Gaining weight is a gradual process that requires constant training and high intensity workouts. However, people do have certain myths regarding weight gaining program.

High repetitions burn fat while low repetitions build muscle: This statement is far from being true. In order to lose weight, one needs to decrease average calorie intake. However, for gaining muscle strength, one needs to have a progressive workload with a variable frequency of repetitions.

Vegetarians cannot build muscle: Research has shown that vegetarians can indeed gain muscle with regular training and daily supplementation of soy protein isolates.

Strength training will make you look masculine: This is the most common myth among women. However, building muscle is a steady process that needs proper strength-training regime ably supported by proper diet. Testosterone, which is the male sex hormone, is primarily responsible for muscle gaining in men. The secretion of this hormone is quite low in women, resulting in lesser muscular growth.

Many people believe that they can eat anything if they are doing a regular exercise. However, diet has a major role to play in defining a person’s general health and physique. It is always important to balance the ratio of calorie intake and calories burnt.

Occasional break from a rigorous training schedule is useful as it helps in refreshing the muscles and helps them to recover.

Eating more protein doesn’t necessarily help in gaining weight. Muscle building is primarily dependent on two factors which include a progressive workload and eating good calorie food. Diet derived from carbohydrates would be more useful.

One should always avoid taking steroids for building muscle as they are more harmful than being good.

Natural Health Care (Holistic Health Care) has many modalities that were developed and perfected from the beginning of human existence. Nutrition and herbs, that are used to boost your metabolism or enhance your natural ability to ward off diseases, are the mainstay to creating and maintaining good health.

Many other modalities such as: Hypnosis, Meditation, Reiki, Chi Kung, Qi Gong, Dowsing, I Ching, Yoga, Ti Chi date back thousands of years B.C.E, Acupuncture is rooted in the Taoist tradition, which is believed to be over 8000 years ago.

Such modalities as Reiki, Body Stress Release, and other energy transmuting techniques are valuable tools for practitioners to provide non-invasive and natural health care remedies. Reiki was discovered by Dr. Usui during a mystical experience on Mt. Kurama, a sacred mountain north of Kyoto, Japan in March 1922. Body Stress Release (BSR) was developed in South Africa, 1981, by Gail and Ewald Meggersee, American trained chiropractors.

The key purpose of Natural Health Care is to assist the body’s ability to heal itself by eliminating the roadblocks that are preventing the body from doing the job it was designed to do. Sometimes the remedy is so simple, most people are suspicious, because of their indoctrination and conditioning that it takes a huge blast of a powerful drug.

Many times the remedy is to simply learn how to tune into your intuitive self using the different tools like Intuition, Hypnosis, Meditation, Tarot Cards, Runes (believed to be used as early as 200 B.C.E), or other forms of divination techniques to allow your subconscious mind the ability to communicate with the affected body part and bring the cause of the symptom and remedy to the conscious level.

The connection between Mind, Body and Spirit has been established for thousands of centuries. Hippocrates, 400 B.C.E, believed that the root of all illness had a physical and rational explanation. Thus, his practice was based on observations and the study of the body. He rejected the views of the times that considered illness to be caused by superstitions and by possession of evil spirits and disfavor of the gods.

Your lifestyle, nutrition, stress, thoughts, values and beliefs all influence your health – either positively or negatively. That is why natural remedies are 100% effective as it treats the whole person rather than treating the symptoms of the dis-ease or illness.

You can find all sorts of vitamin and mineral capsules these days. These natural healthcare products can help heal certain ailments.

There are two types of vegetable, fruits and animals, which are sold in the market these days, organic and non-organic. It is normal for non-organic farmers to use pesticide for their vegetables and fruits. To have larger sized farm animals, non-organic farmers use hormone on their animals. Antibiotics are injected to ensure that animals are not inflicted with any type of disease.

In other words, residues of chemicals and antibiotics could pass on to those who eat non-organic vegetables and animals. By spraying pesticides on vegetables and fruits, there could be essential loss of important vitamins like Vitamin B and C. If you eat only organic food, you may not face the problem of lack of vitamins and existence of toxins in your body.

Taking a daily dosage of Vitamin C, B complex and other vitamins might be necessary for normal healthy people. As you may know, Vitamin C is vital in preventing various diseases including viral infection. In today’s world of environmental pollution, there is bound to be many toxins in one’s body due to inhalation of polluted air.

Another cause of toxins in the body could be non-organic meat. Getting rid of such toxins is vital for having a healthy body. Wu Long tea and green tea are known for purifying the body from free radicals. Moreover, regular drinking of Wu Long tea could give other health benefits as well. Your body’s immune system is stronger. Even the cholesterol level in your body is very much reduced by drinking this tea regularly.

If you are tensed up due to work or other matters, simply take a cup of chamomile tea. It would calm you down. Even those who face problem sleeping at night should try drinking chamomile at night. Just drink a cup around half an hour before sleeping. Research and findings in bio-pharmaceutical technology has brought about the production of various natural healthcare products for maintaining health or curing sicknesses.

