Health GlareEvery human being is the author of his own health or disease

Have you been wondering what an article on “Top 10 Health Tips” doing on a website dedicated to Beauty?

Are you one of those individuals who think “Top 10 Health Tips” and “Top 10 beauty Tips” are two separate concepts and need to be dealt individually? Have you been splurging an aweful lot of money trying to look “good” by getting Spa treatments, visiting Beauty Salons, Buying Designer Labels, Eating Health Foods, and yet every time you look into the mirror, you feel there’s something “lacking?”

If you think that way, you’re not the only one. Whereas most of us spend a whole lot of time, money and effort to make our skin, hair, face, hands and feet look beautiful, we often miss out on the critical role our health and wellness plays in making us look physically and mentally beautiful.

Follow these Top 10 Health Tips in your daily life to stay beautiful on the inside and outside:

1.Follow A Healthy, Balanced Diet: A balanced diet is the first step towards a beautiful, healthy body. Follow a healthy balanced diet that complements your lifestyle. An ideal diet should be high on fiber, low on fat, and must be supplemented with adequate amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Besides knowing what to eat, it is equally important to know the right proportions, meaning how much or how little to eat. Talk to a fitness expert and find out what’s your daily calorie intake. Make food choices that have high nutritional value but are low in calories.

2.Eat Different Types Of Foods: According to Ayurveda, the Ancient Indian science of healing, rotating your food habits not only strengthens your immune system, it can also protect you from most illnesses. Try to eat vegetables and fruits of different colors each day. Try eating a different food at least thrice a month. Begin your day with an apple a day as the apple pectin cleanses the body’s digestive system by removing toxins and therefore preventing degenerative health problems such as cancer.

3.Don’t Skip Your Breakfast: Are you surprised to see how some people manage to stay so fit, energetic and active the whole time and are able to stabilize their weight while you continue to put on weight and feel exhausted most of the time? Well, chances are, they eat a good breakfast and you don’t! According to nutritionists and health experts, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and skipping your breakfast can lead to serious health problems besides adding those extra pounds as a result of binging on unhealthy snacks later in the day. Besides re-charging your energy levels, eating regular breakfast has several long-term benefits like:

• It results in faster weight loss
• Your body get more nutrients everyday
• Breakfast rich in fiber foods and wholegrain helps keep the heart healthy especially if you suffer from metabolic disorders like fluctuating blood pressure, obesity and cholesterol. It also helps stabilize blood sugar levels
• A good breakfast early in the morning sets your mood right and enables you to handle stress better
• You stay overall healthy! So begin your day with fresh fruits, fruit juices, hard-boiled eggs, wholegrain cereals and breads and stay healthy all day!

4. Drink Lots Of Water: Drinking a minimum of 7 to 8 glasses of water everyday cleanses all the impurities and toxins from your body and helps to get healthy, flawless skin.

In addition, the fluid in your body is responsible for the functioning of your internal organs including the metabolic processes.  So if you’re dehydrated, this whole process gets affected and your body tends to slow down leaving you feeling low and lethargic.

5. Exercise Regularly: Who does not dream of getting those six-pack abs? Besides making you look sexy and popular, regular exercising is also the best natural “anti-aging” recipe because it helps you stay and feel young by raising your energy levels, stabilizing your body weight, and enhancing flexibility, which reduces the wear and tear in your body.

You don’t need to exercise for hours everyday, just take 15-20 minutes off your busy schedule everyday to sweat out that pot-belly or burn those extra-pounds that have been making it difficult for you to get into your favorite outfit! If you can’t, make one of these a part of your routine: take the stairs instead of elevators and escalators to climb; Make it a habit to walk about 15 minutes everyday. If holistic healing is your thing, enroll yourself for yoga classes. If not, go swimming, take aerobics lessons or start shaking a leg or two at the local dance academy-whatever keeps you going, juts do it! If you’re into sports, you can make it part of your fitness routine.

Remember, your external fitness is only a reflection of your inner fitness and a beautiful, healthy body reflects a fit, healthy mind.

6. Quit Smoking: Okay, so you’ve heard this countless times from your doctor, but here it comes again as one of our most important health tip-Quit Smoking! If you’re one of those people who smoke to lose or gain weight, we’d stay think again! While smoking may have been related to an increase in metabolism, it is certainly not a good enough reason to substitute it with the huge risk of dying from lung cancer!

