Health benefits of coconut oil

• Coconut oil strengthens the immune system. It helps in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as influenza, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis and even HIV.
• Virgin coconut oil balances out-of-range cholesterol levels in the body.
• Coconut oil helps reduce risk for heart disease and stroke.
• Coconut oil helps reduce risk of cancer.
• Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar.
• Coconut oil enhances weight loss. Fats contained in coconut oil are easily converted into energy quickly, thus giving it no time at all to accumulate in the body. Coconut oil also speeds up metabolism, and boosts energy and endurance.
• Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing anxiety and stress.
• Coconut oil helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.
• Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of important nutrients.
• As coconut oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important nutrients (including minerals, such as calcium and magnesium), it helps in getting strong bones and teeth.
• Coconut oil helps in preventing liver, kidney and gall bladder diseases.

Add coconut oil to your daily diet! It can be a healthy alternative to butter or margarine. It is also ideal for frying foods, as it possesses a high smoking point. Moreover, coconut oil is very stable, and has a long shelf-life.

Coconut oil for a healthy hair
Virgin coconut can give you stronger, shinier and healthier hair.  It strengthens your hair shaft and root, reducing split ends and hair breakage. Coconut oil is the best hair treatment for dry, damaged hair and itchy scalp. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs.

Coconut oil hair treatment recipe:

• Scoop out some coconut oil into a cup. Put the cup in a pot with warm water to melt the oil.
• Pour some of the warm oil into hands and run your fingers through your dry hair.
• Coat your hair with the oil. Use just enough so that the oil will penetrate the hair, without leaving an oily or greasy look. Use more oil at the ends, less in the middle and near the roots.
• Put on a shower cap. For very dry hair, leave the treatment overnight; for oily or normal hair, leave it for an hour.
• Wash out hair with a gentle shampoo. Skip using a conditioner.

• For dandruff treatment, combine coconut oil with two-three drops of tea tree, rosemary, geranium, or cedarwood essential oils.

Coconut oil for a healthy skin
Virgin coconut oils will moisturize and nourish your skin using only its pure natural ingredients, without any preservatives, chemicals or solvents. It improves skin lipid levels, increases hydration, reduces roughness and scaling, and fights viruses and bacteria.

Deep skin moisturizing and conditioning treatment:

• Shower and exfoliate all over your body.
• While still in the shower take some virgin coconut oil and rub between your palms to melt the oil.
• Massage the oil onto your skin.
• After covering your body in coconut oil, rinse off in warm water.
• Step out of the shower and use your towel to gently pat dry your skin. This will leave a nice thin layer of coconut oil on your skin.

Do this treatment right before going to bed, several times a week, and you would not experience any dry itchy skin symptoms – even during the cold dry winter months.

• Virgin coconut oil is safe to use as a facial moisturizer. It does not clog pores. Moreover, it can help reduce acne symptoms.
• Coconut oil is gentle enough to use as eye makeup removal, and it can lubricate the skin for shaving.
• Coconut oil make it a great topical remedy for rosacea, psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and diaper rash.
• Coconut oil makes great massage oil. It is easily absorbed by the skin and promotes healing. It will make your skin soft, shiny, smooth, and mmm… yummy!

Modern day lifestyles that are more inclined towards materialistic gains have led to a situation where spirituality, diet and health are ignored at the cost of making it ‘big’ in life. What we fail to realize at times is that comforts and facilities are relevant and pleasurable only if we are in good health and are able to enjoy them.

Any unbiased dietitian will tell you that our diet today is more inclined towards being acidic. It is no surprise, then, that the increase in incidence of diseases like cancer, cardiovascular problems and diabetes is highly correlated with the intake of acid forming foods; foods that are part of our daily fast-food diet. These foods contain high levels of sugars and saturated fats. The human body is naturally alkaline and therefore high levels of acid-producing foods upset the acid-alkaline balance.

However, just because the human body is alkaline, it does not mean that all foods that we intake should be alkaline in nature. Good health basically depends upon striking a healthy balance between the acidity and alkalinity produced in our body.

The human body performs best in an internal environment that as a pH level of 7.39. pH refers to power of hydrogen, which is arrived at by calculating the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 14.

Pure water has a neutral pH of 7. A pH between 7 and 14 indicates an alkaline environment while a pH between 0 and 7 indicates an acidic one. Since the human body should have a pH level of 7.39, it means that the internal biochemical environment, as a whole, should be slightly alkaline. The range between which the body can function efficiently is also very small.

