How to Cope With Depression Without Medication
Posted by admin in Depression on October 17, 2011
Do you feel helpless, hopeless and lost? Do you feel emptiness and despair taking over your life? You could be depressed if you have such thoughts. Most of us go through ups and downs in our mood from time to time and this is perfectly normal. However when these feelings interfere with your day to day life, you will need to seek help in fighting depression.
There are various signs and signals of this disorder and acquiring knowledge about them will help in depression therapy. Most of the common types do not require any medication and can be treated by making some simple lifestyle changes.
How to cope with depression without medication? Simple changes to your lifestyle can have big impact on your depressed thoughts and although it looks tough to make these changes, it is quite simple, if you take it one step at a time.
* First and foremost accept the fact that you are depressed. Acceptance will provide you’ the motivation to change.
* Stress is often found to be one of the major causes of feeling helpless. When you learn to manage stress through meditation, you would be able to avoid these thoughts of helplessness.
* Cultivate positive thoughts and start looking at things in an optimistic way. Train your mind to avoid negative thinking. Do not keep your mind idle but keep it occupied with something that you like.
* Get regular sleep and rest. Exercising will not just help you stay in shape but will also produce endorphins that will make you happy. Getting eight hours of sleep daily will help your mind relax.
* Start eating a balanced and healthy diet that provides your body with all the necessary vitamins and nutrients.
* Learn various meditations techniques like yoga and tai chi to help your mind relax.
* Ask for help from your loved ones. Most people who are depressed do not have healthy relationships and cultivating good and healthy relationships will help you combat feelings of despair. Do not hesitate to ask for help from family and friends. Read the rest of this entry »
The Truth About Vitamin A and Osteoporosis
Posted by admin in Osteoporosis on October 17, 2011
If you are researching the connection between Vitamin A and osteoporosis, you will probably find plenty of authors telling you to avoid consuming much Vitamin A. Would it surprise you to know that people consuming their native diets ate foods that gave them about ten times more Vitamin A than is currently recommended? In fact, these people all had perfect teeth and perfect bone structure, along with very strong bones.
Osteoporosis and menopause seem to become health concerns at the same time. Osteoporosis is a serious disease that strikes many women, and you may find that you or someone you love is suffering from osteoporosis. You may know someone who fell and broke their hip, and never recovered. It is frightening to think that we may one day lose our ability to care for ourselves and have to become dependent on someone else.
In the search for solutions that could prevent osteoporosis, you will find many articles that caution you to watch your Vitamin A intake, because it has been shown to be a risk factor in osteoporosis.
But is the information accurate? Is it complete? These are two questions you should always ask when reading information about research studies on health.
Many reports of studies on Vitamin A and osteoporosis have concluded that excess Vitamin A leads to increased risk for getting the disease. Unfortunately these reports do not analyze various other factors revealed in the studies that could shed more light on the reality of vitamin and nutrient intake, and the risk for developing osteoporosis.
In this case, the discrepancy comes to light because there was a dentist, Dr. Weston Price, who traveled to different countries in the 1940′s and discovered that indigenous people still eating their native diets had radiant health. These discoveries included observations of perfect bone structure and strong bones, along with the discovery that these people consumed far higher amounts of vitamin A (not carotenoids, found in plant foods, but preformed vitamin A, found in animal foods), than the amounts recommended today.
The Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to getting the word out about Dr. Price’s nutritional discoveries, has provided a more complete analysis on the various studies of Vitamin A and osteoporosis. In reviewing the studies from a different perspective, it becomes clear that certain relationships occur between nutrients or other substances, such as estrogen, that affect the outcomes of the studies. Read the rest of this entry »
Common Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms
Posted by admin in Rheumatoid Arthritis on October 17, 2011
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammation of the joints. This disease is categorized as an autoimmune disease because people suffering from this condition have antibodies in their blood that target their own body tissues. As a result, the joints are mistakenly attacked by the body’s own immune system. The condition is likely to occur in people between the ages of 40 and 50. It is very common in the US and not less than 2 million Americans are diagnosed with this disease. In fact, it is the most common type of arthritis in the US. Women are more prone to rheumatoid arthritis than men at a ratio of 3:1.
Rheumatoid arthritis can attack various organs and tissues in the human body. However, it mainly attacks synovial joints in the hands, wrists, ankles, and knees. Common arthritis symptoms include fever, weight loss, malaise, as well as muscle ache and pain. People suffering from arthritis are also likely to experience the feeling of tiredness, lack of sleep, the inability to use the hand or walk properly, and difficulty in moving their joints especially in the morning.
Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms include the ones mentioned previously as well as other specific signs which differentiate this type of arthritis from other types such as osteoarthritis and gouty arthritis. Besides the above mentioned symptoms, people with this disease will suffer from joint pain, joint stiffness, joint swelling and joint tenderness. They will also feel warmness around the affected joints. The pains are likely to occur symmetrically. For example, if you feel pain in one knee, you will also feel pain in the other. The sufferers can also find lumps under their skin, usually on the hands or elbows, which are called the rheumatoid nodules. This type of arthritis can also cause joint space narrowing and bone erosion as well. Other rheumatoid arthritis symptoms also include anemia, increasing ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), ulnar deviation, rheumatoid factor, swan neck, and hand deformity.
Hand deformity is a common occurrence in people suffering from this condition. Hand deformities in people with this disease occur when ulnar deviation happens. Ulnar deviation is the condition when the fingers deviate towards the ulna (the inner bone of the forearm). The disease can also prevent the fingers from functioning properly due to ruptured tendons. As mentioned before, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, meaning that it can’t be cured. However, surgery may be helpful to correct deformities caused by this disease. Read the rest of this entry »