There are a dazzling array of shapes, styles and colors of mats on the market today and exactly which workout mat you choose largely depends on what type of exercise you are doing. From crash and tumble mats through to the sticky yoga variety, these mats are designed to provide the ultimate service in facilitating an optimum workout where you feel safe and secure.

All purpose mats are very useful if you are the type of person who does wide range of workouts. These mats are ideal for tumbling, stretching exercises like pilates and yoga, martial arts, physical restraint, wrestling, gymnastics and physiotherapy.

Aerobic mats are lightweight and have polyethylene foam infill to make them shock absorbent. They are usually waterproof and washable, hygienic and extremely hard wearing. The base is anti-slip and like most mats on the market, it does not include latex which can induce allergies. Read the rest of this entry »

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: allergies, Gymnastics, India, physical restraint, physiotherapy, wrestling

A new three-in-one-pill could reduce the risk factors for heart disease and stroke by 50 per cent and revolutionize prevention of these medical conditions, which kill thousands of Canadians every year, according to a study released yesterday.

The study, published in the Lancet, showed that when blood-pressure medications, Aspirin and cholesterol-lowering medication were taken together in one pill, known as the Polycap, they were just as effective as when taken separately.

“People could take a pill a day and, literally, keep the doctor away,” said Salim Yusuf, a cardiologist and the study’s lead author. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: atenolol, Cardiologist, cardiologist and the study's lead author, diabetes, head, heart attacks, heart disease, high blood pressure, India, lead author, McMaster University, obesity, Population Health Research Institute, Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University, Prevent Heart Disease A, ramipril, Salim Yusuf, stroke, strokes, USD

Governments everywhere are banning smoking in public places even though they always seem quite happy to keep tobacco legal so that they can still collect taxes.

India has imposed the world’s biggest smoking ban by forbidding its 1.2 billion people from lighting up in public places.

The move has been introduced to try and fight tobacco use blamed, directly or indirectly, for a fifth of all deaths in the world’s third-largest consumer.

The ban, which includes all offices and restaurants, will hit its estimated 240 million tobacco users, who are likely to find their homes and cars among the last few places to light up. Offenders will be fined 200 rupees ($4).

How do you feel about these bans? As an ex-smoker I think it is a good start but there still seems to be a real shortage of programs to help people quit smoking easily. I can vouch for anyone that has quit that it is really tough.

I know how difficult quitting smoking really is so I started a quit smoking email course to help people out. If you do smoke and want to quit then sign up and see

Tags: India, quitting smoking, rupee, smoking ban, USD

The Center for Disease Control is reporting that Measles Cases are at the highest rate in over 10 years. Most of the reason for the really high rate of Measles outbreaks is because of the fear of Autism from kids getting the

More measles cases have been reported in the United States since Jan. 1, 2008 than during the same period in any year since 1996, according to a report released today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Measles Results for 2008

Between January 1 and July 31, 2008, 131 cases were reported to CDC′s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). At least fifteen patients, including four children younger than 15 months of age, were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Academy of Pediatrics, Anne Schuchat, Arizona, Arkansas, Austria, Autism, Belgium, California, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China, D.C., director, encephalitis, Europe, Georgia, Germany, hawaii, Illinois, immunization, India, Israel, Italy, Louisiana, measles, Michigan, Missouri, mmr vaccine, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Mumps, National Center for Immunization, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, New Mexico, New York, Pakistan, Pennsylvania, preventing infections, Respiratory Diseases, rubella, Russian Federation, Switzerland, the Philippines, United Kingdom, United States, vaccination, vaccination program, vaccination status, vaccines, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin

Garcinia cambogia extract is hitting headlines throughout the western world as a natural weight loss supplement. Several studies have shown that it does help people to lose weight and although as always there are other studies that are less conclusive, it can be an effective weight loss supplement for many people.

What is Garcinia cambogia?

Garcinia cambogia is the name of a small tropical fruit that grows in India and Africa. It is one of the citrus family like oranges and lemons. It is too sour to eat but the rind is used as a spice in Indian cooking. The correct name for the substance that is extracted from the fruit as a weight loss supplement is hydroxycitric acid.

Hydroxycitric acid is not a stimulant (like caffeine) or an appetite suppressant, both of which work directly on the nerve centers of the brain and can have undesired side effects, including causing food binges any time you stop taking them. Instead, HCA satisfies the body’s need for energy and improves the signaling system that the body uses to tell the brain when it has eaten enough. This response is often delayed in overweight people, causing them to continue to eat more than they need.

