Ayur Wisdom

- By: Jennifer Baxt, 2008-01-28

Seasonal affective disorder, otherwise known as SAD affects many people every year. This type of depression is often found among those who go through bouts of depression that seem to occur in a pattern related to the seasons and time of year, hence the name seasonal affective disorder. Winter appears to be the season to bring on seasonal affective disorder as a result of the lack of sun and the cold, dreary whether. For this reason it is found to affect people more in the northern climates where there are longer periods of dark, cold and long winters.

How does a person determine if they are suffering from seasonal affective disorder? Well, there is always the option of searching the internet for some information about SAD to get a better understanding about it and its symptoms. A person can always contact an online therapist, or consult a counselor by phone to find out more about it. Some of the symptoms a person with this type of depression include a change in a person’s eating habits, a change in a person’s sleeping patterns, loss interest in activities they would normally want to be involved in, and even fatigue that no amount of sleep seems to help. December is the month when one or more of these symptoms may start to appear and then, for many, it can get worse in January. In the case with anyone suffering this type of depression, their symptoms will disappear as the days grow warmer and longer.

Is there a treatment for seasonal affective disorder? There is. Anyone who believes they might be suffering from this depression because they seem to be suffering one or more of the symptoms mentioned above should consult their counselor or a therapist. A self-diagnosis is never one that should be seen as a 100 percent accurate. Going to a professional counselor for help is probably the best thing to do as they are knowledgeable about this and can determine if it is SAD a person is suffering from or some other type of depression. Many different types of depressions can often share similar symptoms. Online therapy or phone consultation are available if going to see a counselor in person is not possible, or easy for the individual to do so that people can get the help they need. SAD affects many people every year and can often be helped by light therapies and/or medicinal therapies that a therapist might suggest after they have confirmed that it is, in fact, seasonal affective disorder the patient is suffering from.

What is light therapy? Light therapy is a relatively new therapy used for patients who have seasonal affective disorder. It has been tested in comparison with some of the medicinal treatments available and it has been found that about half of the patients responded better to the light therapy than they did to the medicinal therapy. The pluses of the light therapy are obvious with the benefit of not having to worry about the side effects of medication. In light therapy, a person sets up a panel with fluorescent lights in a room where they can read, write or watch television while they go through the treatment. The length of the session depends on the patient and how affected they are by the depression. It can be as short as fifteen minutes once or twice a day, to about three hours once or twice a day.

Jennifer B. Baxt, LMHC, LMFT offers online audio/video counseling as well as works with children, individuals, couples, geriatric patients, depression, bipolor, anxiety and substance abuse.Jennifer B. Baxt, LMHC, LMFT offers online audio/video counseling as well as works with children, individuals, couples, geriatric patients, depression, bipolor, anxiety and substance abuse. Please contact Complete Counseling Solutions via email jennifer@completecounselingsolutions.com or visit our website http://www.completecounselingsolutions.com for any further information.

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Friday, January 25, 2008

Body Detox for control weight

Body Detox for control weight - By: Lemon Lemon, 2008-01-25
What is it exactly and how do you know if it can help you? Have you heard of this thing called body detox? Many people are now taking time and effort to detox their bodies and form new, healthier lifestyles. You can do so with a body detox, if you would like to be like these people and improve your body and lifestyle.

A detox is a full and thorough cleansing to remove built up toxins. People might detox from drugs or alcohol as well or even from cigarettes and caffeine. Any chemical that your body becomes dependant on and you then try to remove from the system will go through the detoxification process.
If you want to totally change your lifestyle for the better, a body detox and a change in diet plan may be just the thing that you need for a better, brighter future. If you want to detox your body from the inside out, you need a detox.

Are you clean on the inside? You might not know it but there are likely many toxins inside your body that cause things such as:
- IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
- Bloating
- Stomach pain
- Constipation
- Weight gain
- Chronic fatigue
- Acid reflux
- Skin and hair problems
- Parasites
- Insomnia and other sleep problems
- And more!

This combined with a poor diet and not enough exercise leads to problems such as parasites that live inside. The toxins also lead to poor digestion with leaves “unprocessed” foods inside the body causing many problems listed above. Proper cleansing can remove this and you will feel healthier and more alive.

Many of these common illnesses that people suffer from on a daily basis can be avoided and removed if you take time and effort to detoxify your body. If you have been struggling with these problems for some time, then a proper cleansing can help you with this. Many people do not have bowel movements as often as they should or they are not having complete cleansing when they do.

It can even help you lose weight. When you rid your body of the toxins and your body begins to digest the food more properly, you will lose weight, have a smaller waist line and feel better about yourself.

