As an acne sufferer you have probably wondered for years what you can do to naturally get rid of your acne. Most dermatologists are quite happy to very quickly throw a prescription for Accutane or Tetracycline at you. How about more holistic natural methods to treat your acne? Eating is a great natural acne treatment.

Instead of immediately trying to treat your acne with pills or creams why not try your best to be more healthy in the way that you eat and see what your eating is going to do to help you.

Most dermatologists and the health industry as a whole do not seem to care much about the food you eat but think about your body and the way that your body reacts to food in other ways. If you eat greasy food how do you feel? Tired? If you  drink too much coffee how do you feel? Shaky and distracted?

Fogetting what the skin doctor days for a moment why not take a serious look at your diet and get really serious about cleaning up your diet. Here are some things that you should definitely avoid.

Greasy Foods – Deep fried foods are the very worst thing that you can eat. I have always found that my skin will break out if I eat a lot of greasy food.

Sugar – Sweets are very bad as they start your body in unnaturally increasing your metabolism and we do not even want to talk about how this will affect your blood sugar.

Caffeine – caffeine stimulates hormone production. This is bad.

Other than the above foods it is important to remember that dairy products like milk and cheeses as well as refined and cooked carbohydrates like flour, bread, rice, and chips are acid-forming in the body.

If you really want to get rid of acne, you need to eat more alkaline-forming foods like fresh vegetables and fruit, as well as some nuts and seeds.

Eating really can be a great natural treatment for acne. Looking at this list of foods you can probably guess that the more natural a food that you eat and the closer that it is to the source (unrefined) the better it will be for you.

One more thing to remember in this system is that you really need to drink water. Water is going to have a much bigger effect on your then almost anything else. What water will do is clean out your body as well as regulating your sweat and metabolism.

Try this natural acne treatment using healthy eating and your will see that it will help you get rid of your acne better then any prescription can.

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: acne, Acne Treatment, caffeine, dairy products, eating, food, greasy food, Health Issues, sugar

There is a new very large study of 70,000 women that is making health headlines today that shows that drinking alcohol, especially fairly heavy drinking will increase a womens risk of breast cancer. How much is fairly heavy drinking? The study shows that three or more drinks a day will increase the chance of developing breast cancer by 30% over that of non drinkers.

All types of alcohol — wine, beer or liquor — add equally to the risk of developing breast cancer in women, American researchers said Thursday.

“This is a hugely underestimated risk factor,” said Dr. Patrick Maisonneuve, head of epidemiology at the European Institute of Oncology in Italy, who was not connected to the study.

The researchers, led by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, Calif., revealed their findings at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization in Barcelona.

Researchers analyzed the drinking habits of 70,033 women of various races and asked them questions during health exams between 1978 and 1985. By 2004, 2,829 of these women had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Tags: Arthur Klatsky, Barcelona, breast cancer, breast_cancer, California, cancer_in_women, drinking_alcohol, European Cancer Organization, European Institute of Oncology, head of epidemiology, head of epidemiology in Italy, Health Issues, Italy, kaiser_permanente_medical, Oakland, Patrick Maisonneuve

Dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a lower incidence of autoantibodies in the blood that signal the immune system to attack insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Omega-3 fatty acids are known to have anti-inflammatory properties, and inflammation is believed to play a major role in the development of type 1 diabetes through destruction of these insulin-producing cells.

“The thinking is that omega-3 may increase the body’s ability to fight the inflammation that leads to type 1 diabetes,” researcher Jill M. Norris, MPH, PHD announced yesterday.

“This is a preliminary study,” she says. “We really can’t make dietary recommendations based on these findings.”

The study appears in the Sept. 27 issue of TheJournal of the American Medical Association.

Omega-3, Diabetes Research
In adults, omega-3 rich diets are believed to lower cardiovascular risk, and in babies the fatty acid is believed to boost brain development.

A 2003 study from Norway was one of the first human trials to suggest a protective role for omega-3 fatty acids in type 1 diabetes. Researchers reported a lower incidence of omega-3-rich cod liver oil supplementation during infancy in children with diabetes, compared to children without the disease.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: American Medical Association, annual food-frequency questionnaires, canola oil, cod liver oil supplementation, diabetes, diabetes_research, dietary_recommendations, flaxseed_oil, food sources, Health Issues, inflammation, Jill M. Norris, Michael Clare-Salzler, Norway, oil, omega_3s, researcher, sunflower oil, Uncategorized

MSN has a Q and A with Dr Andrew Weil about the different kinds of teas and what they are good for. The thing that I like about Dr Weil is the huge depth of knowledge that he has about alternative medicines and I remember reading one of his early books and just reading that book changed a lot of my preconceptions about the voodoo behind alternative medicines

Green Tea Alternatives – MSN Health & Fitness – Diet & Fitness

Black Tea

The color refers to the leaves; the beverage is deep amber. Black tea varieties include Darjeeling and Earl Grey; flavors range from spicy to flowery.

Benefits: May lower risk of heart disease and colon cancer; inhibits bacteria that cause cavities and bad breath.

Green Tea

If you find the flavor too “grassy,” try my favorites: jewel green matcha, which I enjoy every morning, and Japanese sencha.

Benefits: Has been shown in numerous studies to help prevent many kinds of cancer, lower cholesterol, and boost immunity.

Oolong Tea

Midway between green and black tea in color, flavor, and antioxidant action, oolong has a fresh floral or fruity aroma.

