who test positive can get drugs to prevent HIV from being passed on to a fetus or infant, and they are counseled not to breast-feed.
Treatment Since the early 1990s, several drugs to fight both the HIV infection and its associated infections and cancers have become available, including:
* Reverse transcriptase inhibitors: They interrupt the virus from making copies of itself. These drugs are AZT (zidovudine [Retrovir]), ddC (zalcitabine [Hivid], dideoxyinosine), d4T (stavudine [Zerit]), and 3TC (lamivudine [Epivir]). * Nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIS): These medications are used in combination with other drugs to help keep the virus from multiplying. Examples of NNRTIS are delavirdine (Rescriptor) and nevirapine (Viramune). * Protease inhibitors: These medications interrupt virus replication at a later step in its lifecycle. These include ritonavir (Norvir), a lopinavir and ritonavir combination (Kaletra), saquinavir (Invirase), indinavir sulphate (Crixivan), amprenavir (Agenerase), and nelfinavir (Viracept). Using both classes of drugs reduces the chances of developing resistance in the virus. * Fusion inhibitors: This is the newest class of anti-HIV drugs. The first drug of this class (enfuvirtide [Fuzeon]) has recently been approved in the United States. Fusion inhibitors block HIV from entering the human immune cell. * A combination of several drugs called highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART): This treatmsent is not a cure. The virus still persists in various body sites such as in the lymph glands.* Truvada (tru-VAH-dah) a combination of two anti-HIV medications, Emtriva (emtricitabine 200 mg) and Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg), into one pill that is taken once a day with or without food.
Your Role in the fight against HIV/AIDS Everyone can play a role in confronting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Here are just a few suggestions for how you can make a difference: * Volunteer with your local AIDS service organization. * Talk with the young people you know about HIV/AIDS. * Sponsor an AIDS education event or fund raiser with your local school, community group, or religious organization. * Urge government officials to provide adequate funding for AIDS research, prevention education, medical care, and support services. * Speak out against AIDS-related discrimination. * Support continued research to develop better treatments and a safe and effective AIDS vaccine by making a donation to amfAR. For more details Click here.

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Want To Get Healthy? Eat Your Fruits And Vegetables! by Stephanie Foster

Are you eating enough vegetables? The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day.Now this may sound like a lot, but it really isn't. Despite that, an amazing number of people do not eat enough vegetables and fruits every day. Fortunately, it really is not that hard to add more fruits and vegetables into your diet.Just head to your local supermarket and look at the selection. There's plenty to choose from. Not only that, but eating healthy fruits and vegetable isn't that expensive. Many of them cost far less than you might be thinking. With a little practice and determination you can use fresh fruits and vegetables to replace unhealthier snacks.One serving is not all that much. One of the reasons many people feel overwhelmed when they hear how many servings per day they should eat is that they don't really realize how small a serving is. It's nothing close to what you get when you order the large meal at the fast food restaurant. A small apple is about the size of one serving of fruit or vegetables. That's about the size of a tennis ball, so don't get confused if you look at the huge apples that some grocery stores carry.The recommended servings come out to at least two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables a day. That's it. Think about how much food you sometimes pile on your plate. For many of you this won't be hard at all.Take advantage of the variety of fruits and vegetables available. You don't have to have a basic salad, an apple, a serving of peas, etc. each and every day. Mix it up! Add fun things to your salad such as baby corn, artichoke hearts and avocado. Try some of the fruits and vegetables you've never tried before. Make fruit salad. The variety is there for those willing to take advantage of it.Variety is important for another reason. The different fruits and vegetables have different nutrients, so this will help you to get all the vitamins and minerals you need.Getting bored despite the variety? Try some new recipes and bring them back to life. Baked apples are simple yet delicious. If you always steam your vegetables try baking them or stir frying with a very small amount of oil.Try eating different parts of the vegetables. Some people just throw out the greens on top of their beets; however I like to stir fry those and eat them too. Find out what parts are edible and stop throwing away some of the best parts.Now you may think you've been replacing the vitamins in your fruits and veggies by taking vitamin supplements. Think again.Yes, vitamins can provide the basics such as vitamins A, C and E, as well as many others, there are many other nutrients your body needs that are not available in vitamins. Vitamins from fresh sources may also be better absorbed than vitamins taken in pill form.What's the best way to save money when buying fruits and vegetables? Buy fresh, buy in season, buy local. If there's a farmer's market in your area compare its prices to those at your grocery store.What about the best way to make it easier to replace unhealthy snacks with fruits and vegetables? Most can be cut up in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Apples, pears and bananas will go brown if you don't protect them from the air. Dip them in an acidic fruit juice, such as lemon, lime or pineapple to protect them. Combine chopped up fruits and vegetables with a refusal to buy unhealthy snacks when you're actually shopping at the grocery store and you'll find you simply eat fewer of them. Most people won't run to the store for some potato chips just because they want a quick snack. They'll take what's available, and if that's something healthy, so much the better.Making the effort to get your five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day isn't as hard as it seems. Take a little time and learn to enjoy them.About the AuthorStephanie Foster has been having a lot of fun learning healthier ways to cook for her family and enjoys sharing what she has learned. You can get tips and recipes at http://www.makehealthymeals.com/.

