8 Health WARNINGS Your Fingernails May Be Sending.

Fingernails and disease don’t go together in most minds… but they should. Your fingernails can give you valuable health warnings and signal the presence of serious disease.

Take a good long look at your nails. Hold a hand level with your nose about a foot out from your face and scrutinize each one.

Look at the curves, dips, ridges, and grooves. Check out how thick or thin they are and if your nails are chipped or broken. Make a note of the color of the nail itself, the skin under it, and the skin around the nail.

Check your memory — have your nails always looked like this? Changes to your fingernails and disease onset are linked, so note any new developments. With this fresh view, compare what you see with this list of eight potential fingernail health warnings.

1. Discolored nails

A healthy fingernail should be pink with a touch of pinkish white (moons) near the base. If your nails are a dull color or streaked with other colors, you may have a serious hidden health problem.

• Green nails are a sign of bacterial infection
• Red streaks in your nail bed are a warning of a heart valve infection
• Blueish nails signal low oxygen levels in your blood
• Dull nails mean a vitamin deficiency
• White nails may signal liver disease, such as hepatitis
• Dark stripes at the top (Terry’s nails) are associated with aging and congestive heart failure

Scrub those nails clean and really look at your nail color! Given the “rainbow” of potential health challenges, you want to be sure you see what your fingers are saying.

2. Thick nails

Thick nails are not natural. You want your nails to be strong, but if they resemble talons or claws more than traditional nails watch out!

• Thickened nails that are otherwise normal can signal lung disease
• Thick and rough-textured nails can signal a fungal infection
• Thick and separated nails may mean thyroid disease or psoriasis
• Unusual thickness may also be a symptom of a circulation problem

Thickening nails are a change that should tune you in to other health symptoms you may be ignoring. Also watch out for allergic reactions to new medications which can show up as suddenly thick nails!

3. Split nails

Split nails aren’t just occasionally chipped or shut in doors. Instead, these nails seem to flake away in layers. Don’t blame frequent handwashing or nail polish for everything, especially since:

• Split nails result from folic acid, Vitamin C, and protein deficiencies
• Split nails combined with a pitted nail bed (base) can signal psoriasis, which begins in nails 10% of the time according to WebMD
• Split nails may result from chronic malnutrition

Watch what you eat and check the psoriasis connection to fight back and pay more attention to your health overall.

4. Concave (Spoon) nails

Spoon fingernails signal a number of internal issues. To be considered full spoons, nails will be soft and curve up, forming a dip that is often big enough to hold water. Spoon nails signal:

• Iron deficiency (usually from anemia)
• Hemachromatosis, a liver disorder where your body absorbs too much iron
• Heart disease
• Hypothyroidism

Your fingernail and health challenges go hand in hand — for many people, clearing up their health issue results in their spoon nails returning back to normal.

5. Pitted nails

Small dips or holes in your nails can be a result of banging up your hands — or they could be a sign that you need to look more closely at your health. Nail pitting can signal:

• Psoriasis
• Connective tissue disorder
• Alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss
• Zinc deficiency (when the pit seems to form a line across the middle of your nail)

Watch your hand to separate natural dents and dings from real, lasting pits. The first will clear up quickly, but pits linked to disease linger.

6. Ridges

Nails should have smooth surfaces with almost imperceptible lines. Obvious ridge lines are a signal that something is up with your body. Some of the most common conditions associated with heavy ridge lines are:

• Iron deficiency
• Inflammatory arthritis
• Lupus (for red lines at the base of your nails)

Don’t just buff away your ridges — hear their warning!

7. Dry, brittle nails

You don’t need lotion or cuticle oil. If your nails are dry and brittle, you should check your hormone levels and bacterial health.

• Thyroid disease leads to brittle, dry fingernails that crack and split easily
• Fungus can make nails dry or even crumbly, affecting 12% of all Americans according to the American Academy of Dermatology

Both thyroid and fungal issues take time to treat, so you won’t see a difference in the look of your fingernails for a full growth cycle.

8. Clubbed nails

If you have plump skin that seems to swell around the nail, or if your nails seem to have puffed around your fingers, they are said to be “clubbed”. Clubbed nails can mean:

• Lung disease, especially if you already have trouble breathing
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Liver disease
• AIDS

 

Your fingernails won’t be the only signs of these diseases, but they can provide confirmation or motivation to seek medical care.

