6 Truths about Ayurveda

6 Truths about Ayurveda

#1 Ayurvedic medicine is less effective.

Truth: It is true that this method of treatment calls for more patience and endurance. The effectiveness can be cited by this example.

Whenever there is a tear in a cloth or a hole in a pitcher, we intend to rectify it using the similar material that it is made of. Similarly any fault in human body also calls to be corrected by use of natural resources, as much as possible.

#2 Ayurvedic medicines are slow in showing results.

Truth: The irony lies with the delay from patient’s side. Most patients visiting holistic practitioners take their time in trying other systems of medicine so as to derive a faster result. This not only delays the effect of medicine, it also hampers the working of the drug. This is because the patient has either tried much more complicated and powerful combination of drugs, the effect of which needs to be neutralized first. Or in the mean time, his malady has substantially become deep rooted and taken chronic form. It may at times show to work slowly, but as the fable goes slow and steady wins the race.

# 3 Ayurvedic medicine has side effects.

Truth: Any side effect from medicine, of any therapy, may result from the misuse of drug, either in processing or in prescribing. As far as side effect or after effect is concerned, I believe time tested medicines are safer provided the former two factors are precise. The safety of Ayurvedic medicine and mode of treatment may be advocated in 3 pints.

1. In Ayurveda the very first principle in treating a disease is to do away with the basic cause, and also to see that no new ailment emerges as a consequence. A disease is eradicated from its roots.

2. Ayurveda insists that medicine be centered at the patient, than on the disease. The mind, body and soul are considered a tripod and medicine is prescribed for overall health augmentation.

3. Since Ayourvda deals with preparations mainly from herbs and natural resources, it is a harmless therapy with least or no side effects.

#4 Ayurvedic medicines are for older patients.

Truth: There is no known limitation in this form of treatment. It is equally suited to all age groups. Ayurveda could be considered a boon for children when their body system is yet tender and in process of immunity building. The natural products do not interfere with their body resistance and at the same time tends to be more safe and comforting.

#5 Ayurvedic medicines are just an alternative.

Truth: Ayurvedic system of medicine is incorrectly quoted as an alternate therapy as this has always been the most ancient and complete system of medicine. It’s been existing before the birth of other medical therapies. The word Ayurveda is itself derived from ‘Ayush’ which means life and ‘Veda’ which means science. There fore, Ayurveda is the complete science of life. It is a treasure to provide every individual a life full of health, vigor and vitality.

Experiencing Ache Knees and Back? You may have Osteoarthritis

Experiencing Ache Knees and Back? You may have Osteoarthritis

Are you noticing as you mature you are experiencing stiffness or pain in your knees, ankles, back, and elbows? If you are 35 or older symptoms like these may be the early signs of Osteoarthritis.

What is Osteoarthritis?

According to the US government's National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases "Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, especially among older people. Sometimes it is called degenerative joint disease or osteoarthrosis."

Moreover Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that mostly affects the cartilage. Cartilage is the protective slippery tissue that covers the ends of the bones in a joint.

Unlike other forms of arthritis which may affect internal organs Osteoarthritis primarily causes problems between the cartilage and joints.

Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over one another. It also absorbs energy from the shock of physical movement. In osteoarthritis, the surface layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away.

In other words as we mature you can start to experience Osteoarthritis because the cartilage between you knees, back, and other joints may begin to erode or wear away.

This allows bones under the cartilage to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and loss of motion of the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also bone spurs, small growths called entophytes, may grow on the edges of the joint. Bits of bone or cartilage can break off and float inside the joint space.

This condition of course causes more pain and damage.

According to government studies Osteoarthritis affects about 20 million Americans. Over 50 % of Americans over 65 have osteoarthritis in a least one joint.

It is more common for men than women to have osteoarthritis before 45. However after 45 it is more common for women to experience the symptoms of this condition.

Research shows by 2030 70 million Americans will be over the age of 65 and may be at risk for osteoarthritis. While younger people may get osteoarthritis from sports related knee and joint injuries, osteoarthritis is primarily a condition more mature people experience.

If you experience symptoms like the ones described above talk to you doctor to see if you have osteoarthritis or some other condition.

The symptoms of osteoarthritis seem to appear in the knee, lower back, ends of the fingers, back of the neck, thumbs and hips.

