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Thursday, January 10, 2008

Pregnancy and Excercising - 6 Reasons to Excercise During Pregnancy

Everyone knows that exercise is good for your health. Exercising during pregnancy can have additional benefits. Generally, exercise should be light, especially during the first few weeks of pregnancy while your body adjusts to the changes. Heavy exercise can divert blood flow from crucial areas and most women that exercise regularly should tone down their workouts during pregnancy.

Walking, swimming, and yoga are two popular exercise activities suitable for pregnant women. Other forms of exercise like weight lifting are okay too as long as it is not too strenuous. Most experts recommend exercising 3-4 times a week, unless a medical condition prevents it. If in doubt, always consult a physician first. Listed below are some of the top reasons for exercising during pregnancy.

  1. exercise can reduce the length of labor and reduce recovery times. The right exercise routines will increase stamina needed for delivery.
  2. Improve emotional health - exercise lowers stress and improves emotional health and can make it easier for the new mother to get through the experience of pregnancy.
  3. exercise can help with weight management after the child is born. A common concern with most mothers is losing weight after pregnancy. Exercising during pregnancy can make postpartum weight loss easier.
  4. exercise is good for your unborn baby. By keeping your body healthy, you are also helping out your baby.
  5. Reduced pregnancy side effects - Symptoms like headaches, fatigue, swelling, and constipation are common in pregnant women. Exercising has been shown to reduce the occurence of these symptoms.
  6. Decrease risk of premature birth - exercise has been shown in studies to decrease the risk of premature birth by about 50%.

Make sure to drink plenty of fluids before exercising, have a nutritious diet, and avoid over exertion. Also, listen to your body - if you start feeling sick or nauseous, then you should stop and rest.

about the Author - Criss White

Criss White is a professional web writer on baby and new mother topics for baby and pregnancy websites. For baby shower supplies, information, and more baby related articles by this author, visit My Baby Shower Favors and Babies and Showers.

Note: If you find this article useful, you may reprint it on your website, e-zine, or in your newsletter as long as the credits above remain in tact and the hyperlinks stay active.

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10 Healthy Weight Loss Tips

It's wonderful to want to lose weight and be healthy. However, with the different types of diets that are popular today, our health can be compromised. The best solution for losing weight and keeping it off is to eat healthy and smart. Here are 10 tips to help you lose weight and keep it off.

1. NEVER try any kind of starvation diet. Our bodies need different types and amounts of vitamins and nutrients just to keep going. Starving yourself to lose a little weight can deprive your body of essential nutrients and vitamins. This can damage our bodies severely, including damage to the liver, kidneys, heart, and even the brain.

2. Try not to deprive yourself. While it is not healthy to eat 'junk food' all the time, it may not be healthy to deprive yourself of sweet things that comfort you. The reasoning behind this is that you will stay away from these types of foods for a while, but one slip up, and you will automatically want to have more. This can lead to over-eating these types of foods, and that will definitely not help our diets. Instead, try snacking on sweet things like raisins, dried fruits, fresh fruits, or nuts.

3. Whether we like it or not, we must have exercise. No diet will successfully help you become healthy if you don't exercise. If you truly dislike exercising, and many people do, try something fun like jumping rope. This is a great cardio exercise and burns a lot of calories. It's also a lot easier on the knees and joints than jogging or sprinting.

4. Avoid the 'bad' fats. Saturated fats and Trans fats are considered the bad fats. Fats that are actually good for us are Monounsaturated fats and Polyunsaturated fats. These are absolutely necessary to the body and health. You can tell the difference because at room temperature, the 'bad fats' are solid, like lard and animal fats. The 'good fats' are liquid, like coconut oil or peanut oil.

5. Get the right amount of insoluble fiber. We actually can't digest this type of fiber, however it provides great benefits for our bodies. It slows down the body's digestion, and the process in which our bodies turn carbohydrates into glucose. This helps us feel fuller longer, which will keep us from over-eating.

6. Keep a food journal. This may sound kind of strange, but a lot of times we just don't realize how much we eat. Writing down what you've eaten will help with this. Going back to look over your journal, you will see what you are doing that may be inhibiting your progress. You will notice 'bad habit' patterns that you need to overcome, such as eating late in the evening, or snacking while you watch TV.

7. Count your calories. An average adult needs 1500 to 2000 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight. If we're not keeping track, we can easily go over this amount, as much as two to three times over! Counting and keeping track of calories will allow us to lose weight and keep it off. Pay special attention to the calories in the things you're drinking. Usually, by the time we have had our daily drinks, we leave ourselves very little actual 'eating' calories.

