Jumat, 25 Januari 2008

Boost Your Metabolism to Lose Weight

There are a lot of people who would give a lot to increase their metabolism. Having a high level of metabolism enables one to burn fat and lose weight fast with the least amount of exertion. Metabolism is the rate by which the body produces and consumes energy and calories to support life.

There are several factors that affect the metabolism of a person, such as the amount of muscle tissue, the frequency of the meals one consumes, genetics, the digestive system, stress levels, personal diet, and activity levels. Metabolism slows down due to the following: loss of muscle because of not enough physical activity, the tendency of the body to cannibalize its own tissue because there is not enough food energy to sustain it, and the decrease of physical activity that comes naturally with old age.

Here are several ways to fire up one's metabolism:

1. Build up on lean, mean body mass. It is only natural that metabolism decreases along with age, but it is possible to counter the effects. The amount of muscle a person has is a very strong determinant in the ability to burn calories and shed fat. So it goes without saying that exercise is essential. Build strength and resistance by working out at least twice a week, preferably with weights. Do easy exercises in between workouts. Simple tasks such as walking the dog and using the stairs in place of the elevator can already take off calories. The key is to match the amount of eating to the amount of activity one has. Here are some guidelines in getting the right exercise:

For strength training

-Increase the amount of repetitions of a particular exercise.
-Add the level of resistance
-Utilize advance exercise techniques if possible

For cardiovascular training

-Insert intervals between exercises
-Perform cross-training and combine the exercises
-Add up on resistance and speed

2. Eat breakfast. A lot of people are ignoring the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Surprisingly, the ones who eat breakfast are thinner than the ones who do not. Metabolism can slow down considerably if breakfast is taken during mid-morning or if one waits until the afternoon to eat.

3. Avoid sugar. Sugar enables the body to store fat. It is recommended that a person consumes food that helps sustain an even level of blood-sugar. Additionally, progressive exercise 2-3 times a week should be in order to stabilize blood sugar.

4. Eat spicy foods. Hot cuisine with peppers can increase metabolism.

5. Sleep more. According to research, it is riskier for people who do not get enough sleep to gain weight. Also, muscles are regenerated during the last couple of hours of slumber.

6. Increase water intake. Water flushes out toxins that are produced whenever the body burns fat. Majority of bodily functions involves water, and lack of water causes the body system's operations to decrease its speed, and produces unneeded stress as a result.

7. Detoxify the digestive system. A clean and healthy digestive system not only helps the body to run more efficiently, it also gives you energy and helps you to crave healthier foods. This makes a cleansing program, such as Isagenix 9-Day Cleansing and Fat Burning System, a great way to jump-start a weight loss regimen.

8. Eat smaller meals. It is advisable to consume 4 to 6 small meals that are timed 2 to 3 hours apart.

9. Never skip meals. People tend to skip meals in order to lose weight, which is a big mistake since it slows down metabolism.

10. Plan meals in detail. Always prepare the right amount of food to be consumed at the designated intervals. Do not commit the mistake of eating meals in sporadic patterns.

11. Ditch the stress! Stress, be it physical or emotional, triggers the release of a steroid called cortisol, which decreases metabolism. Also, people tend to eat excessively when stressed.

12. Guzzle up on green tea. It can be used as a substitute for coffee. Tea has the ability to stimulate metabolism, and unlike coffee, it has no undesirable side effects when too much is consumed.

13. Include more energy foods in the diet, such as fruits and vegetables, beans and whole grains.

Achieving the desired body weight is never impossible if one has the determination and patience needed to stabilize the metabolism level, which plays an important role in weight loss. A person needs to realize that eating right and working out is not just a passing fancy, but a way of life. Fighting cravings is hard for most of us. A great help in the quest to eat healthier --and fight those unhealthy cravings-- is a body cleansing program.

