Aerobic exercise: Top 10 reasons to get physical

Regardless of age, weight or athletic ability, aerobic exercise is good for you. See why — then prepare yourself to get moving!

At least 30 minutes of daily aerobic activity — such as walking, bicycling or swimming — can help you live longer and healthier. See how aerobic exercise affects your heart, lungs and blood flow. Then get motivated to reap the rewards!

How your body responds to aerobic exercise

During aerobic activity, you repeatedly move large muscles in your arms, legs and hips. You'll notice your body's responses quickly.

You'll breathe faster and more deeply. This maximizes the amount of oxygen in your blood. Your heart will beat faster, which increases blood flow to your muscles and back to your lungs. Your small blood vessels (capillaries) will widen to deliver more oxygen to your muscles and carry away waste products, such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid. Your body will even release endorphins, natural painkillers that promote an increased sense of well-being.
What aerobic exercise does for your health

Regardless of age, weight or athletic ability, aerobic activity is good for you. As your body adapts to regular aerobic exercise, you'll get stronger and more efficient. Consider 10 ways that aerobic activity can help you feel better and enjoy life to the fullest.

Aerobic activity can help you:

1. Keep excess pounds at bay. Combined with a healthy diet, aerobic exercise helps you lose weight — and keep it off.
2. Increase your stamina. Aerobic exercise may make you tired in the short term. But over the long term, you'll enjoy increased stamina and reduced fatigue.
3. Ward off viral illnesses. Aerobic exercise activates your immune system. This leaves you less susceptible to minor viral illnesses, such as colds and flu.
4. Reduce health risks. Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of many conditions, including obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer. Weight-bearing aerobic exercises, such as walking, reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
5. Manage chronic conditions. Aerobic exercise helps lower high blood pressure and control blood sugar. If you've had a heart attack, aerobic exercise helps prevent subsequent attacks.
6. Strengthen your heart. A stronger heart doesn't need to beat as fast. A stronger heart also pumps blood more efficiently, which improves blood flow to all parts of your body.
7. Keep your arteries clear. Aerobic exercise boosts your high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol and lowers your low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad," cholesterol. The potential result? Less buildup of plaques in your arteries.
8. Boost your mood. Aerobic exercise can ease the gloominess of depression, reduce the tension associated with anxiety and promote relaxation.
9. Stay active and independent as you get older. Aerobic exercise keeps your muscles strong, which can help you maintain mobility as you get older. Aerobic exercise also keeps your mind sharp. At least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week seems to reduce cognitive decline in older adults.
10. Live longer. People who participate in regular aerobic exercise appear to live longer than those who don't exercise regularly.

Start slowly

Aerobic activity is safe for most people, but sometimes it's important to get a doctor's OK first — especially if you have a chronic health condition. When you're ready to begin exercising, start slowly. You might walk five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the evening. The next day, add a few minutes to each walking session. Pick up the pace a bit, too. Soon, you could be walking briskly for at least 30 minutes a day — and reaping all the benefits of regular aerobic activity.

Other options might include cross-country skiing, aerobic dancing, swimming, stair climbing, bicycling, jogging, elliptical training or rowing. If you have a condition that limits your ability to participate in aerobic activities, ask your doctor about alternatives. If you have arthritis, for example, aquatic exercises may give you the benefits of aerobic activity without stressing your joints.

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20 top tips for curing mouth ulcers

Tips and advice for mouth ulcer relief

Here are some simple and effective tips that can be used to prevent mouth ulcers or treat ulcers and sores in the mouth. If you have mouth ulcers that are persistent or severe, you should seek advice from a healthcare professional to rule out any serious underlying cause.

1. Mouth ulcers can be the result of a lack of vitamin C. Drink plenty of orange juice.

2. Create a mouthwash with water and a small amount of sodium bicarbonate to cleanse the mouth.

3. Fresh coconut milk is an excellent liquid to gargle with. Use three or four times a day to keep the mouth clean and ease the pain of an ulcer.

