Allergies

What is anallergy? It is a major defence mountedby the body's immune systemagainst normally harmless substances, or allergens, such as chemicals in pollen, food,bee stings, animal dander, or dust. An allergic reaction is the body's strongreaction to these substances in a person who is sensitive to them. An allergy is everything from a runnynose, itchy eyes and palate to skin rash. It aggravates the sense of smell,sight, tastes and touch causing irritation, extreme disability and sometimesfatality. It occurs when the body's immune system overreacts to normallyharmless substances.

Almost anythingcan be an allergen for someone. Allergens contain protein, which is oftenregarded as a constituent of the food we eat. In fact, it is an organiccompound, containing hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, which form an importantpart of living organisms.

The most commonallergens are: pollen from trees and grasses, house dust mite, moulds, petssuch as cats and dogs, insects like wasps and bees, industrial and householdchemicals, medicines, and foods such as milk and eggs. Less common allergensinclude nuts, fruit and latex.

There are somenon-protein allergens, which include drugs such as penicillin. For these tocause an allergic response they need to be bound to a protein once they are inthe body.

An allergicperson's immune system believes allergens to be damaging and so produces aspecial type of antibody (IgE) to attack the invading material. This leadsother blood cells to release further chemicals (including histamine) whichtogether cause the symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Appreciate whenasthma, eczema, headaches, lethargy, loss of concentration and sensitivity toeveryday foods such as cheese, fish and fruit are taken into account the fullscale of allergy.

Who are prone tobe a sufferer of allergy reactions? The answer is three-fold. First, your genetic background plays a major role - we know that afamily history of allergies or "Atopy" is highly significant, smallerfamilies with fewer children favour the development of allergy. Males are morelikely to develop allergies than females, and prenatal maternal diet and smokingseem to play a role. Obesity also seems to be a risk factor for developingallergies.

In the second place,the home environment in the first year of life is pivotal. Parental cigarettesmoking triggers allergy, Infant diet, and early introduction of allergenicfoods play a role. Air Pollution has been implicated; early use of day-careinstitutions, early use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and birth just before thespring pollen season all seem to promote allergic sensitisation. Recent studiessuggest that heavy exposure to dog and cat allergens in the home may actuallyprevent allergies developing in infants (they suggest having two or more petsin the home!)

Finally, modest exposure tothe common aeroallergens and allergenic foods in conjunction with these other factors leads to sensitisation in earlylife and clinical allergy then develops. Modest early exposure seems tobe the key to triggering sensitisation, as evidence now exists for very highallergen exposure during early life having a "protective" effect (forexample to cats and dogs). However, minimal exposure during the first year oflife is still the recommended "rule of thumb" for allergy prevention.

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How alcohol affects women

Whether we like it or not, the simple factis that alcohol affects men and women differently.

According to US research, alcoholism amongwomen is on the rise across the globe. The reasons are hotly debated but it isthought that greater entry into the job market, and the stresses that itbrings, greater financial independence, and greater pressure on the home frontare all contributing factors. As well as anxiety, depression and loneliness insingle and divorced women.

How does it affect our bodies?

Women are, on average, smaller than men are;so equivalent doses of alcohol lead to greater concentration in their bodies.

Women carry more fatty tissue than men.Body fat contains little water, so women have less water with which to dilutethe alcohol.

Women have lesser amounts of the enzymethat metabolises alcohol, so more of the alcohol that women consume enters thebloodstream as pure alcohol.

When women’s oestrogen levels are high,such as when they are premenstrual, the intoxicating effects of alcohol willset in faster.

Chronic consumption of alcohol alsoincreases the risk of breast cancer.

Moderation is the key. The secret lies inmoderation rather than total abstinence (unless advised otherwise by yourdoctor); if you are a social drinker and suddenly go cold turkey, you are morelikely to start a cycle of binge drinking. For the same reason, it is also bestnot to abstain for a whole week and then take the whole week's units in onesitting.

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The Healthiest Foods to Eat

Alist of the top 10 healthiest foods may seem like a come-on. Magic food? We allknow there are no real magic foods. The road to optimum health is not in a pillor one magic food. But there are foods that pack such a nutritional wallop andpossess such powerful health benefits, that they are referred to as "superfoods".


Thishealthy food list consists of foods that are nutrient dense. That is, they havemore nutrients per calorie than most other foods. They have also been proven tocontain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that prevent disease: fromcancer to heart disease to arthritis, and many more.


Thesesuper foods are perfect for heart healthy, low fat cooking and most fitperfectly into a low carb lifestyle as well.


The10 healthiest foods are foods that are so exceptionally good for us that weshould include them in our healthy diet on a regular basis. Our list of superfoods is arranged alphabetically, not in order of importance. Each is anamazing food; jam packed with health giving benefits.


The10 Healthiest Foods to Eat


1.Berries


Berriesare extremely rich in antioxidants which help protect the cells in our bodiesfrom damage and therefore from diseases like cancer. Among other things theyare also an excellent source of Vitamin C and soluble fibre. Blueberries mighthelp reverse the short term memory loss that often comes with aging.


