Jet Lag ? 5 Pre-travel Steps to Reduce the Effects of Jet Lag
Jet Lag ? 5 Pre-travel Steps to Reduce the Effects of Jet Lag
Ask any regular long-haul flyer about their experience of flying and you will soon discover that everyone has a different "magic" formula for overcoming or avoiding jet lag.In reality of course no magic formula exists ? and there is certainly no magic pill or tablet. There is, however, a great deal that you can do in preparation for your departure to help you overcome or eliminate jet lag and here are just a few tips:1. Maintain a consistent sleep pattern.If you are not following a consistent routine in the days and weeks before your journey (going to bed and getting up at the same time each day) your body's internal clock will be disrupted even before you start your journey and your flight will simply magnify the effects of insomnia induced by jet lag.2. Ensure you are getting a balanced and healthy diet.Diet plays an important role in ensuring that you get a good night's sleep and an appropriate balance of whole grains, proteins, fruits and vegetables in your diet is essential.Alcohol and caffeine are two elements of your diet that are particularly important in relation to jet lag and these should be reduced, or eliminated, in the run-up to your journey if at all possible. If, however, asking you to give up your twelve cups of coffee each day is rather like asking you to cut off your right hand, then try to limit your intake to the afternoon between about 3 pm and 5 pm.Caffeine when taken late in the day tends to speed up your body clock, while taking it in the morning has the opposite effect. Taken during the middle of the day, caffeine has little or no effect on your body's circadian rhythms.3. Take regular exercise.Regular exercise can significantly improve the consistency, quality and duration of your normal sleep cycle. Some form of daily aerobic exercise, lasting at least twenty minutes, will go a long way to preparing your body for your forthcoming journey.4. Start to slowly adjust your bedtime.You should begin to "manage" your body clock by gradually and slowly adjusting your bedtime and wake up time in the days before your journey, to bring these into line with the local time at your destination.If, for example, you normally go to bed at 10 pm and you are flying to a country that is four hours ahead, at your normal bedtime the time at your destination will be 2 am. So, in this case, you need to slowly bring your bedtime forward a little bit (say fifteen minutes) each night for a week or ten days before your departure. This might mean that immediately prior to leaving you are going to bed at say 7.30 pm. However, when you arrive at your destination this will mean that you are now going to bed at 11.30 pm and that you have narrowed the four hour time difference to just one and a half hours.5. Reduce stress in the days before traveling.One often overlooked factor in the jet lag equation is that of stress and much of this stress is a direct result of the journey itself. How many times have you found yourself running around at the last minute trying to do 1001 things at once?Plan ahead and make sure that, as far as is possible, everything that you need to do both at home and at works is completed well in advance of your journey. In planning for your journey, clear as much as you can as early as you can and make specific time available in your pre-journey planning for plenty of relaxation in the days immediately prior to your departure.These are just a few examples of things that you should pay attention to when planning any long-haul trip and, together with other specific measures taken both during your flight and following your arrival, will considerably reduce the effects of jet lag, or even lead to no jet lag at all!Copyright 2005 Donald Saunders - http://help-me-to-sleep.comDonald Saunders is the author of a number of health-related publications looking in detail at curing insomnia and managing other common sleep disorders. Drop by for more information on jet lag and to pick up your free copy of "How To Get A Good Night's Sleep".