Don’t ignore your hands or the health warnings they send. Fingernails and disease are more closely related than you think — check your nails often to protect your health!

Source: http://www.losethebackpain.com/blog/2012/01/11/fingernail-health-warnings/?utm_source=infusionsoft&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Blog

Ginger Destroys Cancerous Cells More Effectively than Cancer Drugs

Similar to its cousin spice, turmeric, which has a strong anti-cancer effect, ginger is largely known for its incredible ability to shrink tumors.

Amazingly, studies have shown that it is even more effective than many drugs used in the cancer therapies, that are now considered to be completely ineffective and it is believed that these actually accelerate the death of patients diagnosed with cancer

Ginger is commonly consumed in small doses all across the world – you may add it to your dish or you can either find it in some drinks. Its healing properties are much better than some advanced pharmaceutical inventions.

 The Georgia State University conducted a study involving laboratory mice. The results showed that whole ginger extract can actually shrinks prostate tumor size by an astonishing 56% in mice.

Its anti-cancer properties came to subject in addition to the role of this spice in reducing inflammation, and its high content of life-enhancing antioxidants.

Let’s go back to the cancer drugs issue. Is it possible that this simple spice can really surpass the advanced pharmaceutical solutions that doctors often consider as the ‘only option’ for patients diagnosed with cancer?

Scientists have shown that drugs used in cancer therapies are not only severely ineffective at permanently shrinking tumors – which is supposed to be their main purpose, but they actually make tumors grow larger and eventually the patients die a lot sooner than expected.

To be more precise, these drugs are held as responsible for the ‘metastasis,’ meaning the tumors come back bigger and more stronger than they originally were. What is even worse, at that stage the ‘metasizing’ appears to be even more aggressive.

The scientists from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston explained that the premium priced cancer drugs are a ‘little’ worse than death sentences for many of the patients struggling with cancer.

 “Whatever manipulations we’re doing to tumors can inadvertently do something to increase the tumor numbers to become more metastatic, which is what kills patients at the end of the day,” said the study author, Dr. Raghu Kalluri.

And there is no need to mention that these are the very drugs that mainstream health officials consider to be the only scientifically proven solution.

Meanwhile, ginger has no side-effects and people have been using it since ancient times. So instead of supporting the tumor growth, whole ginger extract has shown to be able to shrink tumors significantly and actually it helped patients diagnosed with prostate cancer avoid death.

There are 17 other studies that also gave the same results regarding ginger’s anti-cancer benefits, and there is evidence proving that ginger has a positive impact on more than 101 diseases. 

Source: http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/ginger-destroys-cancerous-cells-more-effectively-than-cancer-drugs/

7 Minute Yoga Routine.....Great Way to Start your Day!

Adorable cartoons to start your day.....
**Yoga is not for everybody**

[For beginners....please do the yoga posture slowly. Please dont try this if you have upper and lower back pains.  Below video is for regular practitioner. Please be guided accordingly.]

7 Minute Yoga Routine – Great Way to Start the Day!!

Don’t have time for yoga in the morning? Now you do! This is a quick 7-minute Vinayasa flow practice designed to get you feeling energized and grounded right when you get out of bed. 

Slide from bed to your mat and do these yoga postures...

Warning: This is a quick video for regular practitioners.

Source: http://www.curejoy.com/content/10-minute-yoga-routine-great-way-to-start-the-day/

Ancient Tea Recipe for Body Cleanse

 

The tea recipe for cleaning of the body is thousands of years old and it comes from the ancient India. This tea for detoxification of the organism is also successfully used in India against nausea, intestinal worms, vomiting, elimination of toxins and the modern science also found it effective for prevention of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia…

Tea Recipe  

Most of the folk recipes from India are based on healing spices such as turmeric, ginger, cloves… Our super tea for cleansing the body heals more than 50 health problems and also contains oriental spices. Here is what you need for this recipe:

• 1/2  teaspoon of ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/6 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of milk
• Pinch of cardamom
• A little natural pure honey, according to your taste

Preparation

Mix all the spices really well and pour 1 cup of boiling water, stir well and add 1/2 of hot milk.

NOTE: if you do not have grind spices, but you want to prepare the tea from the seeds of these plants, it is not enough to just pour the boiling water, but you need to cook the seeds in water for at least 5 minutes, and then you should pour the milk.