As a precaution, it is better to check with your physician especially if you are suffering from any ailment. It is important the labels of the products and follow the instructions properly to avoid any possible overdose. In short, natural healthcare products can be taken as a means of healthy living.

Aromatherapy in its simplest definition is the smelling of vapors for health & well-being effects, howsoever gained. This article examines a cross-section of the art and proposes a future course of direction for those professionals not wishing to be tarred with an aromatherapy brush.

Of course the fragrance of a nice perfume will leave you in a better frame of mind than the smell of rotting cadavers. The general intuitive appeal of a nice smell (etc) has launched a blind universal hype on essential oils, the mainstay of aromatherapy. Over the years it has attracted a large following of uncritical persons eager to believe good news. By contrast it has produced research well beyond the scope of aromatherapy.

Much opposition has been leveled against the wild claims that border on or even cross the line of fraud. Where there’s money to be made, there is opportunism. The truth is often the first casualty.

Then there is the medical profession. They are the stalwarts to uphold and defend the medical truth. Unfortunately there is opportunity to denigrate the practice of aromatherapy for motives other than altruism, leaving academia to the rescue. Disappointingly, much academic research is in effect unavailable to the general public as good research papers can be expensive.

Deserved or otherwise, alternative medicines such as Acupuncture, Ayurveda, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, Kinesiology, Light Therapy, Phrenology, etc. have been slow to gain traction in mainstream medicine. Within each field there may be something worthwhile. There is risk of throwing the baby out with bathwater.

Aromatherapy by semantic definition is in lockstep with things smelled, the nose being solely equipped to perceive things smelled. Thus aromatherapy armoury consists solely of essential oils. “Essential” not because we can’t live without them but because essential is merely the adjective from the noun “essence” being a vapor from a liquid at a low boiling point.

This semantic deception taken together with people such as those involved in routinely claiming these potions to cure things like ADHD, arthritis, high cholesterol, lupus, asthma, migraines, cancer, fibromyalgia confuses even more. It is there, on offer, all without the rigours of scientific validation. Long Live The Placebo!

Then there are the others making ambiguous claims that leave lots of wiggleroom such as “cleanses air of negative energies”, “restoring harmony and balance between the mind and body”, “restore psychic energy flow”, “return to one’s center and chakra”. These and more have become aromatherapy’s articles of faith in some circles. Most are seen as nonsense to the mind versed in scientific methods.

Contrast these with Moss et al in the peer-reviewed paper “Aromas Of Rosemary And Lavender Essential Oils Differential Affect Cognition And Mood In Healthy Adults” where they showed the efficacy of Lavender and Rosemary oils. 144 persons took part in the study and no one was informed of the study nature. Before and after inhalation tests included 15 words to be flashed on a screen for 1 second and participants were asked to remember as many words as they could in the space of 60 seconds. More tests were done using 20 photographs enabling researchers to test recall and reaction time.

Nominal recall improved from 5.5 for the control group to 6.2 for the Rosemary and showed little change for the Lavender. Nominal reaction time improved from a score of 246 for the control group to 259 for the Lavender. Little change was reported for the Rosemary tests. They concluded that essential oils can significantly affect aspects of cognitive performance.

Worth considering is a paper by Sayorwan et al, who, using electroencephalography (EEG), measured the changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate before and after Rosemary oil inhalation by uniformed groups of subjects and controls. Their findings provided evidence that brain wave activities, autonomic nervous system responses, and mood states could all be modified with Rosemary

Aromas may well have a placebo effect and as such it is a good thing. However it is not the smell that gives essential oils their efficacy but the compounds that comprise the oils. Compounds such as Eugenol, Carvacrol, Thymol, Geraniol, and Menthol appear to stimulate while Linalool appears to calm or relax. Then there is Eugenol, a very powerful antioxidant as well. These compounds can enter the bloodstream via the olfactory system and the lungs through breathing. The bloodstream can also be fed via the skin by massage and contact patches. Other possible routes are ingestion and intravenous injections. The latter are subject to much more research than currently appears in the literature.

In conclusion, the subject of essential oils is therefore a much wider field, rich with potential discovery. Thus it is important that practitioners who prescribe the use of essential oils in their practice divest themselves of any stigma that has grown around aromatherapy. A whole new name for their practice would help to distance themselves from any hint of quackery and dogma.

The general public may well be sceptical as a result of conflicting opinions. The misnomer “essential” does not help. Volatile Oil Therapy (VOT) as a name may engender some trust especially if the practitioners of VOT confine themselves to proven effects.

So you had been suffering from backache for days, now, you decide that you needed a help. Chiropractors can treat neck pain, back pain, headache, and various other aches and pains that may occur within the body.

