Health

Gardening Injury Prevention Tricks and Tips

April 4, 2016 by drburt Leave a Comment

Gardening Injury Prevention Tricks and Tips

Gardening is one of the best forms of exercise any of us can take, it is good for flexibility, strength, and stamina. However, you need to prepare properly for gardening injury prevention. Digging, lifting, raking, shifting, and planting can all cause significant strain to the muscles and the back.

A Gallup poll of more than 2,000 British adults found that nearly 42% had suffered from back pain. Of these, nearly half (47%) said their problems were caused by gardening. Among the 35-plus age group, the proportion was even higher at 56%. Gardening can cause muscle strains, ligament sprains, and back muscle spasms.

Dr. Stan Gorchynski, former President of the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA), said that “Eight out of every ten Canadians can expect to suffer from back pain at some time during their lives. During the spring gardening season, however, we generally see an increase in the number of visits to chiropractors due to muscle strains, sore joints, and back pain.” He added, “The warmer weather really inspires people to get out in the yard, but for many people a winter of inactivity makes them prone to back and muscle injuries.”

To have a happy and healthy gardening season, follow the healthy gardening “do’s and don’ts” listed below.

For chronic back pain sufferers, raised garden beds can be very helpful. A raised bed height of 2-3 feet will allow you to sit while gardening. Also consider using ground cover plants to reduce the need for continuous weeding.

Healthy gardening dos and don’ts

Do:

Choose lightweight, long-handled garden tools to help avoid bending over too often.
Wear loose, comfortable clothing.
Wear sun block and sun protection garments.
Warm-up before gardening and cool-down afterward—take a short 10 to 15 minute walk.
Perform some simple lower-back stretches.
Switch hands frequently while raking or hoeing.
Dig and lift a little at a time.
Keep your back straight while lifting.
Use mechanical devices when moving heavy containers.
Use a cushion if you are going to be on your knees for a long time.
Change positions every 10 to 20 minutes—take a break and walk around for a minute or two.

Don’t:

Strain, twist, or reach too far in front.
Take large shovelfuls of soil.
Hesitate to use a small spade.
Dig continuously.
Overload the wheelbarrow.
Stay in the same position too long.
Perform the same activity too long.
Stoop or work too far in front of you.
Stretch or squat with a bent back.

Human Body Energy Clock and Qi Building and Balancing

March 2, 2016 by drburt Leave a Comment

Human Body Energy Clock and Qi Building and Balancing

Human body energy clock works on Qi (energy) according to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Our 12 main meridians have a maximum and minimum energy flow. Each meridian is linked to specific organs in our body. Issues with organs generally appear either during the maximum or minimum energy flow. Knowing this can help treating the correct area that needs the most.

The nearest Western equivalent to qi human body energy is an inspiration. But there is a decisive difference between Eastern and Western attitudes. Westerners tend to regard this sweet spiritual inebriation as something that either fills us or deserts us, completely out of our control. In the Eastern mind, though, this is something that you can control. You can awaken, stimulate, increase and utilize the qi energy, according to your will.

Therefore, this post is focused on the strictly practical aspects of qi energy: how to get it started and make it grow, and how to use it. Inspiration is yours to call upon at your own wish.

It is not even difficult. Anyone can do exercises without much effort. Nor do they take much time. There is just one snag: You have to repeat them, preferably every day, and you should do that long enough to establish new habits. It is the only method to make your body act in a way that stimulates your qi, without your mind having to think about it constantly.

You will soon find that life gets another luster. So give it a chance.

Building Qi in the Body

Human body energy can be increased. Consequently, the development of Qi can make an ill person robust or a weak person vibrant. More Qi can enhance mental capacity too.

The concept of Qi also extends beyond the physical body, to the subtle energies that activate all human functions, including emotions and thought. Unbalanced Qi causes your emotions to become agitated and distressed. Balanced Qi causes your emotions to become smooth and more satisfying.

From the perspective of thought, when your mental Qi becomes more refined it enhances your creativity at all levels–art, business, relationships, child bearing, etc.

Spiritual Qi makes it more possible for us to personally enter into higher states of consciousness, which lie at the heart of religious experience.

Qigong, tai chi and other form of Taoist martial and healing arts, help you to develop subtle chi-energy, not as an idea but rather lead you to directly feel and experience what this is in your body.

Qi Circulation

To maintain pain-free, optimal health, Qi or energy should circulate throughout your entire body, without disruption, in a smooth, powerful fashion.

The classic Chinese medical phrase is teng jr bu tong. If the circulation of your chi is blocked (bu tong), you have pain and disease (teng). Conversely, if your Qi or life force energy in your acupuncture meridian lines if fully connected and circulating without blockages (tong), you have neither pain nor disease (bu tong) – tong jr bu teng.

Making your Qi tong i is the most basic goal of Chinese medicine and most apparent with tai chi, qigong and acupuncture. Balancing out and connecting your chi so that it has no blockages will both get rid of the pain of disease and make you feel a whole lot better.

Chia Seeds Superfood and Health Benefits for a Human Body

March 2, 2016 by drburt Leave a Comment

Chia Seeds Superfood and Health Benefits for a Human Body

Chia seeds are tiny black seeds from the plant Salvia Hispanica, which is related to mint. This plant grows natively in South America. Chia seeds were an important food for the Aztecs and Mayans back in the day. They prized them for their ability to provide sustainable energy … in fact, “chia” is the ancient Mayan word for “strength.”

Despite their ancient history as a dietary staple, only recently did chia seeds become recognized as a modern day superfood. In the past few years, they have exploded in popularity and are now consumed by health conscious people all over the world.

