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!”

Exercise specific to a particular part can help give you relief in terms of pain if any or build muscle. In some cases, one can loose that extra fat on a particular part like waist, chest, thighs etc…

If you get muscle cramp in the back of your thighs, you need to work this out. This exercise stretches the hamstring and thus relieves pain in thighs. Some hamstring exercises need great care while practising as these are prone to injuries due to strecting and twisting.

• Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat.

• Grasp one leg at a time just above the knee and hold the leg at a right angle with the body.

• Holing the leg out at arm’s length, slowly straighten the knee.

• Hold the leg as straight as you can as you count to ten.

Note

This exercise is risky for those who have unstable knees. This exercise is not recommended for those who have problem called “Back-Knee”. In this problem, the curves back when person stand up. It’s easy to overstretch and be sore with this exercise.
Straight Leg Raise
This exercise strengthens the muscles that bend the hip and straighten the knee.

• Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat.

• Straighten one leg. Tighten the muscle on the top of that thigh and straighten the knee as much as possible.

• Keeping the knee straight, raise your leg one to two feet (about 50 cm) off the ground. Do not arch your back.

• Hold your leg up and count out loud for ten seconds.

• Relax. Repeat with the other leg.

* Consciously squeeze your glutes hard while doing your exercises Clench your glutes as hard as you can.
* When you do a lunge, squeeze the glute hard while you’re pushing up. This will help to activate the glute muscle. It’s all about getting your mind into the muscle and forcing it to contract rather than just going through the motions of an exercise.
* By concentrating on squeezing the glutes hard during your sets (of whatever exercise you’re doing), you’ll be activating the muscle fibers of the glutes and increasing the amount of work they do.
* If you don’t believe this technique can work, try this: go for a walk up and down some hills squeezing your glutes hard as you push yourself forward with each step you take.
* Push with your heels
* The transmission of force and tension from your foot through your leg and glute can be altered by where you put the tension on your foot. If you push with the balls of your feet (the forefoot area), more tension will be placed on the frontal thigh (the quadriceps). If you focus on pushing more with your heels, more tension will go through the back of the thighs and to your glutes.
* By pushing with your heels, you can take advantage of this force/tension relationship. For example, when you’re doing lunges, try to raise the toes of your front foot off the ground. This removes tension from the front and focuses more on the heel. This will, in turn, send more tension to the glutes, making them work harder.
* There are several practical techniques you can use to really force the heel push.
* If you’re doing the leg press, you can focus on the glutes by placing your heels on the top edge of the foot plate. When doing squats, simply raise your toes up in your shoes to achieve a similar effect.
* Visualize “sitting back” when you’re doing your glute exercises.
* This idea is similar to the concept of pushing with your heels above. When you “sit back,” more tension will be sent through the back of the thighs and the glutes. If you lean forward , you will tend to throw more tension on the quadriceps.

Why need chest muscles?

The chest muscles are our pushing muscles. The chest muscles’ job is to lift and push mainly. These also allow you to twist with the loads. The muscles at the chest are also known as Pectorals. The pectorals are shaped like a fan and run from breastbone to the upper arm.

Weight training for this muscle development is really helpful and it gives great strength to push a heavy object. This weight workout gives great results and you will feel better when pushing a heavy mass after your chest muscle is ready.

Parallel Dips

* Position yourself between a set of parallel bars and lift yourself so that you are held erect by your arms, with your elbows at your sides.
* Keep your elbows into your sides while lowering your body down as far as possible.
* Pause a moment and then press yourself back up to arm’s length, until your elbows are again locked at the starting position.

Dips – Seated

* Sit on the edge of a flat bench with another bench positioned a full body length in front of you.
* Support yourself so that your feet and ankles are on one bench and your hands are on the other. Your body weight should be on the palms of your hands, which should be extended behind you so that your buttocks are lifted off the bench.
* Keep your elbows into your sides and lower your body downward as far as possible.
* Pause briefly and then press yourself upwards until your arms are straight and you are back at the starting position.

