Is there a cure for the common cold? (Tips on preventing the sniffles this winter)
It isn’t likely that you’ll be able to prevent yourself from catching a cold entirely, but there are plenty of ways to decrease your chances of getting sick, as well as ways to minimize the severity of your cold if you do happen to fall ill this winter.
Three Easy Ways to Prevent Common Colds:
1. Keep it Clean – Cold and Flu germs are spread through contact. Therefore, you want to ensure that the surfaces with which you interact with other people (i.e., telephone, door handle, counter top, your hands, etc.) are clean and not harboring germs. You also don’t want to pick anything up from another person who has come into contact with the same surface. Pick up some antibacterial cleaners and soaps for your home to nip colds in the bud.
2. Keep Your Airways Hydrated – It is easy to suffer from dry, scratchy throats and sinuses during winter. Central heating dries out the air, which in turn dries out your mucous membranes. Some simple fixes for this are buying a humidifier or using a saline sinus spray. A humidifier will help to rebalance the humidity levels in your home. Ideally, these levels should be around 45% humidity. Dehydrated sinuses can often manifest symptoms similar to a cold, and they can also exacerbate infection.
3. Be Conscious of Your Body – Eating healthy, exercising and sleeping will all boost your immune system. Providing your body with what it needs in terms of energy sources will make it easier to produce the antibodies that attack and heal infections.
Three Easy Ways to Ensure a Speedy Recovery:
1. Keep it Clean (Again) – The last thing you want is to stop cleaning up while you’re sick. You’ll just re-infect yourself and anyone else that comes into your environment. Properly dispose of used tissues, wash your sheets, and wash your hands at the bare minimum.
2. Liquids and Vitamins – When you are fighting off a cold, your body is working much harder than when you are healthy. This means it needs extra nutrition and fluids. Taking immune system boosting vitamins assists those functions and processes, making it a little easier on your body. Some of the most important vitamins to take are Zinc, Vitamin C, Echinacea, and B vitamins. There has also been a lot of research done on the healing properties of Colloidal Silver.
3. Take it Easy, but Not Too Easy – While it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough rest, you don’t want to stay in bed all day for a week. Rest if you need to, but try to maintain your normal schedule, including gentle exercise. Exercising detoxifies your body, and will also help you sweat out the infection.
Common colds shouldn’t last for more than a week. If you are suffering from fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, recurring infections, or other severe symptoms, make a visit to your physician. For more information on how to obtain an affordable health insurance plan, visit TheHealthQuote.com for a free personal health insurance quote. Having a comprehensive health insurance plan is important and not something to be overlooked. With all the affordable health insurance plans available, there is no reason you can’t have at least basic health coverage.
Its winter and its cold outside, how can I keep up my summer exercise routine?
Depending on where you live, braving the elements of winter in the pursuit of exercise can seem daunting. It doesn’t seem as easy to go for a jog around the block or toss a Frisbee in the park like you would in summer. Maintaining your summer exercise routine is still entirely possible, however, it just requires a bit more planning and creativity.
Here is a list of Dos and Don’ts for exercising in winter:
Do:
• Dress warmly and in layers. The most important thing you can do when exercising outdoors in winter is to make sure you’re dressed appropriately for the season.
• Wear shoes with traction grip to avoid slipping on wet or icy surfaces.
• Confirm with your family physician first that exercising in colder temperatures won’t aggravate any pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma. (If you don’t have health insurance, or don’t know how to find affordable health insurance, websites such as TheHealthQuote.com can help you find a personal health insurance plan within your budget.)
• Consider exercising indoors at a public gym, shopping mall, or your home.
Don’t:
• Exercise outdoors in extreme weather. If you live in an area that experiences extremely cold temperatures, don’t try to exercise outdoors.
• Think you have to be sweating. Wear layers and remove them as you get hotter. If you want to ensure that you’re keeping your heart rate up, wear a heart monitor.
• Give up! There are plenty of options for exercising in your home or at the local gym. Stay active and Spring will be here before you know it!
5 Everyday Essentials that Can Lead to a Healthy Heart
One of the biggest causes of death in the world today is heart failure. With so many people suffering from heart related illnesses, one might ask themselves “Is there anything I can do about this?” Thankfully, there are quite a few steps you can take on the road to achieving and maintaining a healthy heart.
Diet and exercise are two of the most important factors when it comes to having a healthy heart. Today, we will focus on the diet side.
