10 Tips to healthy eating and physical activity for you and your kids: Start your day with breakfast.Breakfast fills your "empty tank" to get you going after a long night without food. And it can help you do better in school. Easy to prepare breakfasts include cold cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit, whole-grain waffles or even last night's pizza! Get Moving!It's easy to fit physical activities into your daily routine. Walk, bike or jog to see friends. Take a 10-minute activity break every hour while you read, do homework or watch TV. Try to do these things for a total of 30 minutes every day. Snack smart.Snacks are a great way to refuel. Choose snacks from different food groups - a glass of low-fat milk and a few graham crackers, an apple or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins, or some dry cereal. Work up a sweat.Vigorous work-outs help your heart pump better, give you more energy and help you look and feel best. Start with a warm-up that stretches your muscles. Include 20 minutes of aerobic activity, such as running, jogging, or dancing. Follow-up with activities that help make you stronger such as push-ups or lifting weights. Then cool-down with more stretching and deep breathing. Balance your food choices. You don't have to give up foods like hamburgers, french fries and ice cream to eat healthy. You just have to be smart about how often and how much of them you eat. Your body needs nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fat and many different vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and A, iron and calcium from a variety of foods. Balancing food choices from the Food Guide Pyramid will help you get all these nutrients. Get fit with friends or family.Being active is much more fun with friends or family. Encourage others to join you and plan one special physical activity event, like a bike ride or hiking, with a group each week. Eat more grains, fruits and vegetables.These foods give you carbohydrates for energy, plus vitamins, minerals and fiber. Besides, they taste good! Try breads such as whole-wheat, bagels and pita. Spaghetti and oatmeal are also in the grain group. Bananas, strawberries and melons are some great tasting fruits. Try vegetables raw, on a sandwich or salad. Join in physical activities at school.Whether you take a physical education class or do other physical activities at school, such as intramural sports, structures activities are a sure way to feel good, look good and stay physically fit. Foods aren't good or bad.A healthy eating style is like a puzzle with many parts. Each part -- or food -- is different. Some foods may have more fat, sugar or salt while others may have more vitamins or fiber. There is a place for all these foods in moderation. What makes a diet good or bad is how foods fit together. Balancing your choices is important. Make healthy eating and physical activities fun!Take advantage of physical activities you and your friends enjoy doing together and eat the foods you like. Be adventurous - try new sports, games and other activities as well as new foods. You'll grow stronger, play longer, and look and feel better!

MONDAY Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- While its important for all asthmatics to have a management plan, it's especially important for a child whose asthma is aggravated by exercise to have such a plan on file at school.
Asthma symptoms can interfere with many school and extracurricular activities. But with teamwork between parents and school staff, kids with asthma may even excel in athletics.
Teachers should ask the child's parent for specific instructions, which include:
The nature of the child's exercise-induced asthma.
Which medications are used to prevent the condition and how to use them.
Other techniques to prevent exercise-induced symptoms (for example, a warm-up period).
Warning signs of an asthma episode.
How to treat an asthma episode.
Parents can:
Meet with the teacher, school nurse, and, perhaps, the principal at the beginning of the school year to make them aware of the child's asthma.
Explain the child's asthma, what medicines he/she uses, and possible side-effects.
Explain that students with asthma should be treated like other children.
Encourage school personnel to allow the student to take his/her medications as required, without making it "a big deal."

Eating with awareness

What are the ways to stay healthy?
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Eating a diet that is low on fat, high on fibre with adequate servings of fresh vegetables and fruits is known to prevent health complications and many common illnesses. Such a diet is even known to combat some forms of cancer.
Maintaining an optimum weight, being physically able whatever your age, going easy on high calories and salt and keeping intake of alcohol to a minimum helps in preventing cholesterol and blood pressure.
Avoiding tobacco in any form will prove to be beneficial .

