Twenty Essential Oils and Their Uses

Essential oils are always applied externally, they are never, never swallowed! Taking them internally may be fatal. They are applied to the skin and used as an aroma to help certain physical conditions.

Purchase small bottles, since the oxygen in the bottle gradually deteriorates the oil. Make sure the label says “pure essential oil.” Some oils cannot be extracted (such as peach oil or apple blossom oil); some products so advertised are not genuine.

Cedarwood – Antiseptic, astringent and sedative. Good for bronchial problems.
Chamomile - Pain reliever; reduce spasms, good for headaches when applied in a compress to the head.
Clary Sage – Anti-inflammatory, antidepressant. Helps induce sleep. Do not use during pregnancy.
Cypress - Antiseptic, astringent, antispasmodic. Constricts blood vessels, reduces coughing.
Eucalyptus - Antiseptic, antiviral, decongestant (rubbed on chest), expectorant. Reduces fevers and aches.
Frankincense – Anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, sedative. Useful for bronchitis.
Geranium – Anti-diabetic, antidepressant, antiseptic. This mildly sedating oil is useful for nervous tension.
Grapefruit - Reduces appetite, water retention. Detoxifies the skin and helps weight reduction.
Hyssop – Detoxifies, cleanses, an antiseptic. Clears the lungs of congestion and aids breathing.
Juniper - Detoxifier, diuretic, antiseptic. Helps arthritic conditions and cellulites. Don’t use during pregnancy.

Lavender – Calms and normalizes, fights bacterial and fungal infections. Good for acne, burns, eczema.
Lemon - Excellent germ killer. Good for varicose veins and reducing swellings.
Peppermint – Useful for headaches, fatigue, congestion, fever, muscle soreness, sinus problems.
Rose - Tonic astringent, antiseptic, antidepressant. Good for nervousness and insomnia.
Rosemary - Among the best of the oils; good for pain infection, spasms, dandruff, cellulite, headaches.
Rosewood - Good for anxiety, depression, headaches, nausea, tension, and PMS. It is antiseptic and calming.
Sandalwood – Antiseptic, expectorant, antidepressant. Also good for bronchitis, nervousness, and as a skin moisturizer.
Tea tree - Antiviral, anti-infective, fungicide, antiseptic. Athletes foot, dandruff, bronchitis, ringworm.
Thyme – Antiseptic, expectorant, antispasmodic. Herpes, skin infections, calming effect.
Yarrow - Improves digestion; reduces blood pressure, fights infection and spasms.

Directions for use: Dilute a small amount of the essential oil in either water or another oil (a carrier oil). Either apply or inhale it. The best carrier oils include olive oil, almond oil, grape-seed oil or jojoba oil.

Facial Oil: Add 6 drops essential oil to 1 oz. jojoba oil
Massage Oil: Add 25 drops essential oil to 2 oz olive oil, almond oil, or apricot oil.
Baths: Add 8 drops essential oil to 1 cup water and put in bath.
Hair Rinse: Add 10 drops essential oil to 16 oz. water.
Hair Conditioner: Add 1 drop essential oil to 4-6 oz. unscented conditioner.
Antiseptic Cleaning: Add 25 drops essential oil to 2 gallons water.

Causes of Upset Stomach

• Eating too fast. Food needs to be mixed with saliva.

• Overeating, even to good food.

• Meals too close together. 4 to 5 hours between meals is needed.

• Eating between meals, because this weakens the stomach.

• Eating a large evening meal or late at night. Digestion should be nearly finished before retiring.

• Eating when tired, especially when exhausted.

• Loss of sleep, nervousness, mental depression.

• Eating unripe fruit, spoiled fruit, or condiments.

• Eating bread which was not well baked. If the inside can be squeezed into a dough, do not eat it.

• Eating yeast bread which is not 24 hours old.

• Eating vinegar, fried foods, or complex mixtures.

• Eating vegetables and the most fruits at the same meal.

• Eating milk and sugar together, as in ice cream. This is because sugar ferments quickly, yet is enfolded in the milk which digests slowly.

• Eating too much liquid food.

• Eating sugar; Drinking tea, coffee, cocoa, liquor, etc.

• Drinking with meals. This dilutes the stomach juices.

• Chewing gum, drinking soft drinks, eating not-mineralized food or food cooked in aluminum utensils.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/causes-of-indigestion/

Vitamin B-Complex: The Vitamin for Learning

All of us know by now that good nutrition results in better health, fewer infections, more endurance and stamina. We improve physically when our diet is adequate in vitamins, enzymes and minerals. Can diet have any effect on mental health and mental processes? Yes, of course! The nerves and the brain cells are affected by that same good diet that assures us of healthy skin, teeth, and eyes.

The process of learning is complex indeed. In spite of hundred of years of devoted and learned study, we still do not understand fully what biological, chemical, nervous, mental, or electrical processes go on in the human body when we are learning something. But something in the Vitamin B Complex appeared to make this process easier and faster.

Learning is, at least in part, conditioned by the presence or absence of a particular food constituent. There is a certain nutritional state of the nervous system which must be realized for the effective realization by the learner of the teaching one receives.

All public or private schools all over the world must aim to turn out a complete, mature, and self-sufficient personality to their students before going out in service in whatever choice of field they are in. They must not be concern only in instilling facts into their brains but with study, athletic and recreational facilities to develop them with.

Our apathy about diet problems and the food manufacturing companies must be blamed, whose advertisements convinced almost everybody that their food is everything it should be, when in fact they are doing a great disservice to the public; the white sugar and refined cereals and their products – worthless as food and potentially dangerous, for their assimilation by the body uses up precious stores of vitamins and minerals which are replaced by our diet.

We must have proteins, carbohydrates, and fats that we should eat fruits and vegetables that children should drink milk, and astonishing results could be obtained over a period of years, feeding, ample amounts of all supplements and vitamins.

We have the responsibility of keeping before others (men, women, and children) the facts that are not well-known about nutrition.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/nutrition/capability-to-learn-enhanced-more-by-thiamin/

Robbery in Nutrition: Avoid These Nutrient Thieves

Everyday, almost everybody around the world are using, eating or doing these (stuffs or usual lifestyle wants), listed hereunder and so there is an urgent need to restore the vitamins which we unknowingly remove from our bodies.

