DYNAMIC HEALTH LINK : How to Avoid Cancer, Heart Problems, Diabetes, and Asthma

In part one we examined one of the most detrimental factors to good health-- the overgrowth of Candida Albicans, a fungal yeast that produces seventy-nine different antigens {poisons} to the body and impairs immune function as well as disrupting many of the other important body functions.

In this segment we will look at the pH factor and its importance in body chemistry. pH is hydrogen potential and a reading of 7.0 is neutral while a higher reading indicates alkalinity and below 7.0 indicates acidity.

Scientists tell us that our bodies function best with a blood pH level of 7.4 {actually 7.365} The physical body does everything it can to maintain this blood pH at 7.4. Since most people have little awareness of how the body functions and how to cooperate with those functions we unwittingly eat, drink and act inappropriately. Sometimes we try to do something good for ourselves e.g. drink bottled water to avoid pollutants in our drinking water.

The problem is that most of that water is processed by reverse osmosis or distillation and these have a pH of around 6.6 to 6.8 i.e. acid because all the minerals which affect pH have been removed. Some of the bottled water is spring water and this may have a pH of 7.2 to 7.6 which is alkaline and much better for our bodies. The problem here is that water is the universal solvent and so plastic bottles leach a poisonous chemical into the water. There is little indication how long the water has been sitting on the shelf and no way to tell how much leaching has taken place!

Water is very important to our bodies since fluids account for about 70% of our tissues. Dehydration is a problem for most, partly because we drink a lot of caffeinated drinks and caffeine is a diuretic which removes more fluid from the system than is ingested. Without enough fluids inthe body, blood becomes thicker making the heart work harder to pump it around the system--the skin becomes more wrinkled-- dried out more than it should--elimination becomes more difficult {constipation} so toxins tend to be re-absorbed into the system instead of being removed.

There are other drinks such as alcohol, beer, colas,soda pop etc. which are acid. Soda pop containing phosphoric acid {causes the fizz} may be as low in pH as 2.5. It has been said that the body intelligence will even store excess acid in our fat tissues to prevent damage to the liver and kidneys. {Being overweight?}

Another aspect of which many are unaware, is that acid-forming foods are consumed excessively. It has been suggested that up to 80% of our food consumption should be alkaline-forming foods and only 20% acid. That indicates that our diet should consist of items like bran, barley, buckwheat, cornmeal, millet, oats, brown rice, rye criso, rye bread, and wheat germ, rather than wheat products such as cakes, crackers, macaroni, noodles, pies and pastry, spaghetti, wheat breads and wheat cereals. Another example relates to flesh foods. Some foods like chicken, fish, lamb, liver, lobster, turkey, veal, shrimp, crab meat, and trout tend to be alkaline while beef, hamburger, hot dogs, pork, salmon, sardines, sausage fall into the acid range. Most fresh fruits and vegetables tend to be alkaline but any commercial canned vegetables and fruits tend to be acid.

So we can see that eating has its hazards and care is required to avoid the difficult areas. One could take the attitude that this is too complicated, and it can be a bit overwhelming, but with a little care one can develop a sensing for which foods are appropriate. For example when facing a buffet and there are so many choices-- some of them are o.k.-- you can sense what is effective with a little practice.

There are some simple rules like avoid commercial canned fruits and vegetables and use fresh as much as possible. If you do your own canning don''t overload with sugar. Much more could be said on these points but hopefully these guidelines may be useful to you. There is a lot more info available on all these subjects.

This segment has emphasized the importance of acid/alkaline balance and the requirement to be aware to some degree of what we eat and drink and how it affects our health. Part three will consider the body from the cellular, electrical level and what can be done easily to work with the body processes.

DYNAMIC HEALTH LINK : How To Keep Heart Healthy?

Bacteria and viruses keep on struggling to outweigh our immune system and to creep into our body by any means. Even if a minor compromise is made by our immunity, it may result in fever, swelling etc., leading to constriction of blood vessels or say even precipitation of blood at some points inside the vessels. Such precipitations clog microscopic blood vessels resulting in heart attacks or strokes.

For the immune system to work efficiently and for you to stay healthy with a healthy heart, find below a few tips that could easily be adapted to live healthy.

Floss your teeth: Bleeding gums, swollen gums, tooth decay etc., require your immediate attention as the inflammation may lead to blood vessel constriction, i.e., avoiding dental diseases prevents inflammation of the arteries, which helps you reduce the chances of a heart disease. Many are not aware of the fact that oral hygiene is the key factor to prevent many illnesses. An unhygienic oral cavity is a Pandora’s Box of many illnesses.

