Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Are you still suffering from Sinusitis ? Don't settle for living with it, get rid of it !


Sinusitis simply means inflammation of the sinuses, but this gives little indication of the misery and pain this condition can cause.

Symptoms of sinusitis can include fever, weakness and tiredness, a cough that may be more severe at night, and runny nose or nasal congestion.


  • In addition, drainage of mucus from the sinuses down the back of the throat (postnasal drip) can cause a sore throat.

    However, by eating a few foods and herbs containing certain vitamin groups, we can lessen our chances of becoming afflicted with this painful and bothersome malady.

  • Citrus fruits
  • Red berries
  • Tomatoes
  • Potatoes
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Red and green bell peppers
  • Cabbage
  • spinach

Those foods are all excellent dietary sources of vitamin C, which helps promote a healthy immune system.

The B-complex vitamins are actually a group of eight vitamins, which include thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3) and folic acid (B9), and are essential for a healthy nervous system, processing carbohydrates for energy, and the creation of red blood cells.

  • Beans
  • Whole grain cereals
  • Oatmeal
  • Potatoes
  • Salmon
  • Bananas
  • Spinach

Those foods are only a few of the many food members of the vitamin B group with high levels of this group of nutrients.


Vegetable oils, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and fortified cereals are common food sources of vitamin E, an antioxidant that acts to protect your cells against the effects of free radicals, which are potentially damaging by-products of energy metabolism.

Free radicals can damage cells and may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Vitamin E has also been shown to play a positive role in immune function.

A person susceptible to sinus disorders, particularly one who also is allergic, should avoid cigarette smoke and other air pollutants.


Inflammation in the nose caused by allergies predisposes a patient to a strong reaction to all irritants.

Drinking alcohol also causes the nasal-sinus membranes to swell.
Try to avoid too many dairy products when you can , as they stimulate your body to produce more mucus.




Thursday, October 30, 2008

Time Tested Herbal Skin Care Tips

Glowing and healthy skin is an asset, it’s about beauty and it’s also about health.

Skin care has been important since the dawn of humans. In ancient times, herbal skin care was the only way to take care of skin.

So what are the ways herbal skin care helps your skin ?

Aloe vera, which is an extract from the Aloe plant, is one of the best examples of an herbal skin care product.


Freshly extracted aloe vera is a natural hydrant that helps in soothing skin.

It also helps in healing cuts and treating sun burns. This I know this from personal experience when I had a serious sunburn.

Aloe is an amazing skin healer.

A number of herbs are known to possess cleansing properties.


Dandelion, chamomile, lime flowers and rosemary herbs, are a few examples of such cleansers.

Their herbal skin care properties are enhanced when they are combined with other herbs like tea.

Antiseptics are another important part of Herbal skin care.


Lavender, marigold, thyme and fennel are good examples of herbs that are known to possess antiseptic properties.

Lavender water and rose water also form good toners.

Tea plays an important part in herbal skin care.

Tea extracts are used for treatment of skin that has been damaged by UV radiation.

Oils prepared from herbal extracts present another means of herbal skin care.


Tea tree oil, Lavender oil, borage oil and primrose oil are some popular oils used in herbal skin care.

Some fruit oils (e.g. extracts from fruits like banana, apple and melon) find use in shower gels (as a hydrating mix).

Homeopathic treatments and aromatherapies also come under the umbrella of herbal skin care remedies.

Herbal skin care is good not only for the routine nourishing of skin but also for treatment of itchy skin and skin disorders like eczema and psorasis.


Most herbal skin care products don’t have any side effects. (one of the most important reason for preferring them over synthetic products)

Moreover, herbal skin care products can be easily made at home, hence making them even more attractive.


Try the healing power of herbal skin care, it will help keep it youthful and healthful.

And if you suffer from a skin condition, it will get you on the road to recovery.


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

What is Natural Skin Care ?

Put simply, ‘natural skin care’ is caring for your skin in a natural and chemical-free way.

Natural skin care advocates enabling the skin to take care of itself .(without any assistance from synthetic materials/ chemicals).

Natural skin care is about good habits in the way you lead your day to day life. A lot of natural skin care measures are actually the same as those for body care in general.

Taking good care of your skin will go a long way towards preventing and/or soothing common skin conditions such as itchy skin and eczema and others.

So let’s see what these natural skin care measures are.

One thing to look for are natural skin care products which are available in the commercial market.


These are gentler on the skin and they include for example lavender oil, aloe vera etc., which don’t have any side effects.

  • Drink a lot of water !

Water helps in flushing out the toxins from the body, in a natural way. It helps in the overall upkeep of the body and promotes good health for all organs (not just skin).

  • General cleanliness is another way of natural skin care.
Daily shower, wearing clean clothes and sleeping on a clean mattress/pillow are all part of general cleanliness.
After all, clean skin is the key to keeping the skin disorders at bay.


  • Regular exercise is the next thing on the cards.
Exercise increases the flow of blood that helps in getting rid of body toxins and keeping you healthy. Exercise also helps in beating stress which is the worst enemy of good health.


  • Healthy food and eating habits are also recommended for natural skin care. Your diet should be a healthy mix of various nutrient providing foods.
Raw fruits and vegetables are known to provide freshness to your body and help in getting rid of body toxins.


  • A good sleep is also instrumental in maintaining good health and in beating stress.
As a natural skin care measure, a good sleep delays slacking of skin.


  • Beating stress is another natural skin care therapy.
Stress causes overall damage to body and health.