• Smoking destroys Vitamin C.

• Drinking alcoholic beverages drain much of the body’s Vitamin B.

• Coffee uses some of the Vitamin B of our body.

• A diet overcharged with artificial sweets cuts in on the B vitamins.

• Chlorine in our drinking water destroys Vitamin E in our body.

• Chlorine dioxide used in bread has the same result.

• Rancid oil or fats in the diet destroys Vitamin E.

• Inorganic iron compound destroys Vitamin E. This is the kind of iron given in cases of anemia. Sterility muscular dystrophy and coronary disease may result from Vitamin E deficiencies.

• Raw fish robs thiamin.

• Chemical sterilizer, ethylene oxide, used in food industry, destroys B vitamins. The loss is between 11 to 47 percent.

• Sodium sulphite destroys much of the body’s vitamin, and is mostly found in ground meat, such as hamburgers, pork sausages, chili meat, and cooked beef rounds.

• Sleeping pills block the progress of carbohydrate metabolism and so add difficulty of the body’s absorption of thiamin.

• Medicines for malaria destroy Vitamin B.

• Penicillin, chloromycetin destroys Vitamin B.

• Mineral oil, used as laxatives destroys Vitamins A, D, E and K.

• Fluoride destroys the enzyme phosphates, upon which many vital processes in the body depend, including its handling of vitamins.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/nutrition/nutrient-thieves/

How Long Will You Live: Life Expectancy Quiz

This life expectancy quiz is typical questionnaires used by insurance companies. Of course it can’t be 100 percent accurate. But though exceptions exist (and barring sudden accidents), it is likely that your predicted life span may be somewhat in that range.

You will start with the number 74. So write down that number at the top of a sheet of paper.

• If you are a male, subtract 2.

• If a female, add 4.

• If you live in an urban area of over 2 million people, subtract 2.

• If living in a rural area with population under 70,000, add 2.

• If any grandparents live to be 85, add 2.

• If all grandparents live to be 85, add 2.

• If all grandparents lived to be 80, add 6.

• If either parent died of a stroke or heart attack before the age 50, subtract 4.

• If any immediate relative (parent, brother, sister) under 50 has – or had – cancer or a heart condition or has diabetes since childhood subtract 3.

• If you finished college, add 1.

• If you live with a spouse or friend, add 5.

• If you have graduated or professional degree, add 2 more.

• If not, subtract 1 for every 10 years alone since age 25.

• If your work behind desk, subtract 3.

• If your work demands to be physical, add 3.

• If you exercise 2 times a week, add 2.

• If you sleep more than 10 hours per night, subtract 4.

• If you are generally relaxed and easy going, add 3.

• If you are generally unhappy most of the time, subtract 2.

• If smoking a pack per day, subtract 7.

• If smoking 2 packs per day, subtract 8.

• If smoking half pack per day, subtract 3.

• If drinking more than 1 ½ oz. of liquor per day, subtract 1.

• If overweight by 30 – 50 pounds, subtract 4.

• If overweight by 50 pounds or more, subtract 8.

• If you are between 30 – 40, add 2.

• If between 40 – 50 add 3,

• If between 50 – 70 add 4,

• If 70 add 5.

 Your total score will be the estimated number of years you may live. But there is more. You are likely to live even longer if:

• Your blood pressure is less than 130/75.

• Cholesterol is less than 200.

• Resting pulse rate is less than 60 beats per minute with no breathing problems, asthma or history of chronic illness.

• Presently living with a pet and still work after age 62.

• Light eater, do not skip breakfast and has social contact besides your spouse.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/how-long-will-you-live/

Fruits as Cures or Remedies to Different Diseases

Use of fruits as medicine in different diseases. Try these tips before taking medicine (drugs).

Acidity 
The easiest, tried and tested remedy to cure acidity is to have as much cucumbers as one can without sprinkling salt over it. If you sprinkle salt over them, you again use something which adds to acidity. After you have eaten your meal, don’t drink water instead have cucumbers. You can also have them with your food.

Anemia 
There are many fruits and flowers that offer permanent cure for the patients. Here are some:
Give the patient half kg of sweet grapes’ juice for 10 days. He shall have enough blood in the body with rich hemoglobin in it.
Have peaches at least 5 at a time for about 10 days. Peaches are rich in iron and they would cure this trouble.
Have the combination of mango juice and milk for about a week.

Baldness
Take the oil of the mango pickle and massage your head for about half an hour with it. If you are bald not because of the hereditary effect, you would definitely get back your hair. During the season of cucumbers crush them and extract their juice and apply it on your hair for a fortnight. You can also apply their pulp on your head for quick hair growth.

Bronchitis
Take about 10 almonds and 10 dried raisins and soak them in water overnight. Early in the morning, remove the rinds from almonds and remove the seeds from the raisins. Now take a small, cleaned piece of ginger and grind the three ingredients to get a paste. Now add two spoons of honey and lick it. Do it every morning and evening for two days. This treatment will not only cure the trouble but would also strengthen the lungs.

Ear-Boil
Collect a little bit of green blossom of mango, normally lying beneath the mango tree. Extract the juice of this green blossom, add in even amount of mustard oil and put a few drops of it in the afflicted ear. This treatment will make the boil burst and clear out all the pus, etc.

Early Aging
Take about 10 almonds, soak them in water, remover their rinds and grind them to paste by mixing a little bit of milk. Now boil the combination in milk and when it cools, add about two spoonfuls of honey. Drink this potion. Continue the treatment for about a year. Have lots of apples, grapes and oranges daily.

Extreme Thirst
Normally, the thirst is easily quenched by drinking orange juices or having pineapple. Still, if you fail to quench the thirst, try the following remedies:
Take out the kernel from a mango, crust it and boil it in water like you boil tea. Now add a little bit of sugar candy and drink.
For those who frequently feel thirsty, pomegranate juice mixed with sugar candy is the ideal combination. Drink it twice or thrice to overcome this feeling.

Fire Burns
If the fire burns are not very deep, extract the kernel from the mango, rub it against water, wet the surface and apply the paste on the burns. Soon you will have relief. If it be a form of wound, burn the dry leaves of mango, strain the ash and sprinkle over the wound. This ash is an effective antiseptic and heals the fire burns.

