Exercise

You can exercise a few times a day and even though your body will be in better shape, you may not lose any weight. The reason is because of poor eating habits. Simple dieting can work wonders in your fight to shed unwanted pounds. If you find yourself getting snacks from the vending machine at work, stop it! You can snack all day long and lose weight and professionals dietitians recommend that you eat every couple of hours. You should make your own blend of healthy snacks to take with you. These snacks can include raw or steamed vegetables, sugar-free yogurt, fruits and you can even snack on sugar-free chocolate.
Dieting - The Best Thing You Can Do

Indeed, dieting is the best thing you can do to keep those unwanted pounds off. Even if you exercise while sitting down, you should diet...

Soda's Good For Energy, Bad Other-Wise

Diet soda's good to give you a quick pep up when you are feeling tired. You can drink a couple of diet sodas a day and be okay as long as you are flushing your body regularly with water. The caffeine is great for helping you lose weight by giving you that boost you need.

Art Of Brushing Your Teeth!!!

Brushing your teeth in morning comes with no escape tag. But the correct way of brushing is something in which we all need to be educated. So,

here are some insights into your brushing facts.



Choose Right for a Bright Smile

Toothbrushes come in all shape, size, length and quality. But dentists suggest that for a wholesome brushing experience, the surface of a brush must be of 7.8 to 9.5mm wide and 25.5 to 31.9mm long. Make sure that the handle fits in your hand properly while brushing.



Do Not Club it with Leisure

Pairing one€™s brushing routine while listening to news or reading morning newspaper is not the fashion, so please keep away from it. In fact brushing for more than 3 minutes may only sum up to chomping the brush.


Throw away that Worn-out Toothbrush

Toothbrushes tend to fray in two to three months and it is a must to change them at regular intervals of time. But if the bristles are still in good condition even after five to six months of excessive use, then it means that the brushing attempt has been too moderate and it€™s about time you buy a new one.



It is worth your Two Minutes

There is no best minimum or maximum time that you should spend with your brush. Though, it is advisable to brush your teeth for at least 2 minutes which is essential in eradicating plaque from all the inner surfaces and keeping tooth decay at bay.



The Art of Brushing

Brushing is no rocket science. Most of us were educated to brush our teeth from the days we learnt to walk. Sadly, majority of us were educated to brush the incorrect way. Brushing must be done with proper and effective technique. Particularly, the inner deep surface of the teeth and the tongue surface of lower teeth.



Variety of Bristles: Hard or Soft?

Avoid toothbrush with hard bristles as these can easily damage your gums and teeth. Thus, medium variety of bristles must be preferred to any other kind of variety.



Who should opt for Electric Varieties?

These types of brushes are mainly recommended for people who face a problem in manual agility. These include specially able, hospitalized patients and children. They are highly recommended for orthodontic patients.



Confused in the Brand Land? No More!

In the middle of widely available brands of toothbrushes and toothpastes, no particular brand has been established to be of better-quality than the other. It is all based on an individual€™s preference. People who brush their teeth in a right way can take pleasure in healthy teeth, even at the ripe old age of 80

Breakfast Options

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so it’s essential that you make the most of it. But really it’s not that difficult to get a good deal of nutrition from your morning meal. We’ve put down 10 healthy breakfast options to help you prepare a nutritional feast that will keep you going all day.

Porridge and berries

Use oats and skimmed milk to make your porridge, then add any berries such as strawberries, raspberries or blueberries and honey. This is a great way to start the day as the oats have a low GI (Glycaemic Index) this tells us that oats do not raise the blood glucose level very quickly, which is good as it can help stabilize the appetite. Just go easy on the honey!

Beans on toast

Beans (whether they are just ordinary baked beans or kidney, borlotti or black eyed beans) also have a low GI like oats. They are full of soluble fiber, which helps keep you full for longer and can therefore help you manage your weight. Serve the beans on granary toast and pass on the butter; a great, low-fat breakfast.