If that doesn’t make you change your mind, this will. Recent studies have proved that smoking is also one of the leading factors that stimulate the process of aging in both men and women. So say no to cigarettes and stay young and healthy for the rest of your life!

7. Say No To Stress: We know what you’re thinking-easier said than done! Agreed, but leading a stressful life can only make matters worse. On the other hand, leading a relaxed, stress-free life will not only reduce the risks of health related disorders, it will also calm you down and let you enjoy your life better.

While planning your day, strike a balance between home and work. If you have trouble remembering things-make a list of all the “things-to-do” before going to bed each night or simply set a “reminder” in your cell phone so you don’t have to run around at the last minute. Staying positive and thinking happy thoughts is one of the most effective stress buster technique you can easily follow in your daily life.

Spend atleast 15 minutes doing something you love and enjoy each day. It could be a simple activity, like cuddling up in bed by yourself and watching a funny movie, enjoying a glass of your favorite wine, socializing with friends, reading, sweating it out at the gym, pampering yourself with a stress-releasing body massage, soaking in a hot tub, taking a stroll on the beach, playing with your dog, listening to your favorite music or simply lazing around and doing nothing!

8. Take Care Of Your Teeth: Remember the phrase “million dollar smile?” Well, your teeth have a lot to do with your smile and they can make or break your looks depending on how much or how little you’ve cared for them over the years! Dental health is an important aspect of your overall heath. One of the best ways to have healthy teeth, prevent gum-related infections and protect your heart is by flossing your teeth every day. Few of us know that gum infections if left untreated can cause inflammatory reactions in the body, which can lead to stroke and heart ailments.

9. Sleep Well: A good 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep is a must for our body to reboot itself and feel energetic next day. Lack of sleep affects our hormone levels and slows down metabolism often resulting in weight gain. Studies have shown that deep, uninterrupted sleep helps cell growth and cell repair, which can increase the metabolism and help in burning calories. If you suffer from sleeplessness, try some of these simple remedies:

• Avoid alcohol before going to bed
• Stay away from stimulants like coffee, tea and chocolates before going to sleep
• Regularize your sleeping habit
• Keep your bedroom clean and uncluttered; Use decors and furnishing with peaceful and soothing colors
• Avoid taking longer daytime naps
• Follow relaxation techniques (for ex-meditation) to reduce stress

Keep Your Brain Active: Keeping your mind in “good shape” is just as vital as taking care of your physical health, so be sure to indulge your brain on a daily basis. An idle mind is not only the devil’s workshop, often the feeling of “aimlessness” or “nothingness” can cause boredom and can lead to depression and anxiety-related disorders.

One way to keep your brain engaged and busy is to constantly challenge yourself with new ideas and by learning new skills. Studies have shown than an active brain makes new connections between nerve cells that help cells communicate with one another. This allows our brain to store and access information easily, regardless of our age. Try some of these activities to keep your mind active and free from boredom:

• Learn to play a new musical instrument
• Learn a new language
• Indulge in crossword puzzles
• Play scrabble with a friend
• Participate in discussions and forums
• Maintain a blog and update it daily
• Switch careers or make a new beginning
• Read books on unfamiliar topics
• Pursue a new hobby
• Stay aware about what’s going on in the world

Follow these “Top 10 Health Tips” to stay physically and mentally beautiful for the rest of your life. Remember-”Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!”

You may remember, not too long ago, stepping into the pediatrician’s office for your child’s very first visit. And you might have been a little nervous as you got to know the person who’d be caring for your little one.

But after years of interaction (complete with late-night phone calls, last-minute appointments, and trustworthy advice), your pediatrician probably feels like part of the family. So when the time comes for your child to transition into adult health care, it can be hard to say goodbye.

Done abruptly, this change can be overwhelming and anxiety-inducing for you and your child. But if you’re both prepared and plan accordingly, it can be a smooth step on the path to adulthood.
Finding a New Doctor

Once kids become legal adults at age 18, they should visit an adult primary care physician (PCP), such as an internal medicine doctor (internist), a general practitioner, or a family medicine doctor.

Your pediatrician, who is specifically trained to care for kids and teens, might be able to provide care for a little longer if your child is in college (usually until college graduation or age 21). But this varies from doctor to doctor, so be sure to ask.

