| News Flash! |
We all want to feel better. Many times,
this can be achieved through proper eating habits and exercise. But
when other factors - such as stress, injury, or sickness - intervene,
then we are in need of therapeutic treatments. Massage
is one great tool for achieving a proper balance with your body in
order for you to feel healthy, vibrant and alive!
But what of those that also want to look better? Again, proper diet
and daily exercise can help achieve these goals. But if your problem
is cellulite, then you can benefit from Endermologie.
Endermologie is the only FDA approved method for reducing
cellulite. It also aids in decreasing visible scar
tissue, stretch marks and wrinkles! Whether you have a sports
related injury, facial wrinkles, or cellulite, Endermologie
can help you look and feel better. Check out our Massage
services and Endermologie services
today. |
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| A Little Wine May Keep the Mind Sharp |
| People who drink a little
wine seem to have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease
and other forms of dementia. "Monthly and weekly intake
of wine is associated with a lower risk of dementia," the team
at the Institute of Preventive Medicine at Kommunehospitalet in
Copenhagen, Denmark, wrote in their report.
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"These results don't mean
that people should start drinking wine or drink more wine than they
usually do," Dr. Thomas Truelsen, who led the study,
said in a statement.
"But the results are exciting because
they could mean that substances in wine reduce the occurrence of dementia.
If that's the case, we could potentially develop treatments or prevention
methods based on these substances." |
The study included 1,700 people who had been taking part in a larger
study of heart disease, and had been interviewed in the 1970s about
their eating and drinking habits.
Starting 15 years later, they were checked for dementia. Of the participants,
83 developed dementia and their drinking histories were compared the
1,600 other volunteers.
Truelsen believes that antioxidants -- compounds that can help prevent
damage to cells -- may be responsible. Wine, especially red wine,
is high in antioxidants such as flavonoids. |
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| Laughter is Good Medicine |
Laughter may be the best medicine,
but even looking forward to having a good laugh can boost the immune
system and reduce stress.
Just anticipating a happy, funny event can raise levels of endorphins
and other pleasure and relaxation-inducing hormones and lower production
of stress hormones, a team at the University of California Irvine
said. |
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"This stuff is real,"
Lee Berk, an assistant professor of family medicine and researcher
in complementary and alternative medicine who led the study, said
in a telephone interview.
"This study shows that even knowing
you will be involved in a positive humorous event days in advance
reduces levels of stress hormones in the blood and increases levels
of chemicals known to aid relaxation," he said.
His team tested 16 men who all agreed they thought a certain videotape
was funny. Half of them were told three days in advance they would
watch it.
Those who knew in advance they would see the video started experiencing
biological changes right away, Berk told a meeting of the Society
for Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.
When the men watched the video, levels of cortisol, a stress hormone,
fell 39 percent, Berk found. Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline,
fell 70 percent, while levels of the feel-good hormone endorphin rose
27 percent and growth hormone levels rose by 87 percent.
"Growth hormone is very beneficial to the immune system,"
Berk said.
This all suggests that anticipation of a funny event can lower stress
and stimulate the immune system, Berk said.
Berk and others had already shown that actually watching a funny video,
or just laughing at a joke, could make healthful changes in the levels
of hormones involved in stress and lower blood pressure. In 2000 a
team at the University of Maryland reported that people who reported
using humor more often were less likely to have had heart attacks.
But this is the first time that someone has shown anticipation
of having fun has similar effects, Berk said. "You have
been thinking about it all day, so you experience a change in biology
even before you get there," Berk said. "That is therapeutic."
Berk said the finding strengthens the advice that everyone lighten
up a little to live longer. "Anticipation is half or two-thirds
the fun," he said.
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| Dodge Those Winter Health Woes |
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Winter doesn't have to mean sniffling
and sneezing. With a little prevention and effort, winter-time health
won't be left out in the cold.
More than 150 million cases of respiratory illnesses -- flu, colds
and the like -- are reported each year in the United States, according
to the National Center for Health Statistics. |
True, nothing beats getting an annual flu shot, but other steps can
help maintain health through the cold months. The most effective way
of preventing sickness is also the most simple, and is no farther
away than the kitchen or bathroom sink. "The single most important
thing you can do in the winter time and all year long is probably
hand-washing," said Paul Lyons, a family physician with the Temple
University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "Because
that's one of the most common ways for spreading germs from one individual
to another: skin-to-skin contact."
A healthy diet, including the recommended doses of vitamin C, will
also battle the season's sicknesses. Lyons advises getting the daily
requirements through foods such as citrus fruits, rather than through
dietary supplements. Echinacea and zinc lozenges, which studies show
have had mixed results, work for some people, Lyons said.
And just when you thought you could breathe a little easier, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention warns that indoor heating can dry
out sinuses, making them more vulnerable to cold viruses that love
low humidity. But there are solutions.
"You can buy commercial
humidifiers which can be helpful as long as you're careful about changing
the water regularly," Lyons said. "Or as a low-tech alternative,
it's possible to place open bowls of water over a radiator."
Keeping an exercise routine, even when the weather is uncooperative,
is also key to warding off winter woes because exercise boosts the
immune system. But if you have a chest cold, stay away from the weights
and exercise machinery until it passes.
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