Regular exercise which is incorporated into a daily routine helps to ward off many diseases. People who have been inactive all their lives benefit when they begin to exercise even on a moderate scale. Heart diseases. Colon cancer, blood pressure and diabetes are some of the complications that can be controlled with regular exercise.
Lighter activities like walking, climbing stairs, gardening, routine house work and dancing or light aerobics have many benefits. However, if you are used to a sedentary life, please consult your doctor before you begin any exercise regimen.
Using seat belts while in a car and helmets when driving a two wheeler is known to have saved many lives.
Visits to a doctor should be made on a routine basis for preventive care and counseling.


Here are some screenings that have been recommended for men and women that you should be aware of in order to play your role as family caretaker to perfection:
Pap test for women to detect cervical cancer - yearly. For men, screen for testicular cancer - yearly.
Have a blood glucose test done - yearly
A mammography should be performed for detecting breast cancer - yearly. For men, check for prostate problems - yearly.
Consult your doctor at least once about the blood tests for total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. Follow up if there are abnormalities.
Check for occult blood with a fecal test which will reveal silent bleeding if any, in the digestive tract.
Have a colon and rectum test every three to five years.
The thyroid often causes many problems. Check with a hormone test again every three to five years.
Iron deficiencies can give rise to anaemic conditions. Check the haemoglobin and ferritin levels after consulting your doctor.
Urine analysis is required on a regular basis if you are a diabetic. Excess protein in the urine should also be analysed.
If you are exposed to the sun, have a skin examination done to detect skin cancer.
A lipid profile is a must if you have coronary disease.
Tests for glaucoma should be conducted if you are over 40 years of age, especially if there is a family history of glaucoma.

Health Care Tips

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Americans are inundated with health care tips. How many of them are really worth listening to is debatable. Many come with an underlying angle or attached price tag. Most tips are specific to a person's physical health. But other pointers or suggestions target mental well-being. Rarely are health care tips geared toward the spiritual well-being of a person. Even less common is a program that combines all three elements. Most people have heard about the advantages of being healthy in mind, body, and spirit. Unfortunately, few people connect physical and mental health or spiritual well-being. But they are all interconnected. If one falters, there is a good chance the other two will suffer as well. Unfortunately, the areas of concern fall into different career specialties. A doctor or surgeon is concerned with physical and well-being. Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals focus on the mind. If a physical problem arises the patient is referred to a medical specialist. Clergy and other spiritual leaders are concerned with the soul. Generally speaking, they don't usually mix, but maybe they should. Tip sources are plentiful. Mom, grandma, the neighbor, friends, and others all offer tips and advice. Regardless of the source of information, one of the best health care tips that can be offered is for a person to care for his or her mind, body, and spirit simultaneously. The Bible says that people and their bodies are members of Christ and that the body should glorify God. Unfortunately, this Bible verse is often ignored. People use and abuse their bodies in a manner that is not appropriate. For the most part, the following verse speaks of sexual morality. And there is a plethora of health care tips centered on sex. Sexual immorality is a good example of mind, body, and spirit combined. HIV and AIDS, which are two of the biggest medical concerns facing the world today, are very often the direct result of sexual immorality. Consider this verse from Corinthians. "Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6: 15-20)God created the human body in His image and he has a hand in the maintenance and repair of His creation. He does this through doctors, mental health professionals, and spiritual leaders. God sends help in many ways. Keep in mind; health care tips are not advice, treatment, and diagnosis in any form. A person must understand his or her own body and what it is telling them. Symptoms are signals and indications that something is not right with the body. Even minor symptoms and signals can be an indication that an illness or injury is more serious than first appearance might indicate. A sore throat, fever, headache that won't go away may indicate a serious problem. Therefore, knowing when to call the doctor's office or make a trip to the emergency room isn't always clear cut. Unfortunately, early care for many medical problems is important. Good health care tips can help a person better understand his or her body and when to seek professional medical care.An online search for websites geared toward providing health care tips returned a listing of websites dealing with nearly every conceivable medical issue. Books, websites, magazines and other sources of medical information offer guidance for basic health care, women's issues, men's issues, and children's concerns from conception all the way through high school. Regardless of the target group, almost all tips focus on healthy living, including mental health, eating and dieting. Women's issues include parenting and pregnancy, breast health, and how to prevent such things as osteoporosis. Tips for men range from how to detect testicular cancer to preventing heart attacks. Children's issues were diverse and many. But the list didn't stop with simply how to treat minor medical concerns or what signs or symptoms to be concerned with. Some websites offer help finding a doctor or hospital.In fact, some of the more useful websites offer reviews of hospitals and doctors. More than one website had pill identifier options. Really there is no end to medical tips and topics. Generally, despite the focus of the tip, diet and weight control advice will probably be offered at some point in time. Obesity in America is a growing issue and financial concern. In fact, one major university study suggests that if current trends continue unaltered, within forty years every American adult could be considered obese. The cost of treating medical problems attributed to obesity will swell from under $200 billion today to over $200 trillion. Efforts are under way attacking the problem, beginning with the youngest school-aged children. Just about anybody who has ever dealt with the health care system has something to offer. But the best health care tips come from professionals familiar with the body, mind, and spirit as one.