4. If you don’t have any coconut milk, rinsing and gargling with cold and then hot water can be beneficial for an ulcer.

5. Also, adding a little salt to water and gargling with it can aid healing.

6. Crisps, toast and nuts can have sharp edges. When chewed, these can cause small cuts to the lining of the mouth. If the cut becomes infected it can lead to an ulcer (especially avoid these foods if you prone to mouth ulcers anyway). Also avoid chewing gum which can cause you to bite the inside of your mouth.

7. Peppermint oil is great for immediate relief from the pain and irritation of an ulcer.

8. Raw onions are good for ulcers as they contain sulphur. Eat them in salads.

9. A cold tea bag placed on an ulcer will give relief and the tannin will dry out the sore.

10. Over the counter antacids (Rennie, Remegel etc.) can help lower the acidity levels in the mouth and prevent the onset of mouth ulcers.

11. Don’t use a hard bristled toothbrush.

12. Change your toothbrush on a monthly basis.

13. Use toothpaste that has sodium bicarbonate rather than a fluoride heavy paste.

14. Warm vinegar and half a tablespoon of salt rinsed around the mouth three times a day for thirty seconds is great for healing ulcers but a little painful.

15. Chew Tulis (also known as holy basil leaves) five or six times a day and then sip water.

16. Rinse around your mouth with milk of magnesia to coat mouth ulcers and provide soothing relief.

17. Make sure your diet contains plenty of soured milk products such as yoghurt, cottage cheese and buttermilk (unless you have a dairy intolerance).

18. Indian gooseberry root bark powder (1tsp) coupled with honey (1tsp) makes a paste that can be applied directly onto the ulcer to provide relief and healing.

19. Cut out animal protein for a couple of weeks (fish, meat) as this increases acidity in the body and slows down the healing process.

20. Beer! Great excuse to have a drink but swish it around your mouth and you’ll get relief from your ulcers.

copied from "www.gotosee.co.uk/healtharticles"

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Do Eye Exercises Improve Vision?

Though it may sound like a strange notion to be doing a work-out for your eyes, eye exercises actually can improve your vision. You may not be able to throw away your glasses or contacts but some exercises can definitely tone your eye muscles which can help your eyes focus more easily and also alleviate eye strain, which is great if you spend a lot of time staring at a computer screen. Before you start your exercises here are a few tips to get you warmed up:

* Remove your glasses or contact lenses.
* Bathe your eyes or add a few drops of lubricating solution so that your eyes are not dry and scratchy.
* Relax and breath deeply, focusing on your eyes.
* Exercises your eyes regularly, preferably at least 2-3 times each day.

A Work-Out For Eyes
These exercises help to strengthen the muscles which will give you clearer vision and prevent eye strain. You should start to notice a difference after only a few days of exercising.

* Rolling Round The Clock
Look straight ahead of you. Imagine that you are looking at the face of a giant clock. Keeping your head still, move your eyes slowly to each number on the clock face in a clockwise direction. Now repeat this movement in an anti-clockwise direction. Next, look up at the number twelve, stretching your eye muscles as much as you can, now down at the six. Then stretch to the three, and across to the nine.

* Squeeze-Stretch
Squeeze your eyes into as tight a ball as you possibly can and hold then there for three seconds. Now open then and stretch them as wide as you can for three seconds. Repeat this exercise five times.

* Focus Shifting
Hold up a finger or a pencil in front of you, about 6 inches away. Choose another object, e.g. a chimney or tree etc. at least 20 feet (6 metres) away. You can then use these as your near and far points respectively. Then you should alternate between the objects both near and far, you should look at each for around two seconds at a time. Repeat this exercise for 2-3 minutes.

* Cupping
Rub your palms together until they are warm. Place your cupped palms over each open eye and hold them there for 20-30- seconds. Allow your eyes to relax in the darkness. Take long deep breaths then remove your hands and blink slowly.
* Temple Contemplation Place your fingers gently on your temples and rub them with a light rotating movement.
Close eyes and focus on the feeling of your upper eyelids touching your lower eyelids. Open for 3 seconds. Repeat 10 times. Now keep your fingers still and blink lightly and quickly as fast as you can 10 times. If you feel any movement under your fingertips then you are blinking too hard. This is a sign of stress.

