Health and Fitness Oasis

 Whether you are fortunate enough to have health insurance or not, you are probably concerned with your health and that of your family. Health care is a major news story these days. Turn on the television and someone is talking about it. For those looking for alternatives to traditional medicine, you may want to look into the benefits of evening primrose oil.

Evening primrose has been used for hundreds, if not thousands, of years among Native American tribes. Medical science has been studying this herb and found that it has healing properties which may be beneficial for a number of illnesses and conditions.

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In the opinion of respected doctor and Finlands ex-Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rauni-Leena Luukanen Kilde, when asked in an interview about the current perceived dangers of the h1n1 virus, her response was an emphatic “…rubbish… it’s not the swine flu that’s dangerous, it’s the injections”. The Finland government no longer considers h1n1 (a.k.a. swine flu) dangerous and has removed it from its list of serious, dangerous communicative diseases. Read the rest of this entry »

Educating yourself about your candida infection is the first and most important step in curing this painful, annoying and relatively dangerous chronic condition and taking responsibility over your health and well-being.

Although yeast infection (known by the names of Candida, Monilia or Thrush) is in fact a very common condition, (as three out of four women develop it at some point in their lifetimes), it is little discussed. Most people regard candida infection as a ‘on the surface’ problem that should be treated with creams and antibiotics whereas few are aware of its potentially risky complications.

Yeast Infection is first and foremost an internal problem. Like most chronic conditions, there is never one cause for this fungal problem and thus yeast infection cannot be permanently eliminated using medications or creams that work superficially and fail to tackle the root factors that trigger the formation of candida infection in the first place. Read the rest of this entry »

Nobody wants to get the flu and have to endure the pain and discomfort of its symptoms. So, out of fear, every time the ‘flu season’ comes around, many people do not need to be persuaded to get a seasonal flu shot. Of course, there is no guarantee that getting a flu shot will prevent the symptoms, but you always hope for the best and feel safer after getting the vaccine.

But then, every so often, after a few years or maybe a decade or two, a real baddie of a flu strain shows up, nobody really knows exactly whence it comes, that sends health agencies — especially the WHO, world health organization that is, (although maybe Dr. Who of the British series might have better solutions) — scrambling and taking control, much like much like Defcon 1, 2 etc of the cold war era. Fear and panic begins to spread about an imminent ‘attack’ of h1n1 (a.k.a swine flu), bird flu or some other feared strain. Medical clinics are on the alert and wait for Big Pharma to come up with a new vaccine that will save us all. Only Big Pharma are happy about this, since they stand to make very big bucks from the production and sale of the vaccines.

Now despite the fact that I tend to be squeamish about getting any kind of needle, I still prefer to take alternative preventive measures as a defense against the flu, rather than take the risk of getting a vaccine with possible side effects that I would rather not even think about, so dangerous are they!

Some of these preventive measures are just common sense, but others are not so common, so I will include a couple of them here. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever had a paper cut or scraped your arm on something and torn the skin? Cuts can be serious matters, creating an opening in your body where one shouldn’t be. Bacteria can get into the wound area which will make you ill.

When you get a cut, what do you do? Most people head to their medicine cabinet or the store for something to heal the cut. Before going there, consider a more natural remedy that could be around your house or as close as the neighborhood health store.

Herbal remedies have been used for thousands of years to treat everything from cuts to digestive ailments. Before there were proper manufactured medicines like we have today, there was the earth and the bounty it provided. Read the rest of this entry »

If you suffer from chronic tension and contracted areas of the body,  such as neck, low back and shoulders,  deep tissue massage could be especially helpful for you. Massage has been giving individuals medical and health benefits for years.  At this time, over 30 different types of massage have been identified, having been used for the last 3000 years.  Deep tissue massage is one of those therapies that focuses on realigning deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue. 

Deep tissue massage uses some of the same motions and techniques as Swedish massage but the pressure will generally be more intense.  Deep tissue massage is a more focused type of  therapy as the therapist works to release chronic muscle tension or knots, also known as adhesions.

Deep tissue massage should be done by a therapist who has been specially trained in the technique.  Although it does not hurt,  it is likely to be more uncomfortable than a classic  Swedish massage.  Using these deeper techniques for massage can help to break up and eliminate scar tissue and is usually focused on more specific areas of the body than an overall body massage.  Although there may be some soreness during or after the massage the participant should feel better than ever within a day or two. Read the rest of this entry »

Macrobiotic is a Greek word in origin and means “long life”. More people today who are concerned about their health follow a macrobiotic diet, it’s a diet that integrates physical, spiritual and planetary health. A Macrobiotic diet is low in fat, mostly vegetarian, is fiber rich and incorporates whole grains/brown rice with lots of vegetables and soy products. Soy products are high in pytoestrogens, which may reduce the risk of estrogen related cancers.

The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health covers topics such as:

* The Macrobiotic way of eating
* The energy of food
* Diet and development of disease
* The natural approach to healing Read the rest of this entry »

Trager Approach is a type of movement of the body that has been proven to remove neuromuscular pain from the body.  This method was created by Milton Trager, MD, over the course of his 65 year career. You can gain the benefits of his knowledge by finding a Trager practitioner in your area.

The Trager Approach was developed by a young man who had his own physical obstacles to overcome. Milton Trager overcame spinal deformities as a child to become a gymnast and dancer. One of his first success stories was his boxing trainer. The Trager Approach has two phases: the passive phase called table work and the active face trademarked as Mentastics™. Both phases combine to create easier movement within your body.

Who can benefit from the Trager Approach? Milton worked on anyone who would let him demonstrate his techniques on them. He even worked on his father who suffered from sciatica and a childhood friend who suffered from paralysis due to polio. All sorts of neuromuscular conditions that have been the result of accidents, physical or emotional trauma or stress are within the realms of the technique according to the founder. Read the rest of this entry »

 The prefix “arth” refers to joints and ‘itis’ refers to inflammation.  The term “arthritis” is a generic term meaning painful joints.  Are there different types of this condition? – true and false. 

Although different types are common in adults who reach that ‘certain age’ it also affects children still in diapers and young people in the prime of their lives.  Over 100 different types  range from the relatively mild cases of tendonitis or bursitis to crippling systemic forms such as rheumatoid or Lupus.

Types of arthritis can include disease processes that you wouldn’t normally associate with arthritis such as Lupus and gout.  In Lupus the immune system attacks healthy tissue and causes inflammation, including joints. 

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It’s a fact that we will all get older, though aging doesn’t have to be the specter looming on the horizon that many fear. You can keep your body healthy through exercise. Combined with diet, excercise is one way to age gracefully. As we age, we lose muscle strength. It is a condition known as sarcopenia. Loss of muscle mass as well as strength can be a fatal combination in the aging population. Strength contributes to one’s balance and flexibility. Without it, a fall can result in a broken hip or arm instead of a possible sprain from catching yourself.

There are no quick fixes to getting into shape. But, you can begin an exercise program at any age and reap the rewards. For seniors, implementing an exercise program may help to reverse the effects of time on your joints, muscles and bones. For women especially, osteoporosis is a threat as you age. So, what types of exercises can you perform? Don’t worry – you won’t be doing any PT training any time soon. You can strive for that but not right away. When choosing your exercise, use these tips.

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