Chia Seeds were largely unknown in North America until researcher Wayne Coates began studying chia as an alternative crop for farmers in northern Argentina about 29 years ago.

Coates started his work on chia in 1991, and since then has become an advocate of the tiny seed’s health benefits. The human trials are limited —as is often the case with food research— but the anecdotal evidence of chia’s positive health effects include boosting energy, stabilizing blood sugar, aiding digestion, and lowering cholesterol.

Chia seeds are among the healthiest foods on the planet. They are loaded with nutrients that can have important benefits for your body and brain. Chia Seeds are rich in fiber, omega-3 fats, protein, vitamins and minerals such as:

Dietary fiber (11g – 42% recommended daily value)

Protein (4.4g – 9% RDV)

Omega-3 fatty acids (4915 mg)

Omega-6 fatty acids (1620 mg)

Calcium (77 mg – 18% RDV)

Copper (0.1 mg – 3% RDV)

Phosphorus (265 mg – 27% RDV)

Potassium (44.8 mg – 1% RDV)

Zinc (1.0 mg – 7% RDV)

Chia also contains essential fatty acids alpha-linolenic and linoleic acid, mucin, strontium, Vitamins A, B, E, and D, and minerals including sulphur, iron, iodine, magnesium, manganese, niacin, thiamine, and they are a rich source of antioxidants.

This is particularly impressive when you consider that this is just a single ounce, which supplies only 137 calories and one gram of digestible carbohydrate! Just so that we’re all on the same page, 1 ounce equals 28 grams, or about 2 tablespoons.

Interestingly … if you subtract the fiber, which may not end up as usable calories for the body, chia seeds only contain 101 calories per ounce. This makes them one of the world’s best sources of several important nutrients, calorie for calorie.

8 Super Facts of Chia Seeds from Scullivan

Lemon Cake with Chia Seeds from Tastes of Health

Buying Tips
You can find chia at any Whole Foods Market, health food stores, and well-stocked supermarkets like Kroger. Some of the more widely available chia seed brands include The Chia Co., Nutiva, and Bob’s Red Mill. All chia seeds are naturally vegan and gluten-free, but check the packaging if you want to buy seeds that are certified organic and non-GMO. Look for seeds that are either a speckled black or white, but not uniformly brown. The Chia Co. founder John Foss explains brown chia seeds are immature seeds that haven’t had a chance to mature properly, and this can result in fewer nutritional benefits and give the seeds a bitter taste.

How to Store
Chia seeds have a long shelf life, and will keep for several years when stored in a cool, dry place. Easy!

Goji Berries Superfood Benefits for Your Health

February 24, 2016 by drburt Leave a Comment

Goji Berries Superfood Benefits for Your Health

These berries are so common today and everyone knows what they are, but …. Do you know what they do to your body? Trust me it’s not bad but in fact very good!
Goji berries have been around for hundreds of years as being a medicinal herb in Chinese medicine. Some of the great benefits include:
– Boosting your immunity – increasing your blood cells – Increasing your concentration levels
– Helps fight against cancer mutation cells
– Improves your eyesight – Helps with weight loss – And decreases allergy symptoms
So grab a small handful and put them in to your daily smoothie or have it with hot water and lemon.

Origins:

The original habitat of the goji plant, often referred to as the wolfberry, is to date unknown. The region of origin is proposed to be somewhere in the southeastern parts of Europe or the southwestern region of Asia. Currently, China is responsible for the majority of commercially grown goji on plantations near the Yellow River floodplains. However, it is typically grown in most parts of the world.

It is a species of two boxthorn varieties in the Solanaceae family, better known as the nightshade family. This family of wolfberries is related to eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, flowers, tobacco, and of course the deadly nightshade.

The wolfberry grows to a height of approximately 3 to 10 feet. Southern Chinese varieties of the wolfberry tree are shorter than their northern counterparts. Flowers are one to three on a stem and start out as bell-shaped before bursting to accommodate and release the growing berry. The striking orange-red “pepper-shaped” berry is a half-inch to an inch in size.

What Are Goji Berries?
A raw goji berry is about the size of the tip of your pinky finger, if not smaller. However, these size berries are difficult to find in North America and are native to parts of Asia (usually in China) and Europe.

The Health Claims
Goji berries have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, says health and nutrition expert Rosanna Lee.
Some even claim these berries are natural remedies for diabetes, hypertension, malaria or even fever. However, Lee says a lot of these claims may not be true. “At present, there is still inconclusive evidence from research for such claims to be made.”

Goji Berries contain the following complex compounds:

Beta-Sitosterol, an anti-inflammatory agent. Beta-Sitosterol also lowers cholesterol.
Cyperone, a sesquiterpene that benefits the heart and blood pressure, alleviates menstrual discomfort, and has been used in the treatment of cervical cancer.
Solavetivone, a powerful anti-fungal and anti-bacterial compound.
Physalin, a natural compound that is active against all major types of leukemia. It has been shown to increase splenic natural killer cell activity in normal and tumor-bearing mice, with broad-spectrum anti-cancer effect. It has also been used as a treatment for hepatitis B.
Betaine, which is used by the liver to produce choline, a compound that calms nervousness, enhances memory, promotes muscle growth, and protects against fatty liver disease.

Omegas

Goji berries are high in essential fatty acids, the healthy omegas, which are required for the body’s production of hormones and the smooth functioning of the brain and nervous systems. In particular, linoleic acid is abundant.

Even More

Modern science has shown that this bright red berry not only contains extremely high levels of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, but also contains many unique phytochemicals, polysaccharides, and complex compounds that scientists are just beginning to understand.