Bagel with reduced fat cream cheese and smoked salmon

Bagels are high in starchy carbohydrates, which help kick start the body into action for the day after a fast of at least eight to 10 hours. The smoked salmon provides the body with omega-3 fat which is essential for the body. Many of us eat far too much saturated fat (which is bad for us) and not enough omega-3 fat that is vital for our health.

Fruit and yogurt

Try adding your favorite fruit to a small pot of low-fat or diet yogurt for breakfast. A small pot of yogurt counts as one of your three portions per day of dairy foods, essential for the teeth and bones.

Bacon, tomatoes, beans, mushrooms and toast

For those of you who can’t resist a cooked breakfast at the weekends try this. It really is a healthy twist on a traditional fried breakfast; grill the bacon, tomatoes and large, flat field mushrooms.

Crumpets and fruit spread

Crumpets are a starchy food (they should be the basis of every meal). The only problem with crumpets is the tendency to add lots of butter to them. Try a fruit spread, a great way to top them without adding all the calories and fat in butter.

Muesli and soya milk or low-fat milk (such as semi-skimmed or skimmed milk)

Swiss-style muesli has milk powder added to it, which increases the calcium content of this breakfast cereal. Add calcium-enriched soya milk or semi-skimmed milk and you have a bone-friendly breakfast!

Pure fruit juice and iron-fortified breakfast cereal

Next time you are in the cereal aisle at the supermarket, spare a few minutes to check out the labeling on the packets. Not all cereals are equal when it comes to the vitamins and minerals that are added to them. Iron is a mineral that is added to many cereals, try sultana bran or bran flakes, drink a glass of pure fruit juice such as orange or grapefruit and the vitamin C that the juice contains helps your body to absorb the iron more easily.

Smoothie

If you really can’t face breakfast try to have a smoothie instead. If you fancy trying to make one yourself (easy if you have a hand blender) then fruits such as berries, apples and bananas are great with some milk. All those antioxidant vitamins in the fruit help boost your immunity.

Scrambled or poached egg on granary toast

Eggs are not bad for us! It is what you do with them … Poaching or scrambling eggs with a little milk is a good way to incorporate them into your diet — they provide valuable protein. Scrambled eggs on toast is a much better choice over a fried egg sandwich.

Reasons To Drink Water

You already know it- Water is a basic need for the survival of human beings. It is also a great healer. Here are six reasons why you should drink a few more glasses!



Your Ultimate Mood Lifter!

Water works as a natural remedy in many ways. It helps to relieve headache and back pains caused due to dehydration. Water keeps your body rejuvenated and fresh. So, have plenty of Gods own drink.




Water Fights Age Lines

You have tried so many anti-aging creams. Try water! It replenishes skin tissues, moisturises skin and increases skin elasticity. Water is a must for a younger looking skin.




A Perfect Headache Reliever

Popping pills may seem like the best idea to get relief from that constant headache. But, have you tried drinking water when your head was hurting loud? It works wonders as 90 per cent of headache may be due to dehydration.




Water Down those Love Handles

If you dont drink sufficient water, metabolism slows down. This means fats cat be processed as quickly as it should be leading to that not-so-wanted bulge. Your body needs eight to 10 glasses of water a day to fight that flab away.




End Asthma with Water!

Scarcity of water vapour in the lungs may constrict the airways and cause mucus in the lungs leading to an asthma attack. Doctors suggest that people with asthma must drink at least 10 glasses of water every day, along with a pinch of salt. Inhaling steam from a bowl or kettle can also do the trick.



Get Better with your Digestive System

Splashing water on your face can give you that glow, but have you ever wondered how you can cleanse your system without religiously reading those diet books? Drinking water helps clean up your digestive system, naturally.

Reasons To Drink Water

You already know it- Water is a basic need for the survival of human beings. It is also a great healer. Here are six reasons why you should drink a few more glasses!