You should drink this tea for detoxification unstrained, during the whole day as much as you want. This ancient drink is also used for colds, it gives energy and strengthens the immunity.

Source: http://www.forhealthbenefits.com/ancient-tea-recipe-body-cleanse

Garlic can defeat colds and flu

It has gained its reputation as a virus buster thanks to one of its chemical constituents, allicin.
A recent and significant finding from Washington State University shows that garlic is 100 times more effective than two popular antibiotics at fighting disease causing bacteria commonly responsible for food borne illness.

When the garlic is crushed, alliin becomes allicin. Research shows that allicin helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure and also helps prevents blood clots. Garlic can also reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Compounds in this familiar bulb kill many organisms, including bacteria and viruses that cause earaches, flu and colds. Research indicates that garlic is also effective against digestive ailments and diarrhea. What’s more, further studies suggest that this common and familiar herb may help prevent the onset of cancers.

‘This chemical has been known for a long time for its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal powers,’ says Helen Bond, a Derbyshire-based consultant dietitian and spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association.

‘Because of this, people assume it is going to boost their immune systems. Lots of people are simply mashing up garlic, mixing it with olive oil and spreading it on bread.
‘But how or whether it may actually work has still not been proven categorically.’
Indeed, scientists remain divided on garlic’s ability to combat colds and flu. Last March, a major investigation by the respected global research organisation, the Cochrane Database, found that increasing your garlic intake during winter can cut the duration of cold symptoms — from five-and-a-half days to four-and-a-half.

But the report, which amalgamated all previous scientific studies on garlic, said it could not draw solid conclusions because there is a lack of large-scale, authoritative research.
The problem is that pharmaceutical companies are not interested in running huge, expensive trials — as they would with promising new drug compounds — because there is nothing in garlic that they can patent, package and sell at a profit.

Modified Garlic Soup Recipe
Serves 4

• 26 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) organic butter (grass fed)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1/2 cup fresh ginger
• 2 1/4 cups sliced onions
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 26 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3 1/2 cups organic vegetable broth
• 4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350F. Place 26 garlic cloves in small glass baking dish. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic between fingertips to release cloves. Transfer cloves to small bowl.

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, thyme, ginger and cayenne powder and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and 26 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add vegetable broth; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; add coconut milk and bring to simmer. Season with sea salt and pepper for flavour.
Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

If garlic were found to be a wonder drug, consumers could simply buy it in the supermarket for 30p a bulb or grow their own in the garden.

Nevertheless, garlic has a long and proud tradition as a medicine. The Ancient Egyptians recommended it for 22 ailments. In a papyrus dated 1500BC, the labourers who built the pyramids ate it to increase their stamina and keep them healthy.

The Ancient Greeks advocated garlic for everything from curing infections, and lung and blood disorders to healing insect bites and even treating leprosy.

The Romans fed it to soldiers and sailors to improve their endurance. Dioscorides, the personal physician to Emperor Nero, wrote a five-volume treatise extolling its virtues.

One of the most interesting of the recent findings is that garlic increases the overall antioxidant levels of the body. Scientifically known as Allium sativa, garlic has been famous throughout history for its ability to fight off viruses and bacteria. Louis Pasteur noted in 1858 that bacteria died when they were doused with garlic. From the Middle Ages on, garlic has been used to treat wounds, being ground or sliced and applied directly to wounds to inhibit the spread of infection. The Russians refer to garlic as Russian penicillin.

More recently, researchers have unearthed evidence to show garlic may help us to stay hale and hearty in a number of ways.

Last June, nutrition scientists at the University of Florida found eating garlic can boost the number of T-cells in the bloodstream. These play a vital role in strengthening our immune systems and fighting viruses.

And pharmacologists at the University of California found that allicin — the active ingredient in garlic that contributes to bad breath — is an infection-killer.
Allicin also makes our blood vessels dilate, improving blood flow and helping to tackle cardiovascular problems such as high cholesterol.

An Australian study of 80 patients published last week in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that diets high in garlic may reduce high blood pressure.

In 2007, dentists in Brazil found that gargling with garlic water (made by steeping crushed garlic cloves in warm, but not boiling, water) can kill the germs that cause tooth decay and gum disease.