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I know that people have been saying for years and years that to stay healthy, you should eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day. The thing is, they are right, as this article highlights. People argue that they can just eat multi-vitamin tablets and stay healthy, this is not the case, as is becoming increasingly more acknowledged. Eat you fruit and vegetables, keep fit, and your half way to a healthy life!

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Frequently Asked Dieting Questions

Diet And Nutrition Questions And Answers by Raymond Burton
1. Should you aim for zero fat in your diet?
No you should not aim for zero fat. Fat is essential for maintaining healthy skin and hair. It also acts as a transport for the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. The deal with fat is that is contains 9 calories per gram, and this is why fat foods are considered high calorie. Despite its bad reputation, you do need between 15-20% of your diet to be comprised of fats to maintain health. Most of this will come indirectly through your regular eating and it's a fat chance (pun intended) that you're not getting enough already!
2. Can I eat carbohyrates at night time?
Yes, however you should make sure that the carbohydrates come from complex sources like brown rice, vegetables and salads.
3. What is the best diet to keep blood sugars normal for a Type II Diabetic?
The same diet that is best for everyone. A diet that is well balanced with all the macronutrients, low in simple sugars and full of natural vitamins and fiber. It's all about keeping the sugar levels stable while providing enough calories and nutrition through whole foods. Just like when we were cave women and men!
Everyone may want to take a look at tweaking the diet a bit if for instance you have food allergies or cannot digest red meat. But other than that the standard is always the same. I prefer a 20 percent fat, 50 percent protein and 30 percent carbohydrate myself.
4. If you already eat healthy with no real avail, than how can you trick your body into losing weight?
Check again to make sure that your standard of eating healthy jives with a nutritionists and if that is the case start working out harder.
5. Can a body-builder/weightlifter be a vegetarian?
Yes, there are quite a few people who have done it. It is especially easy to do if you allow eggs, milk and whey protein under the label of vegetarian. If you are going strict vegetarian it gets harder but comes down to some serious planning and using various foods to produce complete proteins.
6. What are some good sources of low fat protein for someone who doesn't really like meat or eggs very much?
Some good choices of low fat protein for someone that does not like or can not eat meat or eggs would be:
Low fat cottage cheese Skim milk, soy milk A variety of sea foods Beans and lentils Low fat yogurt Whey protein
7. What are bad carbs vs. good carbs?
Carbs are the preferred source of energy for the body. When you eat carbs your body converts them to blood sugar or glucose. This glucose is stored in your muscle cells and liver for use when needed (like training!). When weight lifting, it is mostly this stored energy that your muscles use for contraction fuel. As with any calories you eat, any excess carbs that can't be utilized are stored as fat.
Some sugars are more conducive to a good-looking physique than others. This is where the good carb verses bad carb comes into play. There are three kinds of carbohydrates:
Monosaccharides (one-sugar molecule) Disaccharides (two-sugar molecules) Polysaccharides (three or more sugar molecules)
Monosaccharides and disaccharides are called sugars or bad carbs while polysaccarides are usually called complex carbohydrates, glucose polymers or good carbs. This is where the real good stuff begins. Because the good carbs contain three or more sugar molecules, they take longer to break down. The longer it takes the body to break these carbs down, the more time it has to use them as opposed to storing them as fat. A good way to gauge the quickness of the break down is something called the glycemic index.
8. Can eating 5-8 healthy balanced meals a day cause diabetes in the long run?
I cannot find or have not heard any evidence that would support that idea. In fact during all my research I have found the exact opposite to prove itself over and over. Large infrequent meals put quite a load on the body and create large surges of insulin response. This as you may know over time is one of the factors that can lead to the onset of diabetes. There is actually a study done on older subjects that states A higher meal frequency acutely subdues glucose excursions and reduces insulin and FFA levels during the daytime in older Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus subjects. You can find that study here: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
About the Author
Ray L Burton is the president of Recipes4Diets and author of the best selling ebook FAT TO FIT