Garcinia cambogia extract (HCA) seems to work best in combination with chromium, which helps to regulate the body’s blood sugar levels. Chromium is a mineral that is often lacking in our diets as we get older and a chromium deficit can contribute to weight gain and possibly diabetes. However if you have diabetes already, you should see your doctor before taking any products containing chromium.

As with most supplements, it is best to be cautious and do not take HCA if you are pregnant or breast feeding. Consult a doctor before giving it to children. You may also want to avoid HCA if you suffer from migraine or arthritis which can be worsened by citrus fruits.

Who will Garcinia cambogia help?

HCA seems to work best for people who overeat when they are anxious or stressed, as it will give the same calming effect that they get from food. Generally you do not need to eat any special foods when you are taking HCA, and there are no ‘forbidden foods’. Choose healthy foods and you should find that you lose weight and fat slowly but steadily without really trying. You can take slightly smaller portions if you wish and choose fruit instead of sugary snacks but you should not need to go hungry. This is a very natural way to lose weight.

Unlike many other weight loss products, HCA has been extensively tested in research laboratories on both human and animal subjects and no side effects have been found. This natural weight loss supplement is available from many sources online and may be labeled either hydroxycitric acid or garcinia cambogia extract.

Tags: Africa, arthritis, diabetes, energy, food, food binges, HCA, India, migraine, weight loss products

The Native American herbal medicine tradition is often overlooked these days in favor of Chinese or Ayurvedic traditions. This is a great pity when all of the herbs used by the native healers grow wild in the USA. Instead of growing them in our gardens, we pay hundreds of dollars to have the equivalent shipped to us in bottles from China or India. At the same time, we ignore many of the other lessons that Native American healing has for us.

Traditionally it was believed that the power of herbal medicine to heal rests partly in the plants, partly in the healer and partly in the person being healed. Today, conventional western medicine encourages us to believe that all power lies with the doctors and the medication. We do not take any share of the responsibility for our own sickness or healing, and that is a great mistake.

While some plants certainly have medically observable effects, it is also true that our attitude when we use a remedy has a great deal of power. Belief that the treatment will help you is important, and so is having a genuine wish to get well that is not undermined by a desire for the attention that being sick can get us.

The power of herbal treatments used by Native American people was reinforced by the trust that they had in the spiritual, almost magical, power of the healers. The medicine man or shaman was chosen according to his birth position in society and his natural talent. Often there would be a family connection with medicine and tribal religion. It might be considered that blind faith in modern doctors would have the same effect, but it does not because the spiritual aspect is missing.

Medicine was seen as a question of dealing with the spirit as much as the body, and many ceremonies were practiced both by healers and also by the person being treated or his or her family. A major effect of the ceremonies that the healer performed was to increase his awareness and concentration so that even without any of the laboratory tests that are done these days, he could correctly diagnose the problem and see the best remedy – not just for the disease, but for the person. Ceremonies undertaken by the afflicted person would cleanse the body and mind to prepare them to make the best possible use of the remedy when it was taken.

This spiritual aspect of herbal medicine is completely ignored today. We take herbal remedies in much the same way that we take chemical medications, assuming that the substance has all of the power and we have none.

In fact, many doctors as well as alternative medical practitioners today would agree that it is the sick person who does the healing, and not the remedy. The body’s ability to heal itself, known as homeostasis, is at the root of all recovery. It works by expelling toxins, fighting back against disease with antibodies. All that medication does is to help the process along and remove obstacles to recovery.

If we can get away from the mainstream western view that the body and mind or spirit are two separate things, the importance of a spiritual aspect to healing becomes very clear. The state of the sick person’s mind is as important in the recovery process as the state of his body.

This does not mean that we have to perform tribal dances or complicated rituals. We can replace them with other spiritual practices including meditation and prayer. But studying the spiritual aspect of Native American herbal medicine can help us shift our focus and understand that in a sense, we always have to heal ourselves.

Tags: antibodies, chemical medications, China, Herbal Remedies, India, meditation, United States

Yogurt Pack
Once a day, apply the whey of yogurt on the face.
Wash it off with plain water after 15 to 20 minutes.
he enzymes in yogurt are said to treat acne.
However if you have a very sensitive skin, then this treatment is not advisable as curd is acidic.