8. A lot of times when we're trying to lose weight, we find that we are hungry all the time. Veggies can help with this. The recommended serving of fruits and vegetables is 5 to 13 servings a day. 2 to 4 of those servings should be from fruit, and the veggies are free. You can eat as many as you want. This will ensure that we are full and satisfied, not to mention the amazing benefits of fruits and vegetables.

9. Try smaller meals several times a day instead of 2 or 3 large meals. This will help you lose weight by speeding up your metabolism. By eating more often, you won't be as hungry or as likely to snack before bedtime.

10. Get a support system. Especially if you are in a household where you are the only one who is dieting. It makes it easier when we can talk with people who are going through the same thing. Having support from people will help you stick with your plan easier, and motivate you to get active and healthy.

Trying to lose weight can be difficult. Following these tips is a good way to lose weight and keep the weight off. It's important to get the right foods, and to stay healthy and happy.

Fad diets are out! Learn how to lose weight and keep it off without deprivation and drugs. Visit http://www.fad-diet.net today and get rid of those unwanted pounds forever!

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Natural Cure for Diabetes

Food Therapy should be followed under the supervision from your doctor. Check your sugar level frequently so that sugar levels do not go beyond the recommended level

Foods to avoid

It is always advisable to avoid some foods if you are diabetic such as refined sugar, sweets, syrups, glucose, jam, molasses, fruit sugar, ice-cream, cakes, pastries, sweet biscuits, chocolates, soft drinks, condensed milk, cream and fried foods. Fats like butter, ghee and hydrogenated vegetable oil should also be avoided. white sugar and white flour should be reduced drastically. Avoid all processed foods, junk food, pastries, cookies, canned and preserved foods. They contain harmful preservatives and lot of salt. Avoid soft drinks since these have a lot of sugar. Try to avoid fried foods from your diet. Smoking results in the using up of oxygen in the body. It will result in less of oxygen needed by the body to metabolize glucose. So smoking should be avoided.

Foods to be limited

Salt consumption should be reduced to a minimum. You will get enough salt form the vegetables and fruits you eat. Reduce animal foods especially red meats. Reduce poultry and egg. Reduce caffeine and alcohol. Do not drink tea and coffee more than 2 cups a day. Try to replace it with green tea or herbal teas like Parsley tea, Blueberry leaf, Tea made of tender walnut tree leaves, Water in which kidney bean pods have been cooked is good diabetes.

Do not consume alcohol in empty stomach. Alcohol on an empty stomach can cause low blood glucose or hypoglycemia.Foods that should be consumed in moderation are honey and other natural sugars like palm sugar, dates which can be used instead of white sugar. Remember these should be consumed in very little quantity only.Pasta, coconut, other nuts, unsweetened juices, eggs should be limited. You can replace it with whole grain, unpolished rice and Soya products. Try to eat whole grain bread instead of white flour. Fats like olive oil and peanut oil are more advisable that hydrogenated fats. low fat food like skimmed milk and low fat home made cottage cheese can be taken in moderation. You can also substitute it with yoghurt. Sea food and fish also can be taken in moderation.

Foods to be taken

Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. An alkaline diet with natural food is recommended. Wholegrain, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and dairy products form a good diet for the diabetic. Raw vegetables can be taken in high quantities. It has been found that cooked foods raise blood glucose higher than raw, unpeeled foods. cooking destroys many of the enzymes and some vitamins and minerals.

Eat at least five fruits every day. Fruits like grape fruit, pomegranate juice, Indian blackberry, banana, granny smith apples, fig, cranberries, black berry, kiwi fruits, and citrus fruits are highly recommended. It can be taken as a snack. Cucumber, Lettuce, onion, garlic string beans cucumber radish, tomato, carrot, leaves; spinach turnip, cabbage and Jerusalem artichoke are good for diabetes. Colorful vegetables are good for the functioning of pancreas. Drink Fruit juices without sugar. Brewers yeast and sprouted alfalfa and mung beans are good for the body. Unripe banana also can be cooked and eaten.

The most important of all is eating high fiber diet which lowers need for insulin. It releases energy into the body slowly. It has also been found that diabetes decreases and may even disappear in people eating a high fiber or whole food diet. High fiber diet has more chromium and chromium is very good for people with diabetes. Eat lot of potassium rich foods like raw peanuts, tomato, bananas, melons, dried peas, potatoes, apple cider vinegar, skimmed milk powder, wheat but do not take potassium supplements.