Some of the treatments the doctor may prescribe are:

1. - Exercise is inexpensive and may help with a number of health problems including certain forms of osteoarthritis. As you may know exercise can help improve your attitude, disposition, mood and overall outlook, decrease pain, increase flexibility, improve the heart and blood flow, maintain weight, and promote general physical fitness.

Reports have shown if done correctly, it has few negative side effects. The amount and form of exercise will depend on which joints are involved, how stable the joints are, and whether a joint replacement has already been done.

The proper exercise may help you recapture some range of movement in stiff joints.

2. - Weight control: If you suffer from Osteoarthritis and are overweight or obese you should look to lose weight. Weight loss can help to reduce stress on weight-bearing joints and limit further injury. A dietitian can or knowledgeable fitness coach can help you develop healthy eating habits. A healthy diet and regular exercise of 3 to 6 days a week can help reduce weight.

3. - Medicines: Doctors prescribe medicines to eliminate or reduce pain and to improve functioning. Doctors consider a number of before giving you medicines for osteoarthritis. Two important considerations are the intensity of your pain and the potential side effects of the medicine.

You must use medicines carefully and tell your doctors about any changes that occur with your health.

4 - Surgery : As a last resort a surgery to replace a joint may be in order from your doctor.

For many people, surgery helps relieve the pain and disability of osteoarthritis. Surgery may be performed to remove loose pieces of bone and cartilage from the joint if they are causing mechanical symptoms of buckling or locking Resurface (smooth out) bones Reposition bones Replace joints. Surgeons may replace affected joints with artificial joints called prostheses. These joints can be made from metal alloys, high-density plastic, and ceramic material.

Before undertaking expensive surgery or investing in pricey medicines perhaps you should consider taking a health supplement called Phosoplex. Phosoplex a product of Optimal Therapeutics, boasts some of the best ingredients available to help alleviate pain associated with Osteoarthritis.

I have used Phosoplex when training in fitness activity to help rid myself of knee and back pain. I would strongly recommend you investigating this quality product if you seek relief from Osteoarthritis.

Knockout Knee Pain

Knockout Knee Pain

You may first feel it when attempting to bend down to pick a dropped item or possibly you experience it as morning stiffness that you feel when you first get up out of bed. But whenever it hits you knee pain will undoubtedly get your attention.
The good news about knee pain is that it responds well to self care measures.
There are a number of factors that can put you at risk for knee pain. Some of them are:
Overweight: If you weigh more than you should, you put more stress and pressure on your knee joints. Over time this excess pressure can cause pain.
Overuse: An inflammatory response can occur when a repetitive activity, causes a muscle to get fatigued. This inflammatory response can damage surrounding tissue. This can be further compounded when you don't give the knee enough time to fully recover thereby making it prone to re-injury.
Lack of muscle strength: Experts site lack of strength and flexibility as the leading cause of knee injury and pain. Weak or tight muscles offer less support for the knee joint.
Mechanical problems: Having misaligned knees, one leg that is shorter than the other or other structural abnormalities can contribute to knee pain.
Previous injury: If you have previously injured your knee chances go up that you will injure it again. Possibly because the knee was not given enough time to properly heal or because the knee doesn't return to the condition it was in prior to the injury.
Age: Some knee related conditions affect young people more often than old, for example Osgood-Schlatter disease or patellar tendonitis. Other conditions such as gout and osteoarthritis tend to occur in older people.
An injury to the knee can affect any of the ligaments, tendons Or bursa (fluid filled sacs of the knee)or a combination of these areas of the knee.
Some of the most common causes of knee pain are:
- Bursitis - An inflammation that comes from pressure on the knee. The pressure may be from repeated overuse, kneeling for long periods of time or other injury.
- Tendonitis - Pain that occurs in the front of the knee. It usually gets worse when going up and down stairs. This is a common injury of skiers, runners and cyclists.
- Torn ligaments or cartilage - This injury can cause severe pain and lack of stability of the knee joint.
- Strain or Sprain - A minor injury to the ligaments cause by sudden or unnatural twisting.
- Hip disorders - May cause you to feel pain in the knee area.
- Osteoarthritis - a condition affecting the joints characterized by pain and stiffness
- Gout - A metabolic disorder caused by an accumulation of uric acid in the joints.
As mentioned above knee pain responds well to self care. Some of the things that you can do if you experience knee pain are:
- Apply ice 15 minutes at a time, initially and then about 4 times a day thereafter until the pain subsides.
- Rest and avoid the activities that contributed to the initial injury
- Elevate your knee to bring down the swelling
- Over the counter medications can provide pain relieve from pain.
- Sleep with a pillow underneath the affected knee
- Gentle compression, such as with an Ace bandage may reduce swelling and provide support
It is not always possible to prevent knee pain but there are some things that you can do to lessen the likelihood that knee problems will occur.
- Keep off excess weight. Maintaining a healthy weight will keep your knees from having to support more than they were designed to support.
- Stay flexible. Weak muscles make you more prone to injuries of the knees. So do stretching exercises, daily to maintain flexibility
- Exercise wisely. Don't exercise when you have pain or you're tired. If you have chronic injuries consider switching to sports or exercise that put less stress on your joints. For instance swimming instead of basketball.
- Get good fitting shoes. When shoes fit poorly we may compensate in the knees and hips, causing them to be misaligned and making them prone to injury.
- Proper supplements: There are supplements that can help the body keep the ligaments and joints lubricated, and actually help rebuild cartilage.
Like Phosoplex™ is a supplement that is recommended for osteoarthritis and joint pain. It is a powerful, all natural and safe solution for joint lubrication, pain relief and the rebuilding of healthy cartilage.

