Recent Blog Posts

  What Dangers Can Perfumes & Other Fragrances Pose to Your Health?   We have all been there. You are in a movie theater, on an airplane or in some other closed quarters that, for whatever reason, you are required to remain in. Then in walks that man or woman wearing way too much of the strongest -- and usually worst smelling -- cologne or perfume. Of course, they usually sit right next to you. At best, this is an annoyance. But especially for those with chemical sensitivities, and also for everyone else, perfumes, colognes and other fragrances can actually harm your health. The chemicals in your favorite fragrance may be making your friends, coworkers and family sick. What are Fragrances Made Of? About 95 percent of the chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic, petroleum-based compounds. For people with allergies or multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), these chemicals can lead to allergic reactions like sneezing, itchy watery eyes, wheezing and headaches. Other health conditions that can be exacerbated by fragrances, according to Tracie DeFreilas Saab, M.S., author of a comprehensive discussion, [...]

  Four Ways Sittosis "Tin Man Syndrome" is Overcome Naturally Remember the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz? His body hadn’t been used in so long that he was stiff, inflexible and barely capable of moving ... that is, until Dorothy fixed him up with a few squirts of oil. Stress, poor diet and too much sitting may be making your body as stiff and rusty as the Tin Man’s … both inside and out. Well, like the Tin Man, your body, too, can “rust” and get stiff if you don’t use it. This can manifest not only in your joints and muscles, but also in your internal organs. After several decades of misuse or neglect, your body may begin to manifest signs of illness or even start to shut down. Oxidative Stress: When Your Body Rusts from the Inside Out Oxidative stress is now recognized as a leading cause of chronic disease and aging. It occurs when free radicals -- toxic oxygen molecules produced by normal body processes but also via external sources like stress and pollution -- spiral [...]

  Hypothyroidism and Autoimmune Disease: How to Avoid Foods that are Harmful to Your Thyroid Plus Those that are Beneficial to Eat!   Your thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. It releases hormones that control metabolism (how your body gets energy from the food you eat), and if this process becomes disrupted it can lead to weight gain or loss, heart disease, osteoporosis, infertility and, in rare cases, even coma and death. Women over 50 are most likely to have hypothyroidism. More specifically, your thyroid produces two main hormones thyroxine (T-4) and triiodothyronine (T-3), which are responsible for: Maintaining the rate at which your body uses fats and carbohydrates Helping control your body temperature Influencing your heart rate Helping to regulate the production of protein Your thyroid also produces a hormone that regulates the amount of calcium in your blood and helps prevent bone loss. Most thyroid disorders are divided into either hypothyroidism (low thyroid) or hyperthyroidism (high thyroid) disorders. Hypothyroidism causes your body to use energy more slowly, whereas hyperthyroidism causes your thyroid [...]

  If You Avoid Eating Glucose You May Actually Live Longer   Glucose, a type of sugar that your body uses for energy, may be the key to living a long life -- if you avoid it, that is. Researchers from the University of Jena in Germany discovered some very interesting findings about this simple sugar by observing the lifespan of worms. Cookies, candy, sugary breakfast cereals, sweetened fruit juice and doughnuts are all examples of foods that are quickly broken down into glucose by your body. First they blocked the worms' ability to process glucose, which put them into a metabolic state similar to one you would have if you avoided glucose in your diet. Without glucose, something fascinating happened: the worms increased their lifespan by up to 20 percent, which is the equivalent of 15 years of human life. In the United States, however, the average person eats a hefty amount of sugar, which when broken down generates glucose. In fact, sugar makes up anywhere from 15 percent to 20 percent of most people's daily diets! It's already [...]

  How to Prevent Alzheimer's: The Most Effective Ways to Avoid this Rapidly Increasing Disease   Alzheimer's disease already affects 4.5 million Americans--more than twice the number that were affected in 1980--but that number is expected to grow significantly. By the year 2050, it's estimated that 11.3 million to 16 million Americans may develop the disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's disease affects the brain, progressively destroying a person's ability to: Learn and reason Make judgments Carry out daily activities Walking and other exercise can improve your mental ability even as you get older. It may also change the person's personality and result in anxiety, suspiciousness, delusions and hallucinations. There is currently no known cure. The causes are also unknown, but one major risk factor is age. The majority of people with Alzheimer's are over the age of 65 -- an age after which the chances of developing the disease double every five years. But, of course, just because you age or get older does not mean that you will develop Alzheimer's, and there are, in fact, known methods [...]

  How to be Well and Happy … Not Perfect To be happy is an innate human desire, slightly different but no less important than food, sleep and shelter. Like a ray of sunshine or the first spring rain, happiness is the nectar that allows your mind and spirit to be nurtured and to grow. Pick up a copy of Be Happy Without Being Perfect: How to Worry Less and Enjoy Life More to take back control of your life … in a very, very good way. For some, though, the quest for happiness becomes a mission toward perfectionism -- a journey that pushes them to eternally higher standards -- and thereby becomes their own undoing. It’s Probably Impossible to be Perfect and Happy Do you strive to be the best you can be, to the point that you will struggle to complete a task, lest it be imperfect? Do you find it difficult to keep up with your work assignments or personal obligations because each new task must outdo the one before? Do you hold yourself to self-imposed standards [...]