Health and Fitness Tips

Health and Fitness Tips : fitness, health fitness, health,weight loss, diet nutrition

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Get Enough Sleep

Your parents told you this when you were young and it surely pays to listen to them. We’re talking about getting enough sleep – that means from six to eight hours every day. This is in order for our body and brain to recharge and function well the following day.

Insomnia Cure Requires Knowing Underlying Cause

There is nothing like a good night’s sleep to cure your insomnia, but unfortunately many people will stay awake worried about the amount of sleep they are losing. Stress, anxiety and an overactive mind are a few of the causes of losing sleep and an insomnia cure may require a sleep aid to clear your mind and allow you to fall into slumber.

While most people may suffer from insomnia occasionally, those that cannot sleep on a regular basis may be suffering from chronic insomnia and may need medical intervention to get their system back in order. There may also be underlying reasons that a person cannot sleep and finding an insomnia cure will require taking care of those problems in order for them to be able to sleep.


Sometimes, an insomnia cure is simple such as stop drinking caffeine or alcohol at least an hour before going to bed, or not taking a long nap in the afternoon. A person’s sleep cycle can also be disrupted when they travel through different time zones and while the body may know it is time to go to sleep, the mind still sees the sun shining as well as the clock on the wall and insists it is the middle of the day.

Insomnia Cure May Require Talking Turkey

Many people find a nap following Thanksgiving dinner difficult to do without. Mainly due to the ingestion of turkey, which contains a high level of tryptophan, which is a natural sedative and can be an insomnia cure. It has been found that tryptophan is also present in warm milk, and explains mom’s use of warm milk as a sleep aid for her children. Adding honey to the milk can speed the tryptophan into the system quicker, as well as making the milk sweeter.

Some believe that alcohol has sleep-inducing properties and works as an insomnia cure, however it has been shown that while sleep my be possible, it is usually a restless sleep and not long-lasting. Waking up in the middle of the night is not uncommon with alcohol-induced sleep and hangovers are a distinct possibility, causing sleepiness throughout most of the next day.

While there are sleep aids on the market to help people fall asleep fast and reportedly stay asleep longer, they are not really used as an insomnia cure. Rather they are providing temporary relief to cover up a sleeping problem, which will need to be addressed before the insomnia is cured.



Ann Marier a prolific writer has written many informative articles about different health resources. Her latest articles look at insomnia and the best insomnia treatment ideas.

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All About Vitamin A

Vitamin A was first discovered back in 1912, by a Polish biochemist named Casimir Funk. He came up with the word vitamine, which was later given the name vitamin. Funk was the first to discover vitamins as we know them today, although vitamin A was actually the first one discovered, hence the letter “A” in the title of the vitamin.

You can find vitamin A in natural foods such as oranges and yellow fruits. It can also be found in vegetables as well, such as spinach and fats. When found in vegetables, vitamin A is water soluble, coming in the form of beta carotene. The beta carotene form of vitamin A can be eliminated from your body through natural processes, making it an excellent way to get vitamin A.

Vitamin A is required by the body on an every day basis to maintain healthy skin and keep your eyesight on track. There are many people who say that carrots provide enough vitamin A to prevent you from getting night blindness. The fact is, ancient Egyptian doctors prescribed liver in their time, which they said contained enough vitamin A to combat night blindness. Vitamin A is also known as an antioxidant, which makes it ideal to prevent cancer and anti aging. Along with these benefits, it also helps with your immune system as well.

To get the proper absorption of vitamin A, you’ll need to consume fat. Those of you who happen to be on a low fat or restricted diet, simply may not be getting the right amounts of vitamin A from your supplements that you may think. To get the proper absorption of vitamin A in your diet, you’ll need to consume a high enough level of protein. Protein combines with vitamin A to make it stronger, and help it move through your body.

On a normal day, you should be consuming around 5,000 international units (IU) of vitamin A. Depending on your health and your age, you may need to consume more or less. The safest form of vitamin A is beta carotene as mentioned above, and it can be taken in much larger doses. No matter what age you may be, you can feel safe to consume high amounts of vitamin A in the form of beta carotene.

