Natural Health Remedies

Health remedies are among the most important things you can utilize to gain full control of your health. Those that are natural are even better for you then others. Your health is all you have and you need to care for it in any way you can. Health remedies are available to help you to do this.
You have heard the saying, "Your health is all you have". Well, it's true. Without your health, you couldn't do the things you normally like to do. Without your health, your days seem numbered, not unlimited. It is important to take care of your health in any way you can. Optimizing your health should be a main concern of yours. But, there are ways to doing this that are not so bad.
The way we live our lives shows much we value our health. Think of it like this. Once you damage your brand new car, no matter how much fixing and repairing you do to it, it will never be the same new car. The same goes for your health. No amount of health remedies can replace the health you once had. So, instead of wasting away your life with illness and improper care of your health, you should invest the time to get the information you need to have a healthy, full life!
If you are sick, you probably take a trip to see the doctor. But, what if the way you are living is what is causing your health to drop? Do you eat the right way? Do you exercise regularly? While many people have good intentions of doing these things, we often take a step sideway when it comes to convenience and knowing what the best course of action actually is. What you need is information. You need information about how to eat correctly. You need someone to tell you what exercises you need to do and how often. But, where can you find this information? Sure, you can sell your soul to a trainer and have them handle it for you, or you can find the information online.
Let's say that you are sick and you do go to the doctor. Do you feel comfortable taking the drugs that the doctor prescribed? Many of us do no know any different then just taking them. But, there are side effects to most drugs. In some cases, the side effects can do damage to your body in the long run. But, there are other options available to you. One way to improve your health is through the use of natural health remedies. You can find natural health remedies available for many of the common ailments that you suffer from.
While it is not easy to admit that most of us need help in managing our health, we have to do it. Health is what keeps us working each day. Health is what keeps us enjoying the things we love. Health remedies can be a great way to enhance your health, but you need the information about them to truly have them help you. Finding this information does not have to be difficult though. You can find it throughout the internet.

Causing Your Own Insomnia

Many of us experience the occasional night of sleeplessness; it is when the occasional night becomes a pattern of several nights in a row that you are faced with a sleeping problem.
Repeated loss of sleep affects all areas of your life: The physical, the mental, and the emotional. Sleep deprivation can affect your overall daily performance and can even have an effect on your personality.
If your sleeplessness continues for a long period of time it can cause problems in your relationships, reduce your productivity, and it may lead to other health problems.
These three things are often major culprits in keeping you awake.
1. Uncomfortable temperature-Make sure the temperature in your room is comfortable. The ideal temperature for sleeping is between 65 and 70 degrees, of course you will have to experiment to find the temperature that is most comfortable for you.
2. Noise-Many people are sensitive to noise and will either wake up or be unable to fall asleep because of noise. A white noise machine is an excellent device used to mask annoying noise and allow you to sleep.
3. Light-As with noise many people are bothered by too much light. Make sure your bedroom is as dark as possible. Lined window coverings or room darkening blinds may be necessary on your windows. A sleep mask is another alternative.
It is a good idea to keep track of your sleeping habits using a sleep log to record bedtime, wake time and any details regarding your sleep patterns. Doing this, will let you see if certain things are contributing to your sleeplessness. You can then work to eliminate or change the things that are causing problems. Many times prescription sleep aids are taken when natural remedies are all that is needed.

