Friday, October 30, 2009

3 Tips to Help Prevent Hair Loss

Baldness or hair loss is one of the most dreaded situations people can find themselves in. This is because this will not only affect their overall physical appearance, but can also affect their emotional status as well. Pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia can affect both men and women.

In men, pattern baldness can lead to thinning hair and receding of hairlines even at an early age. Eventually, this condition may lead them to total or partial baldness. In women, pattern baldness may come at a much later age and does not lead them to total baldness. Usually, the thinning hair manifests at their temples and hairlines.

Prevention as the key

People who have risks for pattern baldness can slow the rate of hair loss or even reverse it through various treatments. Prevention can be the key to avoiding eventual total baldness. The following are three tips to help prevent hair loss:

1) Proper diet.

Having a diet that is balanced is one of the major keys to prevent excessive hair loss. Eating foods that are nutritious especially for the hair can be an effective tool to fight against the signs of hair loss. People who are experiencing hair loss because they are undernourished should take time to make a diet plan which can provide sufficient nutrients not only for the hair, but for the overall health as well.

2) Developing good hair habits.

Unhealthy hair habits such as improper handling of the hair can lead to excessive hair loss. People, especially those who have sensitive scalp, should ensure that they handle their hair gently especially when it's wet. Proper handling to wet hair is very important because the hair is weaker when wet. If possible, opt for natural air drying methods instead of using electronic ones such as blower.

3) Don’t twist, rub or pull your hair.

People who twist, rub, or pull their hair often experience hair loss . If it has become a habit, try to break it. You can do this by focusing on other things instead of putting too much pressure on your hair and on your scalp.

For more information about inexpensive, natural programs to reverse hair loss, read my review of the two best programs I've found to reverse hair loss at my blog Reverse Hair Loss.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Dumbbell Blaster

The Dumbbell Blaster is a simple, but effective, dumbbell workout consisting of 5 rounds of 3 Turkish get-upss 4 DB snatches, 5 DB thrusters, and 6 DB swings (each arm).

Monday, October 26, 2009

Use Vitamin D to Fight Off Winter Back Aches, Pain

A new report recommends that everyone should consider taking extra vitamin D during winter months, especially if you have back aches and pains.
It's no wonder that many people feel extra soreness and aches in their backs during winter months -- they're often not getting enough vitamin D. The body makes vitamin D from the sun's ultraviolet rays, so it's known as the sunshine vitamin. However, even in the sunniest parts of America, this essential vitamin for keeping bones healthy is in short supply during late fall and winter.

Up to 8 out of 10 persons will have back pain in their lifetimes. In many cases, there is no evidence of any injury, disease, or bone problem like a slipped disk. An extensive review of clinical research in a report from Pain Treatment Topics found that help may be available from a surprising champion of pain relief Vitamin D. Read more

Friday, October 23, 2009

Route To Healthier Hair: Hair Loss Remedy

Is your hair getting thinner month after month? Are you looking for ways to treat hair loss? If yes, then read the following article. The hair loss remedy mentioned below can prompt hair growth.
We lose around 20- 100 hair strands every day without noticing it. Almost everyone is looking for the best hair care treatment either to get silky hair or to get rid of hair loss. Proper hair care treatment can give you thick, lustrous, beautiful, and dandruff-free hair.