If you don’t consume enough vitamin A in your diet, you’ll end up with a deficiency. A deficiency is never a good thing, as it normally results in skin problems, increased infections, and even night blindness as well. A prolonged deficiency in vitamin A can put you at a risk for cancer as well, and you’ll also miss out on any effects of anti aging that the vitamin might have. Although you should begin taking it immediately if you have a deficiency, the effects wouldn’t be the same as they would be if you stayed up to date with the right amount on a daily basis.

On the other hand, if you are getting too much vitamin A, you’ll put yourself at risk for pain in your joints, abdomen, and your bones. Even though too much or not enough can cause you serious side effects, you should always get the right amount in your diet. Vitamin A is very important, and should always be included in your diet. You can find it in many foods, or take supplements that include the well needed vitamin. If you are going to take supplements, you should make sure that they provide the right amounts - with no side effects.





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The Aging Process: Cause and Prevention

The inevitable ravages inherent with the aging process are normally attributed to the work of old Father Time: daddy to the new year baby and better half to Mother Nature. However, the actual cause of those tracks left across our faces by time marching on has a more scientific basis: namely free radicals. These unstable oxygen molecules in the body are created not only by such unhealthy activities as smoking, prolonged sun exposure, and poor nutrition, but even by breathing and digestion.They are basically the by-products of daily life, created much the same way that carbon monoxide is created in the air by gasoline combustion, and therefore completely ridding the body of them is impossible.

Free radical molecules are reactive, basically meaning that as they bounce around the body they will attract, and bond to, other molecules. Once the bond is made the free radical sets about its nefarious work, which is the breaking down of the cell membrane, or the outer covering. As we age, our cells lose their ability to repair this repeated damage, and therefore our skin tone starts to diminish, we develop jowls and bags, and our skin becomes deeply lined: this is all do to the cellular damage done by the free radical, and is the ultimate cause of aging, as well as age-related diseases.

If the destructive little free radical molecules were allowed to run around unchecked, our bodies would soon be overrun with them. However, the body has its own defense against this consistent invasion: namely antioxidants. Antioxidants work with other bodily chemicals to prevent and repair the damage that free radicals do the skin. The problem, however, is that although the body has the ability to produce antioxidants, the constant production of free radicals tends to overwhelm the body's store of antioxidants.

The way to help your body even-out the balance between free radicals and antioxidants, and consequently to aid in fighting the aging process, is by improving your dietary habits by eating more antioxidant-rich foods, and by using oral and topical antioxidant supplements. Many powerful antioxidants can be found in healthy foods like fish, cantaloupe, and broccoli. As an added benefit, a diet rich in antioxidants will improve your general health, as well as the health of your teeth and gums. Since antioxidants can be found in most multivitamins, flying under names like vitamin E, vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, beta-carotene, alpha lipoic acid, and others, it is good to get into the habit of taking a good multivitamin every day. If your stomach tends to disagree with vitamins, try breaking the caplet in half and take one-half in the morning and the second half later in the day. This will also help your body to use up all of the vitamin's benefits, rather than getting rid of most of it through the urinary tract. As a topical supplement, choose a lotion appropriate for your skin type containing vitamin C ester. This fat-soluble topical antioxidant will help stimulate the growth of collagen and elastin in the skin, which will lead to smoother, younger looking skin.

What was once believed to be the inevitable ravages of old Father Time are actually the very preventable and reversible effects of the consistently nefarious free radical, without doubt the major destructor of young-looking skin. Resulting as a by-product of daily life and attaching themselves to healthy cells, they cause them to break down, giving the skin the wrinkled and pallid appearance characteristic of advanced age. However, with a healthy skin care regimen consisting of an antioxidant-rich diet supplemented by vitamins and topical ointments, you can fend off the dreaded free radical and help keep your face looking a little less like Father Time and a little more like the Baby New Year.

Copyright © 2007 Davi Dietz - All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, give author name credit and follow all of the ArticleClick terms of service for Publishers.



Davi Dietz is a freelance journalist, ad copy writer, and research writer. Read more work by Davi Dietz on Skin Care at http://www.face-facts.net

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