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These questions and answers cover the majority of the common questions that are asked, however if there is something that you would like to know, feel free to leave a comment, and I will try and answer your question in a future post. Otherwise go to http://squidoo.com/health-fitness and have a browse on there!


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Lower Your Cholesterol for a Healthier Life by Amber Jonas

Heart disease and Stroke rank highest as the nation's top health issues. Too much cholesterol in the blood often ignites heart disease and stroke. Diet changes and regular exercise can help prevent these problems from occurring if you take the time to plan for healthy living.
Altering eating habits to lose weight is unlike altering a diet based on a significant need. Dieting to lose weight will certainly improve health but if existing health problems already exist, such as high cholesterol, a diet to lower cholesterol is essential.
Changes in your food intake specifically targeted toward lowering your cholesterol are needed. It doesn't mean you must give up the things you love to eat.
A variety of fresh fruits and vegetables with 5 or more servings per day are needed. Grain products like bread, cereal, rice, and pasta are also important. Choose 6 or more servings per day of grain products. Six ounces of your choice of Lean meat or poultry without the skin should be included. Choose fat-free and low fat milk. You should limit beans or peas and nuts or seeds. Baked or broiled fish should be limited to 2-3 servings per week. Use vegetable oils like olive oil or corn oil when preparing any foods. Use spices to enhance flavor of food instead of salt.
There are a number of items you should omit from your diet completely like potato chips and processed foods. The ingredients in these items will raise your cholesterol level tremendously. Dairy products should be avoided as well and foods that include them. Organ meats cause high cholesterol. Omit them from your diet.
You should also develop knowledge of proper food preparation. Proper preparation of food reserves the nutrients and ingredients for optimal health and destroys harmful bacteria.
In order to lower your cholesterol, a change in diet is essential. Your physician may put you on medication if diet changes are not significant enough to lower your cholesterol.
Keep in mind; to save your life, changes need to occur. This isn't a diet for weight loss. It is a change in food choices, which will enable you to live a healthier, higher quality of life while lowering your cholesterol. You will significantly reduce your risk of stroke and heart attack by making these simple changes.
High cholesterol is a serious health problem. If you take action now, you could possibly avoid serious health risks in the future.
About the Author
Thanks for reading. If you found this article helpful you can read more of my tips, information, and more articles on my website: http://www.thishealthylife.com

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This article does highlight some very interesting points, although in regards to cholesterol the detail is lacking, not all cholesterol is bad, there are two types one good, and one bad - the type that hardens arteries. To get further information on cholesterol try this article written by myself -http://health-fitness4life.blogspot.com/2006/08/obesity-dangers-of-gluttonous-habits.html or have a look on the following health and fitness resource page http://squidoo.com/health-fitness

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Regular Exercies -- To Stay Healthy