Fatigue
Coconut water immediately removes fatigue and brings energy back to the body. Having orange juice with a little bit of pineapple juice mixed in it shall also remove the fatigue. While drinking this, rinse them in your mouth and keep your tongue standing clean of the teeth for quick rejuvenation.

Foul Breath
Normally, foul breath is caused by not any infection in the mouth but due to digestive disorders. Have five grains of raisins and five pieces of small cardamom. Remove the seeds of raisins and replace them by the grains of small cardamom. Lick their juice without chewing them. Soon your breath would be fresh.

Indigestion
Cut a fresh papaya, sprinkle rock salt and black pepper over its pieces and pour a few drops of lemon and eat them gradually. Papaya has a very useful element named “pepsin,” which is very effective in clearing all sorts of indigestions. Besides clearing indigestion, it also cures the germs inside the body. It is an ideal fruit for activating the sluggish liver. It also provides energy to the body.

Kidney Pain
Having the decoction of the leaves of grapes quickly cures of pain in kidney. Boil about 30 to 40 leaves of grapes in water, then add a little rock salt and strain it through a coarse cloth. Now allow the patient to drink it. While preparing, take care that you use only soft leaves and boil them after thoroughly cleaning them. This is very effective and will cure all sorts of kidney troubles.

Liver Trouble
Tomato juice and soup of tomato is very effective to activate a sluggish liver. Make the patient drink the juice early in the morning and soup in lunch or dinner. For elderly persons, juice of two tomatoes and for younger patients, of one tomato would be adequate. Add a little ginger juice with tomato juice to increase the bowels.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/alternative/fruits-as-medicine/2/

Brain the Brain - What Our Mind is Capable of

Our minds function much like complex computers – better, in fact, than complex computers. Using today’s microchip technology, a computer with the same mental capacity as your brain would need to be as large as the Empire State Building. Somewhere in the mind is the knowledge and capacity to operate every single cell in the body at every moment in time. We cannot even imagine our capacity.

The brain acts as a recording device that begins the instant it starts functioning and doesn’t stop until death. It records on one or a combination of tracks at once. There are tracks to record audio, visual, and emotional sensations. Everything we read, see, or hear, along with any feelings associated with them, is recorded.

As the number of recordings or experiences increases, the tracks begin to overlap, mix with, and override previous recordings. When we consciously or subconsciously tap into our memory banks, what determines, then, which experiences or recordings get played back?

It depends on which program is most dominant. For example, if five recordings in your mental computer say that 2 + 2 = 4, and one says 2 + 2 = 5, when asked the answer for 2 + 2, it will most likely answer 4.

The second factor involved in recording and playback is the power source, or the energy available to our memory banks. Our energy levels help determine the quality of the recording and the playback. Without constant energy sources, the playback function is unpredictable. Low energy levels make the recording less reliable. The picture may be fuzzy and distorted.

Energy levels must be maintained so the brain can function at its optimum. Maintaining the body is important so that when we replay experiences the recording will consistently come through loud and clear. But even beyond maintaining the energy levels we can also help make certain that the dominant recordings in our minds are positive ones.

Read More: http://scienceray.com/biology/human-biology/what-your-mind-records/

Do You Over Identify Your Career Achievements?

Low self-esteem is definitely one of our nation’s biggest problems. Little wonder – from birth we’re taught that our value comes from what we do and what we have rather than from whom we are.

People who are successful have high self-esteem. They are responsible and productive people. Yet they realize that who they are is more important than what they do and what they have. People who over-identify with their career achievements can most certainly create a disturbance in their health, happiness and relationships. Workaholism is as destructive as alcoholism.

Workaholics are the people who assume that everything happens as a result of their efforts. Therefore, they reason, they must always work. They are the people who rarely work a limited number of hours or are always on call for the company. They are the people who think the solution to every problem is to work harder and harder.

Workaholics find it extremely difficult to unhook and let go. The stress they experience accumulates. There is little joy in their work lives anymore; curiosity and excitement are gone; but the addiction remains. There is little if any renewal, and the body never really comes back to homeostasis. The internal barometer slowly shifts until fast forward becomes the accepted norm.

When we keep our internal barometer in balance with the rest of our lives, work can be a source of great pleasure, challenge, and satisfaction. It can add meaning and enjoyment when we know why we do what we do. Working from a sense of purpose is far better than working out of compulsion.

Balanced individuals know what is important, and they know where to draw the line. They can limit their commitments. Their sense of purpose comes from matching their talents and skills and the hours of the day to that which needs to be accomplished.

Read More: http://socyberty.com/work/are-you-over-identifying-with-your-career/

How to Live Life and Increase Work Productivity

In his book, “The Prophet,” Kahlil Gibran said, “Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love, but only with distaste, it is better that you should sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.”

It’s time we shatter the myth that the measure of our productivity and worth is in the amount of misery, busyness, and frustration we experience. Pleasure and peacefulness are two of nature’s indicators of well-being. Acceptance and love come freely with the gift of life. They are not earned by the sweat of our brow.

When we realize that work is just the frosting on the cake, we can keep our self-worth in perspective. We can sort out what is most important, spend our days doing what we most enjoy, and create a work environment that gives to us – just as we give to others. It doesn’t matter what you’ve chosen as your career – whether you’re a parent, teacher, secretary, sales rep, executive – the supreme joy of living comes from the services you provide to other people.

Jesus Christ taught often about servanthood. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 23:11 He said, “The greatest among you shall be your servant.”

People, who strive to dream, visualize, develop, and become all that they can become – and people who help others dream, visualize, develop, and become what they can become – are doing the most important work they can do. They are helping to complete God’s work.

A happy, healthy, and productive life is one that allows you to be at peace with who you are, where you are in life, and where you are going.

Read More: http://relijournal.com/christianity/working-with-joy-2/

State of Attention: Worry and Stress Combined

Imagine a stressful situation. It will, I hope, show how important it is to avoid the cause of internal imbalance and to release accumulated tensions inside the body.

You’ve gone camping with your family and have just spent the day backpacking into the mountains. It was a rigorous but fascinating journey. The wild flowers were in bloom, and you even walked behind a sparkling waterfall.