Single-incision now an option for weight-loss surgeries
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Natural, Herbal and Home Remedies for the Treatment of Acidity
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Here are Some of the Common Herbal and Home Remedies for Curing Acidity:
Basil Leaves: Chew a few basil ( tulsi ) leaves to get relief from burning, nausea and gas (main symptoms of acidity).
Sleep with your head and shoulder on a high pillow for elevation. This will help in getting acidity away.
Clove: Take one piece of clove and suck it slowly.
Milk Products: Consumption of milk and other milk products is also very good for curing acidity.
Maintain Upright Posture: Maintaining an upright posture for some time after taking food, this will help in preventing reflex.
Harad - Chewing a piece of harad also helps in curing acidity fast.
Apple Cider Vinegar - Take a mixture of 2 tsp of natural apple cider vinegar and mix it with 2 tsp of raw honey in a glass of water before meals. This remedy is very good for persons suffering from acidity.
Lemon Juice: The juice from lemons introduced to your body causes it to become alkaline. Drink water everyday with lemons squeezed in it to get rid of acidity completely.
For Advanced Stage of Acidity: Those in an advanced state of acidity should be kept on only milk or some other milk products and fruits. Milk also should be given in limited quantities of about 250 to 300 milliliters-every hour. Person suffering should not be given any leafy vegetables as they may even worsen the condition.
Fruits: The fruits like watermelon, banana and cucumber are very good for persons suffering from acidity.
Tulsi, Neem, Black Pepper and Peepal - Take a dried blossom of tulsi, rind of the neem tree, black pepper and peepal in even quantity and then grind them nicely to make a powdered form. The suffering person may be given 3 gms of this powder daily as a first thing in the morning and in the evening with plain water. This remedy will help in getting rid of all the acid (the main cause of acidity) from the body in the form of urine and sweat. But remember, never to take milk over tulsi leaves which might afflict your skin.
Chebulic Myroblan: Drinking daily 1 tsp juice of chebulic myroblan mixed with 1 tsp of amla (Indian gooseberry) juice is an age old remedy for the treatment of acidity.
Unripe Foods: Unripe foods with high pectin content should also be avoided as they may worsen the condition.
Almonds - Almonds are also very effective in relieving acidity from its root. You may take 5-6 almonds daily till the symptoms of acidity persist.
Vanilla Ice Cream: Eat a cup of vanilla ice cream or drink a glass of cold milk to get heartburn and acidity relief within minutes.
Cabbage Juice: Cabbage juice is another remedy which helps in preventing acidity from occurring.
Jaggery: Keep a small piece of jaggery (gur) in your mouth and slowly suck it. Repeat it every hour till acidity subsides.
White Vinegar: Intake of 1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar also provides relief from acidity.