Archives for May 2016

The Psychology Of Smoking

The thing that you started just for fun, kicks back on your health and you desperately start searching the Internet, ‘How to stop smoking?’ But, before you start looking for remedies to get rid of the long-cherished habit, it is pertinent to understand why you got addicted to smoking in the first place.

Every pack of cigarettes comes with a statutory warning, “Smoking is injurious to health”. In spite of reading that, why do you buy? You keep on coughing and there is a pain in your throat. You understand that tobacco is the reason for the sore throat; still you buy a pack. Why? Because, it’s all in your head! You smoke because the polluted air has created a psychological impact on your brain.

Why Did You Start Smoking?

Quitting this addiction is possible in just two weeks, but you need to understand the root cause of the problem first. There are many reasons why people start smoking, but most of those are misguided ideas. Social appearance and fashion have nothing to do with smoking. You will neither look smarter with a cigarette in your hand nor will you be sent on an exile if you do not smoke. And smoking will not help in solving any of your problems. Therefore, the first step to quitting would be accepting the fact that you are addicted to tobacco.

Psychological Reasons behind Smoking

Ask anyone why he smokes, and you are sure to hear some of the strange, even bizarre, reasons. What’s your reason? Let’s guess:

To show others that you are not afraid of anything
To get an entry into a particular crowd – peer pressure that urges you to smoke
To look cool, an idea promoted by films and advertisements – a style statement
To follow someone – influenced by someone who is respected or admired
To calm down the nerves – a way to release stress
To lose weight in a negative way

Why Do You Still Smoke?

Maybe immaturity was the reason behind your addiction from a very early age. But, now that you are aware of the impact of smoking, why do you still smoke? The answers are very vague and mostly related to a specific situation. Smoking turns into a ritual, every time one faces such a state. Burning eyes, painful throat, breathing trouble and all the other effects of smoking are overlooked the moment that specific situation evolves. For example, the moment you see your friends smoking, the smell of tobacco triggers the psychological desire to smoke.

Some of the other reasons are:

For reducing anxiety
No particular reason
For relaxing
To celebrate
To accompany
After a meal
To spend time
No particular reason

All these are nothing but a state of mind that generates the need to smoke.

Strategies to Quit

Since this addiction is psychological, you need to build up strategies to quit smoking. You can start by educating yourself about the pros and cons of changing your behavior. Read as many articles as possible on health consequences of smoking and check where you stand. Quitting this habit can help you to save money, which you have been burning without any reason. Once the goal has been reached, it is necessary to substitute it with something new. Usually, when a psychological addiction is stopped, something new evolves. Reward yourself with a new lifestyle, hobbies or even chewing gums. Every time there is a craving, you can do these to prevent the relapse and after a point of time, your mind will get rid of the desire.

Instead of going haywire with ideas about how to stop smoking, understand why you are smoking. The moment you can identify the cause, strategies can be framed to successfully curb the cravings.

Beat The Pain Drugfree Through a Holistic Approach

Living with chronic pain is no fun, yet 50 million Americans are doing just that! Are you one of them? Do you crave an active, adrenaline-filled life? There is no need to give up yet – if conventional treatment options have failed to provide you relief, a pain clinic will definitely offer you help. These specialized healthcare facilities focus on the diagnosis and management of chronic pain. Scattered all over the country from Tallahassee to Tampa, these pain clinics take a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to pain management. The programs are intended to show patients the ways they can play an active role in managing their pain. As opposed to conventional treatments that focus only on pain, these holistic programs focus on the person as a whole. Regardless of the type of chronic pain you are suffering from – arthritis, lower back pain, neck pain or fibromyalgia, these alternative therapies can offer you relief without having you to pop the pills.

The pain management programs available in these clinics typically consider an array of physical and psychological aspects, and accordingly involve physicians specializing in different areas of the diagnosis and management of chronic pain. A tailor-made pain management plan may include one or more of the following therapies:

Massage Therapy

Are you living with chronic pain due to any of these – osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, neck pain, backpain, tension headache or surgery related issues? Well, a message therapy can provide you a lot more than temporary relief. Massage therapy boosts the levels of endorphin and serotonin – the body’s natural painkillers and mood regulators. This sets your body’s natural pain management mechanism in motion.

The healing touch of massage, which involves applying measured pressure, tension, motion, or vibration on the affected parts of your body, have a far deeper reach in your system than you can imagine. It goes straight to the molecular level, literally. According to Science Translation Medicine, an interdisciplinary medical journal, massage therapy can help turn on and off genes causing inflammation, subsequently helping to lower the sensation of pain.

Of course, massage therapy does not stop there – it also helps suppress anxiety in the patients who are suffering from debilitating conditions or recuperating from a traumatic accident. This explains why massage therapy has become a big part of post-op patient care across the US.