Do exercise regularly if you are trying to lose weight. A statistical study has revealed that most of the people who want to lose weight don't exercise. If you give a thought about the present American culture then you would easily believe the fact that most of the Americans don't exercise.
The major population of America was involved in hard labor on farms in those days of republic and used to eat large and energetic meals to do that hard work. But with the change in time, the Americans moved to cities and started doing factory jobs which didn't require that hard labor. Still they had to work in factories and some amount of labor was involved.
Nowadays most of the people do sedentary jobs such as working at desks, cash registers or computers that didn't require any hard labor. Most of them don't even stretch during their work hours and sit idle in the front of television at home.
If you consider any good weight loss plan then it will definitely include exercise with diet schedule. This is so because it is important to boost your metabolism by doing exercises along with reducing calorie intake.
There are people who don't want to do exercise and consider it a boring activity. Such people need motivation to start an exercise program. You can play favorite music during your exercises to keep you motivated or exercise with your children by playing with them. This would do all exercise you need and you won't even realize that you have exercised. The other way is to take help of an exercise buddy who can be your friend or family member to keep you motivated.
Most of us have one or the other favorite physical activity which we enjoy like bowling or swing dancing, volleyball or tennis etc., you can include such activity in your daily schedule to keep you moving.
The best way to enhance your exercise regimen is by adding some strength training in it. You can lift weights or do light weight exercises to add muscles to your body while burning calories. You can also safeguard yourself from diseases like osteoporosis and many health problems if you exercise with weights regularly.
If you are not confident about your exercises or its schedule then you can hire a personal trainer or a coach. Your coach can motivate you to do exercise regularly to lose weight quickly.
Make a priority list of your exercises and follow the regular exercise schedule strictly. The main theme is to exercise regularly if you want to stay fit and fine. Occasional exercises don't work out.
Exercise not only provides physical fitness, but mental relief also. Therefore, exercise daily and stay healthy at both mind and body. You can lose weight easily if you exercise daily.
About the Author
Greg Culver is the owner of www.healthmedicinehome.com. For information and articles on health and medicine go to: www.healthmedicinehome.com

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The Basic Yoga Positions for Beginners

Practitioners have talked about the unification of the mind, body and spirit. They claimed that this will be acquired through the practice of yoga exercises and techniques.
If it is your first time to hear of yoga, you will of course wonder how these exercises are done and how it looks like. Since you are a beginner, you will also definitely ask what kind of positions will be best for you.
Yogis have believed that the mind and the body are bonded into a unified structure. This belief has never failed and changed through time. Yoga has extensively performed an amazing procedure of healing oneself through harmony. This can be successfully done if you are in a proper environment.
With the great effects of yoga, the doctors have been convinced that yoga has some therapeutic results and can be recommended for people who have illnesses that is hard to cure.
If you have some illness that has been with you for a long time, you can practice the yoga positions for beginners and apply it to yourself.
If you want to practice the yoga positions for beginners, you must believe that yoga is effective and will help you to be cured or be refreshed.
Yoga is not just a recent application. It has been practiced and applied a long time ago and up to the present, the people are benefiting a lot from it.
Investigations and researches have been implemented to prove that yoga can be helpful in the healing process.
Therefore, it has been proved that the yoga positions for beginners are extremely effective and useful when it comes to maintaining a high level of joint flexibility. Although the yoga positions for beginners are just simple and basic, it can slowly bring up a healthy lifestyle and bring more when it is practiced over and over again.
The yoga positions for beginners are very interesting and exciting to perform. Beginners will never find it hard to keep up with the exercises because it is just simple. The technique of yoga gives a very big contributing factor to our internal glands and organs. It also includes the parts of the human body, which is barely stimulated.
If you want to learn the yoga positions for beginners, you can learn it easily at home or at school where yoga is taught.
Some basic yoga positions for beginners include standing poses, seated poses, forward and backward bends, balance and twisting. These yoga positions for beginners are not that far from those who are used to practicing yoga.
The time duration in executing the positions are also lessened because a beginner cannot fully cope up with a longer time exposure in practice. Rest is required of the beginner so that he will not be drained easily to prepare the body for further positions.
Since you are a beginner, the most important thing you should understand is self-discipline. Yoga is not just doing yoga and executing the poses. If you haven't mastered the basics yet, do not jump into the complex stages and positions because you will not feel the essence of executing the yoga positions for beginners.
About the Author
Rudy Silva is a natural nutritionist. To discover more tips about yoga and its benefits go to: http://www.for--you.com/exciting_yoga

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The Effects of Smoking, and why you should quit NOW!