Include soluble fiber in your meals like barley, oatmeal, almond meal, dried beans, kidney beans, cooked black beans, peas, cereals, chickpeas, Bengal gram which has low glycemic index, , black gram, lentils and corn or garbanzo beans to helps considerably in reducing blood sugar levels. Soy products like tofu, tempeh, soymilk, soya powder, soy bean sprouts, nuggets etc are also very good in containing neurological complications in diabetes. You can make bread out of any of the whole grains. Get a lot of soluble fiber into your diet. When you eat lots of bread, cereal and starchy vegetables you will get enough of starches which is very helpful for diabetes. Insoluble fibers, found in bran (oat bran, wheat bran), whole grain breads, whole grains and nuts, act as intestinal scrubbers by cleaning out the lower gastrointestinal tract. Fiber cleans your intestinal tract by moving out the food so that it wouldnt stay there and putrefy. Butter milk and yoghurt diet are very beneficial.

Helpful herbs and vegetables

1. Bitter Gourd (Karela): Bitter gourd Momordica-charantia or bitter melon juice contains plant insulin and should be taken 2 ounce 2 times daily on an empty stomach. It is found to be very effective for diabetes. Or It can be cooked as any vegetable and eaten. Or The bitter melon powder can be made by drying. Take bitter gourd powder I teaspoon daily in empty stomach.
2. Taking half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day may help prevent the onset of diabetes. Even soaking a cinnamon sticks in your tea, could also benefit non-diabetics who have blood sugar problem but are unaware of it.
3. 30 gram fenugreek seeds can be soaked in a glass of water at night and after 12 hours take it and grind it into a paste with the soaked water and drink it on a empty stomach. Or 2 teaspoon if powdered seeds can be taken with water or milk. Or You can add fenugreek into anything you cook.
4. Eating upto 3 grapefruits a day has also been helpful.
5. 1 tablespoon of amla (Emblica officinalis) after removing the seeds extract the juice and mix with a cup of bitter gourd juice and take daily for 2months in a empty stomach.
6. Gymnema Sylvestre a traditional ayurvedic herb the leaf of which is to be taken up to 4 grams per day.
7. Indian blackberry seeds or Jamun seed powder (scientific name of Jamun is Eugenia jambolana or Syzygium cumini L and) is very good for diabetes. Take 1/4th teaspoon with 1 teasoon honey for 50 days.
8. Eating freshly crushed raw garlic 3-4 grams a day lowers blood sugar. You can wash it down with a glass of water.
9. Neem seeds daily 2 times a pinch. Taking a gram of neem leaf daily helps in diabetes.
10. Bael (Aegle marmelos) : The leave of the bael tree when chewed are very useful in diabetes. Pulp of this fruit could be dried and taken in doses of 5 to 10 gms a day.
11. A pinch of pure turmeric powders mixed in amla juice (Indian goose berry) and eat daily in empty stomach.
12. Use of turmeric and gooseberry in equal quantities in powder form taken with warm water is very useful in this behalf. These activate the pancreatic cells and more insulin is produced.
13. Wild jeerakam cumin seeds black colored 60 gm in 1 liter and boil a reduce it ti 1/4th liter and take half divide it into two equal parts and drink one part in the morning and one in the evening 2 times daily.
14. Grind (Bacopa monnieri )Bhrahmi and add a teaspoon of it to milk and drink.

Vitamins that help

Supplements in natural forms are more conducive to the body. Magnesium supplementation has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity. Vitamin C: 500 mg is recommended. Vitamin E: This vitamin is very valuable for diabetes. A daily dose of 200 i.u. of Vitamin E is recommended for a fortnight at a time. Chromium: Whole grains, seeds, mushrooms, corn oil and brewers yeast are relatively good sources of biologically valuable chromium. Vitamin A:. Take A dose of 15,000i.u. on alternate days. Vitamin B: Avoid large dosage of vitamin B because this vitamin interferes with the absorption of insulin by cells.

Things to do

Controlling your weight is the best way to treat diabetes. exercise improves the body's response to insulin. An exercise program should be started only with the advice of a doctor to avoid unnecessary complications. Walking, light games, jogging and swimming are also good.

Yoga can help a lot. To relieve stress do meditation once a day for 10 to 40 minutes. Yogic asanas like Siddhasana, Vajrasana, Talasana, Yastikasana,, like Yogamudra, Hastapadasana, Paschimottanasana, Chakrasana, Ustrasana, Bhujangasana, Sarvangasana and Viparitakarani, as halasana, shalabhasana, dhanurasana, Pratipaksabhavana and shavasana will also be beneficial.

Anita Cherrys is a health enthusiast who offers informative tips on certified organic products. For more information on health visit http://www.healthinfoforyou.com/an/natural-cure-for-diabetes.htm
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