What's your Body Mass Index?

What's your Body Mass Index?

Do you know how to measure body mass index?
Do you even know what body mass index is?
For some, the need to lose weight is clear. Those whose body weight places them into the obese or morbidly obese categories are well aware that they are carrying too many pounds.
But what about those who are only slightly overweight? Is that ten pounds over the ideal weight raising your risk of health complications? Are you just 'big-boned'? How do you decide if you really need to lose weight - and how much weight do you really need to lose?
Doctors have a number of different ways to measure the need to lose weight. Long gone are the years when they relied on an insurance company chart of 'ideal weights'. The most commonly used measure is the Body Mass Index or BMI. The BMI measures your weight relative to your height.
Body mass index is generally an accurate representation of muscle-to-fat ratio, though there are some limitations. First of all, body mass index calculation may overestimate the BMI of an athletic person, because muscle is denser and weighs more than fat. Likewise, body mass index calculation may underestimate the BMI of an older person, or others who have low muscle mass.
It is easy to find a free bmi calculator. A free bmi calculator can be found online by simply typing in "free bmi calculator" into your favorite search engine. A bmi calculator simply allows you to quickly and easily check your own BMI. The table for determining risk factors associated with obesity is:
Below 18.5 - Underweight 18.5 - 24.9 - Normal 25.0 - 29.9 - Overweight 30.0 and up - Obese
If your body mass index is above 25.0, your doctor or other medical professional can advise you on the best weight loss plan for you. You should know that there are great benefits to losing even a moderate amount of weight. Some of those include:
* Lowering your risk of diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, a weight loss of as little as 10 pounds can decrease the chances of pre-diabetes developing into diabetes by 58%.
* Lower your risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association states that coronary problems are directly correlated to weight. By losing weight to bring your BMI to within normal ranges, you significantly lower your risk of developing heart problems.
* Reduce your risk of arthritis and pain from arthritis. A number of forms of arthritis are related to weight. Losing weight substantially decreases the strain that additional weight places you your knees, hips, back and ankles.
Are you motivated to get started? Now that you know how to calculate bmi, here are three tips on how to reduce body mass index so you can start losing weight today:
1. Get active.
If you do nothing different in your life but exercise for one half hour daily, you will lose 5-7% of your body weight per year.
2. Cut out white breads and sugars.
Substitute whole grains for refined flours and sugars, and you'll automatically reduce the number of calories that you consume daily.
3. Eat more fresh vegetables.
Fresh vegetables, especially raw, are a significant source of many of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs daily. They're high in nutrition, while low in calories. By increasing the amount of fresh vegetables that you eat and reducing the amount of processed, refined foods, you'll cut calories and carbohydrates significantly.
Get started today by going to top of this page and using the free bmi calculator!
Copyright 2005 Adam Waxler