Natural Cold Treatment

Having a cold is miserable. No one likes suffering what seems to be a yearly winter ritual as the latest cold bug makes the rounds. Fortunately, natural cold treatment can be as effective as over the counter medications, and surprisingly, grandma had it right in a lot of ways.

Natural Ways to Care for a Cold

The age old cold cure, chicken soup isn't that far off the mark. Mom's steamy bowl of warm broth, meat, and vegetables is actually a great way to help reduce the symptoms of a cold. A steaming bowl of soup helps to loosen mucous and clear out nasal passages. The warm liquid soothes an irritated throat and can reduce inflammation. Best of all, the nutrients commonly found in a good chicken soup include antioxidants, protein, and minerals that can help strengthen your body as it fights off a cold virus.

Of course, chicken soup can't really cure a cold. Sadly, there isn't anything yet known to humankind that can do that. However, there are plenty of natural ways to reduce cold symptoms and make a cold victim more comfortable.

• If congestion is an issue, moist heat is the best treatment. A hot shower or a steaming cup of tea will loosen mucous and ease inflamed bronchial tubes.
• Coughing can be eased with a spoonful of honey. This is a good treatment for young children over 1 year of age that shouldn't take cold medicine.
• Use a cool mist humidifier, especially at night, to ease coughing and congestion.
• Treat a sore throat by gargling with a cup of warm water with 1 teaspoon of salt dissolved in it 2 to 3 times a day.
• Vitamin C can't cure or prevent a cold, but studies show it may shorten the duration of a cold, so try taking a supplement and eating foods high in vitamin C.

In general, your body will combat any sickness more effectively if it is healthy before the infection. Perhaps the best defense against a cold is to eat a wide variety of healthy foods that are mostly plant based. Regular exercise will also result in a strong cardio-vascular system which means a respiratory infection may be less severe. It goes without saying that plenty of hand washing will help prevent colds and protect others if you are infected.

Hydration is essential to combating colds or most other illnesses. Although regular fluid intake is important in general, it can be a vital element in combating a cold. Aim for eight 10 ounce glasses of fluid each day. Water is the best fluid for the body, but juice, sports drinks and herbal tea are also good choices in moderation. Avoid drinks like cola and coffee that are high in caffeine because they will hamper your ability to rest and act as a diuretic that will make you have to go to the bathroom more often and can lead to dehydration. Of course, grandma's chicken soup is not only a great fluid for treating colds, but a great way to lift your spirits too.

Bladder Problems and Female Health

Bladder Problems and Female Health. 

The female bladder is particularly prone to inflammation, a condition commonly called a bladder infection or urinary tract infection (UTI). While men do suffer from urinary tract infections, the bladder problem is far more common in women. Knowing the symptoms of a bladder infection could keep you from suffering bladder pain and bladder infection.

Signs Of Bladder Infection

More than fifty percent of women will suffer from inflammation of the bladder, a bladder infection, or urinary tract infection at least once in their lives. Look out for these symptoms of a urinary tract infection:

• Frequent feeling or need to urinate. 
• Burning or achiness while urinating. 
• Urine that has a foul odor or strange color. 
• Bladder pain or bladder spasm. 

In serious cases, urinary tract infections, inflammation of the bladder, and bladder infections can lead to kidney infections, which might damage the kidneys. If you are suffering from the signs of bladder infection above and you also have a fever, bloody urine, back pain, chills, or body aches; contact your doctor right away to rule out a more serious condition. Female bladder problems are a common occurrence, and with proper female health treatment, most female bladder issues are easily resolved.

Take control of your health! If you’re suffering from any of the signs of a bladder infection, call your doctor. Urinary tract infections and bladder infections are easily treated with common antibiotics.

Protein at Breakfast Can Lead to Weight Loss

Protein Breakfast Study

The Department of Nutrition at the University of Missouri conducted a study which showed that individuals who skipped breakfast incorporated high-protein and healthy breakfast meals in their diet. The study tried to determine if breakfast can immediately affect appetite control, sustain one’s appetite through out the day and reduce food cravings.

The department recruited 20 overweight adolescent girls who skipped breakfast. Girls were selected because, according to Leidy, girls skip breakfast more than boys. A head-to-head comparison was conducted with cereals, since it’s commonly consumed for breakfast, and it was compared to a high-protein egg and beef-based breakfast meal.

The target population followed three breakfast patterns. They either skipped breakfast, consumed normal protein cereals for six days or consumed beef and egg-based breakfast for six days. On the seventh day, a test was done where blood samples were taken and appetite, sensation of hunger and fullness were measured throughout the day.

People tend to overeat and snack unhealthily. Before dinner, a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or fMRI, technique was used to identify each girl’s neuro activity in response to the signals that control their food cravings. The girls were given a cooler with healthy and unhealthy foods and snacks to determine if breakfast had an impact on their choices later in the day.

The study found that eating a breakfast rich in protein leads to improvements in appetite control, the reduction of food cravings, can significantly reduce snacking in the evening, and ultimately lead to weight loss. 

4 Things You’ll Feel Right Before a Heart Attack

When your body tries to tell you something, how well do you listen?

With many health issues, your body sends out signals that something has gone awry. Of course, listening to your body when it complains that you just ate too much spicy food or you have a minor cold coming on may not be of life-shattering importance. 

However, when it comes to your heart, listening to your body is crucial — because ignoring or misinterpreting these bodily signals can be deadly.

In fact, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have recently determined that unrecognized myocardial infarctions (or “silent” heart attacks, in layman’s terms) are much more common than physicians had previously suspected. And unfortunately, they note these silent heart attacks carry a very high risk of death.

Studies indicate that about 200,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year without even realizing it. These unrecognized heart attacks account for about one-fourth of all heart attacks, making this a serious public health issue.

Fortunately, according to renowned cardiologist Dr. Chauncey Crandall, you can easily train yourself to listen to your own body’s signals when it comes to the state of your heart health. 

Drinking milk in pregnancy helps kids gain height

A new study has found taking milk during pregnancy benefits children well into their early adulthood. It helps the children gain better height than those whose mothers did not take it adequately.

Earlier studies said babies tend to weigh more and grow more quickly if expectant mothers drink milk. But the new study has said children born to women who drank milk during pregnancy are more likely to be tall in their teenage.

The study’s results, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, show teenagers of both genders were generally taller if their mothers took more than 150 millilitres – roughly a quarter of a pint of milk – a day during the pregnancy, compared to children born to women who drank less than that quantity, Daily Mail reported.

The latest finding was reached after a team of scientists, who tracked babies born in the late ’80s, found their height during adolescence was directly related to how much milk their mothers consumed when they were in the womb.

Nutrition experts from Iceland, Denmark and the US wanted to examine if the benefits seen in the early stages of life from milk were extended into later years.

They tracked babies born to 809 women in Denmark in 1988 and 1989 by monitoring how much milk the women had consumed during pregnancy. The babies were measured for weight and birth length and then followed up again almost 20 years later.

Earlier this year, British scientists found pregnant women could boost their babies’ IQ by drinking more milk because it is rich in iodine.