Now it’s evening, and the fire has died into a few glowing embers. Everyone’s asleep, but you’re not quite finished relishing the peacefulness of this beautiful day.

You decide to take a short walk under a clear, star-bright sky. Walking up the trail a bit, you smell pine and feel an evening breeze against your face. You’re relaxed and more content than you’ve been in years.

Then, suddenly, ahead of you to the right, you spot a dark figure in a grove of trees.

It’s a grizzly bear!

Immediately an involuntary metabolic change occurs. A threat to your survival is perceived, and your body is instantly alarmed and alert. Without your even realizing it, your heart-rate, blood pressure, rate of breathing, blood flow, muscle tension, blood clotting agents, white blood cell count, and body metabolism increase dramatically.

Within six to eight seconds, your entire body is activated for one of the oldest, innate reactions of which the human body is capable – fight or flight. Your body naturally adapts to this new set of circumstances.

Without your conscious participation, your endocrine system releases thousands of full-strength hormones into the bloodstream, and your autonomic nervous system sends impulses filled with thousands of instructions to all parts of your body – and at tremendous speeds of 200-300 miles per hour.

Being of sound mind, you decide to run.

It doesn’t matter one bit whether there actually is a grizzly bear in those bushes or whether you just imagined one. Somewhere you’ve learned that bears can be hazardous to your health, and that knowledge along with the perceived threat to your survival, is enough to set off a whole chain of physical reactions.

Of course, the run back to camp releases some accumulated tension; that’s positive. But even after you get back to camp and relative safety, the tension isn’t over. You can’t get that grizzly bear out of your mind. You lie awake listening to every noise – the wind now sounds eerie as it whistles through the trees, and every crack of a branch is the grizzly bear coming to get you. Even as you’re snuggled safely into your warm sleeping bag, your vivid imagination races, remembering every gruesome bear story you’ve ever heard.

The familiar terminology for this type of imagination is worry, and as long as you keep worrying and replaying the incident in your mind, the alarm continues. Your body remains alert. Stress is prolonged as long as you harbor the thought of danger, Your body, including the brain cells, is unable to regenerate and regain its balance. Your system remains in a state of attention.

In this condition, you drain your own energy reserves, keep muscle attention mercilessly taut, and involve your brain, heart and liver in a complex chemical process that can push them to their highest capacity without relief.

This distress, whether from a real or imagined source, does two things: it sustains tensions and intense bodily changes, and it drains energy needlessly. These are tremendous demands on your body’s metabolism. When they are allowed to persist, imbalances like this sabotage your health.

Read More: http://scienceray.com/biology/human-biology/the-grizzly-bear-syndrome/

All About Water: Source of Relief

Urine is an accurate indicator of the body’s current need for water; its color is the key. When urine is darker than a light yellow, the concentration of toxins is too high and the body needs more unpolluted water.

Our body is 70 percent liquid, so eight to twelve glasses of water a day really are crucial for our body and urinary system to function properly. Water replaces fluids lost to sweat, tearing eyes, running noses, and diarrhea. They help fight sore throats, allergies, fever, infection, constipation, and colds.

Water is a natural remedy for many common ills. How do you spell relief? W-A-T-E-R. Your best choice is filtered, naturally mineralized water.

To help you fully appreciate its importance, think of your body as a steam engine. It needs both fuel and fire to run; but without water, it can’t produce energy. It will overheat and could very well self-destruct. The body needs water; without it, the body cannot produce energy.

I’ve met thousands of people over the years as I travel, attend seminars and workshops, but rarely have I come across someone who drinks enough water. At work, keep a glass of cool water at your desk or work station to sip on at all times. A slice or two of lemon or lime adds a pleasant, mild taste that entices the taste buds.

Once you begin consuming sufficient water, you’ll be absolutely amazed at how much better you feel and how much more energy you have. Try it!

Read More: http://healthmad.com/health/how-do-you-spell-relief/

Nutrients in Different Fruits (Apple, Avocado, Banana, Coconut, Grapes and Papaya)

We need different kinds of fruits and veggies so that we can get all necessary vitamins and minerals needed in our bodies to live sane lives.

Apple
Apple is a highly nutritive food. It contains minerals and vitamins in a good quantity. On an average, 100 grams of apple contains: 84.6% moisture, 0.2% protein, 0.5% fat, 0.3% minerals, 1.0% fiber, 13.4% carbohydrates.

It provides 10 mg. calcium, 14 mg. phosphorus, 1 mg. iron, 40 IU of vitamin A and around 59 calories. There are small amounts of vitamin E, H and B-Complex too.

The skin of the apple and flesh contain more vitamin C and A than the inner flesh. The apple has malic acid, which is completely utilized by the body. This malic acid is beneficial to the bowels, liver and brain.

The active medicinal ingredient of apple is pectin, found in the inner portion of the rind and pulp that aids in detoxification by supplying of glacturonic acid, necessary for the elimination of certain harmful substances.

Mango

Raw mango is rich source of pectin, oxalic, citric, malic, and succinic acids. It is a good source of vitamin C, B1, and B2 too.The ripe fruit is very wholesome and nourishing. The principal ingredient of mango is sugar. There are citric, malic and tartaric acids in a ripe mango that are beneficial to the body and help maintain the alkali reserved of the body. On an average, 100 grams of mango contains 81.0% moisture, 0.6% protein, 0.4% fat, 0.4% minerals, 0.7% fiber and 16.9% carbohydrates.

It provides 14 mg. calcium, 16 mg. phosphorus, 1.3 mg. iron, 16.0 mg. vitamin C and a small amount of vitamin B complex.

Its calorie value is 74.

The ripe mango nourishes the body by increasing gastric juice, blood, flesh, fat, bone marrow and semen. This fruit is also beneficial in liver disorders, loss of weight and other physical disturbances.

Avocado

Avocado contains fat, which is wholly free from the unpleasant butyric acid. It is a rich source of vitamin A and maintains high resistance against bacterial infection. The protein of avocado is of finest quality. The pulp of the fruit is so free from fiber that it forms with water a fine emulsion, which closely resembles milk in consistency and appearance.

Per 100 grams of edible portion, it contains 73.6% moisture, 1.7% protein, 22.8% fat, 1.1% minerals and 0.8% carbohydrates.