To maintain the ideal pH levels, it is essential that we understand the acidity or alkalinity of various foods to be able to balance the overall effect that our diet has on our internal flora. All foods are classified as acidic or alkaline. This is done on the basis of the ash that they leave behind after they go through a metamorphosis during the process of metabolism.

Since one of the causes of specific diseases is understood to be based on the level of acidity or alkalinity of the human body, many ‘so called’ healthy weight loss plans recommend all acidic or all alkaline foods to treat the specific disease. However, eating optimally to achieve the ideal pH level is a more recommended option.

Generally speaking dairy products, meat, seeds, legumes and nuts leave behind an acidic ash. On the other hand, most fruits and vegetables have an alkaline residue. Citrus fruits are generally understood to be acidic in their natural state but turn alkaline once they have been metabolized. Moreover, cranberries, plums and prunes fall under acidic fruits as the acids they contain cannot be metabolized by the human body.

If you want to lose weight and feel that you want to opt in for those ‘quick weight loss’ diets, make sure that you know the overall pH levels of the diet plan. It is also necessary to learn how supplements touted as healthy weight loss supplements affect your internal biochemistry.

This attitude of opting for the quick and easy route and falling back on the antibiotic alternative every time one needs to treat colds and flu has been instrumental in making antibiotics ineffective in many cases. The use of antibiotics without paying heed to their long term affects leads to a situation where bacteria use the drug for their own metabolism. The antibiotic, instead of killing, starts helping in the growth of the bacterium because it has developed resistance to it.

Fighting disease is the job of the immune system, a complex system of reciprocal action, which activates the moment it recognizes a foreign substance in the body. The state of your immune system’s health determines how frequently you fall ill with chronic infections, cold and flu and cold sores or genital herpes. An extremely weak immune system can be counterproductive and can start attacking the body’s own cells and cause serious conditions known as autoimmune diseases.

From a minor scratch to attacks by viruses and bacteria, the immune system is the key to fighting disease. True health is achieved only when your immune system is strong enough to combat disease on its own and herbal antibiotics and herbs for immune system play an important role in attaining it.

If you see signs of a weak immune system characterized by frequent bouts of common cold and flu, mix ½ tablespoon each of tinctures of roots of Echinacea, pau d’arco bark, Ginseng (Siberian), licorice, astragalus and bupleurum. Take three tablespoons every day for five days and double the dose in the event of an infection. Astragalus and Echinacea fight cancer cells, improve lymphatic functions and contribute to the progress of immune system health.

Garlic and ginger roots have proven qualities of treating ailments like common cold and sore throat. Make tea by adding a little bit of ginger juice to soothe your throat. Garlic contains a rare mineral, germanite that boosts immune system.

Vitamin C is essential for production of adrenal hormones and lymphocytes and directly combats bacteria and viruses. A dash of lemon juice in water mixed with a tablespoon of pure farm produced honey taken daily can effectively keep common colds at bay.

Taken in conjunction with flavonoids Vitamin C is easily absorbed in the body. Flavonoids are plant secondary metabolites known for their high antioxidant properties. Choose to eat whole fruits, grains and vegetables and see the difference they make to your health.

Stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, food preservatives and environmental toxins are major factors that wear down the immune system. Rather than ingesting foods that can potentially weaken your immune system, the long term aim of your diet and daily routine ought to aim for a healthy immune system.

Oolong tea is rich in antioxidants (polyphenols, catechins, and theaflavin) that help destroy free radicals in the body that can cause aging of the skin, dark spots, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis and other diseases.

Oolong tea strengthens your immune system and promotes longevity.

Oolong tea has a reputation for weight loss, as it raises your metabolism, burns fat and blocks dietary fat absorption.

Oolong tea helps to reduce high blood pressure and to prevent heart diseases.

Oolong tea helps to reduce cholesterol levels.

Drinking oolong tea is helpful to diabetes patients.

Oolong tea is helpful in improving symptoms that are associated with weak kidney and spleen energy.

Oolong tea heals skin ailments and promotes healthy hair.

Oolong tea promotes strong bones and prevents tooth decay.

Time for some tea?