Lemon, A Natural Toner
Use a natural toner like lemon juice.
Dilute, dab it on the face and rinse off.

Lemon & Honey
Add the juice of a lemon and a tablespoon of honey to a glass of warm water.
Drink it first thing every morning.

Overnight Cure With Sandalwood
If its pollution/humidity/oily skin that’s causing pimples then you could try sandalwood paste that is an excellent remedy for getting rid of pimples. In fact if you use this treatment just as the pimple starts showing up, the pimple might just disappear overnight without erupting at all!
Apply sandalwood paste (if you use rose water as the base for making the paste, even better) on the affected areas and leave it on for half an hour (the longer you leave it on, the better). Your pimples will disappear quickly.

Marigold Wonder
Marigolds, the bright yellow flowers used so abundantly during religious ceremonies in India, you will be surprised to know, are an excellent beauty aid.
Put the marigold petals in a vessel and add just enough boiling water to cover the petals. Allow the water to completely cool. Use this water to wash skin to cure blemishes. (Especially recommended as a wash for oily skin)
To treat pimples, make a paste of the petals and leave it on for a while every morning and evening. The anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties of the flower help prevent the aggravation of pimples.
And hey, it’s easy to grow marigolds at home. So get a potted plant today for your homegrown beauty aid!
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: acne, Honey Add, India, USD

Is Caralluma the next Hoodia?

As we have all heard and I have written here. Hoodia is one of the most popular weight loss products on the market today even if there is very little research confirming it but in the world of weight loss anectodal evidence is all that really matters. Caralluma is the same type of plant, a succulent and many people believe that it will be the next hoodia with some research,however small, showing positive results and people are making some weight losses. The really nice thing about Caralluma and Hoodia is that they have been used voer thousands of years and we know that in using them in moderation there are no obvious health issues.

Caralluma fimbriata is a succulent plant, in the cactus family. Where have we heard this before? Hoodia anyone? Caralluma has been used as a natural appetite suppressant in India for centuries. Caralluma is a “new” disovery in the west in the family of cactii and succulent plants that are becoming increasingly popular for their appetite suppressant, and weight loss properties, as well as their ability to lower blood sugar. Supplements made from the popular hoodia gordonii cactus from the Kalahari Desert in Africa, are very popularfor weight loss in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Like hoodia, Caralluma Fimbriata has been used to suppress appetite, and as a portable food for the outdoors as opposed to how we in the west have always used dried fruit and dried meat. It is used to suppress hunger and appetite, and enhance endurance throughout India. It is also sometimes considered a “famine food,” used during periods of famine to suppress appetite.

Caralluma Fimbriata is essentially a vegetable of daily use in tribal India. It is eaten in several forms. It is cooked as a regular vegetable with spices and salt. It is used in preserves like chutneys and pickles and is even eaten raw. Indian tribals chew chunks of Caralluma Fimbriata to suppress hunger when on a day’s hunt. This succulent is used amongst the labor classes in South India to suppress appetite and enhance endurance.

Two clinical trials of a proprietary Caralluma fimbriata extract (Gencor Pacific, Inc., Austin, TX) found the product to be without any serious side effects.6,11 The extract is described as a powder alcohol and water extract of the shade-dried aerial parts of the plant and containing not less than 10% total saponin glycosides, 3% bitters, and 25% total pregnane glycosides.7 Specific active components are noted to include luteolin-4?-O-neohesperidoside, kaempferol-7-O-neohesperidoside, sitosterol, tomentogenin, and pregnane glycosides, including caratubersides A and B and various boucerosides.6

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial on potential weight-loss effects, the Caralluma extract was administered in gelatin capsules initially to 62 obese subjects, 50 of whom completed the 8-week study. Subjects were of both genders, in normal health, not taking medications, and had not dietary restrictions during the trial. Reasons why the 12 subjects failed to complete the trial and the dosage used and quantitative results are not found in the summary made available for this report. According to the trial summary, reductions in the indicators of weight-loss were statistically significant and all adverse effects were gastrointestinal (constipation, moderate acidity, and flatulence), reported by both the placebo and the extract treatments groups, and transient (subsided within 7 days without further incidence).6