It provides 10 mg. calcium, 80 mg. phosphorus, 0.7 mg. iron and 290 international units of vitamin A. There is sufficient of vitamin E and a small amount of vitamin C and B-Complex. Its calorie value is 215.

Banana
This fruit is a constitution of tissue building elements, protein, vitamins, minerals, and calories, along with sugar and high grade protein, which include three essential amino acids.

Per 100 grams, it contains 70.1% moisture, 1.2% protein, 0.3% fat, 0.8% minerals, 0.4% fiber and 27.2% carbohydrates. It provides 17 mg. calcium, 36 mg. phosphorus, 0.9 mg. iron, 7 mg. vitamin C and small amount of vitamin B Complex.

Its calorie value is 116.

This is supposed to be a complete balanced diet if combined with milk.

Grapes

Grape is a highly valued food due to its rich content of sugar, which is formed almost entirely by glucose. Grapes glucose is easily assimilated and helps in the metabolism of glucose which is helpful for proper functioning of heart and other physiologically important organs.

Per 100 grams, grapes contain 92.0% moisture, 0.7% protein, 0.1% fat, 0.2% minerals and 7.0% carbohydrates.

It has 20 mg. calcium, 20 mg. phosphorus, 0.2 mg. iron, 31 mg. vitamin C and small amount of vitamin B Complex, vitamin A and P.

Its calorie value is 32.

Papaya

Ripe papaya is an excellent tonic for growing children, for pregnant women and nourishing mothers. It is a boon for the stomach.

Per 100 grams of edible portion, it contains 90.8% moisture, 0.6% protein, 0.1% fat, 0.5% minerals, 0.8% fiber and 7.2% carbohydrates.

This provides 17 mg. calcium, 13 mg. phosphorus, 0.5 mg. iron, 57 mg. vitamin C and a small amount of vitamin B Complex.

Its calorie value is 32.

The most important content of papaya is the protein digesting enzyme in the milky juice or lather which is carried in a network of vessels. This enzyme is similar to pepsin in its digestive action. This enzyme can digest protein – 20 times than its own weight.

Coconut

Coconut is highly nourishing food. It has a high oil content that is easily digestible. Its oil resembles butter in physical and chemical properties. The protein content of coconut is of high quality, containing all the amino acids.

Per 100 grams of edible portion, it contains 36.3% moisture, 4.5% protein, 41.6% fat, 1.0% minerals, 3.6% fiber, and 13.0% carbohydrates.

It provides 10 mg. calcium, 240 mg. phosphorus, 1.7 mg. iron, 1 mg. vitamin C and a small amount of vitamin B Complex. Fresh coconut’s calorie value is 444 and dried coconut’s calorie value is 662 (per 100 gm.).

Its tender kernel contains various enzymes and is easily digestible. The water of a single coconut contains sufficient vitamin C to meet the daily requirements of the body. It also contains several vitamins of B-Complex group. Its water is a good source of several minerals too.

Humor and Laughter: Let's Enjoy Laughing

“I was taught that no matter what, laughter needs to be a part of everyday life”.

Humor has been scientifically proven to have an impact on several body systems: muscles are activated; the heart rate is increased; and respiration is amplified with an increase in oxygen exchange. All these effects are similar to some of those provided by aerobic exercise. Mirthful laughter is followed by a state of compensatory physical relaxation and diminishing physical tension. It’s good for you. Norman Cousins calls laughter “internal jogging.”

It’s also true that laughter and learning go hand-in-hand. Humor stirs the cerebral neurons. It invites and maximizes the learning process. It inspires creativity. Humor gets you thinking in unexpected associations.

Laughter and a sense of play may be two of the most important interpersonal skills you will learn in order to survive. Humor and play, like any form of nourishment, make human existence possible and enjoyable. It is the one form of exercise recommended that you don’t need to warm up to gradually, and you won’t need your doctor’s approval to get started.

My friend says,
“Humor has always been a very important part of my life. As I was growing up, I was taught that no matter what, laughter needs to be a part of everyday life. I have always looked for the funny side of things. Laughter has helped me recover from failure, and life threatening cancer. If we listen and observe, we can find humor all around us. My successes have been enhanced and my shortcomings buffered by the always apparent availability of fun and laughter.

Many people say they have a good sense of humor. Perhaps they enjoy laughing, but how often do they let this funderful experience occur?

Read More: http://purpleslinky.com/offbeat/laughter-internal-jogging/

Do Painkillers Really Work?

It’s been said that “many drugs are escapes from which there is no escape”.

Using drugs to manage the demands placed upon us is about as effective as trying to fill a punctured tire with air. It works for awhile, but the tire will soon be flat again. Until you repair the tire, the problems remain. Most likely they’ll get worse.

Pain should be viewed as a warning or a symptom of a problem – not as the problem itself, to be eradicated at all costs. Pain medications only block the symptom, allowing the real health threat to worsen by neglect.

In America, drugs like aspirin have become big business. Media images tell us that pain is negative, that we need not experience it, that intelligent people don’t tolerate it, you haven’t got time for it, and that we must get rid of it immediately. One ad says, “Life got tougher, so we got stronger.”

Ads not only promote a product, they tell us that life without pain and discomfort is possible. We are barraged with “scientific” evidence, animated diagrams, and personal testimonials that tout the superiority of one painkiller over another. They tell us we don’t have to suffer the consequences of abusing our bodies and that health can be bought.

This is a lie. Never before has there been a society so subjected to such a consumption of poisonous substances. The effects could be catastrophic in the decades ahead.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/medicine/no-escape/

The Best Medicine: Exercise Daily

No single option available has a greater impact than exercise on our ability to prevent, manage, and alleviate the behavioral disorders to which human beings are subject.

Granted, other factors – good nutrition, counseling, seminars, proper elimination, etc. – are also important. But without exercise they will not have the overall positive effect on health, longevity and your God-given potential.

It is clinical fact that without adequate exercise we die prematurely. We simply do not function at our optimum – mentally, physically, or spiritually – without exercise.

Let’s use the honey bee as an example. The bee is a highly efficient flying machine that soon folds its wings and takes it easy when put in a zero gravity environment. At first it appears to enjoy the free ride, but within a few days it weakens and dies.