To get more articles about health topics, please visit below sites. Diet Detox Plan : http://detox-diet-plan.blogspot.com Juice Fasting : http://juice-fasting.blogspot.com

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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Fighting Obesity - an ayurvedic way

Fighting Obesity - an ayurvedic way
By: Dr SavithaSuri

Fighting Obesity - an ayurvedic way

Definition of Obesity

Excess amount of body fat is Obesity.

Excess weight of muscles, bone, fat and water in the body (like body builders and athletes) is Overweight.

Over weighted persons are at increased health risk than normal persons. They are more prone to chronic diseases like heart diseases, type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and few types of cancers.

Is fat necessary to our body?

Certain amount of body fat does the following function

1. Heat insulation.

2. Absorption of shock.

3. Storage of energy. Etc.

Ayurveda describes the functions of body fat as

“Medaha sneha swedaudhrudatwam pushtim asthyancha”

This means in normal conditions the body fat keeps the body moisturized , causes sweating , gives energy to body (by storing energy) and nourishes bones. (By protecting them from shock)

Distribution of fat

Women have more body fat than men. In women usually the fat accumulates around hips giving them a pear shape. In men it accumulates around belly giving them an apple shape. The obesity related problems start when fat accumulates around waist.

In ayurveda the distribution of fat is described as follows.

Medastu sarvabhutaanamudarenvasthi thishtathi |
Ata evodare vriddhihi prayo medaswino bhavet ||
Fat gets deposited in and around belly in all living beings. It is also present in bone. Hence when a person becomes obese his stomach bulges out.

And also the characters of an obese person are described as

"Medo mamsa ativriddhatvaachalasphigudarastanaha"

Which means the hips, belly and breasts of an obese person sag and sagged parts flap as that person moves. An obese person will not be active.

Causes of Obesity

When a person consumes more calories than he burns then the excess calories get stored in the form of fat causing obesity.
Genetic factors–Obesity tends to run in families. If parents are fat then the offspring also show a tendency to accumulate fat. Even the diet and lifestyle habits which are practiced in family also contribute to obesity.

Environment.

– A person’s eating habits and the level of physical activities a person has also contribute for excess deposition of fat. When a person eats food containing more calories and has a sedentary work then the calories consumed are more than calories burnt. The excess amount calories are stored as fat.

Psychological disturbances.

There is a tendency to over eat in response to negative emotions like boredom, sadness or anger. This leads to obesity.

Binge eating disorder.

Diseases and conditions like Hypothyroidism, Cushing's syndrome, Depression, and certain neurological problems lead to overeating which in turn leads to accumulation of fat.

Medicines such as steroids and some antidepressants may cause weight gain.

Causes of obesity according to Ayurveda

The causes of obesity are very clearly explained in ayurveda. The following reasons which are mentioned in ayurveda increase the deposition of fat.

Avayamadivaaswapnashleshmalaaaharasevinaha |
Madhuroannarasaha prayaha snehamedhovivardhati ||

According to ayurveda the causes of obesity are defined as :

Avyayama : Not exerting physically

Divaswapna: Sleeping in afternoon.

Shleshmala Ahara Vihara : The diet and life styles which increase Kapha

Madhura Annaha : Consuming sweetened foods .

Health risks due to Obesity

Obesity leads to the following problems.

– Type-2 diabetes

– Heart disease.

– High Blood pressure.

– Stroke

– Few types of Cancers

– Gall stones

– Liver diseases

– Osteo arthritis.

– Gout

– Infertility

– Irregular menstruation in women.

According to Ayurveda the obese persons are more prone to the following diseases.

– Diabetes.

– Kidney related problems.

– Hepatitis.

– Low libido.

– Low energy levels.

– Skin problems.

– Fistula

– Piles.

– Filariasis . etc

Tips to reduce Obesity

Determine with the help of your physician how much weight has to be reduced.

Set several short term realistic goals .

Reward yourself each time you make progress (Not food items)

Even small weight losses have shown to be beneficial.

Make gradual changes in eating habits.

You will lose weight when you burn more calories than you consume.

Hence eating less and being more active help in losing weight
.
Sound eating habits keep you out of putting on weight.

Stay motivated to lose weight.

Slow weight loss is the safest and most effective. ( one to one and half pound per week).

Gradual weight loss, promote long term loss of body fat.

A person who is moderately active needs daily, 33 calories per kg of body weight to maintain his weight .

Reducing calories intake by 300 per day and increasing the physical activity to burn 200 calories per day results in weight loss of 400 Gms per week.

To satisfy basic nutritional needs eat a variety of foods every day.

Choose from each of the five food groups milk, meat, fruit, vegetable and cereals. Balanced food plans encourage making wise choices about everyday food choices. This type of diet helps to stay at your proper weight for life.

Allow for an occasional treat.

Evaluate your eating pattern.

Try to cut down on foods high in fats and sugar.