A 4-week, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of Caralluma was conducted in 26 overweight subjects (7 in the placebo group and 19 in the extract group; 9 men and 15 women ages 31 to 73). The extract was supplied in gelatin capsules at a dosage of one 500-mg capsule 30 min. before each meal. Subjects were instructed to maintain their previous exercise pattern and food intake and not to make any changes in their diet during 4 weeks before the treatment period, neither of which are described in the publication made available for this report. One male in each of the treatment arms of the trial failed to appear for final assessments; however, the reasons for their absence were not stated in the publication. The only adverse effects reported were from one subject in the final placebo group (3 males and 3 females) and one in the final extract treatment group who both complained of bloating and acidity shortly after beginning treatment and upon starting treatment again after ceasing. Subsequently, both discontinued the Caralluma capsules. The trial summary states that over 80% of those in the final treatment group (5 men and 13 women) lost weight with 11 out of 18 subjects losing approximately 6 pounds. Others lost 1-2 pounds (n=4) or maintained their starting weight (n=2). The exceptions in the extract group were one woman who lost 8 pounds, another who lost 9 pounds, and one who deviated from the trial instructions by increasing her calorie intake and gained 17 pounds. Three subjects in the placebo group (n=6) gained a pound and one subject lost one pound.

Take this as you would like but it seems that Caralluma is poised to be one of the new most popular weight loss products. One thing to watch for in the news is how easily this product will be to grow and produce as there are many companies that can package and market and with few if any side effects there will be very little resistance to a “new” indian weight loss product.

Tags: Africa, Austin, bloating, Canada, constipation, Europe, famine food, food intake, Gencor Pacific Inc., India, indian weight loss product, Kalahari desert, portable food, United States, weight loss products

I found this list of some common supplements used in weight loss from the Blue Cross of of Massachusetts. This list even includes some warnings where needed:

Chromium Supplement

This mineral, found in tiny amounts in almost all foods, helps the body burn fat, build muscle, and control blood sugar. A little chromium is essential to good health, but does that mean extra chromium must be extra healthy?

Supplement marketers and manufacturers claim that chromium pills are a shortcut to the perfect body, but the benefits are far from certain. For one thing, chromium is a nutrient and not a drug, which means it can only help people who don’t get enough chromium in their diet. And while a few studies have found that chromium supplements apparently lead to small gains in muscle and modest weight loss (as in roughly 2 pounds of fat lost per month), several recent studies have found no such effects.

Richard A. Anderson, lead scientist at the United States Department Of Agriculture’s Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, has studied chromium supplements in many contexts over the last 20 years, and he’s never seen the supplements change a person’s body weight. Dr. Anderson summed up his opinion of the supplements in the September, 1998, issue of the journal Nutrition Reviews: “Chromium is only a small part of the puzzle in weight loss and body composition, and its effects, if present, will be small compared with those of exercise and a well-balanced diet.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: American Medical Association, bloating, chemical, Columbia, Columbia University, diabetes, diarrhea, Editor, energy, ephedra product, FDA's Office of Over, food and drug administration, HCA, headaches, Health and Human Services Secretary, heart attack, heart attacks, high blood pressure, hypertension, India, insomnia, kidney disease, neurologic disorders, numerous injuries, obesity, over-the-counter products, Pittsburgh Medical Center, Robert Sherman, seizures, stroke, strokes, the International Journal, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Tommy G. Thompson, tremors, United States, University of Pittsburgh

Article from Living Magazine on the power of Soy which as we all know is high in protein although it’s amino acid profile is a little weak:

When even doctors start singing paeans to soya, it is time to take this lesser-known legume seriously

Yes, this isn’t the sexiest-looking ingredient on your table. Your mouth hardly waters thinking of the yellow seed and its varied forms. Yet, it’s equally difficult to put this aside, especially if you’re a fitness and diet freak. Soya’s magical qualities may sound incredible, but you have got to believe it when doctors swear by it!

Veggie option
In the last few years, soya has become the vegetarian’s answer for protein-rich food, the nutritionist’s antidote for diabetes management and the oncologist’s prescribed diet for cancer patients. Benefits of eating soya vary from improved memory, height-weight of children, prevention of heart diseases, reduction in menopausal symptoms to stoppage of bone deterioration.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Beena Mathew, cancer, diabetes, diabetes management, fda, food, heart disease, heart diseases, India, less oil, nutritionist, prevention of heart diseases, protein-rich food, regular food