Our human bodies need to struggle. Decades ago as we began to explore outer space, the human body experience weightlessness for the first time and confirmed our need for physical exertion. Without gravity to promote exercise, blood pressure increased and cardio-respiratory efficiency decreased. Along with the loss of muscle tone, these are the major symptoms of aging. In weightlessness, one step beyond no-exercise, the function of the body is omitted. As scientists soon discovered, the human body grows old very quickly during prolonged periods of weightlessness.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, recognized this and considered exercise the best medicine. Without it, he proposed, bodies suffered from muscular atrophy (the slow wasting away of muscle tissue) and premature death.

A healthy muscle is long and lean. Exercise enthusiasts develop it in their pursuit of the “long, lean, and mean machine.” A short, squat muscle, nearly saturated with intramuscular fat, is what a neglected muscle can come to look like. With exercise, fatty muscles can be converted into sleek, well-toned muscles. Anyone who can exercise can prevent or reverse the process of muscle atrophy and premature death.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/fitness/the-best-medicine/

Mind Your Mind: Improve Quality and Knowledge

“Our mind also needs to be feed, not just the body, if we want to live longer.”

The average mind has a minimum of 10,000 separate thoughts a day. In fact, Dr. Denis Waitley, a recognized national authority on high level performance and personal development, says we talk to ourselves at the rate of 600 to 800 words per minute.

What are we saying to ourselves on a minute-by-minute basis? Most of us do not think about what we think about.

Remember, our mental records play back dominant messages. If 90 percent of our self-talk is negative and only 10 percent positive, the mental playback is sure to be negative.

A man was pushing a cart in the supermarket containing, among other things, a hysterical baby. As the man proceeded down the aisles, he talked in a soft but firm voice: “Keep calm, George. Don’t get excited, George. Don’t yell, George.”

A lady had been watching with admiration for several minutes and finally said to him, “You certainly are to be commended for your patience in trying to quiet little George.”

“Lady,” the man declared, “I’m George!”

The words we use to talk to ourselves have the power of stimulating and arousing activities associated with them. Words can make active the meanings and ideas they imply.

When you or I decide to control the quality of input into our minds, we will choose words that express the positive because of the likelihood of the corresponding behavior occurring. For instance, you can decide to choose words such as: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”; or “This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it”; or “God is love and because God lives in me, I am a loving person.”

Another option would be a thought such as this one by Ella Wheeler Wilcox:

“I’m going to be happy today,
Though the skies are cloudy and grey.
No matter what comes my way,
I’m going to be happy today.”

By repeating words, phrases, and passages such as these mentally or out loud, the corresponding activity is being reinforced.

To get started, choose a word, phrase, or verse of Scripture that expresses the quality you want to develop. Write it on a card and place it where you will see it often. Place it on your desk at work, by the phone, on the mirror, on the dashboard of your car, etc. Even when you aren’t consciously aware of it, that note will be working into your receptive unconsciousness. The effect will be similar to the message you read on a local billboard or street sign.

Read More: http://socyberty.com/psychology/improving-the-quality-of-input/

Workplace Smoking: How Worse Is It

The cost of cigarette smoking to business is high. Over 77 million work days are lost each year due to the effects of smoking. Business now spends over 50 billion dollars a year on medical care, accidents, lost productivity, and absenteeism.

Absenteeism rates average one-third higher for smokers because smoking severely reduces the effectiveness of the smoker’s natural immune system. Few employers realize that smoking employees can cost them up to $8,000 more per year than nonsmokers.

Two-thirds of the smoke from a burning cigarette goes into the environment. This smoke has twice the nicotine, five times the carbon monoxide, and fifty times the ammonia as the smoke that is directly inhaled. When smokers smoke, the people around them smoke, too. Annually, between 500 to 5,000 nonsmokers will die from lung cancer as a result of other people’s smoke.

If you’re concerned about the problem and would like to begin a campaign in your company to eliminate smoking, perhaps these suggestions will help:

• Establish support for a no-smoking policy. Involve members of top management.

• Provide educational literature to employees.

• Form a task force composed of diverse areas and management. Include at least one individual with research skills.

• Conduct a survey to inform employees that the topic is being examined. You’ll gather valuable data about your employee population.

• Establish a no-smoking policy. Begin educating and informing employees through a well-formed publicity campaign. Put up no-smoking signs, and offer information sessions.

• Offer a “stop smoking” program. You may decide to give bonuses or incentives. Perhaps give small monetary bonuses to nonsmokers, and offer smokers the same rewards if they give up smoking for six months.

• Phase in restrictions gradually. Employees react more positively to changes when given time to adjust.

• Deal with militant smokers. Smoking is a privilege not a right that is subject to other company rules. (Employees aren’t allowed to listen to radios full blast, for instance.)

• Be flexible. You may decide to make adjustments in the program.

Read More: http://socyberty.com/work/smoking-in-the-workplace/

Do Slow-Motion People Have Advantages?

Most often in the slow-motion mode, Type “B” personalities are definitely unhooked.

They read slowly, eat slowly, speak slowly – and generally drive fast-forward people crazy! Slow-motion people are easy-going and rarely harried. They take time. They’re contemplative, steady-working, and not easily irritated.

I’m not saying that one type of personality is better than the other. The stuck, fast-forward people, without management, can drive themselves into an early grave. On the other hand, the stuck slow-motion people, without a little motivation, can bore themselves to death. Knowing which personality describes you is not as important as knowing your own tendencies and learning how to manage them.

People who meet me for the first time rarely think I’m a fast-forward person, but a closer evaluation of my behavior clearly shows that I am. After training, however, I’ve learned to manage myself relatively well.

This training has been well worth my time because my research shows that fast-forward people make up only 20 percent of the population, yet they account for 80 percent of the people who have heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is common in fast-forward people in their thirties or forties, while slow-motion people rarely experience heart trouble before age seventy. The life span of the average fast-forward person individual is fourteen years shorter than her or his slow-motion counterpart — fifty-nine years compare to seventy-three.

Furthermore, a lot can be experienced and accomplished during those additional fourteen years. More than one survey has shown that a majority of the very top executives who are highly efficient and productive have more slow-motion characteristics than fast-forward. These people work out of a sense of purpose rather than compulsion. They enjoy their play time and set aside time for their loved ones. Most important, they know their worth apart from their work. They know they are worthy individuals because of who they are.