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Hair Tips for Different Types

How the hair appears and feels is an outer indication of our inner health - and can be as unpredictable as the weather. Gorgeous, glossy hair is anyone's crowning glory, but it can be hard to maintain our manes in optimum condition. Use the wrong products and it shows. The first and most important step is to identify your hair's present type so that your washing and grooming routine is compatible and makes the most of your hair. To define your hair type, examine how hair appears both the day before you wash it as well as the day after.
Pay special attention to the scalp - it may be in a different condition. To see the scalp, stand with your back against a mirror and angle a hand mirror to the side top of your head to check.

Normal Hair Type
Regardless of natural texture, normal hair tends not to deviate between oily or dry, but is manageable and lies soft and smooth with a good gloss.

How to Maintain:
It's obviously in nourished condition so keep with the TLC, balanced diet and exercise. If and when it does 'play up' into another type, pinpoint possible triggers and treat accordingly. As it is, don't over-wash or over-condition - let its beauty be.

Dry Hair Type
Dull and lacklustre looks, brittle to the touch and at risk of splitting are all dry hair characteristics. At worst, it comes in tandem with a dry, flaky scalp caused by lack of lubricating sebum from the sebaceous glands. Seasonal change, sun damage to central heating or over-processing with chemical treatments can all 'bake' hair this way. On the plus side, dry hair often means naturally full hair that volumises very well, able to hold styles with ease.

Dry Hair Tips:
Gentleness is key across washing to styling. Avoid irritating scalp with strong or perfumed products or a mish-mash mix and match range of treatments and salon processes. Wash regularly with a mild and/or moisturising baby or organic shampoo, paying extra attention to conditioning.

Intensive, deep-heat, leave-on conditioning packs are an ideal weekly healing treat. Avoid heated appliances, back-combing and further breakage by constricting hair into scraped back, tight styles. Stimulate the scalp with fingertip massage all over the hairline to increase blood circulation and elasticity - when wet or dry. Take cod liver oil or increase your intake of oily fish and Vitamin B complex from brewer's yeast to nuts and eggs. Keep close watch on your scalp and if it turns to itching or inflammation, get it specialist checked.

Oily Hair Type
Lank, limp, always appearing in need of a wash, thanks to the sebaceous glands in overdrive. If dandruff's also about, this build-up's evidence that excess oil is slowing the process of dead cell shedding. Positively with this type, hair really does shine when fresh and doesn't need much, if any, conditioning. It's also the best hair type to counteract the drying effects of chemical processes like bleaching and colouring.

Oily Hair Tips:
Ignore old advice about over-shampooing over-stimulating the sebaceous glands. Scalp cleanliness is essential for oil control, therefore wash daily or on alternate days. Stay away from strong 'stripping' shampoos and most chemical-laden, commercial anti-dandruff shampoos. Look instead for mild, natural based cleansing products that balance hair. A final cold rinse blast with a few drops of lemon or cider vinegar can help the scalp as well as hair's acid mantle. Eliminate strong stimulants and junk food from the diet.

Combination Hair Type
A mix of oily scalp and dry hair together create the most problematic hair type. Here, the scalp can feign dryness to the point of flaking with dandruff. What's actually happening is that the hair shaft's drying out due to oil running into the dandruff scales and not along the rest of the hair shaft. Dual action's needed to combat this two in one condition. Attend to the dandruff separately, followed by a gently moisturising shampoo for dry hair with rich conditioner on hair ends only.

Combination Hair Tips:
Various reasons could be behind hair behaving in this way. It could be as a result of hormonal imbalance or nutritional deficiency. If the condition persists, consider seeking medical and/or trichological advice. In addition, gentle Eastern forms of exercise from t'ai chi to yoga can be used to calm the body back into balance.

Any Hair Type Tips
As hair's the outward manifestation of physical change in the body, the following can all contribute to hair that makes you want to hibernate, so take extra care with hair during life's 'hairy' times. These include menstruation, low oestrogen level post pregnancy, bouts of anaemia or general illness, important/stressful live events from exams to emotional grief.

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