It has long been documented that smoking is bad for your health, although many smokers don’t like to admit it or choose to ignore the fact completely and cruise through their life getting less and less fit, with the risks of cancer increasingly steadily for every year that they smoke, a recent report that I read claims that smoking on average cuts a whole 10 years off your life while reducing your performance in the gym and around the track, making your skin age faster, and making you smell. Every year in the UK over 114,000 deaths were attributed to smoking a related cause; that is a lot of deaths!

A few reasons why you should quit now!

It Kills and Damages You:
Each cigarette contains over 4000 chemicals, and when bunt produces many noxious toxins including the 3 major damaging toxins that are Carbon monoxide, Tar and the addictive nicotine. These obviously have several consequences. What is not often known is that the main cause of death as a result of smoking is cardiovascular disease; this is due to the fact that smoking accelerates the hardening process of cholesterol in arteries narrowing arteries or even blocking them, as a consequence blood clots are far more likely to occur. Lung cancer occurs due to the harmful chemicals entering your lungs in the form of smoke, ninety percent of all people who develop lung cancer are due to smoking, one in 5 people who are heavy smokers will die of lung cancer, and do you really want to be one of these people, a statistic? There are several other ways that smoking will help lead you to an early death including mouth cancer, throat cancer, coronary thrombosis and many more, another side affect you, or your partner may want to bear in mind that it can lead to impotence!

It Harms and Kills Others:
Passive (second hand) smoking has been shown to kill and damage, take Roy Castle for example, who didn't smoke, but died of lung cancer as a result of playing the trumpet in smoke filled pubs and other venues, a tragedy indeed. Do you really want to be responsible for the death of a close friend or a family member, I doubt it! Smoking while pregnant is hugely dangerous for the unborn baby, if all mothers to be quit smoking during pregnancy it is estimated that roughly 4000 babies that die would survive each year. Smoking also makes you and your property smell of cigarettes, and when first impressions count, this is far from ideal!

Reasons why you should quit:

Smoking takes an average of 10 years off your life, do you want this?
Smoking makes your skin age faster, making you look old before your years.
Smoking costs a huge amount of money, in the UK if you smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, then quitting would save you roughly £1500 a year, that’s a lot of money.
Smoking destroys your sense of taste and smell, stop smoking and enjoy the smells and flavours of the world.
Smoking is bad for your fitness, destroying alveoli in the lungs; this in turn lowers your VO2 max as your body can no longer absorb oxygen into the blood as quickly as a non smoker.
Smoking makes your breath smell, stains your teeth and makes your clothes and belongings smell.
Smoking increases your chances of becoming impotent.
Smoking negatively affects hormone levels!
In the next article, I will give you methods and advice on how to quit. After reading the above it should be pretty clear to you that quitting is the best option for you, and those around you, and even may give you the will power to quit.

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Obesity, the Dangers of Gluttonous Habits

With the rise of fast food over the last decade or so, western civilisation is under siege from a problem that has never plagued the world in its history. This problem is obesity. Despite the increasing research and facts emerging about fatty foods, and its affects to people's bodies and health, a vast amount of the western world still choose to ignore these facts and binge on fast foods, and do little exercise. It was reported that 35%of British men have not done any exercise within the last year, and over half are classed as over-weight or obese, while the proportion of people spending money on fatty foods and alcohol has risen. Will the coming generation be known as the obese generation, we can only hope not. Not only could this have disastrous economic affects in the UK as the strain will be felt by the health system as the generation ages, but on a personal level, being obese has huge (pardon the pun) health hazards!