There are 5 basic and essential needs for the human body: Proteins, Fats, Fruits & Vegetables, Dairy, and Grains. Every individual in one way or another needs these to survive in a healthy manner. Below I will break down some of the best ways to get these heart healthy essentials into your diet each and every day.
• Proteins – Whether you are a meat lover or a vegetarian, the human body cannot survive without protein. Protein is the basic building block of muscle tissue, and guess what; the heart is the most important muscle in the human body! Although red meat contains the highest abundance of usable protein, your body can also obtain it from fish, chicken, eggs, and beans. All of these foods are high in protein and are not hard to come by, by any means. Combining an abundant source of protein with regular exercise is the first step towards building a healthy heart.
• Fats – Now I know what you are thinking, isn’t fat bad? Well it depends. There are 3 kinds of fats, Trans fats, which we all know are bad and have hopefully said goodbye to long ago; Saturated fats clog up arteries and eventually lead to stroke or cardiac arrest; Monounsaturated fats, however, move freely through the blood stream and are easily broken down by the body making their energy instantly available. Although diets high in fat should be avoided whenever possible, ensuring that your body has enough monounsaturated fat to produce and store energy will increase the efficiency of your heart. Many nuts are high in monounsaturated fat including walnuts, pistachios and peanuts. Substituting a light olive oil spray for heavy salad dressing is an excellent way to incorporate heart healthy fats into your diet.
• Fruits and Vegetables – Our bodies evolved with a certain dependence on fiber and plant materials in order for it to survive. While diets are still changing and the benefits of incorporating meat into our everyday diets have been realized, do not forget about vegetables. The main source of fiber in the average American diet comes from fruits and vegetables, but studies show that Americans in particular are still not getting enough. The American Heart Association recommends 15 grams of fiber for every 1000 calories your body consumes. The fiber in your diet assists with digestion, prevents cholesterol buildup from foods high in oils and polyunsaturated fats, and improves satiety (the feeling of being full or satisfied after a meal) by slowing the digestion process. Fruits and vegetables that are highest in fiber include oatmeal, peas, citrus, and strawberries. Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and carrots round out the list of vegetables with the highest fiber content.
• Dairy – When consuming dairy products, one must be careful. While the nutrients contained in these products are essential to the body (i.e. calcium, potassium, and magnesium) they can also be very high in the polyunsaturated fats, remember those from earlier? The items found in dairy however, besides the fats, have been known to reduce blood pressure, specifically potassium. The role of potassium in our body is to maintain a healthy fluid balance. This ultimately leads to balanced and healthy blood pressure. Healthy blood pressure is essential to the health of your heart by making its job much easier. Recommended dairy products include low fat milk, low fat cheese, and yogurt. It is important, however, to be aware of your intake of dairy products. While consuming the recommended amount of dairy products will serve to decrease your blood pressure, eating too much can begin to have the opposite effect as it will increase your cholesterol levels and begin to clog your arteries.
• Grains – Grains are perhaps the most important step in maintaining a healthy heart. Grains are so versatile; they perform many of the tasks of the above food groups; lowering cholesterol, decreasing blood pressure, and enriching the muscle tissue of the heart. Much of the value of grains comes from vitamin E, a proven protector of muscle tissue. It is important that as your heart becomes strong, that you maintain it with a healthy diet of grains. Grains are also a good source of fiber, often consisting of varieties that cannot be easily obtained from fruits or vegetables. Foods high in grains include bread, bran and brown rice. Substituting “whole wheat” items into your diet can reduce your risk of heart attack by up to 30%.
Each and every food item listed above can be easily obtained at any grocery store. Remember the three main steps. Strengthen your heart with proteins, assist your heart with dairy, fiber, and dietary fats, and lastly, protect your heart with grains and minerals.
How Strong Are Your Children?
Have you ever thought about bringing your children along to the gym with you? But not just for the kiddy-care while you work out. How about bringing them along for strength training. It might be something for you!
The young athlete in your family is disciplined and devoted, squeezing in practice whenever he or she can. Now your child wants to start strength training. You’ve heard coaches and other parents talk about strength training, but you wonder — is strength training really good for a child?
The answer is yes. Strength training exercises that are supervised, safe and age-appropriate offer many bonuses to young athletes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association all support strength training for kids — if it’s done properly. Today’s children are increasingly overweight and out of shape. Strength training can help put them on the lifetime path to better health and fitness.