The growth of hair is governed by hormones that appear after puberty. The male hormone testosterone and the female hormone estrogen govern body hair, hair in the armpits, beard, hair on chin etc. Usually when the level of estrogen drops in women, signs of hair loss or baldness are seen. Following a proper hair care routine can help you to recover your lost hair.
  • Eat a diet containing adequate amount of nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats etc.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • In order to compensate for copper deficiency, consume carrot juice, lettuce, capsicum, and alfalfa.They are good remedies for hair loss and prevent hair from graying.
  • Massage the scalp with warm almond or olive oil to help stimulate the blood flow in the scalp. This in turn strengthens hair follicles and prevents hair from falling.
  • Avoid applying hair creams, gels, and other chemicals in hair as they make them lose moisture and make them brittle.
  • Remove chlorine properly from your hair after swimming.
  • Make a hair pack by mixing Indian goose berry with egg. Apply it twice a week on hair to make them thick and glossy.
  • Hot air and heat makes your hair dry. Always cover your head before going out in sun.
  • Blow drying hair removes moisture and aggravates hair loss. Try to air dry your hair. Stand under the fan and run your fingers gently through the hair strands making them dry.
  • Do not use a brush on wet hair. Use a wide toothed comb instead.
  • Stress is one of the major causes for hair loss. Regular yoga and meditation can relieve your worries, thus preventing hair from falling.
A number of hair care products are available in the market. Shop around for the best product that can treat your hair right and help you get healthy and lustrous hair.

Hair determines a person’s appearance. It is an important aspect of your overall appearance. Follow the hair loss remedies and eliminate your hair loss problems effectively.

For more information about inexpensive, natural programs to reverse hair loss, read my review of the two best programs I've found to reverse hair loss at my blog Reverse Hair Loss.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Fight Off Aging with the Right Foods

Aging is a normal part of life, and we’re living longer and longer. As you get older, good nutrition plays an increasingly important role in how well you age.
Keeping in peak condition in old age can be boosted by nutrition, which scientists are proving is a powerful weapon in fighting off diseases. As new research shows that olive oil could play a vital role in protecting against dementia, we look at the key foods that have shown to be an ally against ageing.

MEMORY: OLIVE OIL

Using olive oil as much as possible could preserve your memory and your heart. Oleocanthal, a compound in olive oil, has been found to slow down changes in the brain that lead to Alzheimer's. Researchers believe it will become a key ingredient in medicines designed to combat the disease.

Alzheimer's disease is thought to occur when a protein called ADDL attacks brain cells. Scientists at the University of Philadelphia discovered that oleocanthal in olive oil changes ADDL in a way that makes it harmless. Read more

Monday, October 19, 2009

A Simple Way To Lower Your Blood Pressure, and Lose Weight Too

There's a simple to lower your blood pressure and lose weight, too: avoid fructose, especially high fructose corn syrup.
A diet high in fructose, a form of sugar found in sweetened soft drinks and junk food, raises blood pressure in men.

Two recent studies provided the first evidence that fructose helps raise blood pressure. One study further suggested that people who consume junk foods and sweetened soft drinks at night could gain weight faster than those who don't.

Fructose accounts for about half the sugar molecules in table sugar and in high-fructose corn syrup, the sweetener used in many packaged foods. Read more

Friday, October 16, 2009

Understand Hair Loss and How You Can Reverse It

There is no magic potion that will instantly give you back a full crop of thick, lush hair. However, if we look at the way advances in hair loss treatments have evolved recently, perhaps we're not far from it.

Hair loss can be caused by many factors, the most common being Pattern Baldness which affects more then 40% of the male population. Women also suffer from hair loss, although the causes can be quite different than in men. Baldness can be quite a distressful condition for millions of men and women and can lead to psychological problems and feelings of self-worthlessness. But the scientific discoveries in recent years have made the treatments for balding more effective, and like all medical conditions, if you act on the problem when it is in it's infancy, you've got a better chance of minimizing the effects, or even reversing the condition.

The causes for hair loss are many and varied. Genetic 'Pattern Baldness' is the most common, but there are other very common causes such as Hormonal Imbalance, Illness, Poor Diet, Poor Hygiene, Drug Abuse and Stress. These are just the core issues that contribute to the hair loss. To get a better understanding of exactly how the hair stops to reproduce entails a bit of a scientific look at how hair actually grows .....