How to Reduce Your Stress this Christmas
How to Reduce Your Stress this Christmas
In theory Christmas is a time that is filled with joy and celebration. A joyous holiday when you get together with loved ones and catch up, exchange gifts and generally have a good time.Unfortunately in practice it can be a time of great stress and unhappiness. There is so much to do and so much to organise. And sometimes getting together with your extended family can be uncomfortable and even painful.So here is a plan that will help you to relax a little more this Christmas and hopefully a good time will be had by all.Christmas ShoppingDon't leave everything until the last moment. Rushing will just make you tired and more stressed. Get you Christmas shopping done early, so you don't have to spend hours fighting other shoppers for the last doll or Christmas turkey.Don't over spend. It is very easy at Christmas time to spend too much and put yourself in a financial hole for a good part of the new year. Decide before you go shopping how much you can afford to spend and stick to your budget. Shopping early will help you stick to a budget as you will not be in a last minute panic, picking up anything that may be suitable regardless of the cost.If money is a little tight for you or some of your family members there are a couple of ways you can reduce your spending costs. Together you could decide that all gifts should be handmade or second hand. Or you could all decide that each of you will only buy for one other person. This way instead of spending $5 on 10 people and getting them all little cute but junky things you spend $50 on one person and get them something that they will really appreciate. Decide between the family an amount that everyone is to spend and then draw names out of a hat to see who you will shop for.Wrap the presents as soon as you can after buying them - that will leave one less thing to do on Christmas eve.Christmas CookingAgain planning is very important. You don't have to do it all yourself. Ask members of your family to bring something along. This way the chore is shared amongst many and everyone can feel like they have contributed.See what preparations can be made a few days before hand. The plum pudding and mince tarts can be made weeks before hand. Do what you can, but make sure everything is stored at a safe temperature. You can wash the potatoes but they will go black if you peel them.
Dealing with the Unpleasant RelativesAt Christmas time we can be thrown together with people that we would really rather not have anything with. Do your best to be pleasant to them but if they cross the line and say something that is rude stay calm. Do not attack them back; let them know that you do not appreciate their comments and that you would rather here positive comments about yourself and other members of your family.Do your best not to let the comments of one person spoil your day. Try not to dwell on any negativity. Instead think about the things you are enjoying about the day and go and find someone you do get along well with and talk to them.Alcohol can increase your emotional reactions to any situation so only drink in moderation.One final wordMake sure that you look after yourself with appropriate exercise, relaxation, sleep and a healthy diet on the days leading up to Christmas. When we are feeling fit and energetic we are able to cope so much more easily with the ups and downs of life. However if we are already feeling tired and stressed any little thing can overwhelm us and this can make Christmas day more tension and tiresome.Have a great ChristmasWant more ways to enjoy life? Kerry-Ann Cox, author and healer, has just released her new book "10 Spiritual law for stress reduction" Find our more at http://www.exaltedliving.com/stress.htm
What Causes Osteoporosis and Ten Changes You Can Make to Reduce Your Risk of Osteoporosis
What Causes Osteoporosis and Ten Changes You Can Make to Reduce Your Risk of Osteoporosis
Ten Simple Lifestyle Changes You Can Make to Reduce
Your Risk for Osteoporosis Stop or decrease your meat intake.Stop or decrease your dairy intake.Decrease or eliminate sugar from your diet. Cut back on processed foods. Eliminate highly acid vinegars.Decrease or stop caffeine. Stop smoking. Cut back or eliminate alcohol consumption. Start a weight bearing exercise program.Get plenty of sunshine or supplement vitamin D.
"The myth that osteoporosis is caused by calcium deficiency was
created to sell dairy products and calcium supplements. There's no truth to it. American women are among the biggest consumers of
calcium in the world, and they still have one of the highest
levels of osteoporosis in the world. And eating even more dairy
products and calcium supplements is not going to change that fact."
- Dr. John McDougallDiscussion:The ingestion of milk causes the blood to become acid
ie -pH less than the normal 7.43. The body corrects this via
the calcium phosphate balance which requires mobilization of
additional calcium into the bloodstream to correct the acidosis.
This calcium is obtained by removing it from the bones. Thus, it
is no surprise that milk causes a total body calcium loss.
This is not new information and is well discussed with reference
to the original studies in John Robbins's book "Diet for a New
America."Amazing as it sounds, the ash (residue) from any animal protein
that finds its way to the bloodstream is so acid that the
homeostatic mechanisms of the body that maintain the pH of
the blood at 7.43 are immediately invoked. The prime mechanism
to accomplish this (as noted above) is the calcium / phosphate
balance in the bloodstream. Since calcium acts as a base
(can correct an acid condition of the blood) the body pulls
calcium from the bone to offset or correct the acidosis
caused by the acid residue from the animal protein
(this includes dairy/milk).Over time the continuing ingestion of animal protein
leads to significant loss of bone mineralization and
eventually clinical osteoporosis. Ingesting more calcium
is a very simplistic approach that more often than not
does not help. The problem is that supplemental calcium
seldom finds its way to the bloodstream and the body will
continue to remove calcium from the bone since this is the
pathway that mother nature has established.As a diagnostic
radiologist I had many an occasion to see calcium
tablets of all varieties totally undissolved on abdominal
radiographs. Treating osteoporosis with additional calcium is like replacing the wood in a termite infested house without
eradicating the termites. The only effective (and extremely
simple) answer is to just not consume animal protein. One
of the other complications of the increased mobilization of
calcium is kidney stones. The incidence of kidney stones is
considerably increased in those who consume animal protein.The Bantu women, who are exclusively vegan and live off of a
completely plant based diet in central Africa, get less than
350 mg of calcium in their daily diet. Yet, there is no
osteoporosis in these women since they do not ingest any animal
protein. This is also true for many women in the more remote
portions of mainland China.All the new imaging devices for measuring bone density are
really a large technological waste of time and money.