----Steven Muller

KANKER PAYUDARA

Kanker payudara merupakan kanker yang sangat menakutkan bagi kaum wanita disamping kanker mulut rahim. Insiden kanker payudara pada dekade terakhir memperlihatkan kecenderungan meningkat. Di Indonesia kanker payudara menduduki tempat kedua dari sepuluh terbanyak setelah kanker mulut rahim di tempat pertama

Faktor Penyebab dan Faktor Predispodisisi

Dapat dicatat bahwa faktor etiologi atau faktor penyebab kanker payudara sampai saat ini belum diketahui pasti, namun dapat dicatat pula bahwa penyebab itu sangat mungkin multifaktorial yang saling mempengaruhi satu sama lain, yaitu :
1. Faktor genetika
2. Pengaruh hormon
3. Virogen atau faktor virus
4. Pola makan -Terutama makanan yang banyak mengandung lemak
5. Pengaruh radiasi didaerah dada


Biasanya penderita mengeluh adanya benjolan di payudara, rasa sakit di payudara, cairan dari putting susu, adanya eksim di sekitar areola putting susu, adanya ulserasi atau borok di daerah payudara, pembesaran kelenjar getah bening atau sekelan di daerah ketiak. Dan biasanya mempunyai faktor-faktor resiko sebagai berikut :
- Umur lebih dari 30 tahun
- Anak pertama lahir pada usia ibu lebih dari 35 tahun
- Tidak kawin
- Menarche atau haid pertama kurang dari umur 12 tahun
- Pernah operasi tumor jinak payudara
- Pernah mendapat terapi hormonal yang lama
- Adanya kanker payudara pada payudara yang sebelahnya
- Adanya riwayat operasi ginekologi
- Adanya riwayat kanker payudara pada keluarganya
- Adanya riwayat radiasi di daerah dada

Mengetahui adanya faktor resiko tersebut penting bagi seseorang agar waspada terhadap terjadinya kanker payudara sehingga dapat terdeteksi secara dini dan dapat diobati segera dan lebih baik. Penting juga bagi wanita untuk melakukan pemeriksaan berkala SADARI (Periksa Payudara Sendiri ) Yang dapat dilakukan dengan bercermin, atau memeriksakan setiap kelainan payudara ke dokter.

Benjolan atau tumor pada payudara kemungkinannya bisa sebagai berikiut :
- Fibroadenoma Mammae (FAM)
- Mammary Dysplasia
- Sistosarkoma Filoides
- Mastitis (radang payudara)
- Kanker payudara

Pengobatan tergantung stadium yang terdiri dari : pengobatan dengan operasi, kemoterapi, radioterapi dan hormonal terapi.


--------Dr. Ramadhan Sp.B.Onk(Relawan MER-C)

Why You Have Hair Loss as You Age

As you know, most of you at some point will start experiencing hair loss. There are some of you that became bald in your twenties or thirties. But most you, you will lose your hair gradually and then one day you will notice your hair thinning in one area. This occurs because as you age your health deteriorates.

Poor health and hair loss

There are quite a few areas that are related to hair loss. But in general they are all tied together in a fine puzzle. The major reason for hair loss that I discovered was poor health, both physical and psychological. When you are in poor health, you will exhibit numerous symptoms and one that becomes obvious is hair loss.

The extreme poor health condition is when people are subjected to chemotherapy. All of the body systems are poisoned creating massive poor health. All hair is lost.

Hair loss and the endocrine system

Hair loss relates to your body's endocrine system. It is these organs, thyroid, adrenal, thymus, and pancreas that control the function of your body's health by the hormones that they release. One hormone that controls hair loss and hair growth is testosterone.

Hair loss and testosterone

Testosterone is frequently converted to a substance call DHT by a specific enzyme. It is DHT that affects hair growth by disturbing your hair's follicle and destroying it. When the endocrine organs fail to control testosterone there is an excess, much of this excess is converted to DHT.