The first time you visit them, they will have to ask about your health history and general health condition so they would be able to detect the main cause of the problem and to decide about the best remedy for your condition. Prepare about 30 minutes of your time on your first visit, preceding ones will only last for about 15 minutes or less. The time however would vary depending upon the kind of treatment that your body may call for.

Here are the lists of the things that you can expect on your first visit:

o Chiropractor may ask about your personal and your family medical history

o Ask about some major illnesses that you’ve experienced in the past

o Confirm about surgeries or operations that you had

o Medications or anything that you are currently taking

o Will ask you to describe your present condition

o Steps that you performed in order to deal with your current condition

o Will ask about your diet and exercise

o Check your sleeping habits, work routine, home life, and stress level.

As simple as these questions may seem to be, they are important to the chiropractors since through these set of questions, they can obtain a thorough background of your life in the long run. Answer each question properly and truthfully, it’s for your own good after all.

We all have friends who have been sick or diagnosed with severe health problems. You may be fairly health still (congratulations!) or you might already have some issues. No matter what your particular health is right now, there are three things you can start with immediately to take better care of yourself.

1. Good Nutrition. You have probably heard this dozens of times but do you really adhere to a good diet? How often do you eat fast food? How many sodas do you drink every week? Every day? Do you eat a lot of packaged processed food, even though it is labeled “Healthy Choice” or something similar. This is not good for you! You need to eat natural, unprocessed food. Fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, soy products and the like. Your body will gradually break down if continually fed unhealthy products.

2. Exercise. This does not mean you have to run marathons or spend hours at the gym every day. Do things that you enjoy or you will not be able to sustain a exercise regime. Walking is one of the best forms of exercise. Light weights give you some body strength and muscles are what burn the most fat so you will be able to maintain a healthy weight. Keep moving as much as possible. Gardening, walking the dog, stretching, yoga, these are all wonderful ways to keep yourself fit.

3. Take Some Good Supplements. No matter how well we eat, we are not able to take in the daily amount of vitamins, nutrients, etc. that doctors and nutritionists recommend. Make sure you get on a well recommended program that you can trust. There are some excellent natural vitamin companies out there, you just need to do the research and choose one. Look for a company with longevity and ask around to some of your healthier friends what they use.

Start today as you have no time to lose. Remember, if you have any questions about what you should do or take, check with your doctor.

It is known to everyone that medical masks are an important part in maintaining hygiene in the area of health care. This equipment belongs to the category of medical tools known by the name personal protective equipment or PPE. The medical masks are present everywhere in a health care establishment, right from the operation room to the general outpatient unit. Their main function is to prevent the spread of contagious diseases and thus control any sort of infections. They are critical for the promotion of health and hygiene.

There are different kinds of medical masks available in the market. Disposable medical masks have become very popular, thanks to the spread of pandemics such as swine flu, H1N1 related infections and so on and so forth. The disposable masks are very effective in flu season when there is a greater threat of the epidemic being spread. They also come very useful in all sorts of emergency situations where there is a risk of infection.

The reusable masks come off as highly useful to people who suffer from severe allergies and asthma situations. These masks which are washable are helpful for those who are highly prone to infections caused by virus or bacteria. These masks are to be chosen properly. They should be able to effectively filter out the allergens in the form of pollen grains, dust particles, fungi or bacteria that are airborne. The masks can also be used by air travelers especially in those long distance flights involving a lot of time where the passengers have to deal with many people.

The sizes of medical masks may vary from person to person depending on the age group he or she belongs to. Thus a mask meant for the adult will not properly fit a small kid. Hence you need to purchase small sized masks for children. The medical professionals especially doctors will be able to help you choose the proper kind of masks for you.

One of the many remarkable diet control supplements that can substantially contribute to weight loss is Chitosan. Chitosan is a naturally occurring substance that resembles cellulose in its structure and is derived from a polysaccharide called chitin. Chitin is primarily found in the exoskeletons of shellfish such as shrimps, crustaceans and crabs. Shells of these animals are crushed into a fine powder. This powder is passed through a process of deacetylation resulting in the formation of Chitosan.

The most remarkable property of Chitosan is that it is a special fiber that acts as an effective fat binder at the rate of six to ten times its weight. The soaked up fat molecules are then converted into a form that is not suitable for absorption. Being a non-digestible substance, consumption of Chitosan does not add any additional calories into the body. Recent research has found that Chitosan has the ability to interfere with fat digestion and absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Apart from this, Chitosan also facilitates the excretion of dietary fat through feces. Research has shown that consumption of Chitosan in combination with ascorbic acid would reduce the fat levels significantly.

Along with controlling weight, Chitosan also has other health benefits. Chitosan has shown to effectively control the blood serum cholesterol levels. Research has shown that Chitosan could increase the level of HDL cholesterol in the body, while lowering the levels of LDL cholesterol in the body. Chitosan performs the function of a cholestryramine and is particularly beneficial to patients suffering with coronary heart diseases.