Exercise regularly: Among two lions of the same age and origin (say twins), the one at jungle with regular hunt out for prey will be much healthier than its counterpart at the zoo enjoying a lazy lifestyle, provide whatever medical attention to the latter. This theory applies to us too. Regular exercise keeps one healthy and walking half-an-hour a day decreases the risk of having a heart attack by about 30 percent. Prefer doing it early morning with an empty stomach as it helps lowering the body fat since the energy required will be obtained by burning that excess fat stored in your body, while an evening walk will only abstract energy from whatever you’ve eaten during the day. If you succeed walking daily, you can succeed at doing other things to improve health. Skip that and you start compromising health in other ways too.

Reduce weight:

plaque forming process in artery

A BMI of 20-26 is desirable for middle aged adults while a BMI of more than 30 indicates obesity. Similarly, a waist-hip ratio of 0.8 or lesser for women and 1 or lesser for men is considered the ideal shape. The fat that accumulates especially around the waist is not only a sign of danger for your shape but also for your health. Why is it a potential danger? Here is a relative theory behind that: The fat that gets accumulated there feeds the kidney, liver and other vital organs. When you gain weight, you accumulate fat inside the comparatively rigid kidney capsule too. This fat pushes the kidney thereby the kidney needing more blood pressure to drive blood through as it’s getting jammed by the fat. So it releases hormones that cause vasoconstriction thereby increased blood pressure. If you discard a little of that omentum fat which can be achieved by just a few pounds of weight losess , your blood pressure recedes down really fast. Cutting back on salt (sodium chloride) may help, but for some people reducing sugar and saturated fat in the diet may help even more.

Once you’re above 40s, monitor your blood pressure regularly. A blood pressure level of 140/90 mmHg or higher is considered high while any reading above 120/80 mmHg is considered as prehypertension level. High blood pressure makes the heart work extra hard and hardens artery walls, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Hence high blood pressure is a silent killer because there are no symptoms and if lifestyle changes are not bringing your blood pressure within the normal range then, medications may be needed. So if you’re above 40s, it’s a must to keep an eye on your blood pressure levels and contain it through regular doctor visits, physical exercise, diet and medications if any needed.

Eat healthy: Fat rich food is essentially a threat to heart. Similarly starch rich potato, white bread etc., increase blood sugar level, again a potential threat for heart. Saturated fat and trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) lead to inflammation in the arteries.

To be more informative, let’s discuss the topic of fats a little bit elaborated. Fats and oils are either saturated or unsaturated; unsaturated fats can be either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Saturated fats, which mainly come from animal sources, increase cholesterol levels. Tropical oils such as coconut and palm are two non-animal examples of saturated fat. Hydrogenated oils such as margarine and vegetable shortening are saturated fats that have been chemically transformed from their normal liquid state into solids. During the hydrogenation procedure, extra hydrogen atoms are pumped into unsaturated fat. This creates trans fatty acids, the most unhealthy type of fat found to be the number one cause of heart disease.

Dynamic Health Link : Managing Pregnancy Related Heartburn

There are many women who suddenly develop uncomfortable heartburn symptoms while they're pregnant. One of the causes of this is the raised hormonal levels that are due to pregnancy. This causes softening of the ligaments that are responsible for regulating the passageway that leads from the stomach to the esophagus. Therefore, stomach acids are largely unhindered in travelling up to the throat and esophagus.

Another contributor to heartburn during pregnancy is the added pressure that the developing baby places on the stomach area. Often that can cause the stomach acids to climb up to the esophagus.

There are lots of options when it comes to easing the distress of heartburn during pregnancy. The following tips should give you some guidance in your search for heartburn relief.
Stay away from foods that are known to cause heartburn. Included in this list are spicy foods, tomato products, chocolate, fried and fatty foods, and citrus.

Don't drink beverages that are high in caffeine like tea, coffee and cola.
Keep away from alcohol. It's harmful to your baby and is also a contributor to heartburn.
Eat smaller meals. Having several mini meals throughout the day will keep the pressure off your stomach.

Eat slowly.
Don't go to sleep for at least three hours following a meal. This will help you avoid nighttime heartburn.

Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day. But be careful that you don't drink while eating if you can possibly avoid it. This leads to excess stomach expansion which helps to push out the gastric acids in your stomach.
While sleeping keep your head elevated approximately six to eight inches. You might find a wedge shaped pillow to be helpful. This gives gravity some help in keeping your stomach acids from climbing the esophagus.

Avoid restrictive clothing. Restricting the abdominal area will often lead to heartburn.
Bend at the knees, not at the waist. This keeps pressure off the stomach.
Watch your posture. Sit erect in a comfortable chair.

Keep weight gain to healthy levels. Too much extra weight puts more stress on your stomach.
Stop smoking. Not only is it unhealthy for your baby, it contributes to heartburn symptoms.