Birdseye: Health Tips from the Blogosphere : health

Health through happiness: how living positively makes you more healthy

Birdseye — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:49:00 GMT

Of the 100 ways to live to 100, a large number focus on maintaining a positive mental state by avoiding conflict, living conscientiously and forgiving people easily. Further to this, several studies suggest that those with a positive attitude to life are generally more healthy than those who adopt a pessimistic approach.

Research has shown that not only can optimism increase your life expectancy, but also pessimism can lower it:

Healthy optimism: In one study, those who scored high on optimism in personality tests in the 1960s were far more likely to be alive 40 years later than those who were classed as pessimists.
Unhealthy pessimism: Another study found that those who respond negatively to adverse events, either by blaming themselves or by allowing the events to affect many aspects of their lives, had a 19% higher risk of death than optimists.

How to live positively

For those who do not naturally think on the positive side, the following suggestions, taken from the September 2007 issue of What Doctors Don’t Tell You, will help to develop a healthy, optimistic approach to life:

Keep a journal and jot down any negative thoughts you have. Try to replace them with more positive feelings.
Give yourself due credit when something positive happens in your life. Think of all the ways you contributed, both directly and indirectly, to make the event occur.
Don’t beat yourself up when something negative happens. Think of the external factors that could have contributed to the event, and remember that every failure can be a helpful learning experience.

Four myths about exercise and weight loss

Birdseye — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:43:00 GMT

There is so much “advice” about exercise and weight loss that it is difficult to know what will really help. Research suggests that, contrary to popular belief, regular gentle exercise will not help you lose weight. Here are four popular myths about exercise and weight loss, which are still often quoted despite scientific evidence indicating that they are simply untrue.

1. Losing weight is all about eating less and exercising more

The reality is a little more complex than this common assumption suggests. Not only have studies shown that exercising more contributes very little to weight loss, but also there is evidence that it is more important to consider what we eat than how much, with the Mediterranean diet proving particularly effective.

2. To lose weight it’s best to exercise before a meal

It’s often stated that in order to lose weight, it’s best to exercise on an empty stomach. In fact, it seems that the best time to exercise is after a meal, since the exercise makes you burn more calories and also suppresses your appetite.

3. To get fit you need to exercise for 20 minutes a day

Government health agencies frequently claim that you need 20 minutes of exercise a day in order to stay fit. Although you need much more than that to lose weight, as explained below, research suggests that just 10 minutes of gentle exercise a day can help you improve your fitness levels.

4. Regular aerobic exercise will help you lose weight

Research outlined in the latest issue of What Doctors Don’t Tell You suggests that moderate exercise has very little effect on weight loss. In fact, it seems that unless you’re prepared to spend 60 to 90 minutes a day exercising, you are very unlikely to lose any weight. If you are new to WDDTY, you can read this report for free by clicking here.

If you’d like to find out more about the myths about losing weight, visit our weight loss archive. If you’re interested in living healthily in general, have a look at our guide to living longer and more healthily.

To find out why What Doctors Don’t Tell You is described by many as the best health journal in the world, claim your free trial issue now.

Psoriasis: Nine tips for prevention and treatment

Birdseye — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 16:30:00 GMT

Psoriasis is a chronic and distressing skin disorder afflicting around 80 million people worldwide.

Typically, it shows up as thickened red areas covered with silvery scales, usually on the scalp, elbows, knees, back and buttocks. It can also affect fingernails and toenails. The patches usually flare up periodically and symmetrically on both sides of the body. Read more about the condition here.

I’ve been trawling the blogosphere, as well as WDDTY’s archive, to find the best tips on the prevention and treatment of psoriasis. Do you know any others? Why don’t you share your tips by commenting on this article.

PSORIASIS PREVENTION

1. Do not smoke and limit your consumption of alcohol, as one study indicated that smoking may have triggered up to half the cases of palmoplantar pustular psoriasis (WDDTY: Psoriasis: most due to smoking)

2. Stress is a major cause of psoriasis, so try to maintain a stress-free lifestyle. If there is a threat of suffering from stress, follow the advice in our article on ‘Countering stress’ to combat it.

3. Limit your consumption of alcohol, as research suggests that heavy drinking can trigger psoriasis and even reduce the efficacy of treatments (ajaysharma: Psoriasis)

4. Try to avoid using Beta blockers, which can exacerbate psoriasis or trigger the development of first lesions (Psoriasis Popular: Psoriasis triggers)

PSORIASIS TREATMENT

5. Follow a diet containing plenty of fish oils, which contain components that can calm the inflammation experienced by psoriasis sufferers. (WDDTY: Psoriasis: fish oil cure)

6. Make sure you get daily doses of natural sunlight to increase vitamin D levels… but don’t get burnt (WDDTY: Psoriasis – What to do instead)

7. Drink wheat grass juice, which has reportedly helped to treat numerous conditions including arthritis, asthma, constipation and psoriasis (bryn blog: Wheat Grass – A Miracle Medicine)

8. Consider Chinese herbal medicine, which has been shown to have a positive effect on those suffering from skin conditions (WDDTY: Alternative therapies for psoriasis)

9. Eat flax seeds or take a flax seed supplement, which can relieve symptoms of psoriasis because of their high levels of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids (How to be Healthy: Your Skin Can Benefit From Taking Flax Seed)