Importance of Exercise in Arthritis

Importance of exercise in arthritis

“Activity” in arthritis

Arthritis patients are less physically active.  This is simply because of the factors involved with the disease.  Many arthritis patients are under the misconception that exercise will cause further damage to their joints.  However, this is not so, as exercising regularly helps to strengthen the muscles and to protect the joints.  Appropriate exercise helps to ease pain, keep you mobile and to help control weight.  Your chances of developing chronic diseases are increased when you are not physically active.  Over half the adults living with heart disease or diabetes also have arthritis.  Experts have revealed that lack of information on how to exercise properly, fear of worsening symptoms or damaging joints, fear of pain and pain prevent people living with arthritis from being physically active.

The good news!

Over 40 million persons live with arthritis and the good news for these 40 million people is that a regiment of moderate exercise can improve mobility and reduce pain.  For those living with arthritis physical activities such as swimming, bicycling and walking have shown to improve physical function, reduce pain, and improve the quality of life.  The risk of developing Osteoarthritis is reduced when weight control and injury prevention measures are taken.  Weight loss and control is also helpful to reduce symptoms of patients that are suffering with knee Osteoarthritis.

The following tips will help you to understand how to effectively and safely enhance your physical activity in arthritis:

Rest: When our bodies rest or sleep, they are restoring energy.  Balancing rest with exercise is effective to help reduce arthritis symptoms.  Balance exercise with rest and pace yourself. However, it is important to remember, that too much rest can make your joints stiff. 

Activity: Keep yourself active.  Stronger muscles help to reduce fatigue.  Good activities for arthritic patients include exercises and swimming in a heated pool.

Gentleness: Be gentle in your daily life.  Start slow and gradually build doing a little more each day.  Avoid contact sports and other high impact activities.

Convenience: When you are in the least amount of pain, tired or stiff, exercise.  And, exercise during the time that your medication is most effective.

Variety:  Motion exercises should be done at least once a day.  When waking in the morning exercising first will help to ease the stiffness felt upon rising.  Exercising prior to bedtime will help stop the stiffness from developing during your sleep.  Only do a range of movement exercises when you experience a flare up.  .

People with arthritis can manage chronic conditions such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes by finding help to overcome the barriers that often limit their physical activity. 

To effectively manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, people with arthritis need help finding ways to over­come arthritis-specific barriers to physical activity. Using natural anti-arthritis herbal supplements may significantly reduce swelling, stiffness and tenderness of the affected joints and provides the much-needed muscular boost to carry on healthy physical activity in people with arthritis. 

All Natural Arthtis Pain Releif

How To Get A Six Pack

How To Get A Six Pack

A toned, washboard stomach is something that is highly sought after by men and women alike but of course it does not come naturally. Many people do not have the time or the money to commit to going to the gym but that does not mean that you cannot have an enviable stomach. It can easily be achieved in the privacy of your own home without spending a fortune on equipment and it does not have to take up all of your time.

Lose the excess fat and eat well!

First things first, you need to target the areas of fat by doing some cardiovascular exercise. It does not matter how much you exercise if there is a layer of fat over your abdominals, your six pack will be unnoticeable. Examples of this would be; Running, jogging or cycling. Anything that gets your heart and blood pumping is good to not only lose weight but to stay healthy. It is important not to skip breakfast as what usually happens is you will end up eating a massive lunch due to not eating anything for hours on end which of course is guaranteed to make you pile on the pounds. You should try not to skip lunch either as again, you will end up eating a larger dinner and most people are usually not very active after dinner which will lead to weight gain.  3 sensible well balanced meals a day and if you must snack between meals, make them low fat ones.

Drink water

Make sure you keep your fluid intake up as quite often, thirst is mistaken for hunger. So when we feel hungry we are actually thirsty. Keeping our fluid levels up not only suppresses appetite so that we eat less which is good for weight control, it ensures optimum digestion, removes waste products from the body, helps to keep our skin glowing and complexion healthy and encourages our kidney to function properly which increases the efficiency of our liver’s fat burning capacities.

Build muscle

You do not need to shell out on expensive equipment to build muscle. Exercises you can do at home include, sit ups, crunches, leg lifts and using a stability ball that supports your back and body so that you can effectively perform these exercises without strain. You should carry out these exercises at least three times a week. If you do have some money to spend you can buy some dumbbells very affordably, the more muscle you have the more calories your body will burn. Lifting weights and doing some kind of resistance training is important to make sure you do not loss too much muscle mass while you are reducing your calorie intake. You need to try to do an even amount of cardiovascular and resistance training otherwise if you concentrate on sorely cardiovascular activities you may lose the muscle mass that you develop in your abs.

 Sports Performance

Dietary Tips to Improve Male Hormone Secretion & Production

How to naturally enhance testosterone

Dietary tips to improve male hormone secretion & production

What is testosterone?