Ask your pediatrician for a referral if you don’t have a family doctor that your child wants to see or if your child has a chronic condition that will require an adult specialist’s care.

If your child has a rare condition, disability, or pediatric-onset condition (one that only develops in childhood), it may be challenging to find a PCP or adult specialist who is knowledgeable and comfortable caring for these complex needs. In this case, start searching for doctors early on, during the teen years.

Ask if your child can see a new doctor for a trial period; then, follow up with the pediatric specialist to discuss how things went and put both doctors in touch to plan for the transition of care. Allow plenty of time for this process — that way, if there is an issue your child can continue seeing the pediatric specialist until you find an adult provider who is a better fit.

Choosing Health Coverage

If you have health care coverage and your child is a dependent, he or she may remain eligible for coverage while a full-time college student. Check with your insurance plan to find out when coverage ends, especially if your child isn’t a full-time student. Some policies last until a person’s mid-twenties, but this varies from state to state.

Soon enough, however, young adults will be paying for their own health care. Many employers offer group health care coverage as part of employee benefits that let employees customize a plan that may include dental care, vision care, emergency care, and routine medical care. Long-term disability insurance (insurance that offers medical benefits for those who are out of work for an extended period of time) may also be offered by the employer, but at an added cost.

If insured through an employer, your child will have to pay a monthly fee (premium), based on the number of exemptions your child claims. He or she is also responsible to pay for any co-pays and out-of-pocket fees that go directly to health care providers like doctors or pharmacists.

If no longer covered under your insurance plan and health coverage is not offered by an employer or spouse’s plan, your child may be eligible for coverage under COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. This U.S. mandate requires all health insurance carriers to temporarily extend coverage in a group plan to former dependents for up to 36 months.

Since COBRA does not kick in automatically, your child must apply for coverage (do so quickly, since there’s a limited amount of time for eligibility). Premiums will be higher than what your child paid as a dependent on your plan.

Your child also can opt for individual health coverage (rather than discounted through a company group plan), but premiums also will be higher.

Those who are disabled prior to turning 22 may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). These benefits are offered to disabled children whose parents paid into Social Security throughout their careers.

Kids whose parents are deceased, retired, or receiving disability benefits themselves may qualify for benefits. Adult children who are disabled also may receive coverage through the U.S. government’s Medicaid program if their incomes fail to cover the cost of medical services.

Being a Responsible Patient

Unlike pediatric care, adult health care is based on patient responsibility — and with that responsibility comes control. So, your child will have the authority to make all medical decisions and also is entitled to privacy regarding all medical conditions, unless he or she opts to share information with you.

Once responsible for their own health care, it’s important for young adults to relay medical information — such as previous illnesses, operations, medications, and immunizations — to all health care providers. Be sure your child mentions allergic reactions to medications (like penicillin), and whether or not there’s a family history of disease, like cancer or heart disease. This information should be shared with all doctors, especially those working together to treat an illness or chronic condition.

Encourage your son or daughter to keep copies of all medical records and an up-to-date list of medicines and dosages.

And while it’s important to see a doctor with a health concern, it’s also important to visit regularly for checkups and screenings. Health care providers will make recommendations about when to undergo screenings based on your child’s personal and family medical history.
Before Your Child Reaches Adulthood

Since kids will be responsible for managing their own health care as adults, it makes sense for them to start “co-managing” their health care during the teen years. So, little by little, encourage your teen to take an active role — scheduling appointments and refilling prescriptions are good places to start. This builds self-confidence and also gives parents a sense of relief knowing that their kids can take care of themselves.

The transition into adult health care won’t happen overnight. But by planning in advance and talking about what to expect, you’ll help your child successfully manage his or her own health care when the time comes.

When your child has a serious or chronic illness, it’s hard to think beyond the next treatment. While health is the first priority, education also is important. You’ll want to help your child stay on top of schoolwork as much as possible and plan for when he or she can return to school.

Not only does staying connected to school bring academic, cognitive, psychological, and social benefits — it’s also your child’s legal right. Under federal law, kids with disabilities are entitled to educational support, and your child might qualify for free services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

With a little planning and a lot of communication, you can help your child balance treatment and academics. Read the rest of this entry »