Hair grows in three stages. In the first stage (Anagen) a new hair is produced and this is the stage where most growth occurs. Next, in the Catagen (Regressive) stage, the hair has stopped growing but is yet to shed. In the final stage (Telogen) the hair is resting and eventually falls out, and a new one begins to grow. In Pattern Baldness, DHT (Dihydrotestosterone) miniaturizes hair follicles by shortening the Anagen (growth) stage and at the same time can also lengthen the Telogen (resting) stage. This is usually a gradual process, and the end result is an increase in the number of short, thin hairs which are barely visible above the scalp.

There is hope, because while any hair is growing then various treatments can be administered to re-balance/block the DHT and promote healthier hair growth once again. There is no single hair loss treatment that works for everyone. In fact, it would be quite amazing if somoene used a single baldness treatment that completely solved their problem. The best hair loss treatment is in fact a combination of the best known products in a way that is tailored to your individual circumstances.

Generally, the most effective regime for preventing/reversing hair loss is a combination of three or four products:

1) DHT Inhibitors - Work to inhibit the negative effects of DHT
2) Growth Stimulators - artificially stimulate growth in the hair follicle
3) Hair vitamins - these products actually provide all the clinical proven vitamins and minerals required to help hair grow to its fullest and thickest
4) Hair and Scalp Cleaners - these products provide proper hair and scalp hygiene and nutrition.

In all cases, the most effective hair loss treatment will involve a combination of the above options. That is because there is no single solution that tackles the cause and the effect of baldness in everyone.

For more information about inexpensive, natural programs to reverse hair loss, read my review of the two best programs I've found to reverse hair loss at my blog Reverse Hair Loss.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Capsaicin Could Stop a Heart Attack in Progress, Scientists Find

Scientists have confirmed one of the claims of legendary herbalist Dr. John Christopher - that cayenne pepper can literally stop a heart attack in progress.
The late, famed herbalist Dr. John Christopher was nicknamed "Dr. Cayenne" because he was constantly recommending the healing powers of cayenne, the substance found in chili peppers that produces a sensation of heat. He especially advocated using it for cardiovascular health and even made the claim that doses of cayenne could stop heart attacks in progress. Now science has come up with proof cayenne does have a remarkable ability to help the heart. University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists have found that capsaicin, the main component of cayenne, may literally stop a heart attack in its tracks when applied topically. Read more

Monday, October 12, 2009

How to Keep Your Brain in Peak Form

If you want to keep your brain in peak form, eat your vegetables, says Dr. Joseph Mercola.
Researchers have found that individuals with a high daily intake of vegetables and fruits also demonstrate higher cognitive performance. Please notice that vegetables are mentioned first because they are FAR more important than fruits.

Subjects with a high intake (about 400 grams per day) of fruits and vegetables had higher antioxidant levels, lower indicators of free radical-induced damage, and better cognitive performance.

The findings were independent of age, gender, body mass index, and level of education. Further studies are planned that will include larger subject cohorts, patients with Alzheimer's disease, and patients with mild cognitive impairment. Read more

Friday, October 9, 2009

Prevent Hair Loss with Good Grooming and Care

Hair is fairly strong and can generally withstand normal grooming techniques. However, there can be thinning or breakage of hair due to poor grooming habits. The following tips can prevent these bouts of thinning and breakage.

Avoid combing hair with fine-toothed combs when wet, as this is a common cause of breakage. Although this is a tempting practice because hair straightens and detangles much better if combed when wet, the stress on the hair shaft is immense when the hair is wet because it is weakened.

This goes for brushing the hair when wet, also. Brushing the hair, in general can be stimulating to the scalp, encouraging blood flow to the hair follicles and maintaining their health. Brushing the hair before washing it can loosen up flakes of sebum and dead skin buildup and make it easier to thoroughly clean the scalp during shampooing. Remember, over combing or over brushing generally will cause damage to the hair, which is quite contrary to the old 100-stroke brushing rule.