Fat makes you fat. Truth: Excess calories make you fat. While fat has more calories per gram (9 calories) than carbs and protein (4 calories), if you pack an extra calories into your diet it’s not going to matter if those calories come from butter, pasta or alcohol. Fat

needs to be included in a healthy well-balanced diet. Best types of fats include monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat found in avocado, nuts, Omega-3 fats derived from fish and flax, and oils like olive, canola, corn, sunflower, and soy oils.

Carbohydrates make you fat.
Truth: Again, excess calories make you fat. Rather then eliminate carbs from your diet, reduce your consumption of refined carbs and load on fruits, veggies and whole grains.

Eating proteins and carbs at different meals will help you slim down.
Truth: The idea here is that because your body uses different enzymes to digest different types of foods, eating carbs and proteins separately will improve digestion and increase weight loss. The truth is, your digestive system is designed to handle lots of different foods at the same time.

Eating just one kind of food helps you shed pounds.
Truth: Whether you’re talking about only eating grapefruit, cabbage soup or whatever they call in the latest add, the only reason you lose weight is because of a lack of calories. This type of restrictive eating is okay for a few days, but it can’t be sustained in the long-term, as it can lead to dangerous deficiencies.

Skipping meals helps you loose weight.
Truth: Skipping meals may actually make you gain weight! When you skip meals, your metabolism not only drops, you also tend to overeat at your next meal.

Eating late at night will make you gain weight.
Truth: The time of day that you eat is not nearly as important as how much you eat and how much you burn. If you eat excess calories at any time they will turn to fat. However, it’s best to consume your calories at a time when your body needs the fuel – during the day.

Foods labeled as “low” or “light” are always low in calories.
Truth: Often, those foods contain other flavour-enhancing ingredients that add calories. Some low-fat foods even have as many calories as their full-fat version. Be sure to flip that low-fat product over and investigate the numbers before you dig in.

Drastically cutting calories helps you loose weight.
Truth: When you don’t eat enough calories, you send your body into starvation mode. Your metabolism slows down so your “starving” body can maintain its weight. The trick is to reduce your calories enough to lose weight, but not so much that you negatively affect your metabolism. For most active females, a caloric intake of about 1,500 calories per day will induce a healthy weight loss of about two pounds per week.

You have to break a sweat while exercising in order to burn calories.
Truth: Any time that you increase activity, you burn calories. True, you burn more calories running on treadmill than just walking, but you also burn more calories taking a walk than sitting on the coach. Live active life!

Source: Jones, H.K. (2009). What’s your diet type?

Healthy nutrition

In order to fight cellulite, you have to detox your body. Avoid sugars, saturated and hydrogenated fats, caffeine, refined and processed foods, alcohol, soda and tobacco use.Reduce the amount of salt in your diet, since salt is known to contribute to water retention, which promotes cellulite.

Eat little and often. Consume a nutrient-dense diet rich in whole, unprocessed, preferably organic, foods. Feast on fruit and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Fiber is important, as it removes waste and toxins from the intestinal tract. Increase your intake of proteins (cold-water fish, lean meats, seeds, nuts, legumes) and wholegrain foods (bran, oat cereals).

Use spices that are effective in curing cellulite, owing to their antioxidant properties: cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic, ginger, juniper berries, peppermint, etc.

Drink 1-2 liters of still, pure water daily. Add fresh lemon juice for further detoxification. Drink detoxifying herbal teas of dandelion, ginger, burdock, red clover, etc.

Supplements
Vitamins C and E may help to reduce cellulite. Fish oil, gingko biloba, and soy lecithin are also effective supplements that provide positive effects such as improving blood circulation, boosting metabolism, and protecting against cell damage.

Exercise
It is better to combine cardiovascular exercises with strength training and stretching. Though this may be anything from walking and swimming to dancing and yoga. You can lose weight, tone your muscles and keep your heart healthy. To help speed up the cellulite reduction process, you can choose exercises that target the area that contains the cellulite. Exercise also helps your body eliminate toxins, another key to cellulite reduction. Moreover, regular exercise increases your serotonin level as effectively as an antidepressant. Make a habit of exercising for at least 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week.

Massage
A massage activates blood circulation and lymphatic system helping battle the cellulite. Perform cellulite massage in a circular motion from top to bottom. Massage with coconut oil proves to be very useful in treating cellulite. As well, many essential oils like cedar, juniper, rosemary can be added to your massage oil for better effect. Mixing 3 parts apple cider vinegar with one part of your massage oil is also effective.