2.Broccoli


Broccoli(and other cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower and cabbage) helps fightcancer, especially breast, colon and lung. It boosts the immune system.Broccoli also contains antioxidants and a substance called sulforaphane, whichresearch is showing to be a powerful cancer fighter and preventer.


3.Citrus Fruits


Thecitrus bioflavonoid in oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit have anti-cancerand antioxidant properties. Many of these citrus bioflavonoid have also beenshown to have anti-inflammatory and blood clot inhibiting abilities.


4.Garlic


Numerousstudies have shown that regular consumption of garlic can lower our bloodpressure. It also prevents the blood from being overly sticky and decreases LDLcholesterol (the "bad" one) while increasing the good HDLcholesterol.


5.Nuts


Walnutsare an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, a special type of fat that isessential for our bodies, but that the body cannot produce. Omega-3 essentialfatty acids protect us against heart disease.


Almondsare also known for their ability to help lower LDL cholesterol levels.


6.Oats


Oatsalso help reduce cholesterol. Research shows that one bowl of oatmeal per daycan reduce cholesterol by up to 23%. Oats are also considered an excellentgrain for diabetics as they have less impact on blood sugar levels than someother grains.


7.Salmon


TheOmega-3 fatty acids in salmon and other fatty fish may help prevent heartdisease and stroke by lowering the body's rate of blood clotting.


8.Spinach


Spinach'ssecret weapon, lutein, makes it one of the best foods in the world to preventcataracts, as well as age related macular degeneration, the leading cause ofpreventable blindness in the elderly.


9.Tomatoes


Tomatoescontain high levels of lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant and as suchhelps to protect the cells in our bodies from damage.


10.Turkey


Turkey is one of the leanestprotein foods and is low in calories, making it an excellent healthy foodchoice. Turkeyalso contains selenium which has been shown to inhibit cancer development,improve the immune system, and aid in the metabolism of our thyroid hormone.
Youcan see that the top 10 healthiest foods, or "super foods,” are also someof our favourites. 


By including these super foods in a healthy diet on aregular basis you can easily gain many health benefits.


Makinghealthy food choices just got easier.

By: Karen Ciancio

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Feel Good About Yourself and Your Body

Feeling good about your body is the mostimportant factor behind feeling good about yourself. If you feel good aboutyour body, you will look good and also feel good about your mind. You will evenfeel good about your personality. Assume you are dressed up for a party, andlooking yourself at the mirror you say – “not bad”. This means you look goodand you feel like praising yourself.

Feeling good about your body doesn’trequire you to be slim and thin. You need to be fit and healthy to feel goodabout yourself. We all are beautiful within but we are often careless about ourbody fitness – as a result, we become obese or overweight by followingunhealthy lifestyle and eating high calorie food.

Praise yourself

Praising yourself is most important toboost your self-esteem. Always think positive, be positive about what you do,and what you wear. Always get a positive body image. It will make you capableto accept the changing lifestyles.

Exercise and fitness

Regular exercise keeps you fit, change yourappearance and let you feel good about your body. Exercise also reduces yourstress, promotes strength, balance, flexibility and general posture and ageneral sense of well being. If you have scarcity of time, schedule yourfitness program beforehand and commit this with seriousness as you do yourbusiness meeting.

Don’t stop eating

Food is a glorious and beautiful part ofour life and eating food is one of the wonderful activities. But don’t doanything else while you are eating, since your foods deserve your fullattention. However, you should not overeat. It often happens that we overeatwhile watching TV and eating. So stop watching TV at the time of eating.However, you should follow a healthy and nutritious diet. Avoid junk foods.

Maintain right weight

It is unhealthy to be too thin or too fat.It is also wrong if you are eating less food to become thin or eating more thanyour body requirement. You should have a balanced diet - eat the amount of foodyour body needs. You should keep a balance between the food you eat and thecalories you use. If you eat more calories than you use, you cannot maintainyour weight, and will soon become overweight. For example, you are eating morebut spending your time in watching TV, reading storybooks. Then there is achance of increasing weight. But if you spend your time in playing, skating orif you go for a walk, you will use more calories and that will keep a balancebetween what you eat and what you use – and you can maintain your body weight.

Friendship – good for your health

Friendship makes your whole life better, asyou get support and companionship from good friends. They just not make youhappy but also make your life beautiful and healthy. Researches have found thatfriendship has importance like regular exercise. If you have good friends youwill experience less stress, will recover quickly from illness, and will evenlive longer than people who don’t have good friends.

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Magic Chamomile

There are many varieties of this well-known plant. Chamomileis valuable for skin problems, particularly where the skin is dry, itchy, orflaky. Famous for its mild bleaching properties that add golden highlights tofair hair, the herb and the essential oil are both used in beauty preparations.

BEAUTY RECIPES

To unclog the pores and treat blackheads, steam the facewith an infusion of chamomile flowers for 10 minutes. Follow with a facialscrub and then moisturize. To relax and revive puffy swollen or tired eyes, liedown for 15 minutes with cold chamomile tea tags placed on each closed eye.

To add shine to fair hair, make an infusion of chamomileflowers with 1 quart (1 litre) of water. Rinse hair thoroughly aftershampooing. For a relaxing bath, infuse 4 or 5 handfuls of dried chamomileflowers for 10 minutes. Strain; add to bath. 

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