Yes, breathing is an art, and it is a very scientific art. The act of breathing is much more than inhaling and exhaling air. It triggers off a whole chain of physio-biological reactions, spanning each of the billions of cells that make up our bodies. Extra oxygen in the blood stream stimulates the excretory system, thereby clearing the body of harmful toxins.
Extra oxygen in the brain provides additional energy and vitality. Deep meditative breathing is a kind of reminder to the body that all is fine and in control.
Breathing has always been a part of our wellness arsenal, but somehow as one grows older, breathing becomes less and less scientific. It becomes shallow, and we begin to breathe in the chest, rather than the stomach.
So, what is the correct way of breathing? Have you ever seen a baby breathe? In and out, deep and even, slow, easy and calm. If you look closely, you will see that it is not the chest that is rising and falling, rather it is the stomach. To put it more precisely, it is the diaphragm, the muscle between the chest and the abdominal cavity, which moves.
Now, compare this with your own style of breathing. Chances are that you will find that it differs. If you are like most people, your upper chest expands as you inhale and contracts as you exhale. Over the years, you have learned to hold your stomach in.
Over the years, life in a crowded city, with chronic pollution problems and a lack of fresh air can result in the gradual shift from abdominal breathing to chest breathing.
Many experts are of the opinion that this is simply a bad habit. They also believe that by breaking the habit, and returning to a style of breathing like that of an infant, we can help rid ourselves of chronic complaints headaches and fatigue. Moreover, by adopting a proper breathing technique, we may be able to ward off stress, lower our blood pressure, and strengthen our hearts and much more.
Apart from the health benefits, deep breathing also results in a much better feeling of well-being. It encourages creativity, stimulates memory, and calms emotional extremities.
Practicing Belly Breathing
Find a comfortable place to sit down. Make sure you are wearing thin and comfortable clothing. Now, place your right arm on your stomach, and breathe in the following manner.
1. Breathe in through the nose, counting two.
2. Hold, counting up to four.
3. Breathe out through the mouth, counting three.
As you breathe in, feel your stomach fill up with air and expand outwards, and as you breathe out, feel your stomach deflate.
Do this ten times, three times a day for the next one week and see how your health improves. Happy Breathing for a Healthy LIFE
10 Brain Damaging Habits
1. No Breakfast - People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.
2. Over-eating - It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
3. Smoking - It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
4. High Sugar Consumption - Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
5. Air Pollution - The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air deceases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
6. Sleep Deprivation - Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.
7. Head covered while sleeping - Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging fects.
8. Working your brain during illness - Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts - Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
10. Talking Rarely - Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.
The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.
2. Not urinating in the morning.
3. Too much eating.
4. Skipping breakfast.
5. Consuming too much medication.
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener.
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when! frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.
8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.
We should prevent this without ! necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule."
Because :
Evening at 9 - 11 PM : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic
chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an ! unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doin g their homework, this will have a negative impact on health.
Evening at 11pm - 1 am : is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.
Early morning 1 - 3 am : detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.
Early morning 3 - 5 am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough suffere! rs during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.
Morning 5 - 7am : detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.
Morning 7 - 9 am : absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time.Br eakfast should be earlier, before 6:30 am , for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10 am rather than no meal at all.
Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of
removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.
2. Over-eating - It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
3. Smoking - It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
4. High Sugar Consumption - Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
5. Air Pollution - The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air deceases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
6. Sleep Deprivation - Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.
7. Head covered while sleeping - Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging fects.
8. Working your brain during illness - Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts - Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
10. Talking Rarely - Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.
The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.
2. Not urinating in the morning.
3. Too much eating.
4. Skipping breakfast.
5. Consuming too much medication.
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener.
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when! frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.
8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.
We should prevent this without ! necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule."
Because :
Evening at 9 - 11 PM : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic
chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an ! unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doin g their homework, this will have a negative impact on health.
Evening at 11pm - 1 am : is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.
Early morning 1 - 3 am : detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.
Early morning 3 - 5 am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough suffere! rs during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.
Morning 5 - 7am : detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.
Morning 7 - 9 am : absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time.Br eakfast should be earlier, before 6:30 am , for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10 am rather than no meal at all.
Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of
removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.
10 Healthiest Foods For Kids
Our kids are getting bigger. Between junk food, fizzy drinks and lower activity levels, the rates of overweight in children are reaching frightening proportions.
In 2000, 20.3% of boys (2-19 yrs) were overweight while 4.8% were obese. The figures for girls were even more worrying, with 26.6% of girls overweight and 6.8% obese.
Sir John Krebs, the chairman of the Food Standards Agency has described obesity as a 'ticking timebomb' and one of the most serious issues facing us today. And the epidemic of childhood obesity means that, for the first time in more than a century, life expectancy is set to drop.
So, the time has definitely come to get kids into the habit of healthy eating.
Author and nutritionist Leanne Ely has come up with her list of the Top 10 Healthiest Foods for Kids
Before we get to the meat of the matter, here's a quick disclaimer: allergies will prevent a normally healthy food from being a healthy food for any child who may have allergies. This is a general list, meant to offer help and inform when making food choices for your children without allergies. If you have any questions or concerns about food allergies, you may want to ask your GP for advice.