Although clean hair is desirable and even necessary for the maintenance of healthy hair, excessive shampooing can strip vital minerals like calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen and iron from the hair. This is particularly true when using commercial shampoos. Most commercial shampoos contain formaldehyde as a preservative. To disguise the presence of formaldehyde it is listed in the ingredients as Quanternium-15. This substance can be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) and poisonous to the entire system.

Unfortunately for those who suffer with dandruff, anti-dandruff shampoos are some of the most dangerous shampoos on the market. Selenium sulfide is the main ingredient in most dandruff shampoos, a substance that has shown to cause degeneration of the liver. Other toxic chemicals such as polyvinyl pyrrlidone plastic (PVP), which is a proven carcinogenic, and creosol which has been proven to be highly toxic are commonly found in dandruff shampoos. This is why it is very important to correct this condition as quickly as possible through natural means.

Natural shampoos normally found in health food stores are a much better choice. Even with natural shampoos, be careful of the ingredient sodium lauryl sulfate can strip away too much oil from the hair, causing shampoo residue to be left behind. Ingredients that have proven useful in shampoos are aloe vera, sage, nettle, burdock, chamomile, chaparral, horsetail ,and rosemary. Also look for shampoos that contain keratin, the protein substance that hair is made of, or amino acids. This will help seal breakages in the cuticle.

Choose a shampoo with a proper pH balance; a level of 5.5 is ideal. The pH scale runs from 0 to 6.9 for acids and 7.1 to 14 for alkaline, with 7 being neutral. Although generally conditioners are good for hair provided that they do not contain the previously mentioned harmful chemicals, shampoos with conditioners included should be avoided. Shampooing and conditioning serve two different functions and the effectiveness of both are diminished by combining the process.

When shampooing, pour the shampoo into the hands and rub the shampoo in with your hands rather than pouring it on your head. By pouring shampoo directly into the hair, you may promote buildup in one particular spot. Massage gently with your fingertips to loosen flakes and buildup and to stimulate circulation, but avoid using the fingernails as this may scratch the scalp and cause scarring over time. Shampoo with warm water to open the pores and rinse with cool water to promote shrinking the pores back to their normal size. After washing hair, dry it by blotting the hair with a towel. Avoid rubbing, especially with terrycloth towels, as this will pull hair when it is in a weakened state due to the wetness.

Following these tips can not only prevent unnecessary hair loss, but also leave your hair looking its best. Even if you don't have as much hair as you used to, taking care of it will keep it looking good and make you look great, too.

For more information about inexpensive, natural programs to reverse hair loss, read my review of the two best programs I've found to reverse hair loss at my blog Reverse Hair Loss.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Increasing Your Vitamin D Protects against Swine Flu

Soram Khalsa, MD, is on a mission to get Americans to up their levels of vitamin D. Dr. Khalsa even had a patient hand deliver a copy of his book The Vitamin D Revolution to Michelle Obama, in which he wrote, ‘Vitamin D can help the country’s health-care crisis. Please contact me if you are interested." Khalsa hasn’t heard from her yet. What a surprise that Michelle Obama isn't interested in something that doesn't make money for the pharmaceutical companies.
Soram Khalsa is on a mission to get Americans to up their levels of Vitamin D. Why? To protect them against a myriad of illnesses, including cancers, heart disease and diabetes. He even had a patient from his who’s-who-studded medical practice in Beverly Hills hand deliver a copy of his book, The Vitamin D Revolution, to Michelle Obama. “In the front, I wrote, ‘Vitamin D can help the country’s health-care crisis. Please contact me if you are interested’ and included my phone number. I haven’t heard from her yet, but...” Read more

Monday, October 5, 2009

Bar-Barians: Ninja Masters of the Pull Up Bar!

Rusty Moore at Fitness Black Book profiles the Bar-Barians, who prove that bodyweight exercise can build muscle. Be sure to check out the requirements to become a Bar-Baron. Can you meet them?
This post is to prove to people they can reach an ultra-high degree of conditioning with something as simple as the pull up bar. I've been writing a lot about body weight training and I've personally been trying to get better at pull ups and chin ups. You guys may or may not have heard of the Bar-Barians, but these guys are flat out impressive. They don't train with weights, but I would go as far to say that they are most likely in better shape and more ripped than just about anyone in your gym. If you have never been exposed to the Bar-Barians, prepare to be "Wow'ed"!