As with biceps, triceps, chest, back, abs, thighs; every body part there is, there are numerous programs and techniques for developing them. This is true also for calves. Here we brief you about few of those and advice of trainer is always necessary and helpful in building specific parts of your body.

STANDING CALF RAISES

This develops the overall mass of the calves. Stand with your toes on the block of a standing Calf Raise machine, your heels extended out into space. Hook your shoulders under the pads and straighten your legs, lifting the weight clear of the support.

Lower your heels as far as possible toward the floor, keeping your knees slightly bent throughout the movement in order to work the lower area of the calves as well as the upper, and feeling the calf muscles stretch to the maximum. From the bottom of the movement, come up on your toes as far as possible.The weight must not be too heavy to get up, so use enough heavy weights while practising.

SEATED CALF RAISES

This develops the lower and outer areas of the calves. Sit on the machine and place your toes on the bottom crosspiece, hooking your knees under the crossbar. Slowly lower your heels as far toward the ground as possible, then press back up on your toes until your calves are fully contracted. Try not to rock back and forth too much. The calves working should be done in a rhythmic manner.

Start each movement by standing on a block of wood at least as high as a 2 x 4. Place your feet so that only your toes and the ball of your feet are on the block. Point your toes slightly outward. Your feet should be spaced about 10 to 12 inches from center of big toe to center of big toe. It is best if you do not wear any shoes.

Exercising without shoes or with bare foot is suggested. You must stretch all the way down on each rep and you must come all the way up on your toes. Concentrate on placing your weight on your big toe and the toe next to your big toe, contract fully at the top. Do this on each rep of every set for every exercise outlined. Shoes can be used but of very flexible sole and stiff shoes are not at all recommended.

Back exercises help strengthen and increase the flexibility of the muscles that support the back. It is important to exercise to keep in shape and have a strong, flexible back.

Some exercises like double-leg raises, straight-leg sit-ups, sit-ups done with another person holding the feet, timed sit-ups, and standing toe touches should never be done. These exercises are a little risky as they put more pressure or stress on back, which is not desirable.

Exercise 1: Carry these four Steps:

* Lie on the back with the knees bent
* Feet flat on the floor.
* Tighten the stomach muscles and press the lower back against the floor.
* Hold this position for a count of ten, then relax. This can be repeated 10 to 12 times.

Exercise 2:

* Lie on the back with the knees bent, and feet flat on the floor.
* Slowly raise the head and shoulders off the floor, and reach the hands toward the knees, bending knees, stomach, abdominal,back weak muscle.
* After a count of 10, slowly relax the head and shoulders and return to the floor.
* This exercise can be done 5 times.

These exercises make the back musle very strong. Pain nearly is vanished after doing it for some days. Ofcourse some careful understading of what feature is provided with each exercises must be understood.

Exercise 3:

* Lie on the back with the feet flat on the floor, raise the knees to the chest.
* Both hands should be put under the knees to gently pull the knees as close to the chest as possible. The head should not be raised. Lower the legs to the floor, without straightening them.
* This exercise can be repeated 5 times in a set. Several more sets of this exercise can be done throughout the day.

Physical trainers advice you many specific exercises to lose extra fat or build muscle. Some abdominal exercises need careful work-out and should be practised under the guidance or there is every chance of getting injured.

For best results, abdominals should be performed slowly with legs resting on a chair/bench, so that legs are bent at 90 degrees.

* Steps Lie on back with knees bent.
* Put your feet flat on the floor close to the buttocks Or can be in raised up on a bench.
* Beginners should not give any jerk to any part of the body at first. Twisting can be really dangerous for beginners .
* While doing this, breathing should be confortable, slow.
* Commence curls with the shoulders, then the upper back and finally the lower back.
* Bring the torso up no more than 30 degrees; hold momentarily then lower the torso.
* Clasp hands behind the neck just to support the weight of the head.
* Keep your chin off your chest, aim to keep your upper spine straight (neutral)
* Warm up your stomach muscles with easy stomach exercises, before you advance.
* Finish off by stretching out the abdominals.
* By doing some dorsal raises, this will help stretch out your abdominals.