Testosterone is the basic male or sex hormone in men produced by the testes that performs and maintains various body functions e.g. muscle mass and strength. It encourages the development of male sexual characteristics (penis growth, muscle development and Masculine features), fat distribution; bone mass, sperm production, sex drive, and potency. For these characteristic functions, testosterone is also known as "Male Hormone". Testosterone is also the most potent of the naturally occurring androgens. The androgens in general also cause the development of male sex characteristics, such as a deep voice and a beard; they also strengthen muscle tone and bone mass.

Production and release of testosterone

Testosterone is produced by the testes from the onset of puberty throughout adulthood under the influence of Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH). Sex hormones are manufactured from cholesterol which is converted to Pregnenolone by the ACTH. High levels of ACTH therefore stimulate greater manufacture of testosterone from cholesterol. Testosterone is indeed produced in large quantities in the testes, and androgens (the parent hormones that give rise to testosterone) are actually produced by two small glands next to the kidneys, the adrenals, in both men and women.

Testosterone is produced in both men and women however adult males produce significantly more than females. On an average, men have 10 times greater level of testosterone than women as the adult male body manufactures 2.5 - 11 mg per day while females only produce 0.25 mg through ovaries. This discrepancy causes many of the biological differences between the sexes including the penis growth and enlargement.

Significance of testosterone

Testosterone is so important because it plays many crucial roles in our bodies throughout our lives and even before we're born. For example, testosterone helps to determine the gender of the fetus in the womb. Testosterone leads to the development of the male genitals (the penis and testicles) in the womb and at puberty helps all of the male characteristics to develop - like deeper voice, increased muscle mass, body and facial hair etc. Testosterone also continues to be important during all stages of a man's life. In fact testosterone could be thought of as being central to a man's mind, body and sexual function.

Can you enhance your testosterone levels naturally?

As mentioned earlier, testosterone levels can have a direct impact on your health, especially your sexual health (including that of the penis) and the quality of your life. Testosterone increases will enhance your sex drive and muscle size. Here are some nutritional and dietary recommendations to raise your testosterone levels:

Lose fat: If you are too fat, then your testosterone level will be naturally low. Therefore, shed those extra pounds.

Have more sex: Sex triggers your body to produce more testosterone. When you get aroused you are signaling your sex organs to perform so they start taking action to follow that order. This is great news. Inform your partner/s to step up the action. The hotter that better.

Gain more muscle: Bodybuilders use compound exercises, exercises that use more than one muscle group, to accelerate muscle building. Free weights and squats increase this process.

Proper rest: Increasing your workout will fatigue you so you need to counter that with adequate sleep and power naps.

Monounsaturated fat: Research has found that men who ate diets rich in monounsaturated fat, the kind found in peanuts, avocados, fish and healthy oils like flax seed, olive and canola are a great way to naturally boost testosterone levels. Try not to eat too much fat but remember that the fat in any kind of nuts will push up your testosterone level.

Alcohol addiction: Research indicates that excessiveness of the alcohol use lowers testosterone levels.

5-6 smaller meals per day: The best way to fuel your body throughout the day is not the normal “3 Squares” but smaller meals with a good balance of low fat protein and complex carbs.

Specific foods to naturally increase testosterone levels

Cruciferous vegetables: Increase your dietary intake of cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, cabbage and brussel sprouts have all been shown to dramatically reduce estrogen levels, thereby raising testosterone.

Oysters: Because of their high zinc levels, foods known to raise testosterone levels often are called aphrodisiacs. Oysters are one such food. The high zinc levels in foods like oysters help increase both testosterone and sperm production.

Avocados: Avocados are high in both vitamin B6 and folic acid. Vitamin B6 will increase male hormone production while folic acid is key in sustaining a high metabolic rate.

Eggs: Eggs are high in both vitamin B5 and B6. The presence of these vitamins helps balance both stress and hormone levels in the body. The helps ensure testosterone stays at a constant level.

Red meats and poultry: Red meats and poultry are rich in zinc, a strong testosterone promoter. Red meats like beef, mutton, and lamb along with chicken, goose and turkey provide the needed zinc and saturated fats that have been found to raise testosterone levels.

What if testosterone levels are high?

High levels of testosterone appear to promote good health (especially sexual health) in men. In addition, when the testosterone levels are high, a person is able to live his life to the fullest since he has a lot of energy. Men with high levels of testosterone are able to enjoy sex even more. If you are a bodybuilder with high levels of testosterone, your body will be able to achieve fast mass gain by just eating the right food and a proper training. These hormones are able to put you on a better state of mind.

Sports Supplement and Innovation

Dr. Group's Chemical and Heavy Metal Cleanse Starter Kit

Dr. Group's Chemical and Heavy Metal Cleanse Starter Kit