Drinking a lot of water, getting a sound sleep and exercise has already been mentioned as stress busters.

Indulging in a warm bubble bath, listening to music and playing your favourite sport are also good ways of beating stress.

Yoga is yet another way of beating stress.


  • Avoiding excessive exposure to sun (by wearing long sleeved clothes, hat and umbrella etc), is another natural skin care strategy.
Sunscreen lotions are also recommended as necessary.

A lot of traditional and home made natural skin care products/ measures are also very effective.


Such measures are not only natural and easy-to-follow, but also relatively inexpensive.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

5000 Year-Old Medical Secret Unearthed!

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well.

This is how the health profession goes on nowadays – a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.

If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you might think that person was a quack.

But nowadays, more and more studies are being conducted to verify which natural medicines are effective and which ones are less so.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men and women served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine.

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs, and that many man-made medicines are synthetic copies of healing herbs, was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all originally came from natural medicine.

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. But this does not mean that it has lost its effectiveness.


In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available.


remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine.


Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines.


The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such.


Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick.

Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits.

These habits include

  • Good diet
  • Healthy living
  • the regular natural treatment

Yes, a healthy lifestyle will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine – may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

Science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of the past.


This leads us to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine is very encouraging.


Monday, August 25, 2008

Top Skin Care Tips

The skin contains many different cells and structures and it constantly changes as layers are shed and replaced by other layers.

Skin varies in thickness throughout the body and different people have different layers of thickness.

This article covers:

What is combination type of skin?


How can you make your skin healthy?

Know more about the skin layers.

This article provides top skin care tips, including tips for healthy skin, tips for facial skin problems and anti ageing tips.

Good skin care is important, as your skin has many functions within your body.

Two of the important things your skin does is it provides a protective barrier and helps with sensory perception.

Skin Anatomy

The skin contains many different cells and structures and it constantly changes as layers are shed and replaced by other layers.

Skin varies in thickness throughout the body and different people have different layers of thickness.

There are three layers of skin, the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous tissue.

The epidermis is the outer layer of skin. The top layer of the epidermis (stratum corneum) has dead skin cells which shed approximately every two weeks.

The dermis contains three types of tissue (collagen, elastic tissue and reticular fibers). The subcutaneous tissue is a layer of fat and connective tissue.

SKIN TYPES

There are four skin types. Different skin types may need different approaches to achieve healthy skin.

It is important to use the appropriate skin care tips for each skin type.

Normal skin has the proper balance between oil and moisture, so that it is not greasy or dry. It looks clear, supple and healthy. Normal skin still needs good skin care, but requires less treatment than other skin types.

Dry skin cannot retain moisture as well as normal skin. It may flake and it is prone to wrinkles and lines. Important skin care tips for dry skin include the regular use of a good moisturizer.

Oily skin has an over secretion of sebum. There is excess oil on the surface of the skin. Oily skin often develops spots and pimples. Important skin care tips for oily skin include regular and thorough cleansing.

Combination skin is a combination of both oily and dry skin. The forehead, nose and chin may be oily, and the cheeks and other areas may be dry. Each area should be given the right skin care that is needed for that skin type.




Sunday, February 24, 2008

The secret power of Vitamin C, what are its benefits for Hay fever ?


If you're suffering from hay fever you are probably familiar with antihistamine drugs.

The thing is that antihistamine drugs can cause drowsiness and are hard on the liver.

A liver which is already overloaded by the high histamine levels in the blood vessels. Not many know that something as simple as Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine and a natural remedy to hay fever.



Chemists believe the vitamin works as follows:

During allergic attacks, such as hay fever, the vitamin-C level in the body goes down; at the same time, histamine in the blood goes up.

Histamine is the villain of allergy, for it is an irritating substance normally present in small amounts in the body but formed in large quantities whenever tissues are damaged — e.g., in the red area around a burn.


Injected under the skin, it produces a hivelike raised wheal with reddened skin around it.

If air is bubbled through a test tube, histamine and vitamin C react with each other, releasing ammonia and eliminating the irritating chemical.

As circulating blood contains dissolved oxygen, it is thought likely that the same reaction goes on in the body, and thus relieves wheezing and sneezing and other symptoms.

Vitamin C not only supports the immune system, but helps the body defend itself against the consequences of having too much histamine released. It can also help reduce the release of histamine.

Bioflavonoids are the substances that give fruits and vegetables their rich colours. They are synergistic with vitamin C, which means if you use the two together, you will get even more benefit.


The best bioflavonoid for hay fever is quercetin, which helps stabilise the cell membranes of those cells that would otherwise discharge their supply of histamine into the surrounding blood and tissue.

A natural antihistamine, it will work in the body to reduce any inflammation of the nasal passages, the bronchial airways, and the throat.

It is found naturally in red and yellow onions, shallots, squash, courgettes, and broccoli - however, sufferers cannot eat enough of these foods to get the full benefits.



Why it works:

Vitamin C has natural antihistamine properties, which can prevent inflammation of the airways, and alleviate many hay fever symptoms.
It also helps the immune system function more effectively.

How to use it:

Good food sources of vitamin C are guava, bell peppers, strawberries, kiwi, kale, cabbage and oranges.
Since the body simply sheds whatever vitamin C it doesn't need, it's difficult to get too much.

What to watch out for:

High doses of vitamin C may affect your stool.
If your bowel movements become loose or watery, back off your dosage.