Archive for November, 2011
Living a healthy lifestyle is not only about avoiding fatty foods, cutting down on caffeine and taking up an expensive gym membership. Health is not solely about the size of your body; it’s about being happy within yourself, avoiding detrimental situations and substances and taking care of yourself as a whole. Ideally it would be a life long commitment but everyone knows that temptation is inevitable and if being healthy means being bored and deprived, then it’ll all go pear-shaped quickly.
So, what to avoid and what to embrace are key questions. Fundamentally, it should be obvious. Everything in moderation is the best way to look at it. Yes, you can enjoy the pork ribs, just not three times a week! You can party till the wee hours of the morning on Friday night and aim for more restorative activities Saturday night. Living a healthy lifestyle is about balance. You know what’s good for you but you want what feels good to you.
Exercise, a healthy diet and avoiding stress are the three most important ways you can ensure you are living a healthy lifestyle. Prevention is also a good thing to take on board. Have regular checkups with your doctor and dentist. Go for your pap smears/prostate checks, breast exams and any other examinations that will help you to catch early any potential hazards to your health.
Be aware of how much you enjoy your life, or not. If every day seems like another reason to drag your feet then do something about it. We’re a long time dead, live your life while you’re here. Hate your job? Find alternative employment. Marriage problems? Seek counselling. Sure, it’s not as simple as a two or three word answer, but identifying what ails you and rectifying it is the answer. Living a healthy lifestyle is up to you and you alone.
Franchise- the word derives from France meaning honesty or freedom. Not a typical thought when it comes to some mainstream chain stores, but a few high end whole lifestyle franchises give both the consumer and the small entrepreneur a value that is true to the sense of the words freedom and honesty. Freedom in the sense of being able to choose a lifestyle based on desirable healthy holistic practices and honesty in that the management teams have hit upon proven successful businesses with a cooperative backup support system. In all goes hand in hand when a franchise owner understands support from his/her management team in how it plays in the arena of the retailer’s relationship to the consumer. According to the Natural Marketing Institute, consumers known as LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) constituent 23% of the American buying public. While “Purity and detoxification” were the leading wellness trends of product launches in 2006, the current focus of this healthy consumer market is moving toward a complete package approach that supports better living lifestyles.
Jamba Juice whose motto is “Today is the first day of the rest of your health” is a perfect example of this trend. According to their website http://www.jambajuice.com, Jamba Juice is not just about customer service, its all about the lifestyle. Making their smoothies from 100% real fruit and juice concentrates, Jamba functional drinks like Heart Defender, Protein Berry Workout or Coldbuster caters to the customer who wants both convenience and healthy living. This made for a great partnership as Jamba Juice entered into strategic operating agreements to open stores within several Whole Foods locations in 1997.
“I’m surprised there aren’t more companies creating a culture beyond selling a soulful experience for the customer. That’s been the basis for our success.” Says founder Kirk Perron who started the company in San Louis Obispo, Ca in 1990 and sold the franchise sixteen years later in March 2006 for $265 million dollars.
Jamba Juice is not alone in creating this “culture beyond selling”. Elements for Women, the hip, South Beach-based diet and fitness brand features a balanced approach to a healthy lifestyle that melds body, beauty, and mind. The health club industry is experiencing the largest growth in 40 years. Understanding that 53% of health club members are women and that health beauty and fitness industry totaled over 45 billion dollars in 2005 alone made perfect business sense to Brand Director, Chris Palumbo. Yet, Elements for Women’s key to success is its woman centric empowering environment that offers membership based fitness and weight loss services throughout a network of upscale, boutique style health clubs. At a time when 89% of US women have expressed dissatisfaction with their current physical appearance and also express a desire for change, Elements for Women speaks to a woman’s heart. The culture of Elements makes balanced healthy living, not only hip with its stylish d
Our mouths are the doorway to our cells. What we put through that doorway and how we take care of that doorway can affect our health big time. Healthy teeth and gums are anti-aging!
I am married to a dentist, so I know first-hand just how important it is to go for a regular check-up. However, I also know that many people do put it off. It does continually surprise me that I can see a woman who has taken the time and care to have beautiful hair, clothes and make-up and then spoils that picture with an ugly, un-cared for mouth. A smile is the most amazing thing that we can bestow, so why not make it a younger looking beautiful one?
There are many ways in which poor oral health compromises the human body. The two main ones are gum (periodontal) disease and tooth decay. These infections can occur separately or together. Gum disease and tooth decay are caused by poor oral hygiene (dentists recommend brushing teeth at least twice a day and flossing at least once a day) combined with “bad” micro-organisms. These live in dental plaque on the teeth above and below the gum line (hence the advice to brush and the floss!).
Of the two, gum disease (especially advanced-form periodontitis) is much more harmful to overall health than tooth decay. Gum disease is a painless disease which, if left untreated, will persist for many years with possible dire consequences.
Recent findings have shown untreated periodontal (gum) disease:
* Contributes to respiratory disease – the oral cavity can act as a reservoir for respiratory pathogens. These pathogens have been found in plaque in deep periodontal pockets.
* Increases the risk of heart attack by 25% – people with advanced periodontitis had a 25% increased risk of coronary heart disease
* Increases the risk of stroke by a factor of ten – toxins from bacteria can be associated with chronic infections associated with strokes
* Increase severity of diabetes – it has been long known diabetes affects periodontal health, it has now been shown the reverse is also true; periodontal disease can affect diabetes. Severe periodontal disease can increase the risk of poor glycemic control. Within diabetics, it has shown those with good oral hygiene are less likely to suffer stroke, transient ischemic attack and angina or myocardial infarct.
* Reduces life expectancy
* Lowers resistance to other infections
* Contributes to low pre-term birth weights – studies have suggested 18% or all pre-term low birth weight cases may be attributable to periodontal disease.
* Severely stresses the immune system – the more serious the infection, the longer it lasts and the more the immune system is affected. The immune system can be so compromised its ability to fight infection and other degenerative diseases like cancer are seriously diminished.
If your gums bleed when brushing then that is not healthy. Make sure you have a friendly dentist taking care of your health.
Bacteria are the main culprits in dental decay and it is now thought that some viruses are also involved in the disease process. These micro-organisms produce acids and toxins causing inflammation in the gums and thus in the body’s circulation system, exposing the body to virulent strains of numerous bacteria.
Poor diet, smoking, vitamin deficiency (Vitamin D deficiency is a known factor in gum disease) and toxic substances such as mercury can further compound dental disease.
Dental infections, especially long term periodontal disease and infected tooth roots can have a negative effect on the immune system to such an extent it jeopardises medical treatment.
Regular check-ups every 6 to 12 months ensure that the painless oral health diseases are picked up before they become painful and serious.
Gum disease and tooth decay can be treated using microdentistry – dental water lasers and air abrasion. Dental decay can be prevented.
Find a dentist who is passionate about his patient’s dental health and is using the latest technology to make the patient’s experience as comfortable as possible. And make sure that dentist does not place mercury amalgam fillings – after all mercury is one of the most toxic things that we can be exposed to.