Your Ultimate Mood Lifter!

Water works as a natural remedy in many ways. It helps to relieve headache and back pains caused due to dehydration. Water keeps your body rejuvenated and fresh. So, have plenty of Gods own drink.



Water Fights Age Lines

You have tried so many anti-aging creams. Try water! It replenishes skin tissues, moisturizes skin and increases skin elasticity. Water is a must for a younger looking skin.



A Perfect Headache Reliever

Popping pills may seem like the best idea to get relief from that constant headache. But, have you tried drinking water when your head was hurting loud? It works wonders as 90 per cent of headache may be due to dehydration.



Water Down those Love Handles

If you don't drink sufficient water, metabolism slows down. This means fats cat be processed as quickly as it should be leading to that not-so-wanted bulge. Your body needs eight to 10 glasses of water a day to fight that flab away.



End Asthma with Water!

Scarcity of water vapor in the lungs may constrict the airways and cause mucus in the lungs leading to an asthma attack. Doctors suggest that people with asthma must drink at least 10 glasses of water every day, along with a pinch of salt. Inhaling steam from a bowl or kettle can also do the trick.


Get Better with your Digestive System

Splashing water on your face can give you that glow, but have you ever wondered how you can cleanse your system without religiously reading those diet books? Drinking water helps clean up your digestive system, naturally.

Boosting Body's Immune System Key to HIV Cure

The research team, led by Dr Marc Pellegrini from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, showed that a cell signaling hormone called interleukin-7 (IL-7) reinvigorates the immune response to chronic viral infection, allowing the host to completely clear virus.

Pellegrini said the finding could lead to a cure for chronic viral infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, and bacterial infections such as tuberculosis, which are significant economic and global health burdens.

The team investigated the role of IL-7, a naturally-occurring immune hormone, in a mouse model of HIV infection. IL-7 is a cytokine (cell signalling hormone) that plays a critical role in immune system development and maintenance.

"We found that IL-7 boosted the immune response in a pretty profound fashion, such that animals were able to gradually clear the virus without too much collateral tissue damage," Pellegrini said.

Further investigations revealed that, at the molecular level, IL-7 switched off a gene called SOCS-3.

"In an overwhelming infection, SOCS-3 becomes highly activated and suppresses the immune response, probably as a natural precaution to prevent ''out-of-control'' responses that cause collateral damage to body tissue," Pellegrini said.

"In the case of these overwhelming infections, the immune system effectively slams on the brakes too early, and the infection persists," Pellegrini added.

Preston, who worked on the SOCS-3 studies, said that switching off the SOCS-3 gene boosted the immune system and helped the animals to completely eliminate the infection.

The findings were released in today's edition of the journal Cell.

Care for your hair

After shampooing your hair, towel dry it and use a heat protectant product especially at the hair ends. l Massage a dollop of straightening balm, spreading it evenly through your hair.

- Place your blow dryer on a low setting. Then, as you run your fingers through your hair, combing it, blow dry gently. This will remove the excess moisture in your hair.

- Part your hair into three sections, one portion falling back while two at the sides. Clip up the portions that fall at the sides.

- Select a small portion of hair from the un-clipped section that falls on either side. Now, using a thick, round brush, start at the roots of your hair and brush through it gently using a blow dryer, moving to the ends. Make sure you pull you hair away from the head, straightening it as you run your hairbrush through it.

- Always, start with the underside of your hair gradually moving to the upper part so it dries completely.

- Even distribute the heat over whichever section of hair you work on. This allows a uniform hair texture and also prevents over drying of hair.

- When done with one portion, select and blow smaller parts of hair. Continue till you straighten the whole section.

- Now repeat the process on the remaining two portions of hair.

Painkillers Increase Heart Risk

A new study has associated common painkillers to increased risk of heart problems.

The drugs include traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) as well as new generation anti-inflammatory drugs, known as COX-2 inhibitors.