Benefits: Drinking 3 cups a day can help relieve itchy skin rashes.

Pu-Erh (poo-air) Tea

This dark red tea has an earthy flavor that reminds me of coffee and tobacco. It’s considered a delicacy in China (you can purchase it online), where its processing is a highly guarded secret. The most oxidized of teas, pu-erh is said to mellow and improve with age, like wine.

Benefits: May reduce cholesterol.

White Tea

Rare and expensive, this least processed tea has a flavor that’s a bit too subtle for me.

Benefits: Contains more antioxidants than other teas. Test-tube studies show that it blocks DNA mutations (which trigger tumor formation); a study on rats discovered it prevented precancerous colon tumors.

All of these Teas are readily available at most health food stores or even in some supermarkets

Tags: Alternative Medicine, Andrew Weil, beverage, cancer, China, colon cancer, colon tumors, Darjeeling Grey, Earl Grey, health food stores, Health Issues, heart disease, tumor

I remember a few years ago as my wife was pregnant with our first child she qot the requisite baby viatmins ande we never questioned them again. Everyone we knew that was pregnant would take the popular vitamins so that they would get all the nutrients they could while trying not to truly be “eating for two”.

Times have noty changed and Health Canada today announced that pregnant women should take an even larger supplementation of Vitamin D to protect against any possible deficiency and then some.

Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding should consider increasing their vitamin D intake to 2,000 international units a day to reduce the chances their children will develop such ailments as multiple sclerosis, diabetes and cancer later in life, the Canadian Pediatric Society says.

That amount of vitamin D is 10 times higher than what is currently recommended by Health Canada for women in their childbearing years, and the advice is believed to be the first time a medical group has called for healthy people to take such elevated amounts of the sunshine vitamin.

But it is the second time in recent months that a major Canadian public health advocacy group has decided the evidence for taking vitamin D has become so compelling that it is overstepping the government’s recommendations.

The pediatric society, representing doctors who specialize in children’s health, is issuing the vitamin D advice in a position statement being released today in its journal, Pediatrics & Child Health. The statement said aboriginal people in particular are at higher risk of deficiencies of the vitamin.

“New findings suggest that adequate vitamin D status in mothers during pregnancy and in their infants may have lifetime implications,” the statement said.

As a precaution against being exposed to too much of the nutrient, the statement also recommended that women periodically have their doctors monitor their blood levels of the vitamin.

Tags: Canadian Pediatric Society, cancer, diabetes, health, Health Issues, health_canada, multiple sclerosis, possible deficiency, pregnancy, Vitamin, Vitamin D, women_health

Many people look upon massage as an indulgence that is simply not necessary, I have to admit that I enjoy getting a massage but was always wondering if long term massage was good for me. This way of thinking keeps them from experiencing the miraculous healing power a good massage can have. This form of therapy is not only very pleasant and relaxing but offers great health inspiring benefits.

This article is going to reveal some of the key health benefits of massage and debunk the idea that it is a luxury not worth pursuing. Here is what you can expect by receiving a massage every week or two:

Increased circulation throughout the body. This is great for addressing a whole host of health issues. Better circulation brings fresh oxygen and nutrients to the tissues. This allows them to reach optimal health very quickly.

Better flow of lymph fluid. This allows the lymph system to be far more effective in removing toxins and other pollutants. It breaks up the stagnant lymph fluid allowing the whole system to be freshened and cleansed.

Promotes deep, slow breathing. This is very beneficial to both the body and mind. Slow, deep breathing brings much more oxygen into the body. This is wonderful for your health. Oxygen is critical to every aspect of body operation. The more oxygen you have in your system the better. Deep, slow breathing also eases anxiety in the mind.

Helps the body recover faster from injuries to the muscles and tendons. This is because massage relieves harmful tension and inflammation and brings better circulation to the affected area. Be sure to tell your therapist about the injury so that they can treat it accordingly.

Releases serotonin and endorphins from the brain. These are the body�s natural feel-good hormones. People who have elevated levels of these hormones feel happy and exuberant. They are also very effective at relieving pain. This is of great benefit to anyone, especially people suffering with chronic disease. If you are prone to depression you will find a degree of relief by receiving a regular massage. This is because of the release of these natural hormones along with the relaxation of the body.

Makes the skin healthier and more vibrant. Vigorous massage brings new life into tired, old looking skin. Fresh nutrients and oxygen are delivered to the skin resulting in a healthy glow. A massage per week can keep your skin looking its best, deep into old age. Also, because the therapist uses a lotion to aid in the massage your skin becomes fully moisturized, leading to greater elasticity and a reduction of wrinkles.

The above benefits are only a quick overview of the health benefits of massage. To write about all the great things massage can do for you I would need many pages. It is important that you find a high quality, well-trained massage therapist. This will ensure you the best experience possible along with the greatest health benefits. Be sure to alert the therapist to any special needs or concerns you may have.

It is important to maintain a regular schedule of massage to receive maximum benefits. While a massage every now then is very healthy, it will not even come close to the power of regular massages. I find that a massage every one or two weeks provides the best benefits. Simply find a routine that works for you and stick with it. You will be very glad you did.

Tags: benefits of massage, circulation, deep breathing, healing power, Health Issues, inflammation, lymph fluid, lymph system, Massage, massage therapist, massages, nutrients, oxygen, pain, relaxation, therapist