The Health Hazards of being Obese

There are many health hazards associated with obesity, here I will inform you of the main ones, and hopefully in doing so, give you several reasons to either lose weight if you are currently obese, or keep you away from joining the increasingly large, infamous club, that is obesity, obesity is a club to be avoided if you value your health and your life. So here it is:
Firstly, cardiovascular disease, people who are overweight or obese are increasingly susceptible to cardiovascular disease, this is because of the affects that obesity has on lipid levels of the blood. Being overweight tends to result in having high levels LDL also known as 'bad cholesterol' which builds up on the inside of the arteries and result in the narrowing of the arteries, and in some cases blocking, a blood clot is a possibility, along with a heart attack!
Lethargy and daytime tiredness, obese people have been found to increasingly suffer from tiredness during the day and as a result, are more prone to be involved in road accidents. Further more it is likely that obese people will live as productive lives due to this lethargy and tiredness; as a result, it also makes losing weight even harder as they struggle to find the energy to go out and exercise.
Type-2 diabetes, it has been reported that up to 90% of type-2 diabetes sufferers are either overweight or obese, and as a result obesity has been found to be the major contributing factor to influencing whether or not somebody will suffer from type-2 diabetes. Diabetes in obese people is also more difficult to treat.
High Blood Pressure, it has long been known now that obesity can lead to high blood pressure, as blood pressure tends to rise with weight. Although the full reasons why obesity leads to high blood pressure is not fully known, one theory is that it is because the blood needs to be under greater pressure to get round a larger body. Although the heart can withstand high blood pressure for a long period of time, after a period of time, it may enlarge, this being a significant factor in heart failure and as a result you may die. Blocking of vessels to the brain (due to weakening of the blood vessels due to high blood pressure) may lead to a stroke, which can also be fatal. Heart attacks and kidney failure are two other possible consequences of having a high blood pressure.
There are many other diseases, illnesses and handicaps that occur due to obesity, these include arthritis, several forms of cancer, bodily pain, liver disease, and gout…the list goes on!

Being obese is risking your life, and endangering your health; you should try to correct this while you still have the chance, otherwise one day before your time, it shall be you last, and you may not even know it!

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Motivation - get Motivated!

Okay, so there's something you want to do, whether it's losing weight, getting fit, quitting smoking or alcohol, or just to work harder, there will always be times when you start to struggle and need that extra motivation! This may be when on your campaign to get fit, when its cold and raining, and the last thing you feel like doing is going for a run, or when your giving up smoking and your in a bad mood and stressed and you are getting increasingly tempted to have a cigarette, through this article I will offer a few ideas to help give you that extra little bit of motivation to keep going!

Firstly, you need to remember that for every day that you stick to your goals, you are a day nearer to succeeding, if you can keep this in mind at all times then this will give you the extra spark to keep going.
You should take heart from any progress that you see, losing just a pound in weight is a start, from these small successes you should build, lose another pound in weight, seeing as progress is such a great motivator, and motivates you to continue and progress further. If you keep a diary, it will provide you with a quick and easy way of being able to see how you've improved, it will spur you on to keep going.
When times are tough, think to yourself how keeping going is going to change your life, whether it will make you more attractive, healthier and add years to your life expectancy, realising how these tough times are just part of the process on the way to your success will help remove any temptations to give in and go back to your old ways.
Don’t try to do reach your goals in a single leap and do everything at once, for example don’t try and lose 2 stone overnight, it just doesn’t work that way, its like revising for exams, rather than trying to do it all at once, it is far more effective if you do it in small amounts, little and often as they say, and slowly but surely you will see progress. Before you know it, these small steps will be the equivalent of a large step, and rather than struggling, it will be far more manageable.
Let as many of your friends as possible know what you are doing, whether it's quitting smoking or taking up a new fitness regime, it doesn't matter. By telling your friends you will feel obliged to continue with it, as there will be a sense of embarrassment and you will feel almost as if you have let your friends down if you give up. It will also give you something to be proud of, and a sense of accomplishment, as well as something to talk about!
Join a club or an association with like minded people trying to seek the same goal as you, you may find yourself new friends, as well as support in times of needs, and who better to get advice off, than those who have been in the exact situation!

So there are a few ideas to help you through those tough times, just always keep your mind focused on the final goal, and the rewards that will come with it e.g. extra years to your life or a great figure and use this to keep you focused. If you believe in yourself then you will succeed. Even if you relapse and have a binge, or skip an exercise session, remember, it's never too late to carry on towards your goal!

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Plan Ahead!

Apologies for the lack of posts of late, but due to a busy, yet energetic lifestyle I've been finding it difficult to sqeeze it all in. What can you learn from this, and my mistakes is this: rather than taking everything as it comes and so get involved with too many projects at the same time, plan ahead, allow times for certain activities, by doing this you'll find that you can fit far more into your weekly routines and have more time to do the other things in life that you enjoy! Learn from my mistakes, and good luck!
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