Women also have testosterone but this is balanced by the high level o estrogen that they have. But when the estrogen balance is upset, women will see hair loss because of more testosterone in their blood.

Diet and hair loss

The food you eat also determines how much testosterone is created in your body. It is important to eat a special type of natural diet to maintain healthy organs that can keep a hormonal balance in your body, so that you have good body health.

When you are not in the best of health and use various types of medication, your hormones are out of balance and your body is in need of nutritional help. It is the vitamins and minerals that help the body rebalance it self, but it is best that these nutrients come from raw food. This is why a colon and blood cleanse is important to do to give your body some help in providing nutrients and giving it a rest from processing heavy foods.

Stress and hair loss

Then there is stress. This is a real hair killer. Stress uses up a lot of your vitamins and minerals. Your body protects you from stress by releasing cortisone and by adjusting your hormone levels to an un-natural condition. Stress creates an imbalance in your hormones and now your hair loss increases and your health starts to deteriorate.

The one thing I realized as I researched why I experience hair loss 15 years ago is that if you seek to improve your health in a natural way, your health gets better and your hair loss stops and maybe you may even grow some hair back.

-----Rudy Silva

Fat May Not Be Making You Fat

Again and again we are told that “Obesity in America is Epidemic” and that this health threatening condition is being spread worldwide. Look around you and no doubt you will conclude that obesity is rapidly spreading. We blame it all on a sedentary life style and the Mc Donald’s / TV / Computer / Video games generation.



Statistics seem to confirm these points. For the first time in world history more people are overfed rather than underfed. Overweight children at historic highs. An estimated 15 % of boys and girls 6 to 11 years of age are overweight. Children are gaining more weight over the summer than during the school year. Computer and video game “screen time” shows an astonishing 8 hours a day in the United States. Throw in fast foods and this will all explain the current plague of obesity and along with the plague of diabetes which is increasing in rate at an astonishing rate.


Blame it all on fat we are told. If we reduce our fat levels all of this will go away. However it may be that our problems of obesity are a direct result of our cutting out and reducing fat intake not the other way around.



Isn’t it amazing you would think? As a society we have cut our fat intake and cholesterol levels to the bone and yet we get fatter and fatter and have ever increasing amounts of diabetes in our society?



It may well be that it is not the fat that is bad for us – rather it is the refined carbohydrates specifically that are the evil ones. This includes – refined sugars as found in bread and other baked goods, potatoes , yams and obvious refined sugar containing foods such as ice cream , candy , soft drinks , beer and fruit juices.



Mankind was not created to eat a diet high in starches or grains, let alone refined sugars. It was only when man invented agriculture, in the recent past that grain products and concentrated sugars were introduced into our diets.


It is not fat that will make you fat. It is not by eating fat that you will have a much greater chance of diabetes and other health problems. It is not even high serum cholesterol, from eating fatty foods such as steaks or butter that will do you in but rather the amount of these refined starches and sugars in your diet.



On top of that we are told that obesity is simply a result of sedentary behaviors – sitting in front of the TV or video games rather than exercising. In fact it is the other way around. People, who exercise, get hungry, eat and gain weight.



We get fat because of tons of insulin in our bloodstream.



Insulin is needed by our body to break down fat. Obese people need more and more insulin to burn off the fat in their bodies. The fatter you are, the more insulin your pancreas will pump out after a meal. It’s a like a drug addict needing more and more drug to get a high. The body’s need to have more and more insulin to burn the same amount of fat in an obese person is referred to as “insulin resistance”.


It’s the refined carbohydrates and starches that cause the body to secrete insulin in the first place. Fat does not matter. In the end it’s all about refined sugars and wheat products such as pasta that cause our problems and not fat.



In the end obesity and our plague of ever increasing diabetes is not about fat, fatty foods and fat intake and not exercising but rather about our intake of refined sugars, bread and pasta products. It is not about fat and cholesterol. They really do not matter much when it comes to making you fat and obese.


---Maggie Z. Mathews