Fight or Flight Reaction: Tension Buildup

Stress’ common denominator is change. As long as we live, we will experience thousands of changes every day.

During any situation involving change, the body can create an enormous amount of pent up energy. As a consequence, a lot of wear and tear (stress) is expressed within. This causes an unnecessary drain on energy reserves.

Other, more obvious, circumstances cause us to react immediately and intensely, producing the fight or flight reaction. This response puts an extremely heavy demand on the body. Perceiving a serious threat, the body is put on red alert in order to make itself respond effectively. The stress producing this fight or flight syndrome is obvious, as the body reacts to a demand placed upon it..

In order to demonstrate how tension can build slowly and how this accumulation can affect the intensity of the fight or flight reaction, I’d like you to visualize a situation with me.

You are just returning from a pleasant and relaxing vacation. Having settled into your seat on the plane, you lean back to enjoy the memories of the recent days.

Suddenly, the captain’s voice over the intercom interrupts your dreamy thoughts: “We will be passing through the outer edges of a storm. There are reports of mild turbulence. To be on the safe side, please fasten your seat belts.”

The “Fasten Seat Belt” sign blinks on above your head, and a few minutes pass with the airplane bouncing you slightly.

Then you hear the intercom click again.

“The turbulence appears to be a little stronger than we originally anticipated,” says the captain, “so I’ll ask that you remain in your seats, keeping seat belts fastened, until further advised.”

During the next few silent moments, the ride becomes quite choppy. Again, the intercom interrupts.

“This is your captain speaking. Place your trays and seats in a forward position. We are approaching the most turbulent area — Oh! Oh my God!”

The plane lurches forward, you’re thrown against the restraints of the seat belt, and people around you scream out. Suddenly, the entire cabin is quiet.

In a few minutes that seem like hours, the captain returns to the intercom. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now past the worst of the turbulence. And let me apologize for that sudden outburst — I spilled a cup of hot coffee on my lap.”

Read More: http://socyberty.com/psychology/the-fight-or-flight-reaction/

How to Develop A Disciplined Lifestyle

Four key words that relate to new disciplined lifestyle are compulsive, consistent, focus, and discipline.

• The first, however, is meant to remind that is important not to be compulsive about your progress.

• Second, give attention to the consistency of your progress rather than the discrepancy between where you are and where you’d like to be.

• Third, develop the ability to put on blinders and focus on what you want to improve.

• Finally, start to learn the discipline it takes to stick with it.

Remember, a program of improvement is a slow process that requires patience. It is a brick-by-brick building process that has within the plans a stronger foundation and structure for a healthier, happier, and more productive life. Guard against your own natural impatience. Most of us have a tendency to be too hard on ourselves.

Like any pianist, singer, writer, typist, teacher, actor, or golfer, we get better at anything we want to do by patiently practicing correctly. We need to discipline ourselves to practice consistently and patiently until we see the results we desire.

Let me summarize with the 3 D’s:

• Desire – your goal or objective.

• Discipline – consistently and patiently thinking, planning, and working toward your desire.

• Delight – the feeling, experience, and excitement of achieving your desire.

Read More: http://socyberty.com/lifestyle-choices/the-disciplined-lifestyle/

Is It Safe to Eat Potato Chips?

Our need to fill emotional rather than nutritional hungers often leads us to reach for over-processed and unbalanced foods. Consider the potato chip. In its raw form, the potato is exceptionally high in nutrients. But it undergoes a change between the earth and the airtight bag. The outer edge of the potato (just under the peel), with its high concentration of nutrients, is peeled away. The remaining potato is cut into thin pieces, soaked in preservatives, and cooked in oils that contain no nutritive value.

A handful of these treats contain about one hundred calories; and they are saturated with fats and chemicals our bodies cannot metabolize. After cooking, the chips are heavily salted. Salt is non-food that has a corrosive effect on the body’s vitamin supplies.

Salt forces potassium out of the body. This changes the delicate acid-base balance of our nerve cells and tissues. Over time, this imbalance can influence the electrical impulses of our nervous system, which, in turn, affects the heart, blood pressure, and circulatory system, as well as other systems of the body.

All these from potato chips. Why does our nation consume millions of pounds of them every year, if we know all about their lack of nutritive value? Because they fill an emotional need. They taste good, and they’re accessible.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/nutrition/whats-wrong-with-potato-chips/

Do Fast-Forward People Promote Death?

For those of you with persistent fast-forward personalities, let me save you a little time by giving you these tips:

• Make sure your job comes first and your personal and family life second.

• Go to work evenings, weekends, and holidays so you won’t be interrupted.

• When not at work, spend time at home thinking about or doing work to catch up or get ahead.

• Drive fast because you can’t waste time getting where you need to be.

• Consistently plan meetings for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

• Avoid time wasters like hunting, fishing, golf, gardening, and regular exercise.

• Be involved in as many organizations, committees, meetings, and banquets as possible.

• Take vacations only when absolutely necessary

• When out of town for work, schedule an early morning appointment for your first day back at your office to help keep you on track.

• Do not delegate responsibility; you can do it better and faster yourself.

One thing is for sure: You’ll never get too busy to attend your own funeral, whether or not it was in your schedule.

Read More: http://socyberty.com/advice/tips-to-an-early-grave/

The Workaholic Disease: Stuck in Fast-Forward

The way a fast-forward person lives adds to the stress and strain he or she is already experiencing.

Being out of balance is not in itself destructive; but to the extent an individual cannot let go and return to a healthy balance, she or he is no longer in control.

People with fast-forward personalities eat, walk, and talk fast. They are restless and impatient, have trouble relaxing, and thrive on deadlines. Typically they are compulsive, competitive, and power-seeking. They are clock-watchers and time-binders. Fast-forward types will try to cram eight hours of work into two and then become agitated when the work isn’t completed – especially if someone else was expected to do it.

They feel pressure even when there’s no need to. They burn a great deal of energy needlessly and have trouble unhooking. They are the high-rollers – big spenders – when it comes to energy use.