Acupuncture

Lack of consensus on the effectiveness of acupuncture could not deter millions of people from trying this therapy to get rid of chronic pain. This ancient Chinese practice involves insertion of needles in specific points (acupuncture points) of the body. Several studies have shown that this needle-induced mechanism can help activate adenosine, an amino acid that helps ease injury-related pain.

Just like other holistic therapies, acupuncture acts at the root level. It helps improve the functioning of the nervous and musculoskeletal system, which are often the cause of the pain. Acupuncture may be an answer if you are suffering from chronic back pains, migraines and tension headaches. It also works well for both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and sciatica.

Herbal Remedies

Some painful conditions such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and muscular lower back pain are the result of inflammation. There are several herbs with medicinal properties that help reduce inflammation. Many practitioners reported that their patients have experienced relief from chronic pain with regular consumption of Omega-3 fish oil. Turmeric, too, has extraordinary anti-inflammatory qualities. Anyone seeking relief from debilitating pain can try a combination of fish oil, turmeric and vitamin D on a daily basis. Taking turmeric in combination with ginger also helps, according to the proponents of herbal medicine. If you are planning to take herbs and supplements, consult a licensed naturopath first.

Meditation

There is a very close relation between stress and pain. Being in pain causes stress and stress worsens pain. By promoting relaxation, meditation helps break this vicious cycle. In this therapy, a variety of awareness techniques is used to soothe the nerves and ease the physical discomforts. Transcendental and Mindfulness are the two most popular forms of meditation.

The first one requires you to repeat a single or multiple-word (mantra). A strong focus on this activity lets other thoughts and feelings to subside gradually.

Mindfulness meditation helps lower the stress level. This form of meditation teaches patients how to focus their attention on thoughts and sensations.

Besides relieving lower back, chest and gastrointestinal pain and headache, Mindfulness meditation helps improve mood in patients. And the best part? You need to attend just a short and simple training session to experience a long-term effect.

Hypnosis

For many, the term, ‘hypnosis’ is closely tied to childhood memories of feasting on the adventures of Mandrake the Magician, the classic comic strip hero who famously used his powers of hypnotism and illusion to bring criminals to book. However, there is nothing funny about the clinical hypnosis, which aims at taking the patient to an altered state of awareness. It strives to induce a state of consciousness where your mind is aware, yet you feel deeply relaxed. Research has shown medical hypnosis to be highly effective for acute and chronic pain related to burns and rheumatoid arthritis. It is also used to ease cancer pain and reduce anxiety associated with surgery. Only licensed therapists are allowed to practice it to treat psychological or physical problems.

A wide range of holistic treatment options is available for pain relief. However, not all clinics offer the same services. It does not really matter which part of the US you live. In fact, even if you are vacationing in the Sunshine State, you can find a pain clinic in Florida– that can offer different types of holistic treatment options. Before signing up for a particular program, find out what types of therapies are offered. Go through the credentials of the physicians, and read online reviews to find out what previous patients have to say about the services. A little homework prior to enrolling into a plan can go a long way to determine whether the pain clinic is right for you or not.

Gain Essential Information about the Ingredients of Vitapulse and Their Effects

VitaPulse is a highly advanced antioxidant formula, specially designed to promote a healthy circularity and heart system. According to the reviews, VitaPulse is all about supporting a healthy heart. In the reviews it is mentioned that this supplement is for those who already struggle with heart problem. Moreover, this supplement is also worth considerable by those who are seeking for natural treatments to cure their heart disease. If you have heart disease and willing to use this supplement, you must discuss with your doctor about the ingredients of this supplement to check whether you can use the product.

Effectual function of VitaPulse

VitaPulse is popularly known to support a very healthy heart as well as circulatory system by offering CoQ10, PQQ and NAC in supplement form. Being a great antioxidants, CoQ10, PQQ and NAC can assist against threat inflammation and cellular damage to the heart. PQQ would also promote the development as well as re-growth of mitochondria within the cells. NAC remains as a precursor for glutathione.

Effects of CoQ10

There are several studies associated with the effects of CoQ10 particularly on heart health. It is very popular that it has been used widely in Japan to assist heart disease. While it comes to heart health, the studies have utilized 60 to 300 milligram per day. VitaPulse contain 100 mg per capsule thus it is of this range, which is good. CoQ10 also has been shown to bring blood pressure down.

Effects of NAC

These letters indicate N-Acetyle-Cysteine. This compound is derived from amino acid known ad cysteine. NAC assists making a powerful antioxidant that is called as glutathione. This increase in the level of glutathione is likely one of the major reasons why people prefer taking NAC supplements. There are also glutamine supplements available out there, however it is probably recommended to take NAC than supplements with glutathione. It is because glutathione supplements don’t get absorb well while NAC supplements are. NAC appears to raise the nitric oxide levels according to the study. Nitric oxide is a type of gas that can enlarge the blood vessels. As the size of blood vessels are increased, it might assist alleviate chest pains that cause due to angina. Research also says that NAC, while used in combination with nitroglycerin therapy might alleviate angina pain.