NSAIDs have been the cornerstone of managing pain in patients with osteoarthritis and other painful conditions.

So researchers in Switzerland performed a comprehensive analysis of all randomised controlled trials comparing any NSAID with other NSAIDs or placebo.

They included 31 trials and 116,429 patients taking seven different drugs (naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, celecoxib, etoricoxib, rofecoxib, lumiracoxib) or placebo to provide a more reliable estimate of the cardiovascular risks of these drugs than previous studies.

Overall, the number of harmful outcomes that could be compared for placebo versus treatment was low.

In 29 trials there was a total of 554 heart attacks; in 26 trials there were 377 strokes, and in 28 trials there were 676 deaths. So the absolute risk of cardiovascular problems among people taking painkillers was low, but the researchers did find that, relative to placebo, the drugs carried important risks.

For instance, compared with placebo, rofecoxib and lumiracoxib were associated with twice the risk of heart attack, while ibuprofen was associated with more than three times the risk of stroke.

Etoricoxib and diclofenac were associated with the highest risk of cardiovascular death.

Naproxen appeared least harmful in terms of cardiovascular safety among the seven analyzed preparations.

How to Avoid Getting STDs

Do you want to know how you can avoid getting an STD while making love? Are you concerned or scared about getting transmitted diseases in one of those moments of delirious hanky-panky? Well, there’s one great way to avoid an STD and it’s by wearing that willy ring.

Realistically, the only way to completely avoid any type of infections down there is by abstaining from making love altogether. Let’s not be stupid here. I love making love, we love making love, and the world loves making love. You’ve only got to look at the booming population to figure how much bed-banging goes on each night.

STDs and STIs are infections that can be transferred from one person to another through intimate contact. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are over 15 million cases of STDs reported annually. Adolescents and young adults (15-24) are the age groups at the greatest risk for acquiring an STD, 3 million becoming infected each year.

Even though most STDs are treatable, even the once easily cured gonorrhea has become resistant to many of the older traditional antibiotics. Other STDs, such as herpes, AIDS, and genital warts, all of which are caused by viruses, have no cure.

Some of these infections are very uncomfortable, while others can be deadly. Syphilis, AIDS, genital warts, herpes, hepatitis, and even gonorrhea have all been known to cause death.

Unfortunately, for all you condom-haters out there, the only way to avoid this is by wearing that rubber thing around your wrench. Even if your partner has never made out before, not been adventurous or has only shared intimate moments with you, STDs are still contractible. This is why wearing a condom is so important.

Also, it’s not really fair if you continue to sniffle and shuffle between different partners without wearing a condom. You can easily pass bad karma onto others, while becoming infected yourself.

Regardless of whether it’s a one night stand, a random moment up against a wall, or you’re perching her over a park bench, just remember little Johnny Rubber, even if she doesn’t.

This piece might give you the heebie jeebies, or make you scoff and brag about how you’ve always been able to go the Yellowstone National Park route just before climaxing, all it takes is one in-shot to take all the steam off your confidence. But it’s alright, really, just as long as you’re careful.

You can skip frowning at all the little abbreviations like STD's, HIV and what not. Enjoy making love. God gave us willies and catties to do just that.

And he gave us the brains to figure out the perfect introduction between the two. But mark my words, if precautions are not taken, your little adventures will end up being a depressing memento in a transmitted disease awareness campaign, instead of a raunchy confession in Love panky Confessions.

You can have a thousand notches on your bedpost, but all you need is one incident to end it all. So before you get there, go to your nearest chemist and pick yourself up a bumper pack of rubbers. The geeky medic men know your latex problems, even if they haven’t had any action down there in a long time. These days, we get really thin and sensitive rubbers that can give rubber less intimacy a run for its money, so go find them. And use them.

Prevent your life from becoming a STD stat. So don’t be a fool, go wrap your tool.