Most successful weight – loss plans stress on reduction in both calories and the amount of fat eaten

Physical activity:

Determine the type of physical activity that suits your life style.
Regular aerobic exercise like brisk walking, jogging or swimming, is a key factor in achieving permanent weight loss and improving health
Health experts recommend exercising 30 minutes or more on all, days of the week for maximum benefits. The exercises should be moderately vigorous to be most effective but not exhausting.

Incorporate few simple measures to burn calories effectively. Like- taking an after dinner walk, using stairs instead of escalators or elevators, parking the car farther away to have a longer walk etc.

Exercises also improve sense of well being ,decreases stress and decreases appetite in some.

Ayurvedic tips to reduce Obesity

Numerous tips to reduce obesity have been mentioned in ayurveda. The following ayurvedic tips help you to reduce the obesity.

Very good exercises. Exercises like brisk walking, jogging, playing out door games etc help to reduce weight.

Physical and mental exertion. Exerting physically like doing house hold works, walking to distant places to bring groceries, vegetables etc, walking long distances to bring the child back from school, walking to working place, climbing stairs etc are types of physical exertion. Exerting physically as much as you can help to burn more calories.

Mental exertion like worrying or involving in finding solutions to problems also restrict food consumption in some and there by reduces the intake of calories .

Having sex frequently is also a good physical exertion.

Consumption of honey. This is advisable for non diabetic patients. Consuming 2 tea spoon of honey with a glass of herbal tea which includes weight reducing herbs help a lot in weight reduction. Honey along with these herbs scrapes and dissolves the Kapha and medha (body fat).

Sleeping for less hours. Avoiding sleeping in afternoons help to increase the burning of calories. This avoids slowing of basal metabolic rate.

Avoiding the food and beverages which increase kapha and medha. The foods which increase kapha and medha are sweets, sweetened drinks , large quantities of carbohydrates and oily food.

Consuming wheat products than rice products help to reduce obesity.
Using Green gram and horse gram help in reduction of kapha and medha.

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This article is copy righted. The author Dr.SavithaSuri is an Ayurvedic Physician and web master of www.ayurhelp.com Read more about weight loss tips www.ayurhelp.com/obesity/weight_reduction.htm

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Thursday, January 10, 2008

Tips For Easy Healthy Vegetarian Recipes

Tips For Easy Healthy Vegetarian RecipesBy: Diana Pells

A lot of people think that vegetarians' diet is only limited to a few recipes. What they don't know is that the internet holds a vast resource of easy healthy vegetarian recipes. The wealth of choices actually makes vegetarianism an exciting journey into healthy food. Here are some things you need to remember when preparing easy healthy vegetarian recipes.

Check the LabelStocking up ahead on sauces and ingredients is one of the most convenient way of putting together a healthy recipe. This way you just have to open packs and cans when you need to whip up something fast. This is generally a good idea especially if you're thinking of canned beans, salsa sauce, dried peas, canned mushrooms and tomato sauce.

Remember to inspect and read labels on packages before buying and stocking up. Some products may seem vegetarian but may contain animal based ingredients like gelatin and animal oil. Pure vegans might also want to find out if instant foods contain cheese, milk and other dairy products.

Cook the Same Way

Regular and vegetarian recipes involve the same procedure when it comes to preparation. The only thing lacking is meat. This means that you just have to cook like you always do. Just have a little knowledge to supplement your nutrients and a little creativity to make easy healthy vegetarian recipes as tasty as meat dishes.

Remember that poultry can be found in nuts, beans, legumes and soy based products. Calcium can be obtained from milk and green leafy vegetables. To make your easy healthy vegetarian recipes especially tasty you can experiment with herbs and spices like chilies, oregano, thyme, rosemary and basil.

Don't Overdo Plain Dishes

There is absolutely nothing wrong with serving steamed vegetables, corn and peas. They are also obviously easy healthy vegetarian recipes. Sometimes though, you might want to cut back on these basic dishes so that your family doesn't get too bored with the same taste. Serve the same dishes but maybe you can sauté these food items first with some tasty onions, garlic and some pepper.

Serve Healthy Snacks

Some recipes would take a little bit more time. To make sure that your family members don't come home hungry and ready for a big meal at six, serve them healthy snacks to delay their craving for dinner. Pack some nuts, dried fruits, fruit mixes, crackers and cheese for them to take to school or work.

Serve Raw and Simple

Raw vegetarianism is still considered a controversial issue but those who stand by it maintain that it is the healthiest way of life and is the greatest source of easy healthy vegetarian recipes. You might want to try one night in seven as a raw night. Raw foods are considered healthy because they lose none of their nutrients through heat in the cooking process. More rigid raw eaters simply blend fruits and vegetables. You may however just want to settle for simple salads with delicious dips and sauces.