Effects of PQQ

PQQ indicates Pyrroloquinoline quinine. Another name of PQQ that is also used sometimes is methoxatin. This compound contains antioxidant effects and is sometimes known as redox agent. The term redox indicates that PQQ participates in free radicals and antioxidant reactions like those that take place within mitochondria.

Princeton nutrients list out the complete ingredients details in the official sales page of VitaPulse. There are thirty capsules in every container and one capsule per day should be taken to support the overall health of the user. VitaPulse is available only at the official website of the developer of this supplement, where you can purchase it as a part of 3 different packages.

Causes Of Female Infertility

Many couples often face infertility woes. They become unhappy as they cannot start the family of their dreams. It is important for such couples to come out in the open and meet infertility specialists like Cha Fertility in the USA. The professionals here understand the predicament of such couples and they help them to become the proud parents they wish to.

Most couples fail to understand that in order to become pregnant, the processes of ovulation and fertilization have to work at the perfect time. For some couples, you will find that infertility issues arise from birth. These are congenital reasons. For others, infertility may take place along the way.

The specialists at Cha Fertility Center state that the causes of infertility may involve one or both of the partners. Mostly, in about one-third of the total cases, infertility issues may arise in the male or female. In the other cases, the causes of infertility may involve both the male or the female. In some cases, infertility may be unexplained.

The following are some of the primary causes of female infertility:

Disorders in ovulation: Here the ovaries of the woman cannot release eggs. This may be due to hormonal disorders like polycystic ovary syndrome- here the ovaries produce too much of the male hormone called testosterone along with hyperprolactinemia when the woman has an overdose of prolactin- this is the hormone that produces breast milk. There can be other causes for ovulation disturbances in the form of over exercise, improper diet , tumors or an injury.
Abnormalities in the cervix or uterus: There may be issues with the opening of the cervix or the cervical mucus. The shape or the cavity of the uterus in a woman may be abnormal. Uterine fibroids in the form of tumors in the uterine wall may distort the functioning of the Fallopian tubes. This often prevents the implantation of the fertilized egg.
Damaged or blocked fallopian tube: The fallopian tube may suffer from inflammation caused by an infection or a sexually transmitted disease. There can also be a case of adhesions and endometriosis.
Endometriosis: This may occur when the endometrial tissue implants grows outside of the uterus. This in turn affects the functioning of the fallopian tubes, ovaries and the uterus.
Primary Ovarian insufficiency- This is often called early menopause. Here the ovaries stop functioning and the menstruation cycle ends before the age of 40 years. The exact cause of primary ovarian insufficiency is not known but certain conditions like radiation, chemotherapy and smoking often causes this condition.
Pelvic adhesions:Cha Fertility specialists like Kwang Yul Cha mentions that pelvic adhesions that are bands of scarred tissue used to bind organs after any pelvic infection, appendicitis, pelvic or abdominal surgery may be the cause of female infertility too.

Apart from these, there may be other causes of infertility in the form of cancer, thyroid issues, medications and medical conditions like delayed puberty, diabetes, kidney disease etc. They have the ability to cause infertility in women.

5 Quick Ways to Get Rid Of Spider Veins Naturally

There are some sure shot ways of getting rid of spider veins naturally. Read on more about them and implement them right away. And if you get no relief from them, go ahead and select the right spider veins treatment for yourself, after consulting a professional spider veins specialist.

Please note that the following advice can be of help only if the condition is in beginning stage. In later stages, you’d have to go for a treatment.

Improve the circulation

Indulge in activities that aren’t too intense. The least you can do is, to sit with your legs elevated at all times. If you stand for long periods then take a break at regular intervals. Any activity that will help in increasing the circulation should be considered.

Keep your weight in check

Obesity is one of the main causes of conditions such as spider veins. If you think you are putting on weight, consult your doctor immediately, and choose the right healthy habits for yourself

Start using Compression stockings

Compression stockings are often prescribed to improve the circulation in the legs. They are easily available, at chemist stores. But you need to check with a spider veins specialist, about how long you need to wear them.

Get regular massages done

Getting body massages done by an expert is an easy and effective way of improving the circulation in the body.

Sleep on your back

People, who are suffering from spider veins, should try to sleep on their back and keep their legs elevated. This will increase the circulation of blood and also relive the pressure on the veins. They should avoid any positions in which the legs get strained.

Talk to a spider veins specialist at 630/974-1400 today. We’re more than willing to answer any questions you may have on spider veins treatment, natural remedies or anything else.