If you consume animal protein you are at risk for
osteoporosis -period. Just take some of the money you
would spend to have your bone density measured and go out
and buy some good organic veggies. You and your bones
will love you for it.Osteoporosis is not gender specific. Although more women than
men are affected, men also have osteoporosis. I once knew
an Ultrasound technician in his thirties who had osteoporosis.Recipes:The following recipes are good sources of calcium from
totally natural sources as well as recipes that avoid the
foods that cause osteoporosis. For those of you outside
of the US the need for organic foods is not as critical
since the destructive commercial farming practices here
have not reached the rest of the world -yet. This is
especially true in Europe where a tomato, I am told, still
tastes like a tomato.Black bean burritos, tostadas and tacos.Prepare some organic black beans refried style as in the
MericleDiet or however you like to prepare your beans.
Obtain some organic tortillas, taco or tostada shells.
Drop some refried beans into or onto one of the above
and add some chopped lettuce, cabbage or onions. Black
beans and onions really make a good burrito. Wrap the
tortilla around your filling and garnish with salsa
and maybe some more cabbage or lettuce. If you like, you
can fry the burrito to make what we used to call a "Cindy
Special" from an old Mexican restaurant here in Tucson.
The frying is however not without its caloric burden,
although it makes for a real taste treat.Other good sources of calcium are organic kale, collards,
broccoli, bok choy and tofu.A fresh spinach salad makes a nice addition to this meal
and a lot of organic greens really are excellent sources
of calcium that the body can utilize. I have been told
that, although spinach is high in calcium, it is also high
in oxalic acid which is alleged to bind the calcium thus
limiting its absorption. However spinach is still a good
bet since it has been shown to retard the development of
macular degeneration.Summary:Osteoporosis is not a disease of calcium absorption but is
a proactive disease caused by ingesting foods that upset the
acid/base balance of the body thus requiring calcium to be
slowly but constantly leached from your bones in order to keep
the blood (pH) normal (7.43). No amount of ingested calcium
will correct the problem as long as one continues to destroy
their bones by eating the wrong foods. The answer is to
simply stop the destruction of your bones by significantly
reducing or completely stopping the ingestion of animal
protein.We hope you find this informative. Please stay tuned for
the next newsletter that will cover sugar, vitamin C,
insulin, your white blood cells, your immune system
and the very interesting subject of competitive inhibition
or -how much vitamin C should I take? To sign up for the MericleDiet Newsletter / Dr. Mericle Health Tips please follow the link below:http://www.DrMericle.comOne last quote:"In the next 10 to 15 years, one of the things you're bound
to hear is that animal protein ... is one of the most toxic
nutrients of all that can be considered . Risk for disease
goes up dramatically when even a little animal protein is
added to the diet." T. Colin Campbell Ph.D. (Author of
The China Study).Remember the Bantu women.The MericleDiet.The MericleDiet is a completely vegan, 100% Sugar Free and 100% Organic easy to follow diet. It is actually more of a lifestyle than a diet as you never feel deprived or restricted. It also will keep your bone density at the best it can be. Your bones will love you for it. To visit just follow the link below:http://www.DrMericle.comCopyright 2005 J. Mericle M.D. All Rights Reservedhttp://www.DrMericle.com is devoted to achieving optimal health and peak performance through diet and lifestyle change. Dr. Mericle brings together a unique blend of formal medical education, 29 marathons, 3 Hawaii Ironman competitions and a lot of practical real life experience.