Dry skin brushing
Regular dry skin brushing just before bathing gives excellent results. Start brushing your feet upwards and from your lower to upper arms going through your shoulders and back. It will increase blood circulation and improve the appearance of your skin. Wet skin is generally not recommended, as it stretches more on brushing.

Anti-cellulite creams
Anti-cellulite creams with botanical ingredients like ivy barley, kola nut, sweet clover, lemon, strawberry and fennel increase circulation and blood flow in the area, repair and fortify skin cells and connective tissue, therefore improving the skin texture and reducing the cellulite.

It is very easy to make an anti-cellulite massage cream at home. Mix coffee grounds with any vegetable oil or moisturizing lotion. Rub it on the cellulite areas for just a couple minutes a day and then shower it off. The coffee grounds will exfoliate the skin, while the caffeine will absorb into the skin and stimulate fat cells to release.

Anti-cellulite body wrap
Try to make an anti-cellulite body wrap at home (and safe at least $100 ). The body wrap will stimulate your fat cells and absorb toxins that have been built up in the skin. Take the warm coffee grinds or seaweed and smooth them out over the area of skin that has cellulite. Wrap the treated area in plastic wrap and some towels. You can also use gauze to hold the coffee grinds in place before applying the plastic wrap. Relax and leave it for about 30 minutes. Then, remove the towels and plastic wrap. Take a warm shower and enjoy your rejuvenated skin.

Aromatherapy
Soak yourself in warm bath with a mixture of about two cups of sea salt and 6-8 drops of essential oil for 10-20 minutes. While you are in a tub, massage your body with an upward motion. Essential oils such as juniper, rosemary, cedar wood, grapefruit and patchouli are useful in cellulite removal.

Stress reduction
It is vital to reduce unmanageable stress. Start to practice deep breathing, meditation and yoga right now.

Getting rid of cellulite is not a big deal, if you work to remove it on a daily basis! Wish you patience and good luck!

- Studies have shown that drinking at least five glasses of water a day can significantly decrease the risk of cancers of the colon, bladder and breast.

- A mere 2% drop in your body’s water levels results in short-term memory impairment, trouble with basic maths and difficulty in focusing.

- When dehydrated, your body produces cholesterol, which surrounds the cells to protect the fluids within them. In the long term, this can damage general health.

- Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. Dehydration can slow down metabolism since it springs the body onto starvation mode and holds onto fat cells that contain high levels of fluids.

- Drinking water helps maintain muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract.

- If you allow your body to become dehydrated during exercise, you lose the ability to sweat and cool off, which can raise body temperatures to dangerous levels.

- Feeling of anxiety and confusion, having dry skin, increased heart rate, and decreased blood pressure can all be signs of dehydration.

Aim to drink little and often throughout the day so you never get to the stage where you feel thirsty. Alcohol and drinks that contain caffeine cause, rather than protect against dehydration. Choose plain water! Also, you can supplement your fluid intake by eating soups, and raw fruits and vegetables, containing high levels of water, such as broccoli, lettuce, carrots, watermelon, and apples.

Reference: Floyd, E. (2005). 1001 little health miracles.

Acupuncture originated in China and over the years has become a popular therapy across the world. It is an important component of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The acupuncture process involves inserting needles at various points in the body. The basics of natural weight loss under the therapy revolve around the release of vital energy known as chi or Qi in Chinese.

Qi is considered to be the circulating life energy in Chinese philosophy. It is thought to be inherent in all things. The Chinese theory believes that Qi flows through pathways that are known as meridians. There are 20 meridians in the body out of which 12 are primary and related to specific organs or functions. The other 8 are called secondary meridians. Any imbalance in the flow of Qi through these meridians caused by a blockage within the body is considered to be the root cause of all disease and disorders including obesity.

There meridians are used by acupuncture specialist to stimulate and restore normal flow and balance of Qi. This is the process that is used for treating all disease. Modern science however believes that acupuncture needles actually stimulate the release of endorphins, a naturally occurring neurochemical that has analgesic properties. It is the excess availability of endorphins that gives a temporary sense of well being.

As far as weight loss is concerned, acupuncture attempts to restrict appetite and cravings for foods. It also eliminates excess water from the body and stimulates the pituitary gland, the master gland of the endocrine system, to burn extra fat. An acupuncturist inserts five needles, four of which are targeted at specific organs – kidneys, liver, lungs and the nervous system. The fifth one is simply inserted to calm an anxious patient. As per TCM theory, this releases the blocked energy and inhibits appetite and craving for carbohydrates and helps in general detoxification.

