Your Good Health Matters

Several hours after lunch you become hungry, but it's not yet time for dinner. Here are some healthy snacks that can tide you over until it's time for dinner. Nut butters are fillings and full of healthy monounsaturated fats, try some on an apple. Whole wheat pita with hummus has a lot of protein and a good balance of fat and fiber. Edamame has 8 grams of fiber and cholesterol lowering soy protein. You can buy it frozen and run it under the sink to quickly thaw. Fresh vegetables are great snack, eat with a low calorie salad dressing or non-fat dip. You can always keep trail mix or energy bars on hand if you're pressed for time or ...

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It has been stressed for a long time to wear sunscreen anytime you are outdoors. The only problem with that is, you get no sun exposure that is needed for making vitamin D in your body. Some dermatologists say that some sun exposure is ok as long as you don't burn and are not out for long between the hours of 10am and 3pm. Supplements are good to be taking but the sun can do the supplement's job just by being in it for 5 to 30 minutes twice a week. Vitamin D is important for strong bones and can help the fight against heart disease and some types of cancers.

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After childbirth, surgery or menopause, some women may suffer from weakened pelvic floor muscles. There is help to strengthen those muscles and eliminate incontinence. Lady Care Vaginal Weights Strengthen Pelvic Floor Muscles by using weights of different sizes. These Vaginal Weights for Incontinence are simple to use and very effective. Included with the four Vaginal Weights are an instruction manual and carrying case.

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This web site is offering a Prius if you can pledge to clean up the air in the San Joaquin Valley. They launched a "Healthy Air Living Week". They are trying to motivate people to make changes in their daily lives in order to clean up the air. They proved a number of strategies you can use to benefit the air quality. Some of these include, buying an electric lawn mower, riding a bicycle , carpooling, and avoiding drive-thrus. They are hoping that the chance to win a Prius will motivate people to get on board, not just to win but to make it a part of their daily lives as well.

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MySpace is a popular web site among young people. The New York City Health Department has launched a MySpace page  called NYC Teen Mindspace, directed to teens who need help with depression, drugs and violence. The department notes that many teens are hesitant to seek help when they have issues. Teens can send confidential messages to a mental health counselor to get referrals for treatment. Seems like a positive way for teens to use the Internet, especially if they feel like they cannot talk to anyone about the things they are going through.

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A new book has come out by Kathy Freston that deals with how to reach your optimal health through here "8 pillars of wellness" (meditation, visualization, fun activities, conscious eating, exercise, self-examination, spiritual practice, and service). It looks very interesting not just concentrating on foods that you eat but several other areas of your life as well such as your mind and spirit. Included in the book is two weeks of meal plans, a shopping list and an appendix of beneficial vitamins and minerals.

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The stress response and as well as the relaxation response do not have on and off switches and the nerves that cause these responses stay active and the responses can grow stronger over time. You can think of the stress response like an accelerator pedal in your car and the relaxation as a break pedal. As long as the stress response is active it is like you are holding down the accelerator pedal and when the relaxation response is active you are stepping on the break and slowing down the physiological activity of your body.

More about: How can it be that using stress reduction is cumulative? Does your threshold somehow get higher or something?

Your stress response can significantly affect heart and blood pressure. One of the effects of the Fight or Flight response is to tighten the peripheral arteries on the surface of the body. This is to prepare your body for possible injury and give you a better chance of survival if you are physically hurt. But, as mentioned earlier a chronic stress response can keep your arteries restricted and narrow even at rest and this increases your blood pressure and makes your heart work harder than necessary. One of the biofeedback devices we have available for home use is the Resperate. FDA cleared for treating high blood pressure and stress it is essentially a breathing trainer that trains your relaxation ...

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It is possible that physical trauma which can be termed a stressor initially contributed to your foot pain, I am sure you have already discussed the causes of your foot pain with your doctor. You may now want to be alert to the possibility that the pain from your injury may be a stressor that can increase your stress response and even your pain. To minimize the negative affects of your pain being a stressor, you want to take good care of yourself while your foot is healing and we would recommend practicing relaxation techniques which can raise your pain threshold and help you reduce your stress response

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Basically neurosis is an old generalized term that relates to emotional health and it means that somebody is suffering from some degree of emotional pain caused by distortions of thinking. You can say that depression or anxiety is a form of neurosis but you can also say that almost everyone suffers from neurosis of one degree or another. Everyone sees the world from a personal point of view based on their particular experience and this can cause emotional upset. This relates to your stress response because people will often worry about issues that have been resolved or could easily be resolved. The worry itself becomes a stressor and dealing effectively with the mind where worry occurs can be an important ...

More about: Is neurosis a mental disease? And, how does one overcome it?