Fitness Goal Secrets Revealed

Lets talk a little about achieving your fitness goal.
Everybody finds it hard to arrange time to do various day to day chores or tasks, including your muscle and fitness training.
Just follow these steps to help you get more out of each day in your workout routine, or any other part of your life for that matter. These steps will help you achieve your muscle and fitness goal.
I have found that the more I struggle with my daily life the harder it is to get anything out of what I do. In other words, if I have certain things that need doing throughout each day, and I also want to get in some training, I find that I don't get the proper benefit that I should expect from my training routine.
Is this the same with you?
Do you find that it's hard to get the time to train?
Are you struggling with the fact that you have so much on your plate, that it's just too much stress to cope with?
Well, let me help you here. I'll guide you through the various steps required to get you to achieve that fitness goal.
There's a lot of information here. So what I've decided to do is to break it into a number of easy to follow articles. This way you can cope much better and receive much more benefit from it.
Ok, lets begin with an overview.
BE - DO - HAVE
This is a triple key to success in your muscle and fitness regime. To ensure your success, you can't have one without the other.
You see, the problem with most people is that they want certain goals or results. Nothing wrong with that. And you should have certain goals that you wish to attain. This is the Have portion of the three keys.
The real problem starts with the fact that most people believe that they just have to do certain things in order to achieve the desired results or goals. This is the Do part of the three keys.
Although this is true, no matter what you do you can't achieve success without the first key, which is Be. I'll go into this a little more shortly.
But first, let me clarify...
Your goals are the Have key. This is the first thing you need to decide and it must be specific. What is it you want to have? Do you want to have more lean muscle? Or is it to have less weight? Or do you want to have more weight gain?
Decide you goals. Be specific. Now you have the third key in place, even though you don't actually have it yet. But, it's in place in your mind.
Now, you have to decide what it is you must do to achieve those goals. This is the Do key. What is it that I must do, in order that I have whatever it is that I want? What should I do to achieve my goals?
Decide what you need to actually do. What exercises will offer the best results for my specific goals? How much of those exercises should I perform and how often?
This is the most important key. It's the key that most people leave out because they're too busy trying to decide what to do in order to have that goal they are aiming for.
The Be key.
Ever notice that when you get into something, that you're going great for weeks... then you give up?
For example:
Lots of people decide to go on a diet and begin a fitness program. They want so much to lose weight. The go at it hard. They are succeeding. No sooner have they lost a few pounds, then they lose interest. They stop and end up putting it back on.
Why?
Because they lack the Be key.
In other words, you must choose what you need to Become to begin taking action. What is it that is required you Be, in order to succeed?
For example:
If you lack focus. Then you need to become more focused. If you are lazy when it comes to taking action to get things done, then you need to become a person that takes action... even when you really don't feel like it.
That's the hardest part of success with your training. Not only in your muscle building and fitness regime, but also in ANYTHING you do throughout your life.
The Solution:
1. Decide what you want to have. What are your goals?
2. Decide what the necessary steps are, that you must do to reach those goals.
3. Choose what you need to be. What do you need to become in order to do what is necessary to have what you want?
I think I've given you plenty to think about today. Please re-read this again, and again if necessary. You've really got to get this right so that you can succeed in anything you choose to do. So to achieve that muscle and fitness goal, make sure you read this again.

My Rude Introduction to Arthritis

Let me begin by stating upfront that I realize that a great many people suffer from much more serious arthritic conditions than I. This article is not to trivialize their conditions in any way. My intent is to explain how this disease manifested itself in me and the treatment that I have undertaken.

Being an avid golfer, I like many other men can hardly wait for spring to arrive. In 2004 spring came early. My first round I walked 18 holes with a push cart as I usually do. I did not feel any abnormal pain at this point. The next day I went to the driving range to work some of the kinks out of my swing, and hit a large bucket of balls. Later that evening my left knee was in so much pain that I could not stand with any pressure on it, walking was very painful. This persisted for 2-3 weeks, it did finally start to get better, but only marginally, golf had been degraded to using a power cart, there was just no way I could walk 9 holes, let alone 18. Making any full swing was painful from the pressure put on my left knee.

I finally went to an Orthopedist, and after x-rays of both knees and a range of motion exam, was told that I had Osteoarthritis. The doctor showed me the small space left between the bones of my left knee, and told me that the meniscus (a pad of cartilage that cushions the joint and prevents bone to bone contact) was thinning and was in all likelihood torn. He told me that a few years ago, the standard treatment was to surgically repair the meniscus . however this type of repair was only effective at relieving pain about 50% of the time.

The more accepted treatment now, was to prescribe a series of exercises designed to strengthen the muscles around the knee joint, and a pain reliever to control the pain, so that I could exercise. He also suggested that I investigate and take glucosamine which is a natural healing product not regulated by the FDA. He stated that recent large scale studies had shown that glucosamine was effective in slowing down the loss of cartilage and may even contribute to regeneration of damaged cartilage.

Because I had previously had problems using Ibuprofen, he prescribed "Bextra" (a cox 2 inhibitor drug) that seemed very effective. Of course 2 weeks later came the scare about "Vioxx" also a cox 2 inhibitor drug, and I stopped taking "Bextra", which is now not prescribed by many doctors. I started taking Ibuprofen again, however only in great moderation, I have had no ill effects. I continued with the exercises, some gradual improvement was noticed. I also continued taking glucosamine.

All of these measures have contributed to effective pain relief, however even more relief was noticed after losing about 10 lbs. This reinforces the notion that excess weight plays a large role in knee pain.

As of now (going into spring of 2005) the pain seems to be under control, my activity with the possible exception of running, is not restricted in any way. And my golf swing, once again needs work!

Resources for more information:

Arthritis and Glucosamine Information Center

Flexicose Homepage

Arthritis Foundation

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center Arthritis National Research Foundation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Arthritis Insight