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Being a vegetarian is nothing more than making fresh and easy healthy vegetarian recipes every meal. Discover more about easy vegetarian recipes!

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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Ayurvedic health care in humid weather

By Dr SavithaSuri

Monsoon! Monsoon!
Please come quickT
o water the plants
That looks like sticks
We need the rain
We need the rain
To trickle down
Our dried up drains ………….

This poem caught my eyes while browsing internet. Monsoon brings joy as plants wear a green look, rivers swell to brim and dry lands become wet. The grim side of this season is increased humidity, which troubles humans.

What is humidity?

Humidity is the amount of water vapour in air. It is usually described as “relative humidity” and expressed in percentage. 100% humidity means the water vapour in the air is at its maximum at that particular temperature.

When humidity is low (amount of water vapour is less in air), the evaporation from the surrounding areas is rapid. Hence the clothes dry quickly, soil dries up, sweat evaporates from skin etc.When humidity is high (amount of water vapour is more in air), clothes dry slowly, sweat do not evaporate from skin and we feel sticky and uncomfortable.

We feel comfortable when humidity is 45-50% and temperature 20 to 22 degree Celsius. Any broad variation in these may cause health problems.

Effects of increased humidity on human body :

Human body maintains its temperature by transferring body heat to surrounding air through evaporation of perspiration (sweat). When humidity is high in air the evaporation of sweat decreases and maintenance of body temperature is altered. Along with high humidity if atmosphere temperature is high, the blood circulation increases on surface of skin and decreases in muscles and other organs. Hence we experience fatigue in climate which is high in temperature and humidity.

Molds, mildews, bacteria, virus, dust mites proliferate when humidity increases in surrounding air. They grow on air conditioners, shower heads, damp walls, toilets , wet carpets and on other moist substances. Their spores which are called bioaerosoles, are constantly released into air. Bioaerosoles cause infection and allergies. They trigger asthma attacks and other respiratory diseases.

Researchers have found that osteo -arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis flare up in high humid weather.

According to Ayurvedic texts the humidity increases during rainy season. The agni (body fire or digestive power) which is reduced during summer, decreases still further and gets vitiated by doshas. Doshas get vitiated due to changes in weather, like increased humidity, coldness, dampness etc.

How to reduce humidity at home

1. Repair the source which is causing dampness or wetness at home .Leaking roofs, taps and tanks have to be repaired to prevent leaking.

2. Keep the rain drain free from clogs and let the water from rain drain flow away from your basement.

3. Switch on exhaust fans or vent fans after bathing and cooking.

4. Do not dry clothes inside. This increases humidity inside home.

5. Use a digital hygrometer to monitor humidity.

6. Use a dehumidifier to bring down the humidity to 50% or less.Ayurvedic tips to keep healthy in humid conditions:

1. One has to undergo detoxification therapies like Vamana and Virechana.
2. Asthapana basthi (An enema of herbal decoction) has to be administered to keep away humidity related health problems.
3. The digestive system gets weakened due to dehydration in summer. This leads to low digestive power. This is further weakened by vitiation of doshas and dhatus due to increased humidity. Hence following diets which increase power of digestion and strengthen the digestive system would be beneficial.

a. Light foods prepared out of old barley, rice and wheat.
b. Sour and salted soups of vegetables.
c. Drinking boiled and cooled water mixed with little honey
.d. Consuming little quantity of wine prepared out of grapes.
e. Adding ginger and green gram in daily diet.
f. Eating warm food.
g. The taste of food must be preferably sour and salty.

4. Do not walk in bare foot. Always wear dry foot wear to prevent growth of fungus on nails and between toes. Dry your feet and webs with soft dry cloth whenever they are wet.

5. The clothes should be fumigated using fragrant herbs. Drying clothes with fumes of loban and dry neem leaves is recommended in ayurvedic texts.

6. We should not sleep in basement as it will be damp and growth of moulds and fungus will be more.

7. Fumigating the house with smoke of dried neem leaves in evenings for 1-2 minutes is an excellent ayurvedic method to check the growth of microbes,

8. Always keep the surroundings dry and clean. Do not allow water to get accumulated around.Ayurvedic Home remedies for Humidity related diseases1. Apply castor oil or sesame oil on cracked feet and skin.

2. A freshly prepared paste of turmeric, neem and sesame seeds is recommended in ayurveda for fungal infection between toes.
3. Drink a glass of warm water mixed with a tea spoon of honey in empty stomach. This flushes out accumulated toxins.
4. Freshly prepared radish juice is the best remedy for cold.

5. A pinch each of long pepper powder and rock salt mixed in warm water reduces cough
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This article is copy righted. The author Dr.SavithaSuri is an Ayurvedic Physician and web master of http://www.ayurhelp.com/ Read this article at www.ayurhelp.com/articles/humidity.htm

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