Also, other fruits and vegetables can easily fit into this list aside from the ones mentioned - these particular ones are highlighted for the reasons listed.
Top 10 healthiest foods for kids
Optimal Oats A fabulous breakfast food, full of B vitamins, iron, zinc and calcium. Old-fashioned oats and porridge offer quick energy for busy kids with its carb load and fibre count.
Egg 'em on Eggs are a great source of protein and a host of other nutrients, including the B vitamins, vitamin E and zinc (to name but a few). The Food Standards Agency doesn?t give a limit on how many eggs we should consume but do advise that a healthy diet will include moderate amounts of all protein sources including meat, fish and alternatives such as eggs, pulses, nuts and beans. Remember that young children should not be given raw eggs or eggs with runny yolks.
Nuttin' better Nut butters are great fast foods for kids. Kids need the fat (it's a good fat if it doesn't have hydrogenated oils mixed in it) and they need the protein. And while peanuts can be problematic and even life threatening to allergic kids, other nut butters may be okay (but definitely check with your doctor first). Almond butter is a personal favourite and you can make this simply by crushing or grinding up almonds or other nuts of your choice.
Culture club Kick your child's milk consumption up a notch and include yoghurt on the menu. A great source of calcium, yoghurt is easier to digest than regular milk, and the cultures (check the label for LIVE to make sure they're in there!) are very beneficial to good colon health... especially if your child has been on antibiotics. Watch it on the sugar content though. A better idea is to buy plain yoghurt and sweeten it yourself with fresh fruit.
Mmmm, mmmm melons! My personal choice would be cantaloupe in the melon department. Vitamin C, beta-carotene, bits and pieces of B vitamins and trace minerals and calcium fill every juicy bite. Melons are not to be missed when they're plentiful and in season.
Tree cheers! Kids like to call broccoli "trees" and sometimes you can get picky kids to eat "trees" rather than broccoli. Broccoli is one of the best vegetables for anyone, especially growing kids due to its calcium content and a whole host of other nutrients, such as potassium, beta-carotene and B vitamins.
Terrific tubers Sweet potatoes contain 30mg beta-carotene per serving. It would take 23 servings of broccoli to get that same amount! And with 3 grams of fibre per serving, sweet potatoes deserve a place at the table.
Protein power The fact is that growing kids need protein to keep growing. How you're going to give it to them can vary widely, according to your preferences. Good choices include legumes, beans (combined with a grain to make a complete protein), soy products like tofu, or meat, fish or poultry.
The whole truth The best nutrition is found in the whole grain. Brown rice and whole wheat bread are a quantum leap over their white counterparts and offer necessary fibre, minerals and vitamins. Don't short-change your kids with the white stuff.
OJ is OK Kids can drink too much juice. However, that doesn't mean they should never drink juice. Just don't give it to them in place of water. Orange juice is full of vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, folate and zinc. You can buy calcium-fortified orange juice, too - it's great stuff in moderation.
Now that you know Leanne's top 10 foods, here are a few kid-tested recipes she says will help you incorporate them into your family's diet.
Smoothie patrol
(From Leanne's book Healthy Foods)
Served with a Breakfast Cookie (recipe follows), this makes a great breakfast to go!
50g tofu (I buy the silken tofu)
1 banana, frozen
240ml frozen berries
1 scoop protein powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
120ml orange juice
Put everything in a blender and LET 'ER RIP!
Serves 1. Per serving: 216 calories; 4g total fat; (14%calories from fat); 7g protein; 41g carbohydrate; 2mg cholesterol; 12mg sodium.
Breakfast cookies
(From Leanne's upcoming Frantic Family Cookbook)
240ml brown rice crisp cereal (like Rice Crispies, usually available in health food stores)
120ml oats
2 tbs bran cereal, your choice
2 tbs powdered milk
2 tbs peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 tbs honey (CAUTION: Some experts say honey shouldn't be consumed by babies under 12 months; others urge you to wait until the child is 3.)
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. In a medium bowl, blend together dried cereals, oats and powdered milk. In a smaller bowl, blend peanut butter, vanilla, egg and honey together, mixing well. Make a well in the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Drop big spoonfuls of dough on a non-stick baking tray and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown slightly.
Serves 10. Per serving: 70 calories; 3g total fat; (33% calories from fat); 2g protein; 10g carbohydrate; 57mg sodium.
Cheesy broccoli soup
(From Healthy Foods)
2 onions, chopped
a head of broccoli, chopped (stems and all)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbs olive oil
1 litre chicken stock
240ml skimmed milk
100g low-fat cheddar cheese, grated
In a large soup pot, sauté onions and garlic until softened. Add chopped broccoli and continue cooking. Add stock and cook until broccoli is very tender, about 30 minutes. In batches, process soup through a food processor or blender until almost smooth (some chunks are nice). Add milk and continue cooking another 20 minutes, but be careful not to boil or the soup will separate. When nice and thick, remove from heat and serve in individual bowls. Top each bowl with grated cheddar cheese and serve with a great big salad and whole grain bread. Makes a great dinner!