[The Bar-Barians were founded in 2004 and are based out of Brooklyn, New York. These guys are some of the most impressive athletes I have ever seen. Brooklyn has a reputation for being a tough area, but I'm guessing people don't mess with this group.] Read more

Friday, October 2, 2009

Why Plugged Hair Follicles Thin Your Hair and What You Can Do

Losing your hair to where it thins or you become bald does not have to happen. Just by understanding why your hair falls out and thins allows you to take counter measures. Discover what counter measures you need to take to keep your hair full, thick, or from thinning.

There are various ways to keep your hair clean, shiny, and thick. If you still have hair and want to keep it or if your hair is starting to thin out, here are some hair remedies that you can use.

When your hair starts to thin down, three of the reasons are:
  • Your hair follicles are slowly becoming plug and preventing hair from growing out
  • Your hair is not receiving the nutrients it needs to grow and stay strong
  • Your hair is not getting enough blood circulating in your scalp
I will cover only the first of the two items.

Plugged Hair Follicles

Just like acne, your hair follicles can become plugged. In acne a plug follicle results in sebum and bacteria becoming trapped in the follicle, which leads to an infection known as a pimple.

When a hair follicle becomes plugged on your scalp, the hair in that follicle becomes trapped and is prevented from coming to the surface. Over time, your scalp becomes smooth and you become bald or lose most of your hair.

So the secret to preventing hair loss, thinning and balding is to prevent your hair follicles from becoming plugged. Once you know what causes your follicle to plug, you can avoid or counteract those conditions.

Here is what causes your follicles to become plugged.
  • Excessive build up of testosterone in blood converting over to DHT and plugging up your hair follicles
  • Use of shampoos, conditioners, and gels that contain excessive unnatural chemical that stay on your scalp and get trapped in your follicles
  • Excessive release of sebum and scalp flaking mixing together to form a hard material that plugs up your follicles.
DHT Build Up in Your Follicle

It is well known now that excessive conversion of testosterone into DHT accumulates in the hair follicles and plugs. Knowing this you can use a variety of shampoos on your hair to dissolve this DHT. This keeps your pores open and your hair growing normally. You can also take capsules that prevent the conversion of testosterone into DHT.

Unnatural Shampoo and Conditioners

Most shampoos, conditioners, and hair gels are created using petrochemicals, un-natural additives, dyes, preservatives that are harmful to your hair and scalp.

In addition, these un-natural hair product chemicals get into your pores and can plug. Once in the follicle, they also get into your blood and are harmful to your liver and the rest of your body.

Search for more natural shampoo products which contain fewer petrochemicals and have more herbs with natural cleansing chemicals

Excessive Sebum and Scalp Flaking

Some people have oily hair and some dry. When the hair follicle releases excess sebum it accumulates on the scalp. Here it will combine with dirt, dead scalp cells, and shampoo chemical residues.

Using natural remedies reduces the amount of chemical available to combine with excess sebum and dead scalp cells. If you use any type of gel to style your hair these gels combine with sebum to plug up your follicles.

To keep your hair and scalp clean and follicles open, use aloe vera gel mixed with a few drops of jojoba oil. Buy aloe vera gel, 99% pure and pure jojoba oil. Put some aloe vera gel in your hand and add 4-5 drops of jojoba oil. Rub your hands together then rub this mixture into your hair. This mixture will keep your hair shiny and thick and your hair follicles open.

Just making these changes to your hair care will go a long way in keeping your hair from thinning any further

For more information about inexpensive, natural programs to reverse hair loss, read my review of the two best programs I've found to reverse hair loss at my blog Reverse Hair Loss.