But they hit a snag: the volunteers refused to continue the experiment, complaining that the garlic gargle made them feel sick. Looking at the garlic soup recipe certainly made me feel queasy. Still, it gave me an excuse to use up my ample supply of garlic.

Though last year’s awful weather caused crop failures on my allotment, I enjoyed a bumper harvest of garlic.

Among its many other virtues, garlic kills slugs and snails. Researchers from the University of Newcastle believe it contains oils that may cripple the nervous systems of these slimy creatures.
There are two schools of thought as to the best way of preparing garlic to make the most of its medicinal qualities.

Argentinian investigators found it releases its allicin-type compounds when you bake the cloves, while scientists at South Carolina Medical University believe peeling garlic and letting it sit uncovered for 15 minutes produces the highest levels of compounds to fight infection.

So you can simply peel half of the garlic cloves and roast the other half with the kitchen door tightly closed (to stop the pong permeating throughout the house).
After an hour-and-a-quarter’s industrious soup-making, sprinkle lemon juice over a bowl of steaming, grey gloop and a tuck in.

The heady aroma certainly revs up the appetite and the first spoonful does not disappoint. Delicious as it is, however, one large bowl of home-made soup is a more than ample meal.

As for the soup’s cold-preventing powers, only time will tell. Regular bowlfuls may very well keep me free of winter ailments, thanks to the virus-killing compounds they contain.
Or it could just be that my nuclear-strength garlic breath will keep everyone who is infectious far out of sneezing range for months to come.

Source: http://www.curejoy.com/content/garlic-soup-made-with-52-cloves-of-garlic-can-defeat-colds-flu-and-even-norovirus/

9 Natural Fat Burners

Obesity is one of the biggest problems in public health today. Many people around the world suffer from it, which causes them to look for alternatives to help them lose weight.

One of the most popular resources for weight loss is exercise, although your diet also has a crucial importance in meeting this goal. That is why taking care of your health is extremely important. In this article, we will tell you about 9 natural fat burners that are found in food that you eat everyday.

1. Green Tea
Without a doubt, this drink is one of the most popular fat burners today. Just like black tea, green tea helps you control your weight because it accelerates your metabolism, reducing your ability to absorb fat from foods as well as eliminating it. On average, green tea burns between 35 and 43% more fat than other similar beverages.

2. Dairy Products
Thanks to calcium, some dairy products inhibit the production of cortisol, a hormone that causes the accumulation of fat in the abdomen. For example, low fat milk breaks down fat quickly, which is why many people suggest drinking it to help lose 70% more weight than people who don’t drink any dairy products.

3. Citrus Fruits

***** Food that has a high content of vitamin C accelerates your metabolism, which translates to a higher amount of eliminated fat. Also, citrus fruits are recommended for illnesses like anemia, colds, or to control blood cholesterol.

4. Chili Peppers
Recent studies have shown that capsaicin, a chemical compound that is found in this food, helps reduce the amount of fat that is stored in the body. Also, the high levels of vitamin C that chili peppers have accelerate the metabolism, which allows you to burn fat more quickly.

5. Lecithin
It is a type of lipid or fatty acid that directly affects fat metabolism, causing it to burn more quickly. It is also good for your memory, mood, and appetite regulation. The products you can find it in are tofu and soybeans.

6. Coffee

***** Coffee is a thermogenic that enables the elimination of fat by accelerating the metabolism and burning calories. However, you should be cautious when you drink it because it increases blood pressure and may bring about other problems like tachycardia.

7. Eggs
Eating two eggs a day for breakfast blocks fat absorption. Moreover, eggs cause you to feel full, which will prevent you from eating too frequently.

8. Red Meat
Red meat stimulates fat burning thanks to the proteins it contains that force your body to use fat reserves to produce energy. This is due to carnitine, which, besides accelerating your metabolism, also activates blood circulations.

9. Cold Water

***** As incredible as it may sound, some studies suggest that drinking cold or ice water helps your body accelerate the metabolic process, which eliminates many more calories and fats. Its best to drink at least 500 ml of this liquid everyday.

Source: http://steptohealth.com/9-natural-fat-burners/

Possible Symptoms of Cancer [for Women]

Do you know the symptoms of cancer, or how cancer starts to form? After the jump we’ll show you how to detect the signals that’ll help you avoid cancer if it’s about to develop. Don’t miss it!