If you have use of an abdominal exerciser, that will help you get into right position. Don’t pull on your head when doing this exercise. Daily practice will help you perform better.

Women generally avoid weight-bearing exercises and prefer low resistance and aerobic classes. It is a fantastic way to lose your excess fat and keep your heart healthy. If women could augment the aerobic exercises with strength enhancement, it would be of great help to remain healthy for long. Muscle tissue is denser than fat and hence a strength trained body will look leaner and compact. Also muscle burns calories, as it is active tissue. Thus weight training can give a toned body that each woman desired. One can achieve firm arms, thighs, hips & waist with such weight training programs. This way, you will burn more calories throughout the day, you can burn your excess fat easily.

But then women are concerned about looking too muscular. This fear is totally unfounded. Women do not have male hormone testosterone. It is testosterone that gives men the bulk. So women will never get bulky, but at the same time get strong and lean. In order to achieve enhanced strength levels, women must progressively increase resistance over a period of time for their gym exercises.

For women who diet excessively and don’t take exercise, they are prone to bone loss, slips, fractures etc. or called ‘Osteoporosis’. The best advice against osteoporosis is strength training. It is essential for the health of your bones, as you get older. After the age of 35 to 40, women are especially vulnerable to losing bone mass in their menopausal years from hip & spine.

One needs to have very strong arms as these are the muscles which are used on a very frequent basis. In a fitness program, thus arm exercise becomes a priority.

Whether you want to tone and define weak arms so that you can wear something sleeveless with confidence or you want to increase muscle mass, working the muscles in the front and back of the upper arms will help you get there.

When working out arm exercises, the important thing is to have a balance. Toned arms give you much more than visual satisfaction. Exercise is a body tune-up, and if we’re keeping our body exercised, we’re keeping it tuned just like a car. If you want big arms, you must work both sides of the arms. When someone flexes their biceps, it’s the whole arm that’s working.

Imbalance during exercises can lead to injuries. If you consistently work the front of the thighs (quadriceps) but never the back (hamstrings), for example, the hamstrings will weaken, tighten, and cause you to pull or strain a muscle. Over time, it may lead to back pain from the tight hamstrings pulling you out of alignment.
Standing Biceps Curl with Dumbbells

* Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent
* Grasp dumbbells with an underhand grip (palms facing forward), arms hanging down at your sides.
* Flex at the elbows and curl dumbbells up to approximately shoulder level. Keep elbows close to sides throughout movement — don’t allow them to move forward. This exercise may be done one arm at a time.

There are differences of opinions on whether one should go for fasting as an aid to weight loss or not. During fasting, a process called Ketosis occurs. Mild ketosis is not harmful. Due to this process, accumulated fat in the body gets dislodged and is burnt away. This is useful as reduction is fat can’t be done without ‘ketosis’. Bad habits of eating and living are generally responsible for obesity which fastng can’t eliminate.

During the period of fasting few steps must be taken to ensure intake of vitamins, minerals. If this is not taken care of body starts depleting, which is very undesirable. Thus there must be an end to fasting at some stage. At this stage, there is every chance of gaining the lost weight and the fat. For these reasons some experts are of opinion that fasting should not be done in weight reduction but it may help gain some control over your diet. Doctors advise to go for better eating habits than to go for fasting.

It has been studied that the reduction in weight is more if a person continues to eat some amount of food than fasting altogether. This helps to those who eat something because of the increased basal metabolic rate. Short term fating has been noticed as useless in shedding extra fat.

Under normal circumstance, fasting is not advisable for weight loss. However, for getting rid of stubborn obesity which does not yield to other remedial measures, long term fasting can help but should be carried out under medical supervision. In period of fasting, one must ensure sufficient water intake or lemon juice to protect against problems created by severe fast.