About 5 a.m. in an airport rest room, I was at the sink washing my hands. At first I thought I was alone in the room, but I kept hearing a faint mumbling. Turning to look, I saw a pair of legs at the end of a long row of stalls. Listening more closely, I quickly realized that the gentleman in the stall was dictating a letter to his secretary!

Some people might call that an efficient use of time. I say it demonstrates a number of points about fast-forward personalities: the need to do more than one thing at a time, a tendency to have trouble letting go, and an inclination to be stuck in the fast-forward mode.

Read More: http://socyberty.com/advice/are-you-stuck-in-fast-forward/

Mental Break - Regenerate Healthfully

Our society has become irreversibly noisy. We are rarely blessed with – or allow ourselves the luxury of – relative silence. When was the last time you relaxed by a fire to only the sound of a soft, comforting voice or gentle music?

By incorporating silence and relaxation into your day, you can control your environment and its effect on your life. Learn to spend time alone in restful, natural locations – the park, the mountains, or a wooded area. Create a relaxing environment at home. Turn off the TV. Pull the shades. You deserve a break.

Relaxation helps give clarity of mind. It enhances our thinking, planning, creativity, and our ability to make decisions. People who regularly practice relaxation talk of sleeping better and of having more energy and better overall health. They say they’ve actually watched their performance at work and their sense of well-being improve. They do more in less time and with fewer mistakes.

Taking time to relax gives us a mental break and turns off the harmful bodily effects of stress. It normalizes and tunes our bodies’ natural homeostatic or balancing mechanisms. It is vital to the body’s process of adapting and regenerating healthfully.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/mental-health/giving-your-mind-a-break/

Health as Dominoes - Improve Mind and Body

Just as our homes are in need of care and attention to keep them functioning and to bring out their fullest potential, we also need care and attention to keep functioning and to realize our fullest potential.

When you improve your mind, your body, or your environment, you create a cause-and-effect chain reaction that changes your life; when one of the major divisions in your life changes, so do the other two. It’s like a circle made up of dominoes. Tip one over – start at any section of the circle – and the others follow. Or touch one part of a hanging mobile; the whole mobile begins to move.

Begin one good habit and observe how it affects the other areas of your life. Begin exercising regularly, for example, and see how you will begin to manage your fast forward attitudes and the stress that’s been plaguing you.

That’s the good thing about the three major areas (mind, body, and environment) – they are interdependent.

Perhaps this renewal of attitude and body will help reduce your craving for cigarettes, which will reduce your blood pressure, positively affect your diet and your weight, and contribute, to high energy. Overall, your attitude and your health will be much better. Any positive changes you make will probably contribute to your potential for play, work, worship, and love.

Enter the circle at any point – mind, body, or environment – and your efforts will have an immediate affect on the other areas of your life. Better yet, enter in and make improvements in each of the three areas, and you are sure to send the energy-draining and health-destroying dominoes tumbling. Each time you complete one of the action steps, you are investing in your God-given potential – your bright and exciting future.

Read More: http://authspot.com/thoughts/the-domino-effect/

The Picky Eater - Tips to Handle Them

If you’re a worried parent of a picky eater, try these tips.
• Introduce food in calm, reassuring manner.

• Never force a feeding.

• Be content if your picky eater just goes for a taste on the first try. Maybe he’d be adventurous enough to chew and swallow the same food the next time.

• Let your child get used to a certain food a little at a time. He’ll soon learn to like it.

• Never make an issue out of finishing or not finishing every food you serve. Kids may develop an unhealthy view of food as they grow up.

• Maximize every bite. For example, substitute white bread with whole wheat, junk food with fresh fruits. Skip ice cream, cake, and other sweets especially near mealtime.

• Serve food in an attractive way and closest to its natural state. Kids are attracted to crispness and color.

• Serve food in bite sizes to avoid the risk of choking.

Remember, youngsters thrive on routine and are often resistant to change. They also take their cue from you. Thus if you refuse to eat your veggies, don’t expect your children to eat theirs. Instead, be a good example in eating healthful foods. Eat as often as possible with them, too, and they will acquire a taste for healthy food.

Family Meals
Make each mealtime a pleasant experience for your child by following these tips:

• Involve your child in meal preparation. It helps increase his or her interest in new or unfamiliar food.

• Include at least one of your child’s preferred foods.

• Offer a variety of colors and textures.

• Serve in child-size proportions.

• Tolerate your child’s table manners. Let a child be a child.

• Select chairs, tables and dishes that are suitable in structure and size for your child.

• Serve meals and snacks just before your child becomes hungry, irritable and tired.

• Make mealtime a family time so you can teach nutrition by example.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/children/dealing-with-a-picky-eater/

Cancer FAQ: Doc, How Long Do I Have?

For many people, the question “How long do I have?” is the first thing that comes to mind when there’s a diagnosis of cancer. Unfortunately, there’s no clear-cut answer.

What’s known is that every year about one million people are told they have some form of cancer, and treatments are capable of curing more than half of them.

Some cancers are easier to treat than others. And while many people experience a complete recovery, others may live for a time with their cancer well controlled.

One way your doctor may try to address this question is to look at the 1-, 5- and 10-year survival statistics for people who have the same type, stage and grade of cancer you do.

But keep in mind that these are averages. Contributing to the averages are a small number of people who do far better (and some who do worse) for reasons that aren’t understood.

The initial moments after receiving a cancer diagnosis are often clouded. Studies show that when people in this situation are asked what they discussed with their doctors, they remember less than five percent of what was said.

What can you do?

If possible, bring with you to your appointments someone who’s reliable and can help you unscramble the information. Have that person take notes, or ask your doctor if you can tape-record your conversations for review later. In addition, request a copy of your diagnostic report, which is part of your medical record.

A cancer diagnosis raises serious considerations. It’s reasonable to seek a second opinion, especially if there’s a major cancer center or university that has particular expertise with your type of cancer.

In discussing your treatment options, don’t hesitate to ask questions. Ask about risks and benefits associated with treatment, as well as side effects. And talk about what the quality of your daily life may be like during and after treatment.

Ultimately, how you’ll do is unique to you, because cancer is an individual experience. Much depends on how you respond to treatment for your particular cancer.

Read More: http://healthmad.com/conditions-and-diseases/so-doctor-how-long-do-i-have/