American acupuncturists have developed a process of ear staples for weight loss. In this process only the upper and lower part of each ear is stapled. This adapted method is less safe than the conventional method of inserting needles because needles are removed after every sitting while the ear staples are left in the ears for several days. The ear cartilage is not resistant to infection and is therefore not recommended by traditional acupuncturists.

Acupuncture treatment for weight loss has been around for years but there is no scientific proof of its efficacy besides the recently discovered release of endorphins. However, it is also not known to cause any harmful effects as long as the needles are sterilized. It does not involve ingestion of any artificial weight remedies whose efficacy is doubted by skeptics. Considering these aspects there seems to be no harm in trying acupuncture along with exercise and natural weight loss supplements provided they have proven credentials.

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Some precautions while using herbs for weight loss
Simple home remedies for weight loss
Boost your metabolism

Exercise

Both cardio and weight training should be included in an exercise routine. The greatest impact on your metabolism is the amount of lean muscle you have relative to the rest of your body weight. Unlike fat, which primarily stores calories, muscle causes your body to use calories. By exercising regularly, a person sheds fat and builds up lean muscle mass.

Healthy nutrition

- Eat more small meals frequently. This spreads out your calorie intake and will keep your metabolism revved up. Aim for 5-6 small meals with protein, veggies and good fats. – Always have a breakfast to get your metabolism moving! If you don’t have time or want to sit down to a large meal, try a smoothie.

- Eat foods that take more calories to digest than they do to store (also called negative calorie foods). These foods include: asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, green beans, zucchini, watermelon, oranges, papaya, and raspberries. – Ingesting complete protein, whole wheat and spicy foods increase metabolism.

- Green tea is “the closest thing to a metabolism potion” (Lakatos, 2004). It contains a plant compound called ECGC, which promotes fat burning. According to one study, consuming two to four cups of green tea per day may torch an extra 50 calories.

- Drink water. Researchers at the University of Utah found that volunteers who drank eight to 12 eight-ounce glasses of water per day had higher metabolic rates than those who quaffed only four glasses. Try to drink it cold: your body may burn a few calories heating the cold water to your core temperature.

Healthy sleep

You need this time for your body to rest and repair itself. Sleep deprivation is a leading factor in weight gain. It may make you put on pounds by disrupting hormones that control your eating habits and that may trigger fat cells in the abdomen to increase in size and encourage food storage. Try to go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning.

Source: Lakatos, S. (2004). Fire up your metabolism: 9 proven principles for burning fat and losing weight forever.

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Stay-at-home parent
Play with your kids instead of watching them play. Go to the park. Push your children in a stroller. Play ball.
Sweep floors, patio and front walk every day.
Go for a short walk before breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Bike to the store.
Park at the opposite end of the mall from your destination.
If you’ve got an exercise bike at home, pedal for five minutes while you’re talking on the phone or waiting for the laundry to finish.

Office worker
Take the stairs, not the elevator.
Walk during your lunch hour.
Get up and go visit your co-workers instead of e-mailing them.
Do stretching exercises at your desk.
Have a walking meeting; meet with a co-worker to walk somewhere.
Suggest an interoffice softball (or bowling or running league).

Weekend warrior
Mow the grass with a push mower.
Manually wash your car.
Walk the dog daily.
Be opportunistic. If you’re watching your child’s soccer game, walk around the field.
Walk the golf course instead of using the cart.
Schedule regular walks around your neighborhood with your kids, or hike the trails outside your town.

Couch potato
Stretch while you watch TV. Better yet, buy an exercise bike and pedal during TV shows.
Ditch the remote and get up from the sofa to change the channel.
Find a partner. Exercise can be more interesting if you chat away the time with a friend.
Schedule dinner 30 minutes earlier and go for a walk afterward.
Instead of heading for a snack during commercials, walk around the outside of your house five times.

Traveler
Take a walk around the terminal while you’re waiting for your flight.
Do sit-ups, push-ups and stretching exercises in your hotel room.
Book a room in a hotel with an exercise facility.
Get up early and walk the neighborhood around your

Source: Hensrud (2002). Mayo clinic on healthy weight.

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How to make exercise a habit
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