As we have recommended many times and as we’re sure you’ve heard in all of your health centers or campaigns around the world, prevention is the best way to cure an illness. Through some simple and painless exams, you can detect cancer in time and prevent it from spreading to other organs in your body.

In the case that you come to have these symptoms, we recommend that you don’t panic, since it’s not necessarily true that you have cancer. This is simply a guide to signals that could alert you so that you pay attention to certain signs and see your doctor if you find them. Your doctor will have routine exams that will let you know for sure if you have cancer or not. If you do have positive results from the test, you still shouldn’t despair. In this case, you should feel fortunate that you were able to detect the disease in time and that your treatment should now be easier and more effective than it would have been if the disease had progressed further.

Rapid weight loss, without apparent reason

If you lose a significant amount of weight, without any reason, and you haven’t made any diet or exercise changes recently, you should make sure to go to your doctor, because this is a signal of possible pancreas, stomach, esophagus, or lung cancer.

 Mouth ulcers that don’t heal

If you suffer from frequent mouth ulcers on your lips and gums, and they persist for more than three weeks, you should talk to a doctor,because although these types of mouth ulcers are quite common, ones that last longer than two or three days are a cause of concern. When these mouth lesions stop healing quickly, it’s a sign that there is a serious irritation on your mouth tissues which without a doubt should be treated.

Frequent fevers

The majority of people who suffer from any type of cancer suffer from fevers regularly, especially people who have some sort of cancer that affects the immune system. You should keep in mind that everybody has fevers from time to time, it only becomes a problem when they’re very frequent.

Frequent abdominal issues

The abdominal issues could be pain, swelling, a sensation of fullness, change in your intestinal habits such as frequent diarrhea or constipation without an apparent reason, rectal bleeding, or streaks of dark-colored blood in your fecal matter. You should consult with a doctor about any of these symptoms because even if it isn’t intestinal cancer, they are all indicative of some sort of problem.

Permanent cough

If you have a strong cough that persists longer than two weeks, whether it is a dry cough or if it comes with expectoration, or if you there are any spots of blood in your phlegm, or if your voice is rough and scratchy regularly, you could potentially have lung cancer. If you notice any of these symptoms you should go to a specialist immediately.

Skin changes

If you notice any changes in the cover of you skin, any spots that you did not have before, if you notice new moles or changes in the moles that you have, strong itching, spots of dead skin, or any unprovoked bleeding, or any unusual changes in your skin, you should consult with a dermatologist as soon as possible, since skin cancer often starts in this manner.

Leukoplakia

Leukoplakia is the appearance of white patches in the mouth or on the tongue that can be caused by frequent irritation, previous injury, or the consumption of cigarettes and alcohol. These lesions should be treated as soon as possible, because they can develop into oral cancer.

Repeated, unusual bleeding

Blood in the urine could be a sign of bladder or kidney cancer, blood in the feces could indicate colon or intestinal cancer, spots of blood in the phlegm could mean lung cancer, and an abnormally large or frequent amount of vaginal bleeding is a signal of uterine or cervical cancer.

Bleeding without cause could be the sign of oncoming cancer, but it could also be the sign of cancer that’s already started, and so you should always see a doctor as soon as you spot any sign of a serious problem.

Enlargement or lumps in a breast

These growths can appear for different reasons, and so it’s very important that you talk to a specialist when you encounter any kind of abnormality in this area of your body. If you need to treat breast cancer, it has a far better chance of being cured the earlier that you treat it. The exam to determine breast cancer is usually a mammogram, which is very simple, completely painless, and over in about five minutes, so you have no excuse for doing this exam every year.

How can we prevent cancer?

The most important thing to keep in mind in the fight against cancer is to have a good diet, which is always rich in fruits and vegetables, in addition to eating foods that are high in fiber, which will improve your digestion and prevent colon cancer. You should drink at least eight glasses of water a day, so that you can make sure that your kidneys are function correctly and avoid grave complications like bladder or kidney cancer. If you choose to go outside for a period of time, even when the sun isn’t shining brightly, you should always make sure to use a good amount of sunscreen, in order to avoid skin cancer.

Another way to prevent cancer, in whatever part of your body, is to pay attention to all of the signals that we’ve outlined above, because your doctor can give you the necessary tests and exams to determine if your problems are cancer or not, and they can give you the treatment that is sure to give you the best results.

Source: 

http://steptohealth.com/possible-symptoms-cancer-women/