Strength training, not weightliftingStrength training for kids — not to be confused with weightlifting, bodybuilding or powerlifting — is a carefully designed program of exercises to increase muscle strength and endurance. Weightlifting, bodybuilding and powerlifting are largely driven by competition, with participants vying to lift heavier weights or build bigger muscles than other athletes. This can put too much strain on young muscles, tendons and growth plates, especially when proper technique is sacrificed in favor of lifting larger amounts of weight.
Strength training for kids, however, isn’t about lifting the heaviest weight possible. Instead, the focus is on lighter weights and controlled movements, with a special emphasis on proper technique and safety.
Your child can build muscle strength using:
- Free weights
- Weight machines
- Resistance bands
- His or her own body weight
Benefits for young athletesStrength training for kids has gotten a bad reputation over the years. Lifting weights, for example, was once thought to damage young growth plates — areas of cartilage that have not yet turned to bone. Experts now realize that with good technique and the right amount of resistance, young athletes can avoid growth plate injuries. Strengthening exercises, with proper training and supervision, provide many benefits to a young athlete.
Supervised strength training that emphasizes proper technique:
- Increases your child’s muscle strength and endurance
- Protects your child’s muscles and joints from injury
- Helps improve performance in a particular sport
Your child may gain other health benefits from strength training, too. These include:
- Better heart and lung function
- A healthy body composition
- Stronger bones
- Lower blood cholesterol levels
- A good fitness habit that lasts a lifetime
Some studies suggest that improved self-esteem and a decreased chance of depression also are upshots of strength training. Your child may get a feel-good boost after improving his or her performance.
Who benefits most?Strength training benefits older preteens more than younger kids. At the age of 5 to 6, kids should be focusing on body awareness and body control, balance, running, jumping and throwing.
Strength training also helps those kids who have a focused interest in a particular sport. For example, a figure skater or dancer who has a goal of jumping higher can improve with strength training. Football players, soccer players — just about all young athletes — can enhance their performance with a strength training program.
Because technique and proper form are so important, don’t let your child begin strength training until he or she is mature enough to accept directions. A good rule of thumb is if your child is old enough to participate in organized sports, such as hockey, soccer or gymnastics, he or she is ready for some form of strength training.
Guidelines for youth strength trainingThe right strength training program for your child isn’t just a scaled-down version of what an adult would do. Many adult programs focus on fewer repetitions and heavier weights. A youth strength training program needs to focus on:
- Correct technique
- Smooth, controlled motions
- Less resistance and many repetitions
Your child’s coach can tailor a strength training program for your child according to your child’s age, size, skills and sports interests. The general principles of youth strength training are:
- Provide instruction. Show your child how to perform strength training exercises using controlled breathing and proper form. You might ask a trained professional to demonstrate. If you enroll your child in a class, make sure there’s at least one instructor for every 10 students to ensure that your child receives proper instruction.
- Supervise. Adult supervision is important to reinforce safety and good technique. For instance, if your child lifts weights to strength train, a spotter — someone who stands ready to grab the weights — can step in if the weight becomes too heavy. As a parent, you can get involved in strength training, too. You can supervise your child and serve as a positive reinforcement for healthy lifestyle habits.
- Warm up; cool down. Have your child begin each workout with 5 to 10 minutes of a warm-up activity, such as walking, jogging in place or jumping rope. This makes muscles warm and ready for action, all the while minimizing the risk of injury. End each workout with a cool down, including some light stretching.
- Think light weights, controlled repetitions. One set of 12 to 20 repetitions at a lighter weight is all it takes. Kids don’t need weights specially sized for them. They can safely lift adult-size weights as long as the weight isn’t too heavy. The resistance doesn’t have to come from weights, either. Resistance tubing can be just as effective — especially for younger kids.
- Rest between workouts. Establish a rest period of at least a day between strength training workouts. Two or three sessions per week are plenty.
- Track progress. Teach your child how to fill out a chart of which exercises, how many repetitions, and what weights or resistance he or she uses during a workout. It will be helpful in monitoring progress.
- Add weight gradually. Only when your child masters proper form should you add weight. If your child can’t do 10 repetitions at a certain weight, it’s too heavy.
- Keep it fun. Vary the routine often. Kids are more likely to stick with strength training if they don’t get bored by it.
Results won’t come overnight. But over time, you and your child will notice a difference in your child’s muscle strength and endurance.
A healthy habit for a lifetimeIf your child shows an interest in strength training, know that it can be a safe and effective activity. Along with aerobic exercise, stretching, and balance and stability, strength training is one part of a well-rounded fitness program.
Encourage physical activity in your child — it’s a key step to becoming a healthy adult.
Thanks to CNN.com for their tips!
